Craniotomy is 2/21/2025. Could use some encouraging words.

So at the moment you are not having any other issues? Well I guess something or some other issue is how it was discovered? It will grow until it causes issues, likely seizures headaches and such. I had a 6cm meningioma removed almost 2 years ago. It was on the right side of my head over my ear. I had no idea it was there until I had stroke symptoms with left side of my face going numb and sliding down. I did notice I wasn’t able to breath out of my right nostril but didn’t put it together that it was a tumor pushing my brain off center line and it was effecting my sinus. Then a couple months before the stroke like stuff, my wife told me she thought I was having a seizure while I slept one night. I was 52 at the time and not in the best shape I should be. Anyway, I wouldn’t put it off until it starts causing you those issues if you don’t have to. The craniotomy is a breeze, recovered wasn’t bad. I was out of the hospital in about 48 hours and headed home, took a couple weeks to really feel normal and back to work in about 2 months. I did have some numbness in my left hand and slight speech issues for a bit. I don’t know if it is the same for everyone but for me I had a white noise in my head for about 2 weeks after but it too went away. Sleeping in a recliner was the hard part for me. Don’t lay flat or you will have swelling issues. That takes a bit longer like maybe 2 or 3 months. And the other comment about the steroids,,,, yes indeed amen, they are horrible. I hated myself in a short amount of time after taking them that I had to get off them faster than my Dr wanted. They can make you mean and grouchy so I just couldn’t do it for long. Please let me know if you or any of you had that same issue with the what I call white noise afterwards. It the strangest thing. Well other than the initial wake up after surgery. The sounds when people talked, they sounded robotic and their lips would move and then a couple seconds later the voice would catch up. It sounded and felt like I had a cone over my right ear but they had to cut my jaw muscle to cut away the section of my skull so my jaw was sore for a while.

I had craniotomy about a year ago. No post op pain. I needed 40 staples removed and that did not tickle.

all done and healing
thanks for thoughts and prayers!

Where was yours located? Was the surgery complicated in other words….. was it difficult to get to the area where the meningioma was located?

@terrydalecasino
I had an ASTROCYTOMA GRADE I brain 🧠 tumor when I was just (11) years old. I am (66) years old now.
My tumor was located in the pituitary temporal, parietal, occipital area.
According to my medical records it was the size of a large size lemon.
I also had a PNEUMOENCEPHLOGRAM, VENTRICULARGRAM, and ANGIOGRAM. I was only a child back then and the tumor was benign.
However, I still have TANTALUM CLIPS #73 on the periodic table in my brain 🧠 holding major blood vessels together. They have been in my brain 🧠 now for (55) years. I had seizures most of my life 🧬 and still take the seizure medication to raise the seizure threshold. My last seizure was in (2013) and have been seizure free ever since.
They didn't have chemo or radiation back in (1970) so I didn't receive any of that. GOD BLESSED ME!
WHICH is why I lived my life 🧬 off of H. O. P. E. that is an acronym for Helping Other People Everywhere!
I made that up because GOD gave me a second chance at life 🧬 so I also changed the lives of many students when I went to college and worked as a teacher's assistant/tutor.
Even at (66) years old, I still help people in whatever capacity I can.
I hope these words are encouraging for you and it helps you get through your illness and condition.
GOOD LUCK 🤞🤞🍀🍀
and my GOD BLESS you and your family and friends and colleagues and watch over you and protect you and help guide you also.

@mlew, so good to hear from you and to hear that surgery went well and you are healing.

When you're able, please share how recovery is going. Also, now that you are in recovery mode, what words of encouragement would you give someone new who is about to have surgery? What do you wish you had known?

terrydalecasino: Your post was my feel good story of the day. Thanks for sharing.

How did surgery go?

I’m wondering how deep into the brain tissue was your meningioma? I was told 5 yrs ago that mine was too difficult to get to w surgery but now it has grown larger. Does that make it any easier to reach now for removing it?
I’m in Texas. How do I research to find a great surgeon? Not sure where to begin. Could use suggestions please.

M.D. Anderson clinic in Texas is renowned as one of the best cancer clinics in the U.S. Given that, it would seem they have excellent neurosurgeons who operate on both cancerous tumors, and meningiomas, which are benign tumors.( 97% of the time) I had a meningioma in the sphenoid wing of my brain and 2 doctors said that nobody would ever operate in that area of the brain as it was too dangerous. Then I saw a neurosurgeon at UCSF who said, "No problem, I do one or two a week in that location." I had the surgery a little over a year ago. I feel fine. The hysterectomy I had over 20 years ago was far worse than the craniotomy. Unfortunately, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Sometimes as the meningioma grows bigger it will wrap around arteries and/or other structures which makes its removal more difficult. Were you having symptoms 5 years ago? If you were, it seems radiation would have been offered to stop the growth. Perhaps you have been on the watch-and-wait protocol, leaving things alone and waiting to see if will grow. But now that you know it is growing you need to get a referral to meet with a neurosurgeon.