right frontal lobe surgery-may have it very soon!

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This ? has been asked before, but I'll try again. not much response to the last person who asked. i guess not many people have frontal lobe surgery. my 25yo daughter may be a good candidate for it. i want to know more about the effects of this surgery on others. she had a brain tumor as a baby and had radiation treatment and surgery at that time. she is cognitively impaired due to above, as well as the epilepsy and high dose meds. we're so worried. it's such a gamble-will her functioning improve or get worse? there will not be a definitive answer to this dilemma, i know. other people's experiences would be helpful. thanks

Comments

Re: i just had surgury right

Submitted by MEDS-TOGO on Fri, 2008-06-27 - 16:00

Cmurra,

Sorry about the driving problem. I know all about that, getting the aura and looking for a safe place to pull over. I got tired of that. The dread of that whole experience is too draining emotionally so even though I have a nice car, I take the darn bus now. I used to drive long trips and had been driving until about 2 years ago. My last long trip from Sacramento to Phoenix was in 2004.

I have been getting seizures for 10 years now and had VNS put in 2001. Taking many meds am I seem to be ok but as soon as I get in a car I get motion sickness or something akin to it.

So you are considering the surgery or are you intellectually stuck where you are now? I also have a professional job and what scares me as much as the negative outcomes possible from the surgery is the statement from my latest neurologist that my seizures will only get worse with age. He is not pushing me on the surgery, in fact he believes that I'm less risk-averse about it than he is. I guess that is good then. I need to decide soon though before I loose the courage to go on with it.

Meds-togo-Mike

Cmurra,

Sorry about the driving problem. I know all about that, getting the aura and looking for a safe place to pull over. I got tired of that. The dread of that whole experience is too draining emotionally so even though I have a nice car, I take the darn bus now. I used to drive long trips and had been driving until about 2 years ago. My last long trip from Sacramento to Phoenix was in 2004.

I have been getting seizures for 10 years now and had VNS put in 2001. Taking many meds am I seem to be ok but as soon as I get in a car I get motion sickness or something akin to it.

So you are considering the surgery or are you intellectually stuck where you are now? I also have a professional job and what scares me as much as the negative outcomes possible from the surgery is the statement from my latest neurologist that my seizures will only get worse with age. He is not pushing me on the surgery, in fact he believes that I'm less risk-averse about it than he is. I guess that is good then. I need to decide soon though before I loose the courage to go on with it.

Meds-togo-Mike

Re:Hello Meds-to-go-Mike

Submitted by cmurray936 on Sat, 2008-06-28 - 01:40

I often feel as though I am a walking pharmacy myself and dare not to complain or face the doctors assigning more to the growing number that I must try to remember to take each day exactly 12 hours apart without fail. The prospect of resection and all the possible/probable side effects is a very scary thing. In addition, I am not certain what size lesion is considered small, medium, and large? I have a 6.9mm lesion on the right frontal lobe and I was told by my Kaiser Neurologist that is very small and not worth resection. However, I emailed a Neurosurgeon at Stanford and was told that 6.9mm is not too small for resection using the Cyberknife. Since my automobile accident which involved a high speed spin out collision in the rear and then head on as the driver that hit me tried to escape, which put my car into a spin in the opposite direction until it leeped across all three traffic lanes and took out 60 feet of fence before coming to a stop. I have just recently learned through another CT scan that I have also sustained Mandular damage causing two molars to fall out, which have been repaired. My jaw pops out of place and is very painful. I will be seeing a specialist on July 11, but have been told the fix may be worse than living with the pain. At present I take Motrin 800mg during the day and a narcotic at night for sleep. This is not the way I prefer to live my life. I have two daughters left at home to raise and a company with customers that depend on me. This should be a better time in my life. I disappoint my husband by not fighting harder, but this daily battle is very hard to maintain. If surgery would repair my loss to any realistic degree it would be worth it. My fear is that I would lose more of myself than I would gain. What is your experience? This is not a decision to take lightly as it is life altering, as is not making the same decision. Well, I am glad that I have found this site and that people are starting to talk about this topic. I am not alone, and I seem to be in good company. That is a very comforting thought. Good night Mike and all.

I often feel as though I am a walking pharmacy myself and dare not to complain or face the doctors assigning more to the growing number that I must try to remember to take each day exactly 12 hours apart without fail.  The prospect of resection and all the possible/probable side effects is a very scary thing.  In addition, I am not certain what size lesion is considered small, medium, and large?  I have a 6.9mm lesion on the right frontal lobe and I was told by my Kaiser Neurologist that is very small and not worth resection.  However, I emailed a Neurosurgeon at Stanford and was told that 6.9mm is not too small for resection using the Cyberknife.  Since my automobile accident which involved a high speed spin out collision in the rear and then head on as the driver that hit me tried to escape, which put my car into a spin in the opposite direction until it leeped across all three traffic lanes and took out 60 feet of fence before coming to a stop.  I have just recently learned through another CT scan that I have also sustained Mandular damage causing two molars to fall out, which have been repaired.  My jaw pops out of place and is very painful.  I will be seeing a specialist on July 11, but have been told the fix may be worse than living with the pain.  At present I take Motrin 800mg during the day and a narcotic at night for sleep.  This is not the way I prefer to live my life.  I have two daughters left at home to raise and a company with customers that depend on me.  This should be a better time in my life.  I disappoint my husband by not fighting harder, but this daily battle is very hard to maintain.  If surgery would repair my loss to any realistic degree it would be worth it.  My fear is that I would lose more of myself than I would gain.  What is your experience?  This is not a decision to take lightly as it is life altering, as is not making the same decision.   Well, I am glad that I have found this site and that people are starting to talk about this topic.  I am not alone, and I seem to be in good company.  That is a very comforting thought.  Good night Mike and all.

I often feel as though I am a walking pharmacy myself and dare not to complain or face the doctors assigning more to the growing number that I must try to remember to take each day exactly 12 hours apart without fail. The prospect of resection and all the possible/probable side effects is a very scary thing. In addition, I am not certain what size lesion is considered small, medium, and large? I have a 6.9mm lesion on the right frontal lobe and I was told by my Kaiser Neurologist that is very small and not worth resection. However, I emailed a Neurosurgeon at Stanford and was told that 6.9mm is not too small for resection using the Cyberknife. Since my automobile accident which involved a high speed spin out collision in the rear and then head on as the driver that hit me tried to escape, which put my car into a spin in the opposite direction until it leeped across all three traffic lanes and took out 60 feet of fence before coming to a stop. I have just recently learned through another CT scan that I have also sustained Mandular damage causing two molars to fall out, which have been repaired. My jaw pops out of place and is very painful. I will be seeing a specialist on July 11, but have been told the fix may be worse than living with the pain. At present I take Motrin 800mg during the day and a narcotic at night for sleep. This is not the way I prefer to live my life. I have two daughters left at home to raise and a company with customers that depend on me. This should be a better time in my life. I disappoint my husband by not fighting harder, but this daily battle is very hard to maintain. If surgery would repair my loss to any realistic degree it would be worth it. My fear is that I would lose more of myself than I would gain. What is your experience? This is not a decision to take lightly as it is life altering, as is not making the same decision. Well, I am glad that I have found this site and that people are starting to talk about this topic. I am not alone, and I seem to be in good company. That is a very comforting thought. Good night Mike and all.

Re: i just had surgury right

Submitted by wpr on Sun, 2006-06-18 - 15:04

wpr My 34 year-old son's epilepsy originates in the right frontal lobe. (28 years of many, many medications and some, but poor, control.) He has had the Wada test and is scheduled for hospital admission in early July for placement of inter-cranial electrodes, seizure monitoring, and surgery. He is upbeat and positive about it all, but might benefit from words of experience, wisdom, and encouragement. We realize what "success" actually means and also the statistical chances of success for frontal lobe as opposed to temporal. Comments? (Also, if you feel at ease doing it, maybe later you might accept a phone call from him and give him a telephonic "pat on the back" before his hospital admission.) Thanks....and best wishes for a continued favorable outcome.

right frontal lobe surgery-may have it very soon!

Comments

Re: i just had surgury right

Submitted by MEDS-TOGO on Fri, 2008-06-27 - 16:00

Re:Hello Meds-to-go-Mike

Submitted by cmurray936 on Sat, 2008-06-28 - 01:40

Re: i just had surgury right

Submitted by wpr on Sun, 2006-06-18 - 15:04

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