I recently had two aneurisms coiled. They were mirror aneurisms, one on the left and one on the right. They coiled the one on the left on April 7th and the one on the right April 15th. The surgeon said they went well and he was very happy with them. What I want to know is if anyone else has slight headaches off and on all the time. I usually wake up with a slight headache behind my eyes but it goes away after I have been up for a little while. The other thing that has happened is that my blood pressure has gone out of site. They are trying to regulate it but are not having much success. Are either of these problems something that is a results of the procedures I had done. My b/p spikes to as much as 210/100 and I had to visit the ER to have it brought down with IV meds. I will appreciate any input from people with similar after effects....or not. Thank you, Muriel Steven
Hi Muriel - My aneurysm ruptured in March 2012 and I was coiled. Before my rupture I had almost daily headaches, now I have none…my kids say I went through enough post rupture and this is my reward for the hard work of recovery :) Not sure why they stopped but I will take it. Now my BP is another story…did have high bp pre-rupture but it was well controlled with meds. Doctors had a heck of a time getting it under control post-rupture and finally hit upon a winning combo of 4 drugs that work and continue to work after 2 years. It took almost 6 months and a few trips to the ER for the Doctors to get me on the proper meds.
Can you tell me what drugs they put you on to control it? This might help me find something that works. Thank you , Muriel
I take Lopressor, Lisinopril, Hydrochlorothiazide, and Amlopidine.
Sorry to hear about your high bp, hope you are able to get it under control. I’m scheduled for coiling on one annie this Wednesday and I suffer from chronic horrible headaches everyday. I’ve been taking fioricet for 6 months to keep them under control. High blood pressure runs in my family, and whike mine is normally very low, sometimes too low, I’m still concerned it can develop into high blood pressure. I’m taking plavix and aspirin now and will be for a few month post surgery too. Did you have to take those meds? If so, I wonder if that contributed.
They put me on Plavix a week before I had my first coiling and I am still on it. My blood pressure was a little high but nothing radical pre-coiling but now it is ridiculous. I have tried Lisinopril but it made me cough badly so they took me off it. I had terrible migraines in clusters for two months before they found my aneurisms. I was lucky to have had a warning. I got so dizzy I thought I was going to fall down and vomited uncontrollably all the way to the ER. Thankfully the Dr on call was mystified and could not figure out what my problem was so decided to take a cat scan....he discovered the two aneurisms and sent me to Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. The surgeon there is a specialist in this particular procedure so I count myself lucky in many ways. I was terrified as I am sure you are but it will be over soon and you will just be contending with some after effects. Today I dragged brush, washed windows, drove the tractor as well as many things so you see, I am back living again. Light headaches off and on but the blood pressure certainly concerns me. I am seeing a doctor on Friday and I hope we can find something to get in under control. Thanks for your reply Jenny.
Thank you! I am going to the Dr on Friday and will bring your list with me. I know I cannot take Lisinopril, it made me cough uncontrollably but perhaps the other two. Makes me nervous to have such a high B/P but I have felt very good for a couple of days now. Thanks again! Muriel
my husband suffered a ruptured annie on Nov 8th 2013, he was coiled and was lucky to be alive as it was almost 3 days after his report of feeling like he got hit in the head with a hammer before he would go in, he was flew to St Paul for the coiling he's still having minor headaches it has started to improve, haven't dealt with the high blood pressure but know that there are a lot of different meds and combinations of meds out there and we continue to try fine the right combination. my advise is if you don't feel like your doc is helping find another one. we went thru that to. best wishes to you tam
I did just that (saw a new doc) Tami and started on a new med last night. I will take my b/p this morning in a little while as usual and we will go from here. He assured me I was not going to have a stroke or heart attack so to stop worrying so much as it adds to the high b/p. That was some relief. I do wake up with the minor headache most mornings but after I have my tea and crumpets (as my hubby like to call my cookies), it seems to subside. It shows up off and on and I do take a couple of Ibuprofen when I go to bed. Your husband was a lucky guy.......I lost an uncle at age 44 of a cerebral hemorrhage and his son, my cousin, died at age 61 of the same thing. My surgeon told me that this is genetic so both my daughters and my sister have had to be checked. (I hope, if you have children and grandkids that they have been checked) I was luckier than most because I had a warning. I had been having migraines for about two months that were almost constant. I have always had migraines since I was 25 years old (I am 72 now) but I was used to them. These however would not go away and I had never had that before. Then one morning I got so dizzy I could not look at the computer and when I stood up I thought I was going to pass out. Hubby took me to the ER and I vomited all the way. Luckily the Doctor at the ER of our small hospital had the foresight to do a dye cat scan and he discovered the two aneurisms that were on each side and right up close to the optic nerves. He sent me to the big hospital we are fortunate to have 20 miles away and the rest is history. The surgeon told me I was lucky and that my warning saved my life....that along with the ER doctor. Had he not taken the cat scan, who knows if I would be sitting here answering your considerate message. Men are so hard to get motivated even if you do hit them in the head with a hammer. I can hear him now....."oh, it will go away, give me a couple of Ibuprofen". Our bodies give us signals and if we do not heed them, we can be dead ducks. Up until this unfortunate session I have gone through, I have been such a healthy, strong woman. I do more physical work than most 20 year old's today. I garden, mow 3 acres of lawn, work with my husband cutting down trees and dragging brush.....and I keep a home and take in abused and/or neglected dogs and cats. Our children are all grown up of course and they can't keep up with us...nor our grandkids. They keep telling us to slow down....what for we say....work is good for us. Life is wonderful Tami but I have always appreciated it and counted my blessings. Now more than ever. I don't know how much longer I have to be on this beautiful earth but you can bet I will enjoy every single moment of it. Just the smell of the newly mowed grass and the feel of the sunshine on my face when I mow is a blessing to me. Thanks for your nice message and have a beautiful summer! Muriel
Hi, I had coiling done last June. I did have headaches in that area for about 6 months and did wake up with pains on that side of my head quite often and mine would go away after I was up awhile. Deb
Thank you Deb.....Because I had two aneurisms coiled (one on each side) my headaches are behind my eyes and really all over but the surgeon said the aneurisms were right close to the optic nerves. He told me I would have to have an MRI in six months (from April 15th when I had the second one coiled) and then every six months for two years. Then once a year for three more years. Did you have MRI's too and did everything look like it should? One gal on here said that after three years she had a problem with the coiling and had to have the aneurism clipped. That is not a nice thought. EEEK
Did you have any problem with your blood pressure after the coiling? Mine has been very erratic and way too high most of the time. In the range of 210/100. I am on two different b/p meds and a diuretic and yesterday was the first day it was down where it should be. Hooray! I have been going about my life normally now and I feel good except for the headaches so I guess I will count my blessings and just go with it. Thanks again Deb and if you can add anything to my inquisitive (coiled) brain, please do so. Muriel
hi Muriel! yes I had mild headaches early on but mine was a sub arachnoid hemmorage, hopes and prayers for your issues~
Hi Muriel...My high blood pressure happened right before my brain aneurysm was discovered...it took sometime to regulate...I must tell you ... my interventionist (surgeon) had told me that often a side of effect of coiling can be headaches that can last up to 6 months...mine were very severe for about 3 months...3 years later ... I get a bad migraine once a month...I take care of it with feriocet...often a surgeon doesn't take care of the "day to day" after effects...be sure to find a good neurologist. If your Bp spikes ... continue to seek medical attention...Thoughts out to you ~ Colleen
Actually Colleen, my blood pressure was high when I had my dizzy/vomiting spell, went to the ER and they discovered the aneurisms. They attributed it to the trauma of it all but when in the hospital getting the coiling done it was sky high too. Perhaps it had gone way up before all this but, not taking it often, I never noticed. I don't feel any different when it is 210/100 than I do when it is 128/78. Guess that is why they call it the silent killer. I have had migraines since I was 25 years old. I have two kinds....the kind that come up the back of my head, pound behind my eyes and make me feel sick to my stomach. Then I have another kind....I will have a soreness in my face on one side or the other. It may go down thru my eye, across my cheek bone or thru my ear and over the top of my head. I will have sharp pains in which ever side of my head it is on but on the surface, not inside my head. Ibuprofen will control this but it takes a few days to subside. When it is done, I will have an open sore in the top gum or roof of my mouth. I have seen a lot of neurologists and every single one has said they never heard of that and discount it. Well I am telling you, as I told them, this is the way they happen. The two months before I had my dizzy/vomiting spell, I had almost constant migraines....both kinds. One right after the other and I had never had that before. I must have ingested 200 Ibuprofen and I don't like to do that. My stomach is not that stable either but it was the lesser of the evils. I believe that the fluctuations in barometric pressures trigger most of my migraines so just attributed them to that. It has been a turbulent spring in NH as it has all over the country. I have had my first migraine since the coilings this past three days. The soreness in my face kind. I can feel the final sore starting to form in the back top gum where my wisdom tooth used to be. The headache will go away just as soon as that becomes an open sore. Weird...like it has to find a place to come out. I guess if about six neurologists have never heard of it I am a freak of nature. You would think one of them might be interested in something new and delve into it huh? I believe they think it has been all in my head. Of course I cannot show them the sore because you can't get an appointment before it has healed. Anyway, the headaches I have had since the procedures have been mild and come and go. They have been better recently. Once in a while I will get an unusual pain and it scares me to death. As for the blood pressure, I am taking Inderal and Losartan at night and a diuretic in the morning (drinking six glasses of water and peeing a million times a day to keep my bowels from binding up) and my b/p has gone down a lot. I have been taking blood thinner (Plavix since a week before the first coiling. I only have ten more of the Plavix thank goodness. Then I am to take an Ecotrin every day for six months...until I have the MRI and then he will see what is going on in my head and direct me from there. I am covered with black and blues.....I am polka dotted. I am very active and have been going about my business as usual so I bump myself while mowing or gardening or driving the tractor or splitting wood (we have a splitter and I run the handle and load the tractor bucket and dump it in the barn) and the slightest bump makes a black and blue. I am sorry to go on so long here but I am just trying to get answers so that I am not so nervous about things. Up until this discovery of the aneurisms, I was the healthiest, most robust 72 year old you could know. I don't know if these replies get to people because no one has ever replied to my reply :o)....would you please do so...then I will know I am not typing away here for nothing. I do so appreciate your input Colleen. Also, could you tell me what you are taking to regulate your b/p? Thanks so much, Muriel
Hi Muriel ... a few things to help...and trust me you are not alone ... for some reason the surgeons donot want to look at any effects we have after our surgery...we can only hope in time we can educate them because you will see many here who have the similar things...In fact, I had tears in my eye reading your response to me because you could be me and I you...but different age...I am 49 years old...
Oh before I forget I take 80mg of Propranolol once a day...helps high Bp and bad headaches...Btw, like you I went to emergency with High Bp, worse headache, dizzy and nauseous...told it was a migraine...a few days later I collapsed at home back to ER and they found two brain aneurysm's...
My effects after the coiling...
1. Migraines ~ like you mine starts at the back of neck where I was coiled and goes up in my head and down my right side of my face...
2. I have Trigeminal neuralgia since my coiling due to damage of 3rd and 5th cranial nerve...
3. I have numbness and dropping on right side of face, and pain in right eye that is stabbing...
4. often I loose feeling in my hand and foot on the right side of my body...
5. I have trouble swallowing due to being cut by accident when intubated...
6. I have some balance issues but they are getting better...
7. I was told by surgeon (even though nurse in NICU noted remarks) that all these things have nothing to do with my surgery...
8. Two neurologist told me that all the effects are from my brain aneurysm that hasn't occluded...
9. I embrace my good days and bad days and accept and love the new me...It takes time and doesn't happen overnight...
10. As you are removed from meds, etc., you will feel better in time...but it takes long to recoup...
Most of all...I have learned along this journey that we and the medical community know so little about the BRAIN...
Keep me posted and wish you a beautiful day ~ Colleen
Wow....you have been thru worse than I have ...at this point anyway. The surgeon told me when I went in that they could puncture the artery, cause a stroke, badly effect my eye sight (the aneurisms were right close to the optic nerves) and I could die. I got all my affairs together and my poor husband was a basket case. The surgeon came in to see me after I had the first one and I asked him if these could come back or I could get new ones in my brain and he said I didn't have any more chance of getting another one than he did. That was reassuring but after reading some of the responses I have gotten I am not so sure. I asked if there was anything I should watch for after I had the procedures and his response was, "you will know if anything goes wrong". SO, I am paranoid every time I have a pain in my head....geeze! I too have been taking Propranolol ER 80 mg for years for three things. Blood pressure (it was borderline after menopause), migraines and I have a slight tremor in my head. My husband likes to call it bobbing.....believe me it isn't real obvious and only to those close to me. The Propranolol helps that they say. It is early yet and I shall just hope everything works out for me. I feel so bad to hear of all of your side effects and I think it is pretty un-compassionate of the surgeons not to address these after effects so that we are aware what to look for and what NOT to get alarmed about. You are so young....at least I am older but I sure as heck think I have a lot of life left to live. My husband retired last year and we have been enjoying the freedom so much...after 40 years we deserve a little time. I look around and I see so many people worse off so I count my blessings and look at the bright side. As far as anyone I know, I am back to normal. I was one lucky duck! Thank you so much for replying to me. If you don't mind, I will message you if I have any "different" symptoms show up. Just to compare..... It is cloudy and dank here in NH today but life is good! Thanks again, Muriel
Hi Muriel...it's all good...not to mention I am due for another angiogram, but I am in the process of moving from one state to another (hubby is being transferred) and I will be going to a better Hospital and Surgeon and hope that things will be better...eventually...
Any no I don't mind...you come to me for anything...
~ And I agree after 40 years and now retirement ... you deserve to enjoy travels, time together, etc., ... this is a burp in the road...and it may put things off for a bit...but trust me...it will get better...Wishing NH a sunny day today...~ Colleen
Since my coiling I have headaches almost daily, some worse than others. I usually wake up with a slight headache and go to bed with one. I also have two other aneurysms that they are watching. My doctor keeps telling me that the headaches are not related to the aneurysms but cannot tell me what is causing them. Tell me to take tylenol to control the pain. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
HaHa! That is exactly what I have Cheryl.....wake up with one and go to bed with one....they are mild and now are less frequent so I am hopeful they will subside completely. Sometimes when I cough it hurts my head and I have to hold on to my forehead to lessen the pain. This is not bad pain but it helps if I hold my forehead. I did NOT have this type of headache before I had the aneurisms coiled so I am sure they are residual effects of the coiling, I don't care what they say. I did however have cluster migraines for two months before I got my dizzy/vomiting warning and they discovered the aneurisms. I have had migraines since I was 25 years old so I wasn't alarmed, I just had never had so many, so close and for so long. Now I know....Tylenol is like a placebo to me. I only get relief from Advil (Ibuprofen). I am not a pill popper so do not take any more than I absolutely have to. Thankfully my blood pressure is getting under control. Thanks for your response. I have gotten a lot of response and it has eased my mind a lot. Have a happy evening! Muriel
My headaches started 3 months AFTER my coiling. They were horrible. I had never had headaches prior to surgery, my annie's were found by accident. One was coiled, one they left alone. I was on meds for 6 months, Elavil, 1 tab a day. I would get home from work at 7PM and by 7:30PM I was in bed, I slept at least one of my days off on the weekends, and also gained 35 lbs. I weaned myself off meds after 6 months, no more headaches, but I still haven't taken off the weight. I feel great but a little chubby. I got my OK for my next check-up in 4 years. In July it will be 4 years since my coiling. I also have had follow up angiograms & MRI, MRA - but I am good now for 4 years. Everyday is a gift - enjoy. Life is wonderful.