Has anyone had a Meningioma in their brain?

[sarah]

I have an MRI report that says I have a 2.9 cm (that's almost 3!) by 2.1 cm Meningioma in my posterior Temporal lobe. I am a member here since I had a benign Hemangioma back in January, 2003.

Now, it seems we have another benign tumor within the CSF space between Dura Mater and Pia Mater somewhere. I can't but help feel that this is not a co-incidence.

If so, what did you do? Did anyone consider leaving it in, and "Watchful waiting"?

Hope to hear from someone with experience,

Grandma Sarah

[psdirector]

I've had one. It was discovered by "accident" when I was actually having the first symptoms of my SCT's (which they didn't find until 5 years later) and they were checking to make sure I hadn't had a stroke or didn't have MS. I had it removed in 1996 - it was a bit larger than a golf ball at the time. Neurosurgeons always know the magic word to be sure you have the surgery - for me the word was "seizure" as in, "These get bigger and they're usually found after someone has a seizure". Whoa! The doc also pointed out that I was healthy and strong at the time and that the surgery would not be any big deal and he was absolutely correct. He said, "You'll be 100% four weeks after the surgery". Three weeks after the surgery I was about 85% and I went to a four day conference where I was fine. He was right - four weeks after surgery I felt perfect - and I never did have any seizures, something I'm very grateful for. Most meningiomas are near the surface, which makes the surgery pretty simple. Compared to my SCT surgery and my long recovery from that, it was nothing! Plus, except for the shaving the hair part (which turned out to be pretty cool, actually) you can eat and walk and move everything without pain after the surgery. Headaches are present for a few weeks and some itching at the surgery site and you have a really interesting scar on your head that is a super conversation starter for a couple of months. I ditched the hat after a couple of weeks because it was summer and it was hot. My mom's comment, "Wow, your head looks like a baseball!" I laughed. Probably the worst part of the recovery period was that they give you steroids so that you don't have a seizure and someone has to be with you 24/7 for a couple of weeks.

[sandra]

I had two which were removed about 20 years ago. I now am dealing with a large one in my lumbar-sacral area.

[Deborah]

I have one now in my right temporal lobe. Docs found it while imaging after discovering an angiolipoma SCT from C5-T8. After two MRIs a few months apart, they've decided to watch & see if it changes with annual MRIs.