Posted by Anne Thomas (208.250.108.79) on June 26, 1999 at 06:49:23:
In Reply to: Re: brain surgery during cluster posted by Tony Genovese on June 25, 1999 at 04:55:58:
Hello Tony. Many thanks for your reply. Its early morning and I am awake with a pain in my head. Where do I live? I reside in New York am am about 2 hours north of NYC snuggled in the countryside. It's very country here and there was a bear recently spotted in the front yard. I always wonder to myself which came first the ch or the brain tumor, like which came first "the chicken or the egg?' It is pretty bizzare walking around with a brain tumor is'nt it? My tumor was called a meninginoma, a tumor in the lining of the brain, slow growing and my neurosurgeon said it is all "location.location,location, like real estate. My tumor was located alongside my optic nerve. To get the tumor they removed half my forehead. I have no visable scars. It was a 9 hour procedure and when I awoke I had no pain at all. Immediate recovery was comfortable, and I returned home in 5 days. Later when the steroid drugs were removed the pain returned and was horrific. I saw everyone, neuro's, physical therepists, oral surgeons, chiropractors, took alot of drugs, became severly depressed saw no hope insight because no one knew why I was in such a state. It is also very difficult to watch those who love you stand beside you feeling so helpless. After many months and finally the right drug I returned to my job as a counselor, dealing with persons in crisis and found my experience helped me help others. CH is never in the media like migrane so chances are you will never know someone personally with CH let alone a brain tumor. Glad to know yours is getting smaller. There is in fact a whole website dedicated to brain tumors like CH you can post messages, get answers about the latest in medical science, and overwhelming emotional support. Wishing you a pain free day with many more ahead.