Is Acoustic neuroma fatal? like, can i die from it?
i have vertigo for almost 2 years now.. my dad believes that it will just go away through exercise and vitamins. i love my dad but he gets really stubborn and will not listen sometimes. i am suffering because of his lack of understanding.
i was at the doctors before but my doctor said i should just take serc for a month and come back but my dad was like, that much medication wont do you any good bla bla bla so up until now i am just taking it in and living life. i have decided to tell my dad that i REALLY cannot handle it anymore and go to the docs.
today, i had enough courage to really search what vertigo is THOROUGHLY and the worst that i have heard about the causes of vertigo is Acoustic neuroma. let’s say i have it, and it took me this long to actually take action. will it affect me severely and may die under surgery or what?
please be kind to your replies. i am.. a weak girl who has suffered, a lot of abuse (dont worry, it’s not my dad) and lies and betrayal. scaring me with ur answers or giving me false or asshole-ish ones will do u no good and will just make me feel bad.
please and thank you.
Hi There-
Well, first of all, acoustic neuromas are benign tumors that grow on the vestibular/auditory nerve next to your brain. And, yes, they are certainly one thing that can cause vertigo. There are also a lot of other things that can cause this condition, as you know.
Acoustic neuromas are highly treatable and are only really dangerous when they become so large that they are compressing your brain. In that case, you would have MANY more symptoms, so please don’t worry about that.
I had an acoustic neuroma surgically removed 2 years ago; some people can have them treated with very precise radiation (called Gamma Knife or Cyber Knife.) Still other people can just have the tumor monitored and do nothing unless it grows.
If you are concerned that you might have this rare condition, please make an appointment with an ENT who will test your hearing. Acoustic neuroma’s almost always cause one sided hearing loss which will be picked up on an audiogram. Share your concerns with your ENT and ask if you should have an MRI to rule out acoustic neuroma. Please note that the MRI MUST be done "with contrast" as that is the best way to see if there is any tumor. An MRI is painless and easy – you just lay very still in a tube while they take pictures of your brain. If you are claustrophic, you may ask your doctor for a prescription for an anti-anxiety drug such as valium or xanax.
Hope this helps. And, please don’t worry – this isn’t life threatening, just inconvenient.
Anything can kill you, really. Just tell your dad that you need to go to the doctors and that you love him but that you’re going to listen to the doctor. Tell him that you’re suffering because of him. If he let’s you go, GO! I don’t know for sure if it’ll kill you, but it might. you can never be to safe.