I just had the WADA test and my next step is the Surgery and i am very scared. I am so happy for you. There is a small, real risk of some memory loss or language problems following the surgery due to the location of the tissue being removed on my left temple lobe. I AM SO SCARED.
Thinking about Brain surgery but I am so scared. If you can help me, please do. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
Thinking about Brain surgery but I am so scared. If you can help me, please do. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
Here are some Websites explainig what a WADA test is: http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/surgery_wada.html http://www.mcg.edu/neurology/clinical/epilepsy/services/surg_wada.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wada_test#Method hope this helpsThinking about Brain surgery but I am so scared. If you can help me, please do. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
I am from Australia, and had the surgery done only 6 weeks ago. Yes it is extremely daunting and a frightening prospect to face, but, as my neurosurgeon told me ,it is less painful than having your appendix taken out. I had 5 centimetres of my left temporal lobe removed and the hippocampus behind that. I was concerned about loss of memory and other functions before the operation and was keen to have a wada test done for conclusive proof of what may be lost when the tempoaral lobe was removed, my nuerologist had me take a relative new test which is claimed ,( and proved for me), to be far more conclusive and less invasive than the wada test- this new test is called an fMRI standing for functional mri scan, it is very similar to a usual mri only you are required to think of nouns to the verbs they show on a screen in front of you whilst the scan is in progress, from this thwy can tell which side of your brain is active and would very likely have these functions .
For me this test proved that all these functions crossed from the left side of my brain to the right when I was a child , which meant the operation had little risk of loss of memory etc.
As far as the surgery itself is concerned , I woke up from surgery with no pain , I was given morphine during surgery and this didnt wear off until the following night ,yes I did get headaches but not violent ones like you may expect. The brain you see has no feelings which helps to minimize pain. I did not get a really severe headache until the night I came home from hospital 7 days later.
Please contact me if you would like more information,but I can assure you it is definitle worthwile, have you seen a nurosurgeon yet? has he given you an idea of what percentage of success would be in your case? In my case it was 70$ chance of cure 20$ chance of improvement and 10$ chance of no change.
One thing to remember ,every case is different and every one will be affected differently.
I return to work in 5 days time,I still have a little trouble focusing on close things but this is to be expected.
Hi Jen I am going in for surgery June 5. I am so scared. Thinking about Brain surgery but I am so scared. If you can help me, please do. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
I wish you lots of success with this surgery. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. I will be waiting to hear from you when you can post surgery so we know how all went.Tra
mom to >
Kimberlyn-ACC, Seizure disorder and Brachial Plexus
Hi Dinger 57 Keep a positive mind, it will be a big help. When I had the surgery March 1st 2006 I couldn't believe how little pain I felt when I came out of the anasethic . I was given morphine during the operation ,I did not feel any pain until the night after March 2nd, and even then it was not severe. I hope your doctor gives you steriods,(if you are not allergic to them)it helps reduce the swelling a lot. around the eyes . My epilepsy was also left temporal lobe, the only problem that has arisen for me as a result of the operation is close vision,reading etc, but I am working on this now ,as I had to wait at least 7-8 weeks after the operation before considering replacing any prescription glasses because of the steriods I was given in hospital.. Make sure you take some sort of entertainment with you(radio,ipod or personal cd player) to help pass the days after the operation,over here the norm .is to keep you in hospital for at least 7 days after the operation for observation. I hope you have family members who can support and help you during your time in hospital and recovery when you get home, you cannot under estimate how much having someone with you or just being there will help ,I personally believe the support and help my parents gave me assisted me enourmously. Good Luck
A short note to anyone out there reading this forum who is still considering brain surgery or undergoing the lenghthy process of tests to see if you are a suitable canditdate, speak tp your
neurologists about the fMRI test, (functional MRI ) this is a relatively new test ,so new it is currently NOT an item that can , be claimed on our public health system medical insurance scheme Medicare. The fMRI is a test that replaces the old WADA test,and is very similar to an ordinary MRI scan only the operator asks you to "THINK" of nouns that relate to a verb that is shown on a projector screen in front of you whilst the test is running. It is relativly expensive at the momement but it is well worth it been non invasive like the WADA test. I wanted a WADA test until my neurologist told me about this new technology and believed to be as good if not more reliable than a WADA test.
Good Luck to all Going through the processes of having the tests and confronting the surgery. It is a Life altering operation .
They are going to put some kind of strips on my brain first to narrow it down were the seizer comming from even more. I hope I don't have alot of pain. I am so scared I am going to come out stupid or worse then I was before the operation. The doctor that is doing the operation told me what could happen after the operation and it scared me so much that I had seizers ever time I left his office. He said its deep in my left temperal lope and it might effect my short memory. I need your support so bad or I will not make it. Thanks for responding.Thinking about Brain surgery but I am so scared. If you can help me, please do. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
Hi Dinger57. I know this sounds easy for me to say, but there is no need to scared(although I must admit I was nervous also before my op), I assume you have been through all the various tests to see if you are a suitable candidate for surgery, telemetry EEG, spect scans , Physcologists to test your current capabilities and other specialists to see if your body is mentally capable of handling the op,just to name a few. If your surgeon believes you are a suitable candidate and he has given you a good percentage rate of success, I would doubt you will come out of the op with any scary damage to you.( my surgeon told me my rate of sucess was 70% chance of CURE,which astounded me as no one has ever said they could cure me). I am now approaching 12 weeks since my operation and have not had any turns.
I have experienced some problems regaining normal eyesight,by normal I mean the same as I had before the operation. I saw my surgeon last week and he believes my eyes will be normal within 6 months.When I was in hospital I was given steriods for my entire stay, twice a day, this is to help reduce the swelling around the eyes that occurs as a result of surgery,the swelling normally appears about 2 days after the op ,and the area around your eyes will go black-dont worry, if you are given steriods like I was it should disappear within 3-4 days.
The only other evidence of my operation is some very slight swelling around the face near my left ear and of course the scar on my head from the cut ,which now you would not know was there as my hair has covered it completly and there is no pain from scar at all,I do have a slight numbness on my left side of head which I am only aware of when I brush my hair,the surgeon said the nerves there will take about another 9 months to reconnect ,so even the numbness will go away eventually.
One thing I did do before I went to hospital , because I wanted re assurance incase anything did go wrong,just like you are worrying now. I got an enduring power of attorney,for one of my parents to take control of all my financial affairs and to have the legal right to be able to do things on my behalf. I dont know what the laws are where you live but it must be an enduring power of attorney here. Doing this helped give me peace of mind.
I had no memory loss but that coulld be due to the fact that all the functions normally performed in the left temporal lobe,including memory, had switched to my right temporal lobe as a child. This was only discovered when I had the fMRI scan done.
I hope you have been able to get into a private hospital or at the very least single room accomadation in the hospital. I was fortunate and had both .
I wont go on with more at the momement I dont want you to worry un necessarily,take care ,and I hope that all goes really well for you. Keep in touch.
I am into my 5th week of recovery after my brain surgery. I didn't what to do a thing after my surgery including eating, reading, watching TV, etc. I mean anything! I couldn't even stand to look at or smell food, but it is getting better even though I am still not eating much. I still have hardly hair were they did the surgery, but it is slowly coming back. At first I got very light headed when I stood up but that has mostly gone away. It does happen but not as much now. I haven't had any loss of memory at all. At first I was not able to sleep at night after the surgery. I still only sleep for about 45 minutes and I am awake, then I go back to sleep for another hour. I only sleep for about 4 to 5 hours a night, but I feel ok the next day. I have had what they call auras but NO seizures since my operation and I plan on Not having anymore ever again! I am still not to supposed to do any work until I get my strength back and the doctor gives me the ok.Thinking about Brain surgery but I am so scared. If you can help me, please do. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
Its been almost 2 months since my surgery and I haven't had a seizure since. My hair is almost growed back and I am starting to sleep alittle better. I am also starting to eat better and gain alittle weight back. I lost my weight when I was in the hospital. Just what to thank everyone that has sent me a response, its been a real encougement to me.
Had My Brain surgery, and I was so scared, but the doctors made me feel good and and I did. They kidded with me before the surgery and before I knew it I was in recovery Thanks for helping me. Mine is on the left temporal lobe. They say it is deep it my brain.
Thats great to hear its been 2 months since last siezure. I am now 6 months down the track after surgery and like you free of siezures. Dont rush things, I was off work 7 weeks and was away from my favourite sport, dancing for 13 weeks. You may find, once you get back to normal life a few differences. I still, walk in my office door, see my work colleagues ,and occassionallythier name is gone from my mind,even though I work with them every day. I go for my post neuropsychology test tommorrow to see what chages,if any, have occurred.
I still occassioally, lose balance but I am able to quickly regain it again. Its little things lke this you may notice. Good Luck
hey every one I sopport all of u guys with your surgerys I had brian surgery 4 years ago it was painful wish u all luck in every thing. I just want to say I have been taken topomax and my head has severe bumbs I dont know if its because of the surgery or topomax I had a few bumbs after the surgery however after taken topomax it has worstened I dont know what to do
My daughter had her surgery on Friday Nov. 10th to have the intercranial with leads done, it was about a six hour procedure. She was put into ICU after and the data started to register on the seizures she was starting to have. On Saturday the doctors came in to say that they were getting good data but that it was on the edge of were the leads were and that they would have to go back in to put more leads in.That took place on Monday Nov. 13th another six hour procedure. She was back in ICU stayed over night and in a regular room on Tuesday. They lowered her medication some because the seizure activity slowed down. She was very uncomfortable, did not want to move her head. She had a partial seizure and the doctors received the information they wanted to get. She had a vision test done on Wednesday the 15th and they also tried to stimulate some of the leads in her brain. The stimulation was bringing on a seizure so they stopped it. That night she got very sick and kept throwing up, it was awful. In the morning she was running a slight fever,but the surgery still went on. She went in Thursday the 16th morning at 9:00 AM and was done at 3:15 pm. I was so frightened wondering if the fever would get worse, that infection was setting in, that when she opened her eyes that she would be frightend if she lost any of her sight. I had so many different things running through my mind and it all turned out wonderful. The doctors said that if they did not do the intercranial the results might not have been the same, it helped tremendously. It was a long hall and having three surgeries in less then a week was such a toll on Victoria, but she was such a trooper. She has been through so much and today is Saturday the 18th and she is up and about and feeling more herself. We are waiting for a MRI, the doctors say that the percent of her being seizure free is 50 to 70 percent. We hope it will never happen again and are so happy that she did not lose any eye sight. Thank You Dr Feldstein,Dr Goodman, Dr Gilliam and Dr.Pack. Today is November 30th, Victoria has been having some problems with her left eyesight. I was scared that she might be losing some of it now, the doctors say that it would of happened right after surgery. She still has alot of inflamation on the brain and it is the post op healing process, we are coming off the steroids alittle slower and it seems to be working. Although her moods change alot,but we manage. We go back to the doctors December 6th,we'll keep you posted. God Bless, Fran and Victoria
Victoria is still having some vision lost on her left side, it comes and goes. Yesterday she had four episodes. Today she said nothing. Reducing the steroids alittle more and seeing the doctor tomorrow.
another method to cure seziures is to use yantras When surgery and medication dose not work use a yantra they say it helps I used a yantra for my seizures it worked try this for your daughter they sell it in India HOPE THE BEST FOR YOUR DAUGHTER VICTORIA MAY GOD BLESS HER
Before my daughter went for surgery we went to a healer. He told us that she took his energy very well and that the colors would go away,that never happened. What does the yantra do? Do you have to meditate with it like yoga ? We were at the doctor yesterday. Told us that the weakness and the hand tremors can be from the steroids and that her body went through alot having three surgeries in a weeks time and that the body needs time to heal, we will just watch and see. Patholgy report showed some aggressive cell growth and that it was still a JPA. The MRI that they took after surgery was clean they say,although cells could of been left behind since the tumor is begnin the cells could become dormint or just die off, we hope. We wil have another MRI late February or March. Hope all is well with you.
Hi, I had brain surgery 4 years ago, and I'm doing great! I had a right temporal lobe lobectomy. I had seizures for over 25 years of my life before having the surgery, though my journey was very long, it has made me the person I am today. I am Strong and full of compassion.
Having the surgery was an answer to my life long prayers. God does answer prayers, I had surgery on June 11th 2001, and have not had another seizure since the surgery.
I would be more then happy to try and answer any of your questions that you may have about the surgery.
Is there somewhere we can post our e-mail addresses so that we can get in contact with others who want to talk more one on one?