Surgery right temp lobe 07/10/07 I'm getting nervous

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I have complex partial seizures. Surgery is coming up, and I have been doing so much preperation for it. The closer it comes the more nervous-scared I get. I am 29 living on my own but cannot drive, so getting allot of help. Just repeating what the Dr said, there removing a portion in the right part of the brain... removing. I have been told I may loose a little of my short term memory does that sound weird. He said I will probably loose it anyways in the long run down the road, I belive that. I want to know who else has had this surgery and how they felt afterwards, pain, any memory loses or changes, just some insight to what your thoughts were.

Comments

Re: Surgery right temp lobe 07/10/07 I'm getting nervous

Submitted by Munchkins mum on Sat, 2007-06-09 - 11:37

Hi, Congrates on the upcoming surgery. I have had a left temperal lobe surgery done back in November 1999; and may be able to give a bit fo insight to you in this area. The surgery is a very invasive one to the brain, and you will have a good deal of swelling in the face aftetr the surgery is finished, as well as pain. The reason is that they put back in the scull piece that had been removed and there is no where else for swelling to go, then in the facial areas. Mainly the eyes and the temperal lobe area. You will have meds to relieve the pain and one thing I can advise, use some ice packs on your face to help take care of it. I sure did! Memory is affected in some ways. For instance the doctor will come in when you are eating and ask you to name what things are. You will sit there puzzled because you will knwo what it is, but the word may be hard to get out. It does get better in time; trust me. It is NORMAL. Keep in mind the surgery is basically a shock to the brain so it will take time for it to be back to its normal self. For me spelling got kinda funny... I spelled words as they sounded... For instance the word conditioner, I spelled it condishiner.. it sounded that way, looked ok, but got embarassed when I looked it up in the dictionary. That has since gotten better. Another piece of advice I can give you is to keep a sense of humor! It does help you through some rough and silly moments... even if they are not so silly immediately. One thing you may start to become is even more independant then you are now. You may have mood swings here adn there and that is all something you need to let friends adn family in the support network you have know about before the surgery. I went through it and it was a major headache for many of them as no one expected it. I wish you the best of luck with the surgery and I hope all goes well. As for me, I had my surgery almost 21 years back, and I am totally seizure free and off all meds now. Sincerely, Munchkins mum

Re: Re: Surgery right temp lobe 07/10/07 I'm getting nervous

Submitted by Angie m on Mon, 2007-06-11 - 21:02

THanks for the info. My memory is a little rough in a way that it takes sometimes a while for me to say the name of an item. I know what it is, it just takes awhile to get it out. I hope the surgery doesn't make it worse. Thanks for your support Angie m

Re: Re: Re: Surgery right temp lobe 07/10/07 I'm getting nervou

Submitted by Eile on Thu, 2007-07-19 - 14:16

E Wye Hi, I have exactly the same memory problems - I want to say something sometimes a word to describe a thing, an event or a place. It is always a simple word after I'm told the word and a word which I've always known in the past. It just seems so funny and sometimes exasperating not being able to search for the proper word. i'm getting use to it now and I feel as time goes on with quite frequent complex partial seizures in the right temporal lobe that my short term memory is getting worse. I'm on two types of medication, tried many combinations in the past and now I'm being assessed for surgery. Let me know how your surgery has gone. Best regards, Eile