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the after life of temporal lobe sururgery
Sun, 01/08/2006 - 15:31Topic: Surgery and Devices
I had my right temporal removed in Sept of 1994
I actually was aginniy pig for ateaching hospital in Gainesville,fl.I dont know about the rest of you, but my first two years after surgery where HELL! I was amentel case,I had to betaught how to be social around people again and how not to let people make me like something that Im not.A friend taught me to drive again,I was like achlid learnig how to take steps all over again.Its been 11 years and I stll take more medicanes now than I did when I had surgery.
I take Topamax,Lexapro,and Ativn.I have both short and long term memory loss,alearning dis.,simple-partial seizures,anxiety dis./
mood-swings.But as time as gone by,my learning has improved alot.Can anyone relate?terrij
Comments
Re: Re: Re: Re: the after life of temporal lobe sururgery
Submitted by pinkangel_82 on Sat, 2006-01-14 - 14:00
Hello Edy
Thank you very much for all the advice. It will help me a lot. My WADA test will be on 21st March so there is still a couple of months for me to wait yet. They are doing it to find out precisely which side of my brain my memory stores all the information. It takes about an hour in all I have been told. During the WADA test I will also be asked a series of questions and pictures to try and remember when asked again a few minutes later. A lot on here has been said about mapping before surgery, but I have no knowledge of that yet.
I promise I will try and keep positive about having the operation done. Sometimes that saves half the battle. Once again I would like to show you my appreciation for your very kind comment and I will keep you up-to-date on my progress.
I hope that your health will improve very soon too. Take care!
Bye for now
Teri
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: the after life of temporal lobe sururgery
Submitted by Phoebe on Sat, 2006-01-14 - 15:57
I had a Right Anterior Temporal Lobectomy with Amygdalo-hippocampectomy 7 yrs ago, and it was the best decision I ever made. I had had epilepsy more than 35 yrs and tried many meds. My memory was failing before surgery and is much better now. I do not take the high doses of meds I did before surgery and take only one med. Having seizures so long caused it to kindle to the other side. I have another focus now on the left, but the med takes care of that one. I did have a PET and WADA. The WADA determined that my speech and Memory were on the left, so I could be asleep during the surgery. When those centers are on the same side as the focus, mapping is usually done, and the patient is awake during surgery to make sure to stay away from those areas. It should not automatically exclude you if the team is experienced.I did research on my team and asked how many successful cases my Neurosurgon had logged and also learned his training etc. Not all are the same by any means, so do your homework. I would do if again if it were needed. I also talked to another former patient who had the same surgery at the same place. Do these things to allay your anxiety and to give yourself the best chance possible for a good outcome. I have not lost consciousness since surgery. I am in school again. I did have that adjustment mentioned above to make and am still making it in that I am continuing to discover potential and abilities I had not developed before. I also joined a group so that I can learn social skills that suit my needs now. It has been a very exciting journey. ope this helps,. but do your homework. I almost forgot. If your are right handed, there is a good chance that your Memory and Speech Centers are on the left. Not a given but a good chance. Phoebe
Re: Re: Re: the after life of temporal lobe sururgery
Submitted by edy_telephone on Fri, 2006-01-13 - 20:51
Hi Teri, don't give up and don't be afraid for the operation. Remember your brain is different from mine and mine is different from everybody else. I overwent an awake craniotomy (temporal lobe resection). Before the operation, I overwent the following tests: EEG monitoring, MRI (including reading and talking during this test. It took about more than an hour to finish it), PET, and invasive monitoring or intracranial EEG. I didn't do the Wade Test but I know that it is done to determine which hemisphere is dominant, or most responsible, for critical functions such as speech and memory. I guess that it depends of what kind of operation that one is going through and the exact place. I also overwent the brain mapping during surgery. I was awake, the doctor used special probes to stimulate different areas of the brain. At the same time, I was asked to count, identify pictures, etc. The surgeon could then identify the area of the brain associated with each task. Again, don't give up, have strength and think positive. Remember that your brain is yours only :) and it is different from others and the operation may very well work for you. Good-luck and when you can, let me know about the operation. If you need some support, I will be glad to be with you. Edy