Had my left temporal lobectomy on Thursday morning, went home on Sunday,
started going for walks around the block a week later, lost 15lbs over the
next three weeks, had to shave twice a day, cut my fingernails every other
day, went back to work after four weeks.  Got the occasional headache and
that was about it.
Mike

My right temporal lobectomy was done five years ago now and whilst I can't
say it wasn't without a good deal of pain, the recovery period wasn't
difficult at all. The surgery was done in Australia and I flew home to New
Zealand two weeks later. The best thing about the whole procedure was that
it got me into a good fitness regime because I started walking on a daily
basis to help recovery and haven't given up.

The procedure wasn't a total 'cure-all' for me but it certainly lowered
the amount of seizures by a significant percentage.

All the best to you!

Regards
Fran
New Zealand

A late reply, but brain surgery had less pain than the hysterectomy.
They didn't cut through any major muscle groups to get to the temporal
lobe, so nothing was trying to flex any time I moved.  I was tired
longer, a few weeks, from being under anesthesia for 6 hours, but not in
any pain.  Biggest irritant was the stubble around the surgical site
catching in the pillowcase and pulling at the scar when I moved my head.
 That was cured by wrapping a silk scarf around my head.
Feel free to write if you have any questions.
Liz

I woke up with tubes coming out of/going into every orifice and some they'd
made. That was no problem.

One of the orifices was a hole in the back of my skull with a tube draining
fluids to a glass flask. That was no problem.

I THINK I was a bit sore round the staples but can't really remember. I know
I didn't sleep but that was because of a noisy ward. I was VERY sensitive to
the slightest sharp noise. For instance I asked the nice young doctor to
stop whistling, he hadn't realised how sensitive we might be and no-one else
dared say anything.

The good news is that I was also sensitive to things like aromas, which I'd
been deprived of before the surgery. I could taste food and smell the
freesias a daughter brought. Oh bliss.

I was in a sort of intensive care for 24 hours - the worst part was being
woken frequently to make sure I was still alive! Then into a non-intensive
but specialised neuro-surgical ward.

After not more than ten days I was allowed home.

It was a wonderful experience - except for not sleeping.

But everyone's different, my surgery (a craniotomy to remove a meningioma)
was relatively simple and only dramatic for my visitors. The grandchildren
loved to count my staples.

The thing is that brain surgery doesn't involve much flesh being cut and
sewn. I believe that there are few pain nerve endings in the skull so that
being sawn or broken doesn't hurt. There are very few, if any, pain nerve
endings in the brain so that doesn't hurt when it's cut either. There might
well be a bit of inflammation which can cause pain but it's not much.

I tell you, I've had five babies and teeth out and a lumpectomy and I'd
rather have brain surgery than any of those. But some people sailed through
lumpectomies too.

You can't rely on other people's experiences as a foundation for your
decisions. If you need brain surgery to stay alive have it done. I'm not
sorry I had it.

Mary

Mary