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My experience after craniotomy to remove a meningioma
I had craniotomy for my 4 cm meningioma on the 2nd of July. I get my staples out in 4 more days at my post op appointment. For the most part I feel pretty good. I have some sight issues that should improve as the swelling goes down. I woke up being able to write but not read. I have problems with compound words and consonant blends. Certain sight words I can not figure out or sound out. It’s a lot of work to read but it is slowly getting better.
I’m not in much pain other than where they stapled the bandage on and stapled the scalp together. My surgery was my left occipital lobe for the most part. They couldn’t get the first drain to seal so had to go back in and put a new drain in. It didn’t seal right away either. Every time they came in and emptied the drain I could hear the air in the area move but felt immediately a release of pressure.
I’m not sue they were able to get it all. I read something on my post surgery ct that mentioned a 5 mm image. Hopefully we got it all. I should find out in a few days. My doctor did his best and I’m so grateful for him and his surgery staff. The mri said the sinuses were occluded and when he got in there and cut into them they weren’t. Also the meningioma had grown into the skull and they had to grind it out in places. He said it was a pretty hard surgery. Thank God for good neurosurgeons.
I’m feeling pretty lucky that I tripped walking my dog at 61 and found it.
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@panda2ac Last November I was walking my dog and tripped and fell. I had to go get stitches to close a cut on my eyebrow. When I did that they wanted me to get a CT scan to make sure I didn't have a brain bleed. When I did that they could see a mass and said it needed to be checked out on an MRI. I had just changed insurance so I wasn't yet established with any doctor. That was going to take 4-6 months so I went online, got the form for Radiology Assist and ordered the MRI through them . A week later I had the results with the size and general diagnosis so when I did finally get in to a doctor she sent me straight to the neurosurgeon. Then he sent me back for even more MRI's to see if the sinus was occluded to know more what the surgery would look like.
Even though the original MRI was $300 out of pocket, I'm glad I was proactive because it cut quite a bit of time out of my original beginning of treatment.
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1 Reaction@panda2ac I was experiencing migraine headaches, dizziness, and sinus pressure in the summer and fall of 2025. My ENT ordered the MRI and the meningioma was discovered incidentally. The unrelated symptoms were attributed to TMJ, changes in atmospheric pressure, caffeine, insomnia, and overdoing some weightlifting exercises. I saw a TMJ specialist, stopped drinking coffee and tea, only use unscented products, and reduced the weights I was lifting. It took a lot of time and work, but I’m feeling so much better. I’m not looking forward to dealing with the meningioma but happy it was found before symptoms developed.
@kdog1957 This sounds encouraging! I work with a trainer three times a week and read that I should reduce that to avoid raising blood pressure in my brain. I have trips scheduled for May and September of 2027 that I don’t want to miss.
@vernicek I only have to reduce activities that might raise my BP during the treatments.
@vernicek
IMO keep up the exercise routine up to and during the treatments if your doctor recommends it and you feel up to it. In addition to biking I also ran on a track twice a week (can’t do that anymore, Achilles tendon problems). Different people tolerate radiation treatment differently. Some are really knocked down by it, others totally unaffected. If you keep strong and power through, you’ll probably be among the latter.
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1 Reaction@kdog1957. Tha k you for sharing your experience. Did you have a craniotomy then radiation? How did they determine you needed radiation after craniotomy?
@kdog1957 I’ve been working out three times a week and walking/hiking 5-8 miles on the other days for ten years. I’m good at powering through things and don’t want to lose strength during six weeks of radiation. Your experience is encouraging! Thank you!
@ladytri
I had radiation six months after the craniotomy. I remember the neurosurgeon mentioning the possibility of radiation treatments pre surgery. Maybe they say that to everyone. Once the tumor is removed a sample will go to a pathology lab where it will be analyzed and given a WHO grade from 1 to 3. Grade 1 (most common) is considered benign and may or may not be recommended for radiation. Grade 2 (what I had) is benign but more aggressive than grade 1 and radiation is usually recommended. Grade 3 (very rare) is considered malignant and radiation is always recommended, and maybe chemotherapy is added. Periodic follow up MRIs may be needed to monitor the tumor. I get to have one once a year probably forever. Yay.
@vernicek
I hope you’ll be able to maintain that through the treatments. When do they start? I had the good fortune of having the treatment facility less than 3 miles from home with bike lanes/trails the whole way.
@kdog1957 My goal is to reduce exercise according to my radiologists recommendation but keep my exercise schedule. I live 20 minutes from the UCD Medical Center and thought about being dropped off a few miles from there depending on my treatment reactions.