Brain Surgery and Epilepsy

Indie_Kid

sandy71 wrote: »

sarahlouise210Thanks for your reply, it's good to hear what could go wrong as well, I need to know everything. One thing that worries me is I already have right sided weakness from a stroke when I was 18 so if my left was affected.

In an earlier post of mine, I mentioned something about a programme on TV which showed the operation. (My Shocking Story: Living With Half A Brain) and they did show a little girl who had the weakness after the operation. She had physio for about a year and wore a splint on her arm. She did regain the strength after the physio and wearing the splints.

Savvy_Sue

sandy71 wrote: »

Do they always take the top off your head:eek: It all sounds a bit scary but i will try anything to stop this.

It's possible that there are some procedures for which taking the top off your head and popping it back on again is the easiest way, but as you saw from the duckling's photos, it's not the only way they can get in for epilepsy surgery. It must depend on what they want to do, and it's possible they only do that if they need to keep you awake.

sandy71 wrote: »

The meningitis thing was on my mind. My best friend when I was a teenager has numerous ops on her head and brain and she developed meningitis after on and died:(

Well, just to reassure you, mine was sorted as soon as I started taking the steroids! I kid you not, Wednesday evening I couldn't stop throwing up, could barely walk, and could hardly speak; GP phoned the hospital and was told to put me on steroids overnight, she gave me an injection to stop me throwing up, I swallowed the steroids, and the next morning we drove to the hospital for a checkup, and I WALKED a considerable distance from where we'd parked the car, sat around on the ward reading, walked down to have a CT scan, walked back - like a new woman!

I only wish they'd warned me that if I felt as if my head was going to explode I needed to get it looked at, because I just didn't know what was 'normal' - I mean you expect SOME pain post op, and it started off feeling just like a headache! I think I should have gone to see the GP 24 hours earlier ...

sandy71 wrote: »

Sending you the staple remover in the post, that really made me laugh, I'm surprised they didn't send you a mirror to so you could get at the ones round the back:rotfl:

:rotfl: no-one else has had that thought! :rotfl: I think they sent it for me to take to the GP, in case the nurses didn't have one, but actually the staples (holding my dressing to the wound) had come out before I left hospital.

My scar was invisible, btw, because it's behind my ear and they only shaved a tiny strip. The bruises on my arms from the drips were more impressive! :rotfl:

sandy71

Savvy_sue Thanks for the reassurance, I'm sure I will find something else to worry about:o Like them turning me into an egg head:rotfl:
If i do get it done at least I will know what to do if my head feels like it will explode;)

TBH I really don't care what the scar is like as long as it at least reduces the seizures.

I have had some amazing bruises for drips and the scars are even better. If I have a seizure outside someone ALWAYS calls an ambulance:mad: They then try to put a drip in which isn't easy when I'm in full seizure mode:o Then when I start coming round I always pull them out again:rotfl:

Thanks so much for your help x

sandy71

sh1305 wrote: »

In an earlier post of mine, I mentioned something about a programme on TV which showed the operation. (My Shocking Story: Living With Half A Brain) and they did show a little girl who had the weakness after the operation. She had physio for about a year and wore a splint on her arm. She did regain the strength after the physio and wearing the splints.

I have lived with the weakness for almost 20 years, I can cope with that now. My problem would be if my other side was affected, That little girl was young and fit, I'm old and clapped out:rotfl:

sarahlouise210

Sandy, the scar is not too bad as hair covers it... but my head is very lumpy and where the scar is hurts like hell with change of temperature ! You may not have a choice about whether to be awake or not as (in my case) they needed me to be awake and keep talking and moving various parts of my body so they knew if they were touching an "important" bit !! I stopped having physio 3 months ago as they said there was nothing more they could do to help. Another thing you need to consider is your fine motor skills ( moving your fingers etc) may never be the same(this is very common) I drop things and find some tasks really difficult and cant write for long either...the surgeon told me I would never be able to play the piano again.....but I could not play the piano before the surgery !!:rotfl::rotfl:The location of the scar does depend on the part of the brain they need to access ....... most people I know that have had it have a question mark shaped scar on the side of their head (like quackers duckling) ........ I could post a photo if I knew how! I even have a pic of my ACTUAL open brain...now not a lot of people can say they have that snap in their family album !! :rotfl:

Savvy_Sue

sarahlouise210 wrote: »

I could post a photo if I knew how! I even have a pic of my ACTUAL open brain...now not a lot of people can say they have that snap in their family album !! :rotfl:

I just know that some helpful person is going to come along and tell you how to do it, and I'm just going to say please give a 'look away now' warning, because the duckling's head is quite enough for me, TYVM! :rotfl:

But no, you're right, not many people have a photo like that in the family album! :rotfl:

sarahlouise210

I have sent Sandy a link to a few of my surgery pics

Savvy_Sue

Thank you. Discretion is the better part of Valerie and all that, :rotfl:

sarahlouise210

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Thank you. Discretion is the better part of Valerie and all that, :rotfl:

lol ....:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

sandy71

Off to see the neurologist tomorrow so I will ask about the surgery;)

Quackers, sarahlouise210 and Savvy_sue thank you so much for the advice and the pictures. (Savvy-sue, sarahlouises pictures are amazing!!!:rotfl:)

Will let you know how it goes. I will try anything to stpo this:(