All,
Update on my progress… one month post op, in the hope that it helps others. I’ve got some progress and some regress.
Progress:
- my head is no longer sore on the outside: the extracranial draining veins which were PHILed are now comfortable enough to sleep on.
- I’m not taking any painkillers. I’ve stopped those for a couple of weeks by now, though I had a long day at work, sitting on uncomfortable chairs, having to look up too much and I resorted to the paracetamol again briefly.
- my “visual effects” have abated. I’m down to about one per week.
Regress:
- I’m still dizzy. I’ve plateaued in terms of getting any better there, I may have got a bit worse. Indeed, I got annoyed the other day, blood pressure went up and I got extra dizzy, so I’m pretty sure further embolisation is needed. Any motion, such as walking or being driven in a car is mildly unpleasant.
- I can still get a bit dizzy shampooing my hair
- I can still hear a pulse at night.
Good news, I’m up for an angiogram in 2 weeks to review progress and we’ll see how we go from there.
Overall, I can say that post op, I’m so much more relaxed about my AVM than I have been. I don’t think it is fixed yet but I know what an AVM is, I know what it’s like to go through an embolisation and I can do these things. I’d like to encourage everyone else that embolisation is OK, not to be afraid of; and I hope to get fully fixed soon!
Lots of love,
Richard