I've had two surgeries to remove my pituitary tumor or adenoma. I had it again two years ago exactly this week! They did transphenoidal surgery - going through my nose - so no shaved head. I woke up with a horrible headache which they keep medicated right after surgery. Once you stabilize you go to your room. My pain was well controlled. I went home on the second day following surgery; however, the first time they did the surgery, I was hospitalized for a week. The first time they did the surgery, I had a balloon inside my head holding something in place to be sure there was no bleeding - but this has changed in the last ten years. They did take a bit of fat from my belly to rebuild the area where they went through for the surgery. That hurt more than anything else! I just resumed all my usual activities - I was out working in the garden within a couple days. It is an easy recovery. I felt a little spacy for a few days - but it wasn't so bad I couldn't do all the things I usually do. The following month I had back surgery and the month after that, I had a hip replacement - it was a busy year. I suppose it was more frightening the first time - they have really streamlined the surgery now. It made a huge improvement in my life. I was not doing well in life prior to the surgery - mostly because of thyroid, adrenal, and Human Growth Hormone insufficiencies. There is a very good book out that talks about the psychological aspects of these adenomas - called "The Hormone Factor in Mental Health: Bridging The Mind-Body Gap," edited by Linda M. Rio. I highly recommend this book. I had no idea all the ways these pituitary adenomas affect the way we are. The surgeon told me they got more of the tumor on the second try. They do not think it will grow back, and I get an MRI with and without contrast every other year. I live alone with some parrots and I did not require any help from anyone after surgery. I took excellent care of my birds and myself and nobody helped me.