When people want to talk about how not difficult a task is, they may say something like, “well, it’s not brain surgery.” Anytime you are talking about operating on this part of the body, there are be a lot of stress and worry. That is understandable but many people undergo operations on their brain and end up better of for it. If you need to have brain surgery, here are some things that may help your recovery go better:
- It will take you longer than you think it should to recover. It may sound like a given that recovery from a serious operation like one on your brain is going to take a decent amount of time but it is one thing to say you understand that and another entirely to mean it. People expect to be back to their normal lives after only a week or two. When their recovery from brain surgery takes longer, they can get frustrated with themselves, with their brain surgeon and everyone else. Prepare yourself in advance to be in the recovery process for a long time and the process will go better for you.
- You are unique. This is not in the sense that you are “a unique snow flower” but in the sense that your recovery from brain surgery will be different than everyone else’s. You may see someone who has had the same brain conditions treatments as you and they are recovering at a much faster, slower, different pace. You cannot compare your experience to anyone else because you are not anyone else. It can be hard to watch other people get better faster but you will do yourself no good by expecting to get better at the same pace as anyone else.
- You will need your rest. Even when you have a very minor procedure like a root canal done, your body needs to rest to heal. When you have a major operation such as brain surgery, you need a whole lot more rest. Some people try to fight it but that will just cause you stress. If you need to sleep, and you will, go to sleep! It is as simple as that.
- Your attention span will suffer. We live in a time when the average attention span rivals that of a goldfish anyway but you will find yours is even shorter after a brain operation. A lot of this is due to the drugs they give you. If you understand this going into the process, you will have a lot less of a hard time dealing with it. It is frustrating but it will get better over time.
- You may have pain. Most people know that the brain has no nerve endings but your scalp does. You will be given pain medication and you should take it. There are few times in your life when you will need to be awake less than after a brain surgery so take advantage of that to ask for the pain drugs when you need them. You can go back to being tough when you are better. Bad pain really can hurt your immune system and you really want to have a beefed up immune system when you are recovering from brain surgery.
- There is a chance that you will experience a reset for your senses. This may have an impact on your sense of smell and taste. Your voice may sound foreign to you as your hearing may seem different. As your brain recovers from the surgery, a lot is happening. As you recover, things should settle back down to normal. As with other parts of your recovery, you need to be patient with this.
Every year, thousands of people around the country are diagnosed with brain tumors. After the initial shock wears off, they set out to find a nurosurgeon. that can help them. There are other reasons as well that people need to have brain surgery. While it is completely normal to be scared and apprehensive before any kind of surgery, operations that involve the brain have a special spot in our minds. The good news is that you can get better and will get through your brain surgery recovery with some time.