Night terrors, anxiety or both?

[rgo]

Hi everyone! I had my craniectomy and the removal of a benign tumor on the cerebellum on 9/18/09 and all seems to still be well. Currently, I get pain and the like, but I'll never complain because I'm still here, but does anyone else get episodes at night like the following? I wake sometimes with a feeling of complete hopelessness. It's like I'm asleep and awake at the same time. This lasts for a few minutes while I run around attempting to wake up. I can't figure out how to explain it, other than I feel completely lost and hopeless. It's like I am unable to decide on anything ... up or down, left or right, yes or no. It's awful until I either take a cold shower to wake myself or it stops. Does anyone else go through this?

Randy

P.S. This is what the doctor removed. I'm still amazed!

http://s397.photobucket.com/albums/pp53/imagnum/?action=view&current=Ctscan.jpg

[tic chick]

welcome rgo! *bunch

wow! yes, you are still here. that was a big tumor, thank God it was benign.

well, you are about 6 weeks post surgery. i read that when you have any kind of surgery, it takes up to a year for the insides to heal, even in the simplest of surgeries. and here, you have had a brain surgery!

the area that the tumor was removed from left a hole. your brain has to start moving to fill in that hole, cause the tumor was pushing it away. no doubt your brain is making new pathways to communicate with itself and with you. maybe your decision making ability has been affected by the surgery.

your symptoms sound like night terrors, possibly post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, a bit of depression. ask your brain surgeon about your feelings. ask him/her about emotional probs following this type of surgery. you have been through a lot! you probably spent a lot of time scared thinking about this.

i wouldn't think about taking drugs, at least at this point. i know it's unsettling and scary to wake up with these feelings. are you in physical therapy? do you do mind stretching games like puzzles, reading, playing video games? all these things require your brain to communicate or find new ways to communicate.

get out with your friends. celebrate your recovery from a brain tumor. if you can use a search engine, like google, type in general phrases like "emotions following brain surgery"...things like that. see what you can learn on your own.

if your surgeon says your feelings are not out of the range of normal, accept that. if it gets worse or continues longer than you are able to handle it, talk to the surgeon again, or your family doctor. anytime you feel uncomfortable about something going on you should talk to your doctor.

but, remember the trauma your brain has gone through and give it time to heal itself.

i'm glad you had a successful resolution to your tumor.

it's wonderful to be alive !
jeannie

[rgo]

Thank you for responding. I do a lot of reading and enjoy some online mmo's that I play with friends ... I'm not good at them because I'm slow, but at least I do something. I'll try the puzzles too ... thank you. When looking at the photo of the tumor, I sometimes realize just how big it was and what the doctor had to do so I am very relieved. I do have an appointment with a Psychiatrist this month, so I'll bring up all the issues I've been having too. Maybe drugs for anxiety are the way to go since it was a pretty big operation.

Randy