Nightmares after surgery?

[tinyfrogs]

Please forgive me if I asked this already I can't remember. I had brain surgery in September 2012 to remove a colloid cyst from the 3rd ventricle because it was causing hydrocephalus. Ever since the surgery I've had nightmares about my head being opened in every way imaginable. I still have pain across the top of my head where the staples were. I've had it checked twice and they say it looks fine, nothing wrong. I had another MRI done to make sure and that came back good too. I talked to the surgeon's assistant and she said it is possible to have ptsd after any kind of surgery. I think that is probably what these dreams are but I think they are being triggered by the pain I feel on the outside of my head. I thought it would go away by now. I just wondered has anyone else has had this stuff happen after surgery?

 

[CathyAnn31]

That must be so scary and I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. I haven't had brain surgery. I do, however, have weird vivid dreams from my lamictal. Are you on a new med since the operation?

I hope it goes away soon. ***hugs***.

 

[CQ:)]

Psych,

I had brain surgery in March 2011, I was lucky enough to have a good recovery & am currently over 2 years seizure free.

I have always had strange dreams but never had any nightmares about my surgery so I can imagine it must be really scary.

Do you have a neuropsychologist or neuropsychiatrist who you can talk to?
I have a neuropsychologist & she has been a great support to me for the last 2 1/2 years - from the months leading up to the surgery, while recovering from surgery & right up to now even though it's been 2 years since my surgery. If I am feeling down or have any concerns I usually email my neuropsych & she gets straight back to me with some advice.

I hope things start to get better & the nightmares eventually stop.

 

[EmtKim79]

Hi Psyche:

What you are experiencing is completely normal. I have had 4 brain surgeries based on the fact that on 11/11/05, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This is how I became an epileptic. I used to have such severe anxiety of what had and was happening to me that I used to have to take Valium daily. Like you, I also had nightmares. It is the brain's way of dealing with your unconscious fear. I used to go through my days acting like everything was fine when deep down I knew I was faking to make my family/friends/myself feel better. I would have such horrible nightmares I would wake up screaming! It wasn't until, I started talking about my fears not with my family (my mother to this day still cannot verbalize without crying), but with my Oncologist about my nightmares/fears. It wasn't until then that they stopped (because I was no longer suppressing them).
As for the pain in your head - totally normal. My last surgery was 11/27/12 and I still have pain in certain places as well as numbness. When they cut into your head, they are cutting through many nerve endings and the bone also takes a while to knit back together (which can also be painful).
Well, I wish you all of the best, try vocalizing your fears or create a journal this way perhaps the nightmares will stop (like mine did). You can write me anytime that you would like if you have any other questions.
~Kim

 

[tinyfrogs]

I want to say thank you to everyone. (Thought I did but got a name change on here and guess I forgot to come back here oops.)

Kim, I'm sorry you had to go through that too. Just knowing some pain even after a year is normal does help. My nightmares aren't gone but they have started changing, and are less often.