I have decided to get a laby after talking with my parents and having a phone consultation with Dr. Steven Rauch at MEEI. My shunt failed last week as i had bad attack and decided i just want this nightmare to be over. We flew out to see Dr. Rauch this week from Wisconsin and he will be performing my surgery on April 25th. My last attack knocked out all my hearing in my ear and so the decision was an easy one. My current OTO referred us to Dr. Rauch and i was very impressed with his professionalism and his judgement. I just want a normal life. I want to thank everybody for this forum. Trisha
Trish I wish you the best of everything! Good luck and my prayers are with you for a complete successful surgery and speedy recovery. Please keep us posted after your surgery. HUGS!!!
Best of luck Trisha. And congrats on your decision. It's true, a laby is not the best solution for everyone. But when it's time, it's time, and know one knows this better than you. I'm a little over two years out from my laby. Next week, I leave for a month-long business trip through Greece, Italy, and Germany. The thought of doing something like that pre-laby would have scared me to death. Now, it's all so simple. Nothing like getting your life back!
Trisha, good luck. I am excited for you to get this thing done and know that the attacks will be forever behind you! From what I have read from people who have had the surgery, after it is done - walk, walk and walk some more. The more you walk and move your eyes around it is supposed to speed your recovery. I have no doubt that you will soon be joining the members here who are back to doing whatever they want again! Again, good luck!
Trisha, You will do great, I passed along my phone number to your pm. If you need anything don't hesitate to reach out. I predict by June you will have left this forum forever as life will be normal and you will be busy doing all the things you want to do without the worry, stress and anxiety of when my next attack will come. Walk walk and walk some more and when you don't think you can do it anymore--- walk some more. Be good to yourself and take a nap if needed during the day.
OMG, Trisha I am so excited for you. Dr. Rauch is my OTO and did my laby 2.5 years ago. He is one of the top OTO's in the U.S. You are in the best of hands. I will never, ever regret my decision to have the laby. And you know what, neither will you! You will get your life back and you most likely will leave this forum. But please keep us up to date on your progress. I am not by any means a "laby preacher" but when someone comes to this decision I know for a fact they have been through hell and have decided that enough is enough. I wish you the very best. And like Bulldogs says, walk, walk, walk and when you think you can't take that extra step then walk some more. Walk on different terrain. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you have regarding Dr. Rauch, MEEI, and recovery. I only spent one night, walked out on my own and never looked back! Can you tell how excited I am for you?
Good luck Trisha, you will do great and will look back and be so glad you did it. I had a Laby just 7 months ago and thank the good Lord everyday. If you have already lost your hearing on that side then you are already adjusting to half the battle. Keep moving....walk, walk and walk. You will have a life after the SURGERY.
Trisha, I'm glad you have confidence in this Dr. And treatment. I know this wasn't an easy decision. BD had it done. He would be a great contact for information before and during recovery. I'm here for moral support. Best wishes, my friend.
You must be very nervous for the surgery to come. I know I am before every procedure I've gone through. Just remember... Deep Breathes and Baby Steps!
Thank you everybody for the kind words and encouragement. I really liked Dr. Rauch because he told me he does the laby in a way that will take care of all my problems and still allow me to get a cochlear implant in my laby ear if I ever needed one in the future. I also was worried about going bilateral and he assured me that he will cross that bridge if and when it ever happens but he treats many patients that have zero balance in their ears and they all live fairly productive and normal lives. He told me the brain will adjust and in 3-4 weeks I should be back to my old self and will notice the fatigue I experience from mm will be gone. I will keep everybody updated when I return from the surgery. Redwing, he said 1 night in the hospital and I will be discharged the next day. Thank you everybody Trisha
I remember when BD got the Labyrinth. Recovery was hard at first but I remember him saying that he walked a little bit more every day, even when he didn't want to, and that made a big difference in his recovery. Remember that. If you read his posts, you will see that he lives a very normal and very active life now. This is where you are and you will get there, too.
I am sure you will only need one overnight. Dr. Rauch told me "you will never have to fear of living a life of silence." If I do go bilateral I know I will be in good hands.
Im glad you are having this done. I have a 98% normal life and do anything I want, water slides , go carts , golf , fair rides , most anything. I pray that you have the same results as me. You will have a adjusting period that will take a few weeks so I suggest that you push yourself to do any activity possible from the first week after surgery. I walked out of the hospital and started playing golf tourneys 4 weeks later. Just keep active. It has been 4 years sense my surgery and I hardly notice that I am deaf in my left ear. Good Luck.
So glad to hear the good news, you'll do great, I had my VNS 15 years ago and have never regretted it! Good luck!