hey guys, im 27 yrs old and was officially diagnosed with MM last year. I probably had it for a while before that but doctors didn't know what was wrong with me.

The left side of my face is paralyzed-that began in 2006. I can't smile at all so the doctors thought it was Bells Palsy. Finally i went to a Dr in Toronto and he said i had MM.

Now i have to schedule surgery. Problem is i just went back to school and I don't want to have to take a whole semester off. I know recovery times vary, but about how long does it take. The Dr told me  i'd be off work for at least 2 weeks..or at least thats what i thought he said. After doing some searching i've heard it takes months.

I just really don't know what to do...

any help/advice would be much appreciated!

Hello and welcome(sorry you need us though). As Lore said the first thing you have to consider is that thsi disease is progressive AND unpredictable.My daughter was diagnosed at 5 and is now 12 yrs old and because this disease progressed faster than we thought it would she is still recovering(will most likely never recovery completely) from her strokes caused by MM). Her first signs that we actually saw(she had a couple small strokes that we enver even knew about) was she was off balance. Within a month she couldn't use ehr right hand and arm(she regained this within months( and within another couple of months she suffered 3 strokes that left her with no use of her left side).She can walk now with the help of a leg brace but still has no use of ehr left hand and arm.The great news is that even though her disease had progressed to this level she's had no strokes since her surgery.It litteraly saved her life. Recovery from and success of the surgery seem to be much better if you havne't experienced strokes close to the time of surgery.My daughter unfortunatly ahd a stroke the day before her surgery,something we were not prepared for,but since she was getting worse so quickly we really ahd no option but to go ahead with surgery.She then had another after her first surgery which was devestating.My reason for sharing my story is always to be sure others know how seriouse this can get and how quickly it can(but not always) progress. I want to be sure others make their decisions knowing this. I  have a daughter who is in college and i know how hard it is to take time off for anything even if it means your health but please think about your future.You wouldn't want to be faced with recovery from a stroke along with recovery from surgery.There are some great links to specialists who are always willing to give a second opinion if that would help wiht your decision.Please feel free to ask away of you have any specific questions there's always someone here with an answer or a suggestion as to how you can get an answer.
Mary Grace

Hi,

My daughter's MM wasn't discovered until she had a major stroke and now after 2 more strokes she won't be getting back to college for two years at least.  She has had her surgeries and will be very happy if she can get back to school by the fall of 2010.

Please give yourself enough time to recover from your surgery with out the stress of classess and tests.  You can expect to feel pretty lousy for about 1-2 weeks. After that it is a personal thing.  Depending on the kind of surgery you are having it may take several months for all that extra blood flow to kick in. You may be suprised to find that you will do better at your classes when the benefits of the surgeries are finally realized. Thats why it is so important that you give yourself time to heal. Your brain is going to be a little angry right after the surgery so be very nice to it.

JP

My MM wasn't discovered until I had my first haemorrhage when I was 11 I has my second when I was 33.  I was lucky and recovered well both times but this cannot be guaranteed.  I have been told surgery is not an option for me but I do know that people on this site have had surgery and haven't looked back.  A lost semester can be made up but recovery from an MM attack may not be.