Hello,
I just discovered your site by looking for testimonies of fatigue still felt after an operation that took place in January 2019. I see that Diane 35 could be the cause of my meningioma.
Here is my testimony: following several months of dizziness for which no reason had been identified, I finally made an appointment with an ENT for possible problems of moving the crystals of the ear. Although this was the case, it turned out that despite their replacement the vertigo is always present.
The ENT therefore prescribed me an MRI which revealed the presence of a meningioma. I was operated in January 2019 with a left petroclival meningioma at the North Hospital of Marseille. A week of hospitalization. Operation of approximately 7-8 hours. 4 months of diplopia (double vision). Partial hearing loss of the left ear. Trigeminate hypoesthesia (decrease in sensitivity on the left part of the face). Always partially present. Very slow recovery. From January to August difficulty opening your mouth. Then gradual opening. Currently still in progress with the need to make the jaw muscles work again as well as the temporal. Fairly tiring and nervous permanent tensions. I also remain quite tired.
I resumed part-time work in May 2019 and I am still part-time now . I try to remain optimistic because I realize that I could have had much heavier consequences but this fatigue sometimes wears me really. I did a year of sessions with an EMDR shrink to manage my emotions as well as a year of sessions with a speech therapist to work on my memory and my concentration. The latter is still fragile. I did not expect my recovery to take so long.
The recent hospitalization for the Gamma Knife at the Timone/Marseille made it possible to “toast” the residues of my meningioma. Everything went very well and I am relieved. What you need to know is that the implementation and withdrawal of the helmet are trying . We may have been warned, it is not very pleasant. For Gamma Knife we arrive the day before the intervention. Visit a doctor who explains how it will take place the next day. There are many of us spending the same day. The evening poses of the catheter.
The day of the intervention raised at 4:30 am. We are given anti pain and anti anxiolytics. Then we continue with pose of helmet, scanner and MRI (40mns). A lot of waiting between two. I had the chance to pass the first for the installation of the helmet and therefore of the Gamma Knife (51 mins for me. Determined time following MRI) which allowed me to return to the room at 10:30 am. For the others, return to the room, always with the helmet, while waiting for their turn.
Gamma Knife is a bit like MRI but less painful because there is no noise. We even put the radio if you wish. I asked for nostalgia. Like that during the intervention I closed my eyes, well breathed and focused on music. You don't feel anything and you can even yawn, sneeze, move the body. If you want to take a break it is possible. Not the case for me because I was too looking forward to ending.
I left the hospital the next day at the end of the morning with just 2 small “sores” visible on the forehead and a bump which left quickly. I had a little pain in the 4 places where the screws were (flat I specify) but nothing too bad. You must plan sick leave by your doctor if you don't want to go back to work the next day. I resumed the following week. Now I have to spend an MRI in 6 months then every year and then 2 years if everything is back to normal.
I hope that this testimony will be useful to all those who will go through this new stage because I especially found negatives and I was not well reassured.
I then hope to be able to close the page of this story. Good luck to all those who have to go through there and above all keep morale and stay positive.
Valérie, meningioma operated then treated by Gamma Knife-Diane 35
Other testimonies here: Amavea testimonies
