sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 Hi all!!! My name is Michele. After 3 years of jumping through hoops I finally got insurance approval for my first cochlear Implant. Super excited!! In NC. Medicaid has just added Adult Cochlear urgery coverage. I am a mom of 2. A teen with special needs and speech delays and an adult college student. Im also a wife to an awesome renal cancer survivor. I have been hearing impaired since the age of 12 due to Menieres disease. I've recently lost the remainder of my hearing 3 years ago. I know minimal sign language and rely on lip reading that for some reason people are amazed at this ability ?. My Med el implant is scheduled for July 31!! Super super excited!! Im learning how to post here so bare with a newbie. The main questions I have are how much pain or which side effects did you experience from surgery?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 22, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 Hi @sassychele02 - different people have different experiences in surgery. Mine was really pretty easy. The pain was really significant only right after the surgery - they wake you up and then it feels like someone's been digging around in your head. But then they give you pain meds until you're able to get up and dress to go home. I was given pills to take home but only used them for a couple of days. I had one day with mild vertigo and then it was just waiting for the healing. What clinic are you going to? sassychele02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 22, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 Hi @sassychele02 - different people have different experiences in surgery. Mine was really pretty easy. The pain was really significant only right after the surgery - they wake you up and then it feels like someone's been digging around in your head. But then they give you pain meds until you're able to get up and dress to go home. I was given pills to take home but only used them for a couple of days. I had one day with mild vertigo and then it was just waiting for the healing. What clinic are you going to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @Mary Featherston thank you so much. Im having my surgery at University of Chapel Hill Hospital. Its a 2 hour drive from where we live in Charlotte so definitely not looking forward to the ride back home after surgery. lol. My Menieres always flare up after car rides. especially the extreme vertigo and nausea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @Mary Featherston thank you so much. Im having my surgery at University of Chapel Hill Hospital. Its a 2 hour drive from where we live in Charlotte so definitely not looking forward to the ride back home after surgery. lol. My Menieres always flare up after car rides. especially the extreme vertigo and nausea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 22, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @sassychele02 - be sure to tell the anesthesiologist about your issues with nausea. My CI implantation surgery was the first time I've had general anesthesia and didn't have to deal with nausea afterwards, because I told them before the surgery and they added some antinausea meds to what they gave me. It might help. Do you think you might feel better if you stayed in a hotel in Charlotte the first night? I've heard good things about that clinic, though, they're experienced and you're in good hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Featherston Posted July 22, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @sassychele02 - be sure to tell the anesthesiologist about your issues with nausea. My CI implantation surgery was the first time I've had general anesthesia and didn't have to deal with nausea afterwards, because I told them before the surgery and they added some antinausea meds to what they gave me. It might help. Do you think you might feel better if you stayed in a hotel in Charlotte the first night? I've heard good things about that clinic, though, they're experienced and you're in good hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @Mary FeatherstonI will DEFINITELY tell them at preop about my nausea. I think it woykd ve a great idea too ro spend 1st night in hotel near hospital just in case something needs attention that 1st night after discharge. I suggested the same thing to my husband so we will DEFINITELY go ahead and reserve a room. I am so excited. Its been a long road. I will be getting 3 processors including the new Rondo2. I dropped most of my master's in Education classes for this fall so I can concentrate on healing and all the mapping appointments. These forums have been so helpful. Jewel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @Mary FeatherstonI will DEFINITELY tell them at preop about my nausea. I think it woykd ve a great idea too ro spend 1st night in hotel near hospital just in case something needs attention that 1st night after discharge. I suggested the same thing to my husband so we will DEFINITELY go ahead and reserve a room. I am so excited. Its been a long road. I will be getting 3 processors including the new Rondo2. I dropped most of my master's in Education classes for this fall so I can concentrate on healing and all the mapping appointments. These forums have been so helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 22, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @sassychele02 Welcome and wishing you the best on your first CI. I’m sure you are very excited! My CI center is 5 hours from home so we stayed overnight the night before and the night of surgery. I agree with @Mary Featherston that staying in a nearby hotel for the first night could be very helpful. We chose a hotel that had a comfortable chair in the room because I slept in it the first night to keep my head propped up and reduce the chance of swelling. I have 2 CIs and found both CI surgeries to be the easiest ear surgeries ever. I did not need any pain meds. I just took extra strength Tylenol for a couple of days. No vertigo issues. Honestly, I was surprised by how easy the recoveries were. I told the anesthesiologist about nausea and they gave me something to prevent it in the anesthesia . We drove home the morning after surgeries with no problems at all. I hope you are as fortunate. There is a lot of great info in this forum so explore a bit and ask as many questions as you want. We are a friendly bunch. Are you choosing 2 Sonnets and the Rondo 2 voucher? What colors did you pick? sassychele02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @Mary Beth. Thank you so much. 5 hours!!! wow!! Im hoping to get a second CI too within 2 years. After reading your and @Mary Featherston post we are definitely staying an extra night in Chapel Hill. Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2018 @Mary Beth. Thank you so much. 5 hours!!! wow!! Im hoping to get a second CI too within 2 years. After reading your and @Mary Featherston post we are definitely staying an extra night in Chapel Hill. Mary Beth and Mary Featherston 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 23, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Which surgeon and audiologist are you working with @sassychele02? Yes I chose to go to New York Eye & Ear for my CI surgeries and all of my MAPpings. They have an awesome team there so it is worth driving 5 hours each way. One time we did a MAPping and round trip commute all in the same day. Never again! That was exhausting. Smile. Now we stay overnight and enjoy NYC before each MAPping. Great way to catch more Broadway shows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassychele02 Posted July 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 @Mary Beth I have the famous Dr Pillsbury. Man of few words. He did the 1st ever Synchrony in the US. I definitely was not expecting them to call back so soon after my testing last week. I thought it would be months before getting a surgery appt. I signed on for the clinical research program also to help other adults in the future. It's sad so few hearing impaired people know about the surgery. I love NYC. You're lucky! I hope to see the Harry Potter play there in January. Micah Eubanks, Mary Beth and Jewel 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 23, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 @sassychele02 We saw the two part Harry Potter: Cursed Child play in May. You will love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted July 23, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 @sassychele02 Harry Potter play in NYC.... By the way, at first they tried using an assistive listening device that worked with WiFi and people’s personal phones and that was a complete failure they said as the connection kept getting dropped. When I was there they were using a large area FM System and it worked great! Users could plug in the supplied headphones or any kind of attachment that works with headphone jacks (like CozyPhones for Rondos, Direct Audio Input cables for Sonnets, plug in neckloops, etc). Each unit allowed the user to adjust volume independently. Sounds awesome! (It is free to sign out at the coat check area.). Just FYI. sassychele02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Kara of Canada Posted July 23, 2018 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted July 23, 2018 Hi and welcome to Hear peers! II’m have also heard good things about dr pillsbury. So your in good hands! Like Mary Beth and Mary featherson said the journey is a unquie one. Each of us have different stories to tell. We all react differently to surgery and each of us have unique anatomy. I had a round first surgery but the second d was amazing. My anatomy is very unique in that area and the surgeon hadn’t seen it before. Second time around he was prepared for it. It was a breeze. Best of luck day will be here in no time at all. Like Mary Beth said it is best to sleep some what propped up as it will reduce pain and swelling. Took me a week and a half before I laid down on my bed last time. sassychele02 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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