Good afternoon all,
I am 2 weeks post-OP and just had my staples removed yesterday, incision is healing nicely. Still in pain and I am experiencing a lot of fatigue, but I’m taking it one day at a time. I am very grateful the procedure went well without complications.
Hi @MillieNYC19 and welcome to our little corner of the Internet!
I ruptured, and had endovascular procedures on my journey, but due to some co-morbidities I did have more “traditional” brain surgery like yours. Those wounds like they are healing very nicely, and it must feel good to finally have those staples out.
It is pretty common to experience fatigue after a brain injury, and it is something many of us have to learn how to manage. Because I ruptured, one of my wonderful speech therapists guided me on how to manage my days moving forward. One of my favorite resources to point people to is from Headway UK (a brain injury nonprofit) that gives advice on how to manage fatigue, so you get some of the same tips.
One of my favorite tips my speech therapist told me was “Anything with a screen is NOT relaxing!” So, all those times I thought I was taking it easy by watching, streaming, etc. was not helping my brain out at all. It is a good time to explore alternate options, and depending in what works for you, creative activities like yoga, art therapy, or time outdoors in your beautiful backyard etc. might be helpful.
I am so happy to hear that went well, and that you are healing so well!!!
Just remember to go easy on yourself. You have been through a LOT, and now is the time to give yourself a lot of grace!
Fin Whale Fan 
Hi @FinWhaleFan thank you for the warm welcome. It sounds like you’ve been through quite a tough road yourself, so I really appreciate you taking the time to reach out.
They actually attempted to treat my aneurysm endovascularly with coils at first, however during the procedure they discovered a thrombus within the sac, deeming it far too dangerous to coil, so the procedure was aborted. They recommended treatment with clipping via an open approach instead, which I had done 2 weeks ago. That is where they found evidence that the aneurysm simultaneously ruptured, resulting in a small contained bleed, while shedding a thromboembolism that occluded the inferior division of the artery and caused the acute ischemic stroke I had in April. All missed by the first hospital.
You hit the nail on the head with the screen time advice, scrolling and watching doesn’t equal resting! We moved from NYC to Morris county NJ and have a huge backyard with a nice sized deck now. Spending quiet time outdoors has been such a lifesaver for me lately, I love watching my husband play with our dog and relaxing with my feet up. We get lots of deer, bunnies, birds and even foxes I can watch from a safe distance. We have very comfortable patio furniture and string lights that create such a nice atmosphere. It has been so relaxing.
Getting all the answers has given me such a profound sense of relief. Having the staples removed felt amazing, though I’m definitely learning real quick how sneaky brain fatigue can be. I’ll definitely check out the tips you shared.
Wishing you all the best! 
Hello and welcome,
I hope that you are recovering well but it is a slow process. Fatigue will be with you for a while. I am nearly two years after my rupture and I had a VP shunt inserted for resulting hydrocephalus. It then blocked and had to have it replaced and a month ago I had a stent inserted as my coils had moved and the aneurysm was growing again. So I am back to being very fatigued
Give yourself time to recover and then some more. I remember someone telling me that I just needed to sleep when my brain told me to and it was the best advice I got, so that is what I would pass on to you. Xxxx
Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for sharing a bit of your story. I am so sorry to hear you’re going through more hurdles after your recent procedure and the return of the fatigue, especially after coming so far since your rupture. It really helps to hear from someone who truly understands. I really appreciate the advice, giving myself permission to just sleep when the brain asks for it is definitely something I need to hear right now. At first I thought the only hurdle would be the pain, but this fatigue, especially towards the end of the day is tough. Wishing you a very smooth and gentle recovery, I hope you are able to get all the rest you need right now,.
I am pleased that it was helpful. Definitely take the rest you need. I was convinced that I just needed to push through to get better and that is definitely not the case. You need to be kind to yourself and listen to what your body is telling you xxxx
The day after I got home after having my shunt revised I was up at 7 am putting the washing on, big mistake, I was throwing up an hour later. I have been much better after this surgery xxxc
Wow! What a journey you have been on!! I am so grateful that hospital #2 was able to get it all sorted out!!
I am one of those weird people who strongly feels that nature can be incredibly healing to us. I grew up on the boundaries of the town’s wooded park, and visitors are always floored at how much wildlife you can see from my parents’ backyard in suburbia. Deer, squirrels, foxes are regulars with appearances of chipmucks, groundhogs, skunks and raccoons- not to mention the birds! If they are SUPER lucky, the bald eagles will fly overhead. I am so happy that you were able to move in, as well as having your husband and your dog there to entertain you!
Just remember to keep pacing yourself, and rest more often than you may think you need! 
Congrats on being post-aneurysm!!
Fin Whale Fan
Welcome! Great pictures! What an incredible story. It’s amazing how a hospital can miss something relatively in their face but they do need to order the correct imaging, perhaps a letter to the Chief Medical Officer may help the next patient. In my experience, I’ve found some doctors do not give females the same level of care that they do for males. I hope that wasn’t your case with the first. But it does need to be brought to the CMO’s attention.
I very much agree with @FinWhaleFan and @Bordercolliemum rest! Don’t overdo it, enjoy your personal oasis, it sounds wonderful. The only thing I’d add is don’t forget our brains need, really demand, proper hydration and protein to heal. If you’ve been reading the different topics you’ve probably come across my neurosurgeon’s mantra - hydrate, eat protein, hydrate, rest, hydrate some more, repeat.
Hi @Moltroub ,
Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for sharing your neurosurgeon’s mantra! I will definitely keep that in mind—hydration and protein are so important for brain healing.
Regarding the first hospital, I really want to give credit where it’s due because they did an exhaustive workup. They performed multiple MRIs, MRAs, and CT scans of my head, CT and MRI of my abdomen and pelvis to rule out other vessel disorders, a Chest X-ray to rule out a PE, bilateral lower extremity venous duplexes to rule out DVT, and a full cardiology workup including a Transesophageal Echocardiogram to rule out heart conditions.
The aneurysm proved to be quite unstable: while the initial scan showed it at only 4mm (making it look like a watch-and-wait case), during my first angiogram at the first hospital, it was measured at 7mm. Later, a second angiogram performed by my second opinion hospital showed it at 5mm, and that was where the thrombus was finally suspected. The thrombus inside, the small piece of clot that traveled down, and even the very small brain bleed were simply not detectable on regular imaging.
Plus, Because the second hospital in NYC is not only one of the top hospitals in the city but also nationally ranked, they have state-of-the-art equipment and technology, and they set me up with the absolute best team in the hospital. So I really cannot compare the level of expertise. Given everything the first hospital tested, I don’t feel it was a lack of effort on their part—just an incredibly subtle and tricky case!
Thank you again for the wonderful advice on resting and taking care of myself. I’m definitely leaning into taking it slow and enjoying my personal oasis right now. Wishing you the very best in your own journey.
Thank you for correcting me! I thought much differently. Good to know they were on top of things! Yes I may have heard about NYC having a top hospital 
. I’ll stick with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston Salem who also has some really great technology and I’m definitely biased with regards to my neurosurgeon (Dr. Stacey Quintero-Wolfe) Stacey Quintero Wolfe, MD | Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist This needs updated because she operated on me in 2013 having been hired I think 3 months prior. She came from the hospital I was born at! But bigger hospitals get more practice due to population size of the cities. You can see that’s it’s ok to name hospitals and surgeons you feel comfortable with for other members who may need them. You can even share links to them if you want! Here’s a designated topic Dr. Recommendation . I will never close it no matter how old it becomes.
