Laby Recovery

This might be out in left field but ... When i had a different surgery that severed my balance nerve, i was nauseated non stop until they stopped the morphine in my iv. After that, i had balance problems of course but never again the 24/7 severe nausea. The nurse dismissed it even when other professionals in the hospital questioned my state and told me it was typical for this kind of surgery which of course balance issues are, but that constant ongoing nausea was not. Getting rid of the morphine cured it. Could it be any drug you are taking?

 

How did you respond to the previous gents? Did he tell you he was going to put a" gent "pad" in the area before he closed the ear up "just for good measure"?

I didn't respond well to the gents, they made me feel worse.

I hope you feel better soon.

June, could be right as well, morphine residue affects?

 

I had one gent shot before my laby. My recovery went very well. I had no dizzy spells and fullness was gone. Swelling took a couple of weeks to go down. I did not take any pain medication. I think June asked a real good question...are you on medication?

 

I should add that I walked a lot during my recovery even though my balance was off. I felt like I had just gotten off a boat but I continued to walk at least 3 times a day and more.

 

I had the laby 10 days ago. I had 2 gent shots previously. They knocked me for a loop. After surgery I was dizzy but it went away around the 2nd day. Felt bad for about the first week and is getting better everyday. I still had the fullness for at least a week. It is easing up each day. I have not had any other spinning since. Balance isn't too bad. Still have that feeling when you turn or tilt your head but that is getting better als0.

 

Oh yes, walk walk walk even if you are throwing up, even if you have to use a walker or a cane.
When i got rid of the morphine the constant nausea went away but i still had to relearn balanc. I still had the horizon bouncing around when i rode in a car. That all is cured by time, the more you do the faster it returns. You will be fatigued from it.

 

acujen,

I never really experienced dizziness immediately after my labyrinthectomy, just occilopsia, so I'm not sure if I can be much help here. I'm sure we all respond differently to this procedure and I don't think what you're experiencing is anything outside the range of normal. Certainly, when I left the hospital, they loaded my up with all kinds of meds to combat dizziness and nausea, etc. in expectation of having these symptoms. I just never did, and never needed them. Maybe I was one of the lucky few.

I'm a little curious though why they applied gent post-laby surgery. From my understanding of how gentamicin works, I'm not sure what the reasoning was. Your labyrinth should be fully drilled out, unless they did a partial labyrinthectomy (?) Don't know about this.

Regarding the fullness, yes I definitely experienced that. It eased after about a month.

 

Well...."normal" took a while - maybe 3 months, but it's hard to define what normal is. I was back at work day 10, and driving day 14. I would say at 1 month I felt like I could do most anything I could do prior to the surgery. Still felt it, for sure, but it didn't preclude me doing most anything I wanted.

Complete recovery is a long process. I think sometimes that 20 months out, I'm still in the process of recovery. By this I mean I still find things from time to time that remind me that my balance is not what what it was prior to the laby. But don't take this in the wrong way - I haven't experience vertigo since my surgery, and Meniere's is behind me. It will be for you to. Be patient and you'll get there. I'm sure that no two people go through this the same way.

In regards to your other question - yes, I had 4 gentamicin injections. I'm sure this helped ease my recovery. Gent didn't do a lot for me, but I'm sure it dialed by vestibular function back some. Just not enough.

 

I second what Michel said. Mine was a different kind of destructive surgery but i think the recovery is similar. After 3 months i was working full time, handling everything and my surgeon told me i could go back to the gym. At six months, i was much better and thought i had fully recovered but at nine months i knew it was even more solid. And so on. In time my balance became better than it had been before the surgery. Eventually i rode a bike with no hands and could turn around in the shower with my eyes closed. It is very gradual and a lot has to do with how much you challnge yourself. Always do it in a safe place, stay away from ladders etc but keep doing what you cant do so you will be able to do it.

 

I went to Dr. for my 2 week visit post surgery. Everything looks good and he is going to release me to go to work. That is good because I think that will help my recovery making me do things. The only thing I am worried about is he is putting no restrictions. I still have some blurred vision and still wobble a bit. I know I can't do all of my job duties and with no restrictions they will try to make me do them now. Now I will just wait for the axe!

 

Can you call the dr and tell him you still have blurred vision and wobbliness and certain aspects of your job (name them ) would be dangerous at this time and ask if he will write you a note with some restrictions til you get past that?

 

Week four after Laby. Still some vision and balance issues but making progress everyday. Went back to work and made it through the first week. I have driven but not comfortable doing so in lots of traffic. No spinning is the big thing. Thank goodness!