Has anyone else been told their annie is too small for surgery? Dr. Said he could patch it, but left the decision up to me because of my strong family history.
Carmell,
Mine started at 3.5 and was a watch and wait. It grew very rapidly to 5.6 in 14 weeks.
Prayers to you!
Karen
Wow, so I should be monitored frequently?
It was discovered on march 12 and i had my first angiogram on 4/22. I had terrible headaches and some excrutiating pain a couple of times. My dr. says that they suspect that when you have the "really bad" pain that is when it is growing. I thought it was time to call 911. I had an angiogram with balloon occlusion on 6/13 and we could tell from the pics that it had grown. I decided on onyx liquid embolization and this was done on 6/29. My annie is in the internal carotid artery near the opthalmic artery. Coiling was not an option due to wide neck. I could have had clipping, but, elected the less invasive. i am doing ok, just tired and have headaches. I have my 6 month angio on 12/7.
My first neurosurgeon said to watch and wait, that it takes years for these to grow. I had to be different! lol. I would discuss with your dr how often it should be checked. If you have symptoms now, then you will know when it gets bigger, such as the headaches..
Where is your annie located?
Prayers to you!
Karen
Hi Carmel: I have 3 unruptured annies, the largest is 3mm. I would need clipping they tell me due to it’s wide neck. They tell me I may never need treatment but is very important to have the tests done annually. After putting the scare of my life into me, now they tell me it’s really no big deal so I am OK with it now and don’t worry about them any more. They said many many people have them and don’t know it and never have a problem. I was given the option of clipping the largest but declined. The risk of surgery is greater than the chance of them rupturing. Wishing you peace and health. Mitch
Mine is on my left opthalmic artery
I hope I can get to the point that I don’t worry about it. Did get a medical alert bracelet just in case.
Good idea about the bracelet. I was supposed to get one after I donated a kidney cuz if I have to go to the hospital and need any meds or surgery, they could apparently kill me if they don’t use or avoid specific drugs or doses. Guess I should look into it. Thanks for the reminder! Does it bother you to wear it?
Hi Carmell,
I have two annies, one 9mm right ICA was fixed with two PEDs and my 2nd annie, 2mm left ICA is a watch and wait annie. My surgeon told me that the danger of attempting to fix the annie until at least it became 5mm or bigger was greater than leaving it alone. So, I will go yearly and have an MRA and check on its growth. I do go next month to have my follow up angio from my surgery in June and also am having an MRA so we'll see if the lil bugger has grown any. I lost my paternal grandmother and her brother to annies, and I also have a sister who had an 5mm ACOM annie clipped about 2 years ago. She was just recently diagnosed with another annie, a 3mm on the MCA so I know about strong family history.
Best of luck to you,
Linda
Karen,
I have been getting very bad headaches that are different than headaches that I have ever had. They come out of nowhere they don’t last very long, about 20 minutes then they go away. They come and go all day. Do you think this is the kind of head pain you were talking about that doctor said may be when aneurysms grow?
Deanna
Have not gotten it yet, but I always wear a bracelet,
Deanna,
I had headaches like that too. I had mowed my yard one morning and then I went to work that afternoon in May. That night around 10 pm is when it started with pressure behind my right eye and then a few minutes later is when I had the severe pain in my head, like a severe sting with the pressure. I really thought that it was rupturing, it lasted just a few seconds, then quit. After that I saw my neurosurgeon and that is what he told me and also told me not to cut my grass or do anything that could pump blood harder.
I never had headaches before this annie. Just don't do anything strenuous right now. I look at having the headaches is/was a good thing. I did not rupture, just grew rapidly, probably from stress. i worried a lot and have a stressful job. It is still hard.
My thoughts and prayers are with you during this journey. I think my case is unusual, but, something everyone should know.
Big Hugs,
Karen
Hi Carmell...I had a 9mm annie on my basilar tip coiled last year...at that time they found a 2mm annie behind my left eye...I was told for them to try and do anything with an annie that small...it could be dangerous for me...so...they are watching and waiting through my angiograms...and controlling factors that would cause any type of rupture...
Not sure what your Doctor means about patching...Can u tell us more?
Cyber~thoughts your way....Colleen
He said something about packing it in a cotton-like material, around the outside (from his drawing) but that there were no guarantees that it would hold.
Thanks Carmell for responding…I have never heard of this method…it seems they are constantly coming out with something new…