Recovery!

This is the short-hand account of my recovery the first few days after surgery. A lot of it was written in "real time" using Word while I was in the hotel twiddling my thumbs. All-in-all, the recovery was nothing. At this very moment, I am two months post-op and 100% pain free from the surgery. My hair is growing back where the incision on my scalp was made and my nose would never know the difference. I would like to warn anyone having the neck surgery that your entire scalp will feel "funny." There is a numbness/tingling/tenderness that has, for me, gone away in patches. First my entire left side came back, followed by the area around my right ear, and the crown of my head to the back of my neck on the right side is still affected. I asked about this at my post-op appointment and was told that it may take longer to come back, depending on the branches that were operated on. It may even be permanent. Knowing that my surgery involved the branches of a major cranial nerve, I could have expected this to be an outcome, but I will say that no one informed me of this pre-op, and I would have been more comfortable afterwards had I known it was normal. However, given the choice between the numbness and migraine pain--no contest. 

Recovery

My Mom was called back by the nurses.

Worst pain was sore throat from breathing tube. Tried gingerale but was too harsh so they gave me ice chips which were very soothing. Surprisingly, I could breathe through my nose (which was very swollen). Pain in order was throat, back of neck, then nose.

Very nice nurse showed us how to change drain for site 4 (very easy.. not as bad as we thought). And how to change drip gauze for nose.

Nurse helped me get dressed

Walked to car.

Took vicodin at hotel and laid down t 45 angle. Very difficult to get comfortable. Rested for several hours but did not sleep. Back of head anesthesia did not wear off and head felt very heavy and thick. I thought I had a dressing on it until I mentioned it to my mom and she said I did not. Felt strange to touch my head/hair. Advised not to wash until drains out. Changed drain tubes every hour for first 4 hours.. very easy.. did make strange suction noise that was off putting in the back of my neck. Could feel MINIMAL pressure when suction was starting for new tube. After first 4 hours, the tube needed to be changed only every 4 hours.

Minimal nausea probably due to not eating all day. Got delicious crab busque from hotel restaurant. Drank powerade. Did have to have my mom run to the store for throat losengers and hot tea.. both of which were soothing.  On  a scale of 1-10 thoat was 9, neck 8, nose 3.  Took sonata before bed and was able to sleep. TIP: roll towel and place around head so drain site does not make contact/pressure with pillow.  Dry mouth.. hard to sleep.. kept water by bed. Used straws.

Day 2:

8am appt. Drains out Friday (5 days). Only need to change drain every 4 hours but not over night. Nose gauze can be discontinued/used as needed. I was up and moving around more. Sore throat minimal. Bathed in sink with wash cloth. Suppressed appetite. Took pain pills in the morning but did not need for rest of day. Worst pain was nose. Throat: 0-1, Neck 3, Nose 5. Main complaint of nose is burning (like throw up through nose).  Nose is swollen but reduced from yesterday. Found that laying elevated but on my side was most comfortable but pressure was felt behind nose when I laid on my side. Was able to eat soup for lunch and salad for dinner.  Still felt necessary to use straws and drink a lot of water.  Took vicodin but no sleeping pill before bed. Easier to sleep than night one. Woke up every 2 hours so got up at 4am to take sleeping pill and was able to sleep in until 9:30.

Day 3:

Woke up feeling fantastic. Took a bath and washed hair using a glass of water to avoid wetting drain. felt good enough to eat at hotel restaurant. No need for nose gauze today. Feels strange to turn head. Pain levels all at 0. Energy levels not 100%

Drains came out 5 days after surgery. The resident doctor removed the stitches and then pulled the tubes from my nose. Was uncomfortable pulling out but not painful by any means. Did not hurt once the drains were out either. One side did bring a bunch of bloody snot with it which was gross but the doctor said “don’t worry that I am used to” after those were out he took out the drain from the back of my head. Literally felt nothing.

Day after the drains came out my nose was still swollen for two days. The back of my head was tender. It was still numb from my crown down to my neck and from my ears back. I asked about the numbness and dr said it was bc the nerve was really sensitive. No clue how long it will las but at day 6 post op it is still numb. It makes it hard to wash/brush hair etc. uncomfortable to sit on couch with head resting. More comfortable to just sit straight up. No heavy lifting bc of neck.

One month after surgery: I had journaled 12 migraines during the first month. All of which were on the left side of my head, exclusively. Like before the surgery, I could cut a down the sagittal plane of my  head and everything on the left side would be throbbing, while the right side could run a marathon. I had noted that the numbness on my left side subsided completely just about two weeks after the surgery (the other patches came back just before the two month mark). Dr. Guyuron and the resident physician decided to give me a steriod and numbing injection in the left side of the back of my neck (in the same spot that I had been receiving botox). The objective was to see how this affected my migraine pattern over one month. If the injection stopped/diminished the number of headaches, they may conclude that some branches were missed during the surgery and I may benefit from another surgery. --Because the first time around, the operation was so simple and painless, I am not bothered by this at all-- I made another post op appointment for one month later, and in the meantime, journaled my headaches--as usual.

Two months after surgery: This appointment was less than 5 minutes long. My new journal showed 5 migraines, none of which were on the left side. I had wonderful results from the shot. The migraines seemed to stem from my forehead, right between my eyebrows. Dr. Guyuron decided that, at this point, it is best to keep watching and see how the shot is working. My take on this is that the initial migraines may have been due to recovery and I will continue to recover and have less headaches as time passes OR the injection will tide me over for a few more months and I will be faced with the choice of more injections or more surgery... In which case, I will choose more surgery in hopes of becoming permanently migraine free! Even after my fabulous results with botox, I would prefer not to have to mess with it every three months (driving to see a specialist out of town, missing school/work, having to schedule a whole day off for a 10 minute doctor's appointment). 

Pictures! WARNING: They're Graphic!! (But hopefully, helpful!)

This is me (looking glamorous) the day after surgery. The whole deal: nose dressing, drain tube, and a giant piece of chocolate cake.

This is the tube that collected the "drainage" from the back of my head. This is approximately the amount that was collected for the first two days at each changing time. The actual test tube has a rubber top and the white part connected to the rubber tubing had a needle attached. Easy as pie: pull the test tube off and stick another one on! Warning: You can feel an unpleasant gurgling pressure when you do this as well as hear a very unpleasant sound. 

The shaved area and the tube coming out. Gross looking but painless! It stayed there for five days.

And.. this is me at the beach two weeks after surgery!