New to the forum with labyrinthectomy questions

Saera... there is a great little thread on this forum about labys and many of your your questions have been asked and answered...I will bump it to the first page for u

BD

 

I had my laby at 10:30 am on a Thursday...I woke up in my room around 1;00 or so and they came in to see me at 2;00 for a post op check up. At 4;00 I was up to walking around wanting to go home.

They kept me overnight for observation and I walk out the next day and went home at noon after the doctor came in and told me he hopes he never sees me again. That was in November 2011

Good Luck

 

Saera, I didn't have any room-spinning vertigo post-surgery, but there was some dizziness and nausea with movement in the first day or two afterward. Then things rapidly got better. What was a pleasant surprise was the nearly immediate sense of relief from anxiety -- I had no idea how that had been draining my life away. My surgeon planned to keep me in hospital 3-4 days, which was perfect for getting stabilized. The nurses were able to monitor and give medications during those first couple days so there was very little discomfort, sleeping much of the time on Days 1 and 2 (I had a BAHA hearing implant done at the same time, so probably needed more recovery than from just a labyrinthectomy).

Ask your doctor about hospitalization and what the criteria will be to find you ready for discharge. Plan to get help at home for a week to 10 days. You will be fatigued as your brain works overtime to make sense of the changed world. Have your bathroom ready with a tub seat so you can shower sitting down. When you close your eyes your brain won't know how to keep you upright, so the shower seat is an important safety tool. Have a walker to use for the first week or so, and a hiking stick afterward to give you a sense of touch while your brain learns to re-balance. Ask about starting vestibular rehab exercises prior to surgery to strengthen your adaptability.

Avoid letting the fear of post-surgery discomfort factor into your decision. You will have the immense hopefulness for getting your life back, and you will see progress every day, every week. It's not at all like the discomfort of having multiple vertigo attacks a week, when you are hopelessly immobilized and feeling like you will get through just to be knocked down again. When you are at the point of feeling you have no life, you are ready for the laby, and it will be a great thing.

 

Saera,

Good luck with your decision. Please keep us updated on how your decision and potential surgery progresses. There are many of us here who are always on the fence about the labby... so it would be awesome if you could keep us in the loop.

Wishing you and your kids all the best!

Mac

 

One other thing you may want to be aware of is, you will find you can no longer locate where sound comes from after your laby. Even though you have poor word recognition now, you can probably tell which way to turn your head when someone says your name. With complete one-sided deafness, there may be some awkward moments trying to figure out who is calling you. It may be more difficult to follow conversations with the good ear if there is any background noise or multiple people speaking in a gathering. This would not at all change my decision to have a laby, but it has taken some adjustment in choosing social activities. FYI, a cochlear implant, which is possible after a laby, can restore the sound location ability.

 

Claire, can you please explain the implant you had along with the laby?

 

I am so interested in this thread. Had this crud for 19 years. After the first year or two, things got a little better with water pill and extreme sodium diet, etc. But since Jan., it has gotten worse again and I, too, am really struggling to just get by. My ENT is talking about sending me to a neurotologist at the University hospital in the San Francisco area. It really scares me to think about surgery and the struggles afterward, and how much time I might need to be off work. But, it also excites me to think I might get my life back.

 

Sorry, but can you tell me how I find that first page??

 

You can find the first page of said thread by clicking here.

 

I have complete one-sided deafness from another operation twenty years ago. All Clare says is true about it. I would love to be able to echo locate again and it does take an adjustment period. Still, when people ask me i tell them it is no big deal and that is how i have always felt about it. I am not eligible for a cochlear implant because of the nature of my surgery. I would ask your surgeon whether you will be or not. Still, my life is 100% normal imo. Just keep walking after surgery to regain your balance and be careful in parking lots til you get used to things.

 

Saera,
I'm in the same boat as you. Vertigo since 2014, shunt surgery last year and still have short bursts of vertigo and a drop attack 6 months ago. My left ear hearing is worthless so I got a crossover hearing aid that feed sounds from my left side to my right ear. This has helped in hearing, just don't know the direction of sound but I can live with it.
My laby is scheduled for August and I asked the same question to my doctor about recovery issues, he said it depends on how much of my bad side is doing balance function, once he reviews my VNG results, then he will know more. My next visit is in three weeks.
Best of luck to you.
Kevin