Tuesday, February 19, 2008

One and Two Weeks Post Op

I have had many a request for pictures of my surgery site ~ so here they are! I have posted the photo towards the bottom of the post for those of you who are squeamish ~ I promise ~ all things considered the pics aren't bad at all! My question is how long is it going to take to wash off the pen mark they made on my back???

Just in case you are not quite sure what you are looking at, the photos are of my mid and lower back. Even after all the links and lengthy info regarding the surgery many of you still thought that the surgery site was in my neck ~ true story! I am amazed how the detethering has alleviated almost all of my symptoms ~ and I am still in awe of the brilliance of the TCI docs. My next step is figuring out how to tactfully write a letter to my four local neuro-surgeons to let them know the outcome of my surgery. Mostly I want to educate them on the correlation between the tethered spine and the brain so that other Chiarians like me might avoid brain surgery!

I am still trying to ease into the whole 'recovery ' mode of resting and relaxing. I am off all pain/muscle relaxant meds and yet every night I am having these uber intense dreams with intricate and complex plots. I wake up exhausted from my dream journeys. At first I attributed the dreams to the Morphine ~ but now that I am not taking it anymore I am perplexed. Maybe since my brain tail has plenty of CSF it's going into overdrive ~ anyone out there have similar experiences?


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you are doing well...the incision is healing really really nicely. They did a GREAT job. As for the dreams...maybe your brain tail is shrinking back into the skull where it belongs...maybe that is why you are having such strange dreams.
Be sure and rest...even though I know it drives you nuts....but that will help the healing process and soon enough, you will be back to work and enjoying the awesomeness of our company!!!!hahahahaha

See you soon!!
Debbie

Overflowing Brain said...

I haven't had detethering surgery (the incision looks awesome by the way), but after my decompression, I had crazy weird dreams.

Not sure how to explain it (I stopped taking pain meds the day after the surgery, so I'm thinking it was not that), but it tapered off after a few weeks. Now the only lingering effect is the desire to gag everytime I think about hospital food, which doesn't make me too big of a freak. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow. God's creation is so amazing. You are knitting, all right.

C Wilson said...

Lace, You incision looks great! I am so glad it is healing nicely.

I have an experience with uber dreams. Last year I had increased intracranial pressure and had the most horrible pressure headache for 20 days in a row before getting any treatment (no one would believe me) When I finally got a Diamox presription and started taking it my symptoms were relieved very quickly. But the first few nights I had the most intense, complex and real-feeling dreams I have ever had. I thought it was maybe a side effect of Diamox but no one else has ever had this.

Your comment makes me think that maybe it was my poor brain adjusting to the sudden change in pressure. Very interesting! I really like the term Uber-dreams too. It's perfect.

hugs,

Caroline

Anonymous said...

Great, baby, love the shots. Healing so fast.. good sigh. Uber dreams? Take it E A S Y and don't do the usual Lacie and rush recover.. Love ya.. Dad

manditalita said...

Hey Lace,
Thanx for the comment. It's great that you are healing so well! For me I was so thrilled when the staples came out of my neck (post decompression & laminectomy) so I could take a real shower and wash my hair. LOL. I plan on continuing to blog about healing and the support groups(s). Sometimes talking with people who have been there makes it less terrifying.

Please let's keep in touch.

Mwah,
-AP

Jenn Ann said...

I had crazy dreams post decompression...there's got to be some correlation there! Glad you're doing well!