I haven’t been able to sleep. I’m not sure if it’s because of the pain or the anxiety or both. I’m ready to get it over with and begin my recovery journey. Any advice for soothing the anxiety before surgery or what to expect after? Anything is appreciated! I feel like I’m going into this blindly. 
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Good luck with your surgery. It’s certain anxiety provoking. I have yet to schedule mine. Please let us know how you are doing!
Good luck! Mine is Thursday 11/21 and I’m starting to get nervous too. Still very confident in my decision because I know it was right for me. Hanging onto that right now.
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How are you both feeling?
Day two of being in the hospital and I’m getting discharged today! Honestly, the first day was a little rough with post-anesthesia nausea and pain meds on an empty stomach. Once I finally got sleep, food, and anti-nausea medication I felt like a whole new person. Hang in there! Everything gets better with each passing day for sure!
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Good luck to you!!!
Hello!
I had surgery Jul 24th/2018.
Recommendations:
Make sure you have a good pillow (I brought mine to the hospital - I was in there for 6 days)
Don’t try to be a wonder woman, pain meds are needed the first few weeks. I also used canabis cream with menthol to rub on my temples…didn’t take the pain away completely and somehow the menthol helped to soothe.
Sleep! Sleep is so important!
And let people help you. That doesn’t come easy for me and I also knew I couldn’t do things on my own.
It has been a 16 months since surgery. I still get some wicked headaches thought not nearly as much; I still get vertigo but it doesn’t last as long as it used to. The best thing is my head doesn’t feel like it is going to explode when I cough.
I found this site helpful with post surgery questions and such. More so than talking to doctors (they usually have no idea what to do with me).
I hope you are doing well post op.
Cheers,
Jackie
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Miserable at the moment. Yesterday was one week post op. I have miserable headaches, neck stiffness, nausea, and worst of all I have non-stop tinnitus that might drive me insane. Everyone around me seems to think I’m improving though. Range of motion is getting better at least. Really hoping to round a corner over the weekend, though it seems like week 2 of recovery is the worst for some people. We’ll see!
Following up on my last post 3 days ago. As of 11/30 things seem to be getting a little better. I haven’t been nearly as miserable with pain, and my nausea is pretty much gone. Tinnitus is still around, but is either getting better, or I’m getting used to it. I read that two of my medicines (my pain killer and muscle relaxer) can cause temporary or permanent tinnitus, so trying to wean off of those sooner rather than later.
I can’t tell much of a difference with my incision, but it seems to be okay. The skin glue they used is starting to come off, which worries me a little because it helped keep infection out, so I’ll have to make sure I stay vigilant about keeping it clean.
I have my first follow up appointment tomorrow, interested to hear how he thinks everything is going.
Thank you for all of the advice and well wishes.
I’m officially 2 weeks post op and I have my follow-up appointment later on today. All looks well with my incision but the stitches and glue are beginning to itch like crazy! I’m also experiencing more neck stiffness/soreness and tinnitus now than in the beginning stages of recovery. I have been using a THC tincture and little bits of cannabis gummy bears alongside my muscle relaxers for the pain to refrain from using the opioids as much.
All in all, my recovery is going a lot smoother than I anticipated and I’m so so so grateful for that. Patience, accepting help from others, and rest are definitely key.
How did your appointment go?
I hope there were answers and/or solutions to everything you’re experiencing.
It went okay - but I ended up only seeing a nurse, when the appointment was supposed to be with my surgeon. Wasn’t too thrilled about that, but she did say the incision looked good and range of motion looked good. She also said tinnitus was normal.
I saw you said your glue and stitches are itching, mine are too! I didn’t bring that up, but seems like that would be normal as well. The nurse I saw also mentioned that it’s normal for it to look just a little bit pink around the incision as it starts to heal.
Good luck at your appointment today!