I've got an appointment with a radiologist on March 16th to discuss options and course of action. Yes, I'm somewhat bummed about this, but as Dr. Shapiro said, "you will lead a long, normal life". I'll just be seeing him more.
Argh, it's just one more thing. And more stuff begets more stuff begets more stuff, know what I mean? With more potential complications. And more potential for side effects. Even if it's not right away, who knows what potential side effects radiation will have on me in 10, 20 or 30 years from now.
Of course we've been doing research, and it indicates that patients who have grade II atypical meningiomas with complete removal (as I did) in conjunction with a course of radiation actually have less recurrence than patients who have grade I meningiomas with no radiation. Yes, it's probably the right thing to do, but it doesn't mean that I'm happy about it. Dr. Shapiro, I'm sure, just doesn't want to have to do the same surgery on me 5 years from now. And neither do I. But from the patient perspective, it's just more complicated than that. I'm thinking about how it could potentially affect all aspects of my health - now and decades later.
MEDICATION UPDATE: I did call Dr. Shapiro's office about the increase in pressure at the base of my skull, and the fact that I'm now hearing my heartbeat again in my right ear. These were all the original symptoms that I had pre-surgery. They indicated that they may have tapered me too quickly off the Decadron. Perhaps my brain just needs more time to settle down. So, I'm back on the big "D" for about 5 days, and then we'll see what happens.
The farther down the recovery road I get, the more I realize that with this type of surgery, it's all a guessing game as to how much, how long, etc. for the medications. It's just depends on the individual, and one just needs to be patient. It's all mad science! :-)
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