does any know how long it takes to recover from gamma knife. i’ve had gamma knife sept 08 and it is now oct 09 and have not recovered yet. my fine motor skills and leg are paralyzed. i can walk but can only go one speed and my fine motor skills as in tying my shoes, cutting meat, etc.
it has been 13 months and still haven’t seen any improvement. i get that the swelling from the gamma knife is blocking everything. i’ve done the steroid thing for the first 4 months and as of june the doc said to lay off the steroids go to phsyio. again i did the pshyio thing and all he could do was hook my forearm to a nerve stimulator. still no hope. i’ve tried to excersise everything and still nothing.
i know that it depends on the size of the avm (3cm), how much radiation was given and the location but i’m getting inpatient. my avm wasn’t operable and the radiation was only for 20-30 minutes, a low dosage.
i have no side effects other than what was mentioned above. not headaches or nothing.
as for where its located i can’t tell you off hand. i know that its in a tricky spot and it is very rare that i have an avm in this location. now it took 3 months after gamma knife to manifest or the swelling to occur. now each person is different. some people have seizures, some people get headaches but their are med’s for that. personally i wouldn’t have done it if i knew it was going to mess me up, but in you case i would only cause your son is still young. usually its the first 6 months, if any, that complications occur. i thought i was in the clear,the first 3 months went by and i was fine, but then it snowballed. some people are fine after gamma knife and dont have any side effects, again depending on the location.
Ron- I’ve had it twice over the last 3 years and there have been lasting effects both times, but different than yours. Its radiation and its purpose is to kill the avm arteries/veins and part of the risks are that it kills nearby brain cells. Those cells might impact the movements you are having problems with.
In my case I had double-vision as a result of the initial bleed. The GK made it worse. The 2nd application made it even worse, but it was already bad, so I didn’t stress over it. My avm is in the brain stem. So, if I had opted for surgery, the risks were pretty extreme. So, who knows if the side effects would’ve been worse, better or the same.
So, how long? Who knows. I am 99% sure my double vision is a permanent thing, but its a result of the bleed not the GK.
wow. the swelling from the radiation took about 1/2 of that side of the brain. honestly, viewing the mri’s on cd, it was no wonder why i’m so messed up, it was a low dosage too. even the doc’s said, wow i cant believe the amount of swelling. i dont think its permanent, i can see improvements but very very slowly.
see in a way i’m lucky as in haven’t had it bleed. although i am worried whats going to happen when i start to heal. i know everything is suppose to stop growing after GK but what if, like you, i need another dosage or what if there is further complications.
you know i would have done the surgery if operable. sorry, the risk of side effects are unknown as somebody is playing with your head, but the healing process is much quicker, this 13 month thing is getting to be too much!
Hi Ron, I know it is hard, but try and stay patient.
Therapy has helped me the most.
I chose GK over craniotomy after I was messed up with embolization.
I had a bleed that led to a stroke 12-12-08 and a stroke that was given to me during embolizationon 4-16-09. The second one that was given to me messed me up the most.
I’m thankful that I am still here and have my wonderful mind
As long as you have your mind you can stay on top of your treatment.
see i wish that i wouldn’t have found out about my avm. other than the leg swinging out before it goes forward was nothing and that was my only symptoms before hand, and everyone push me to go to the doc’s. now it has or about to cost me everything.
