Hi @ellery
Welcome to AVM Survivors! It’s great that you got a diagnosis and it’s great that it sounds like your neurosurgeon knows what they’re doing.
A week out is absolutely nothing in terms of recovery from any of this, so don’t be alarmed by being more poorly than you expected. I had a DAVF (I think 2a + 2b but was never given its classification) fixed with PHIL glue about 9½ years ago and I was pretty much just as disappointed by the noises I could still hear, the dizziness I still had and the headaches. However, I was working pretty much fine on paracetamol/Tylenol, certainly after a few weeks. You can see how I was at this stage here: My Update - Dural AVF Embolization - #22 by DickD
That you’re not 100% fixed means you’ve still got a bunch of erroneous flow going on. I’m not sure you should feel any better at this point: at the end of the day, the flows have all been changed but it is still not where it ought to be, so I’m not surprised you feel very odd. (Note: I’m saying this just from a patient who has gone through similar and who is applying a bit of logic to it, rather than any medical naus: I’m not a doctor or nurse or anyone with medical qualifications.)
My doc also made noises about doing a transvenous approach and I came away from my embolization with two holes in my legs rather than one, so I’m unclear whether he did two approaches in one sitting. While he was convinced I was fixed 100% both immediately after that op and again at the 8 week mark, you’ll see in the linked story above that I remained very skeptical.
So. Relax. Do what you need to deal with the pain. Talk to the hospital about any issues but I think there’s a good chance that everything is going the right way. It does take time.
When do you get embolization no 2? Because I think that’s the point that you’ll turn the corner.
Very best wishes,
Richard