Hi
I am glad you posted on this board! It was my life saver when I was at the stage you are right now. You are very fortunate to live so close to Dr. Oro. I too, am from Colorado, but in the southwest and about an 8 hour drive. I had surgery from Dr. Oro almost 11 months ago already. I did have headaches each night down low in the back of my head, but they were never really debilitating. What was the most debilitating symptoms for me were similar to yours, and in the months preceding surgery, they escalated quickly. I dealt with a lot of numbing and tingling in my hands and sometimes in my feet (when I went intertubing for a couple of hours, my feet went completely numb, but at that time I didn't know why), I was becoming dizzy almost every time I stood up also. Then, the slurred speech started, and I was becoming very unsteady and needing to sometimes balance with rails and stuff to walk. It was getting out of control how I would be having a conversation and completely forget what I was saying and just stare. I felt like I had lost 50 IQ points and I saw floating stars often. I pushed through it like you are doing, but it was getting to the point and was cascading for the worst so fast, I imagined I would be disabled in another year.
I functioned so much less than I had and my energy was going down the tubes. Most who know me describe me as the energizer bunny, and that description just went out the window. I was tired of it and scared that if I didn't do something soon, there could be permanent damage. So, I had my surgery.
Once I was fully out of groggy, anesthesia land I felt like a million bucks and was a totally different person. I would say a good 90% of my symptoms went buh-bye before I was even discharged. I did end up having some occipital nerve damage that has just about resolved itself, but other than that, I haven't had any issues (knock on wood so far). I would do my surgery again in an absolute heartbeat.
If your symptoms are getting worse as fast as mine did, I think it could pose a very real danger to you and your family. You need to be on top of your game and you need to, and deserve to, feel better. You don't want to fall, forget meds for your little one, pass out, etc.
My recovery was ridiculously easy because I felt so good. Again, I was fortunate. I had to remember not to lift and I was very aware of that because the last thing I wanted was a leak and another surgery. But other than that, there really weren't any life altering restrictions, other than driving for a bit. If the surgery helps you, you will feel so much better that the restrictions will be nothing in comparison to how you felt beforehand, at leas that's how it was for me.
Of course, everyone is different, and this IS a very risky surgery. You may feel even better than me, you may have complications. I don't know. But, I do know that Dr. Oro does his homework and is a very good surgeon with a great track record. His risk rate is very low because he knows what he is doing. So, that in and of itself should make your recovery better than it might be otherwise.
Surgery is a decision that impacts you as well as your entire family and should be carefully considered. I noticed that Dr. Oro will not operate if he feels the risks outweigh the potential benefits. I had to jump through weeks of tests and hoops before he even decided he saw a benefit in surgery, so he doesn't just do surgery willy nilly. My point is that if he thinks surgery could benefit you, he has done his homework and thoroughly thought this out.
I really look forward to knowing what you decide, dates, etc. If you want to talk personally, let me know and I will message my number over to you. The group on this board is INCREDIBLE and so knowledgeable and caring.
take care