I had a ruptured annie April 2013. I miraculously survived (I had 10% chance to live at that time) and doing well for the last 10 years. I had a coil in my left brain. 2 years ago, when I had a sudden rise of blood pressure, I had an MRA/MRI and they found a 2 mm new aneurysm on the right side. I just had a recent MRA/MRI and my new neuro doctor recommended cerebral angiogram, still same size 2 mm . I was explained the risk in doing that procedure. Part of me wants to get a second opinion.(And I am trying to get back to my first neurosurgeon from 12 years ago). Should I just watch my bp to be under control and just wait it out? Does anybody had same experience? By the way, the last time I logged in to BAF was in 2015, this site tremendously helped me understanding aneurysm and the support to the community, so Thank You!
Welcome back! I’ve moved your topic from the Welcome to the General category.
Hate to read they found a new one, it’s always at the back of our thoughts when we rupture. You already know angiograms are the best way for them to see what’s going on and the risks of one, so that’s good. I know my Neurosurgeon said that if she ever found another, she would have to take care of it since people who rupture have a bit of a higher chance of rupturing again. I never asked her at what size though.
A lot of our members get out on the wait and watch list for a 2mm. I think second opinions are always good but can get us confused. I’m with you on getting in to see the Neurosurgeon you already know, I wouldn’t want to get a different one, Dr. Q-W has been in my brain seven times, I trust her.
I also ruptured about 10 years ago. A new one formed below the old one a couple of years ago and I had it repaired. I am still with the same neurosurgeon though and I knew immediately wait and watch was just not something I wanted to do as in tick tick tick time bomb in my head mentality. It was covid times so I did have to wait longer for the repair than the norm but the time waiting really was stressful even though I thought I was handling it well my body said otherwize, developed stress induced alpaca type stuff among other things. Having ruptured, deep down I was really concerned about losing progress or even coming out worse than after rupture type thing. When I finally went for the repair it turns out that planned surgery is nowhere near the same as an emergency repair. I was home the next day as no complications arose. This is my personal experience from someone who simply could not deal with a watch and see approach. I wish you the very best and hope that you are at peace mentally and emotionally with whatever choice you make.
Hi Laurel, so sorry to hear a 2mm has returned after so many years. Something similar happened to me but after a coiling for a double-bissecting ani in 2015, and another in 2018. After only a few years of being clear, in 2020, 2 2mm anuerysms were discovered in my cerebellum, basically inoperable (too much “valuable real estate” in the area to risk it for their size, as per the Neuro who has saved my life twice previously.) Unless the 2 grow to the extent where my life is threatened (making surgery a necessity) it’s watch & wait, as has been suggested to you in previous posts.
Trust me, I understand how difficult this is and why you would want a second opinion. I thought about getting one (two, three…) and actually pursued to a certain point. But I was lucky enough to get the best Neuro on the West Coast the first (and second) time around, who consults with all the finest at Stanford & UCSF, and by the time I was done with consultations with others (up to OHSU in Portland) I knew I didn’t want to take this any further.
Five years later, I don’t think about those things in my head until my Neuro calls and says it’s time to do another MRI. At this point my veins are so twisted & constricted he’s wary of doing another MRA unless significant growth is detected, and none has been, thank goodness. I still get headaches but I try to live every day like a normal person. If you can get in touch with your previous Neuro, he/she might go a long way toward helping you get to this point.
If it’s any help at all, 2mm is very small (not sure if your new Neuro showed you how small?) but our brain space is equally small, so whatever. Right? And I’m also not a survivor of a rupture, as you are, which puts me in a completely different category altogether. If mine had ruptured (either of them) I’d be dead, as I “tend to grow them” (as my Neuro put it) in an area of the brain (cerebellum) that is be all/end all.
But as I said, you are different. You have a different fear, and rightfully so. You are the only one who can decide whether watching your BP will be enough for you, or if you are enough in tune with your body that there might also be other signs. Mine were terrible headaches in a specific place in the back of my head. I also wonder what risks the new Neuro mentioned re: cerebral angiogram? If you’ve got the right doctor, these procedures are the “Gold Standard” for detecting and measuring anuerysms, and though there are always risks within a surgery, it’s something most every Neuro will do to get a “baseline” for their patients.
With that said, there are risks, and again, I hope you can get back in touch with your original Neuro. I think if you’ve had your MRA/MRI and there’s been no growth from 2mm, the reason to do the angiogram is to set a baseline and then continue on from there with annual (or whatever your Neuro suggests) imaging to keep an eye on the growth. Getting the right Neuro who gets you on a treatment plan that feels good and comfortable to you will probably go a long way toward reducing your anxiety around this complicated journey.
One last thing (and I apologize for the length of this post, but this hits so close to home, I feel compelled to share) please don’t ignore how emotional a journey this is, and how upset you might be. Your first experience with an anuerysm was a rupture, an emergency situation over which you had no control. Everything happened TO you, for you, out of necessity to save your life. You survived, and probably had recovery, PT, therapy, a lot to focus on because brain trauma is so different from any other kind. There is such deep grief involved, and too many of us miss this while we’re trying to be brave and strong and “normal” again.
Now, and for the past two years, you’ve had all this time to think. And spin. Try to take a step back. Yeah, it’s shite that after 10 years you’ve got a new anuerysm. But you’re healthy enough that a rise in blood pressure alerted you to it. You didn’t pop. This is positive. The ani was 2mm. Two years later, it hasn’t grown. This is positive. You’re still concerned, and rightfully so. Will it grow? Maybe. Can it grow? Absolutely. What can you do? Not much, really, except pay attention to your body’s signs (as you have been doing), and get yourself on a treatment plan with a Neuro you trust implicitly. I think if you do those things, and realize there’s only so much you can control here, you’ll get yourself into a better space.
Good luck to you, Laurel. I wish you everything wonderful.
Hi. I had a ruptured aneurysm in December 2011. Was in a coma for 10 days. I survived. Still have an unruptured aneurysm that kid in my head. Still a worry. But I do pretty good. I am slow at most activities and just bought a tricycle which I love. I can ride it now due to my balance.
My ruptured brain aneurysm was also in April of 2013! My family will be praying for you, and I’m so glad you made it through it. I would just trust what your initial neurosurgeon says, as they know you the best. Stay strong!
I had a 2 mm unruptured aneurysm discovered in 2001. My doctor told me I could repair it in 2009 (the technology wasn’t there in 2001 to fix mine), or just watch it, so I had coils put in. On a follow up MRI several years later, it showed my coils were compressed so I had a pipeline stent put in in 2018. I initially was not going to repair it because I thought the risk of a 2 mm rupturing was very low but I’m a nurse and I worked on the Neuro unit at my hospital and I took care of a woman that came in with a 2 mm aneurysm that ruptured and she had severe brain damage that she was not going to recover from. I chose to repair it because I worried about it every single day. That’s just what I did. I am not trying to give any medical advice. I would definitely get a second opinion, though.
Thank you all to your responses. I am still waiting for a phone call from my original neuro surgeon who saved my life in 2013. Due to insurance protocols (although I am on Medicare now), I can’t just see him as of yet. I also researched and found another great neuro surgeon , again, I am waiting for that appointment. Maybe I have 2 more second opinions.
Tess, when you mentioned repair, did you have an angiogram first on top of MRA/MRI, and then have it repaired at that time? Was it coiled? Were you able to go home next day? I don’t like the “watch and see” scenario, it cause more stress as it is. I cannot predict the future. I need to do something now.
As Kellie pointed out a planned surgery is nowhere near an emergency repair. I do not want to get to that point as to traumatize my family again.
I am compiling a list of questions for the next neuro surgeon appointment, I learned so much from this community. Thank you. I will update later.
Hi Laurel,
When my aneurysm was first found, it was because I asked my primary care physician to order an MRI and MRA because my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother all died from ruptured brain aneurysms. I was found to have a 2 mm, but at that time, which was 2001, they said they did not have the technology to get to it with a stent and I would die if I had a craniotomy. I lived in New York at that time. When I moved to Wisconsin in 2005, I got a new neurosurgeon but I still had to wait. In 2008 I had coils placed because the pipeline stent was not yet available. On a follow up MRI years later, it showed that my coils were compressed to one side and at that time the right size stent was available, so I opted to have that put in. I did have an angiogram when the coils were placed and also with the stent, and I believe I had at least one angio before each procedure, but I can’t remember exactly. With both the coiling and the stent, I went from surgery to the ICU, which was protocol, and I was discharged home the next day both times. From what I understand, and have read a lot, coils often do get compressed. My last MRI showed that the stent was only covering 1 mm of the aneurysm sack, and I have a follow up appointment with my neurosurgeon in a couple of weeks to discuss that. I don’t believe the stent moved, I think it was his initial placement. Also, I had a first generation stent and those could not be repositioned like the ones they have now. If you have any other questions, let me know.
Tess