THREE WEEKS POST OP

My recovery is going as planned and I now have no post op pain at all. I'm continuing to methodically reduce my medication and so far so good. To date, I've stopped the Baclofen and reduced the doses of Gabapentin and Tegretol without incident. The only thing of note is that I managed to get a little to much sun on my wound scar which made it incredibly irritable although it has settled down now.
I also took the opportunity of a little R&R at my uncle's croft at Bettyhill, Sutherland right on the north coast of Scotland. It truly is magnificent terrain and the fact that it's so isolated makes it even better, even if the surf dudes have discovered the delights of Torrisdale Bay. The break was just the tonic I needed.
It was great to see my aunt and uncle whom I had not seen for far too long. My uncle, who is a Gaelic speaker, has generations of local and family history stored in his head and it's magical to sit in the evening and hear him recounting events generations old as if he had been there himself. Everything from the Highland clearances to a run in with the local constabulary over salmon poaching. He has even featured on Gaelic language TV and radio.

TWO WEEKS POST OP

It's now been two weeks since my MVD and the only only meds I'm taking for the post op pain are two paracetamol when I wake in the morning and it's likely I'll be able to stop them soon. I still have slight numbness on the left side of my face which is not causing me any discomfort and if it is to be permanent I can live with it. The hospital reduced my intake of Tegretol from 1600mgs to 600mgs per day. I'll continue to take that amount meantime while I reduce the Gabapentin and Baclofen to zero. After that, if things are going well, I will slowly reduce the Tegretol to zero and after that Amitiptyline. Impatience is the enemy just now. I would love to just stop the meds completely but know that it would be stupid to do so.

MVD Surgery

I checked into Ward 63 at the Southern General Hospital on Thursday July 28th. I did not feel in the least nervous about the forthcoming operation as the memory of the pain was still pretty fresh. I was eventually admitted to a four bedded side room. There were three other people there; one on his way home and two awaiting neurosurgery, both different procedures from mine. Blood samples were taken, blood pressure monitored and low and behold it morning the following day and time for my operation. Mr Suttner, my neurosurgeon had informed me that the micro vascular decompression was, in most cases, a three hour procedure. One of my companions from the previous evening, Paul, told me that his op was a 7 hour procedure and I can remember thinking how lucky I was.
So the appointed hour arrives and both myself and Paul were wheeled off to our respective theatres around 9am. The last thing I remember is the anaesthetics room along with the anaesthetist and the anaesthetics nurse. Friendly professionalism is how I would describe their approach. I don't even remember drifting off!
The next thing I was conscious off was being recovered in the recovery room, sweating profusely, but otherwise feeling great. I was provided with an electric fan which helped to cool me down. A large wall clock opposite showed the time as 3pm which by my calculations would have meant that my three hour op had lasted considerably longer than anticipated. Just as I managed to convince myself that the clock was wrong, remember Paul, seven hour operation, well he was wheeled into the recovery bay next to me. I realised then that something had not gone as planned although I was not overly concerned at that point.
Mr Suttner explained to me that the early part of the operation was straight forward and on reaching the artery all was what he would have expected. However, on pulling the artery aside to access the nerve, the complications started. There were hundreds, if not thousands of blood vessels blocking the way to the nerve. Some had already started haemorrhaging which in the massively magnified view of the surgeon looked like nuclear explosions. To cut a long story boring, the vessels were cauterised the necessary work completed.
I was released on Thursday August 4th and have beauty of a scar, an occasional sore head if I go to long without painkillers, the left side of my jaw is partially numb and a few other aches and pains which are not causing me any great concern.
Most people who have this op, I believe, are looking for pain relief. I differ in that I was looking to reduce the amount of medication I was on because my quality of life was fast approaching an unacceptable level. I have already started reducing my meds, which will continue over two to three months and only then will the outcome be measurable. The perfect outcome will be no meds no pain. A decent outcome will be reduced meds no pain so I am not hard to please.
This is a lay man's commentary and I make no apologies for technical inaccuracies.