I’m curious if others have had what I began experiencing about a month ago.
I had a successful clipping for an unruptured right MCA in March 2014. Since I recovered from the surgery I’ve been blessed to essentially have no discomfort in that area (except for one short episode a year ago) until Feb 2017.
Once a year ago when I got very upset about something I felt pressure and some dull pain in that area for a few hours. About 4 weeks ago I started having noticeable pressure and low grade ache in that area. The spot that would ache would vary a bit, but it was all only in my craniotomy area and inside my head and it has been continuous for the last 4 wks.
I went to my surgeon’s hospital ER about a week ago and they did a thorough check (CT, MRI, MRA, labs etc.) and everything checked out OK… My obvious anxiety is this a normal side effect/ symptom others of you have experienced or is it an indication of some looming new problem?
Have any of you had new pressure & discomfort years after your craniotomy? What kind of symptoms did you have. Thanks for your input.
Ooh that’s scary! I had a craniotomy/clipping in January 2014 and it felt weird/inconsistent for the first year or so. I do get some pressure occasionally but I’m told by friends that air pressure and weather conditions can lead to that feeling (people without aneurysms).
I’ve never had anything super scary happen in that area but I did have a similar issue in the back of my head (strong emotion, pressure/dull pain). I’ve been scanned with contrast dye and I’m confident nothing is wrong; I assume that since we have a foreign item in our brain, sometimes it leads to some strange feelings.
When I’m feeling overly worried I try to make a joke about it; the alien that controls my brain via the clip is not doing it correctly . Gotta laugh sometimes, especially when those scans come back with a gold star.
I did not get any of my scans with contrast due to all of my severe allergies. That was not an option.
I met with my neurosurgeon 2 weeks after the ER visit I mentioned. He said he’s heard similar stories from other post surgery patients, sometimes a long time after their recovery from their surgery. I asked if it was possible that one of my nerves might have gotten feeling back after 3 years of not feeling anything and I was feeling something that had been there since my surgery? He said that was possible.
He said there were no problems with my previous surgery and nothing new that has cropped up. I can live with low grade discomfort and pressure if I know there is nothing dangerous lurking in the wings! It’s scary until you confirm that nothing new is going on!
. Gotta laugh sometimes, especially when those scans come back with a gold star.