i am hoping to have my surgery in early july. my family is mad that i'm putting it off til then. in my own mind, i feel that i have logical reasoning for putting it off.
my oldest daughter turns 16 next month, we're planning a big blowout party. well she needs to have her wisdom teeth cut out. i have planned that surgery for early june, that way she can enjoy her "sweet 16" without pain, and get her license before her surgery.
well, after i let her heal good, comes july 4th. my husbands family always has a big to do for that day, and i want my kids to have at least 1 day of fun in their summer. they are already going to miss out on so many things, that i hate to take that away from them too.
am i wrong for putting my surgery off? i'm the one having to suffer the consequences, not them!
What does your physician say? This didn’t happen over night and probably won’t make a difference if you wait a little while. I had my surgery about 11 months after my diagnosis. I was diagnosed in Oct…He said that I could wait until my symptoms got worse. In June things progressed enough that I was ready and I waited until the end of September (for many of the same reasons). I am glad I did because it was ( and is) a long recovery for me…although my girls ( who are 8 and 10) did great with it! Good luck with your decision.
hi rebecca. i totally understand why you want to put off the surgery. My neurologist recommended surgery when i was first diagnosed last year but i couldn't even begin to wrap my head around it. i've never had surgery before, even when my kidney failed at 20 years old, i refused to have the hospital take it out. because i knew i would get better, and i did. in january, my husband's insurance changed dramatically and now i can't afford to go to the doctors. my neurologist has even called and yelled at me about blowing off my appointments. a part of me is sort of kicking myself that i didn't have the surgery when i could have, since my symtoms seem to be getting worse every month, but its a decision only you can make. My neurologist told me that even after i have surgery the damage is already done. the nerve pain will most likely remain and that's why i wish i had had it, but i think as long as you don't put it off too long, it will be okay. Just do what's right for you. :)
Rebecca,
You were just diagnosed the beginning of March....I personally don't think waiting a 4 months is going to change much. (and according to your Bio your surgeon doesn't feel you need to rush--does he specialize in Chairi? I was worried you left feeling like you d didn't have enough info) Enjoy your events before surgery. I suffered for 10 years before I was diagnosed and waited 2 years before surgery. I had to have 2 other spinal surgeries and had decided to have them prior to my Chairi surgery (per my spinal NS recommendations). My Chiari recovery took a year so I was happy with my decision because the other surgeries were easy recoveries. I think my Chairi recovery would have been more miserable with my spine hurting as much as it was if i wouldn't have taken care of those surgeries first. Even though my Chairi NS (actuually all 4 NS that I got referrals from) didn't want me to wait, but I had to do what I thought was best for me and so do you!
Wishing you the best! Let us know aht happens!
Monique
Rebecca,
As long as there is not an immediate medical need, Im with you on waiting. Im a single mom with two teenage kids. My daughter has been suffering a concussion on top of bad migraines, and my mom is battling cancer and will be starting to go back and forth to MD Anderson in Houston. I dont think putting it off a few months will hurt. However, I was told last summer to do mine and I put it off because of football season, yes high school football is big in Texas, then was Christmas and State Playoffs, then my daughter started soccer for the first time in high school, then was spring break, then my mom. You see where Im going with that? Here is a year later and now I have bigger issues to deal with with other family health issues and a real need to put mine off. Just dont keep finding reasons to not do it because it does need to get done.
Best of luck!!!
Good Morning,
I understand you want your Daughter to have a normal life. Maybe you should ask you NS if that is a good idea. Sometimes the consequenses are far worse than you know. I was very late diagnosed and was close to being a quadripledgic & no I didn't have a syrinx. I tell you this because I wish I had known. I would be in a much better physical situation now.
Tracy Z.