Ruptured 3mm aca coiled: I was wondering if there are any lifelong restrictions such as never being allowed to have thc gummies or a shot of alcohol ever again. I don’t know what any of my restrictions are. I have an evaluation day next Monday, 24th. I know I’m staying away from NSAIDS permanently.
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Hey Pepsolman,
My name is Merl, I’m a member of the Modsupport Team here on Ben’s friends.
Now, when it comes to medications, we always recommend patients talk to their medical team. We aren’t Dr’s, we aren’t chemists/pharmacists. When it comes to medications, some drug interactions can turn, normally inert substances, lethal. Your medical team will know your medical history and any medications you have been prescribed. It is the pharmacist’s role to know the interactions of drugs and a private one-on-one discussion with a pharmacist could help answer such questions. Due to all of the variables in your health, the type of delta-9 you consume, other medications you maybe taking you should always consult a professional.
I too use delta 9, but not as gummies. Post surgery they recommended ‘Don’t smoke’, obviously the raise in BP via smoking is not good, along with all the other nasties smoking involves. It was recommended I vape, which I did initially but eventually reverted back to smoking. I did speak to the medicos prior and although (obviously) none of them are going to agree with smoking, there was some reluctant understanding. Now, I’m in Australia and it’s only been in the last 10yrs or so that our government has made it ‘medically available’ and some medicos still have the ‘Reefer Madness’ mentality in regard to it, that is slowly changing. But some of the old skool medicos are fully against it.
Please, do let us know what your Doctors say. It would be interesting to compare.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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Hey Matt! Welcome and thanks for posting! I ruptured and was told to limit alcohol intake, no more than one glass or bottle of beer a day. Alcohol thins the blood or so I was taught decades ago. When I ruptured, thc gummies weren’t a thing. I do recall my neurosurgeon saying no pot which we laughed heartily at, I’m pretty allergic to whatever type is in NC. She also suggested I stop smoking and like Merl I tried to vape.
I have a good many rules do to my rupture which includes a weight limit of 40 lbs., not straining when having a bowel movement, not blowing my nose hard, stay hydrated and eat protein (at least 90 gms a day), no operating power tools when alone, not getting on a ladder, not cooking without someone else in the kitchen, etc. every time I did something stupid, I got a new rule it seems. Fortunately I am allowed on the tractor without anyone being home and I’m allowed to use the grass trimmer. Not allowed to use either the gas or electric pole trimmer without someone around, I just use the long manual pruner.
I suggest you reach out to your surgeon and ask about the gummies, alcohol and whatever rules they want you to follow. I imagine my first few will be the same but I’m no doc.
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Hi @Pepsolman -
First of all, I completely agree with the prior posts that your medical team will know FAR more than I will, so I defer to them for sure!
As a fellow patient (rupture, coil & stent), I didn’t drink much post-rupture, but after some months I had some friends over for dinner, and served some prosecco, something we all love. I didn’t have much - just a glass or so - but let me tell you that my home health aide and family member found out about it, and fussed over me. My family member then mentioned it to my neurologist at the next week’s appointment. Can I tell you that I was absolutely reamed out?!?! It was so bad, that my family member actually gave up drinking as well - that’s how bad it was! 
I came to the conclusion that - at least for me - too many people had sacrificed too much for me, and i couldn’t throw it all away, so I decided to stop once and for all.
FWIW, our former surgeon general here in the US (basically the country’s “top doctor” appointed by the President) actually called for warning labels for alcohol in terms of causing cancer](U.S. surgeon general explains why he’s calling for cancer warnings on alcohol | PBS News), but I have not seen any conversation regarding aneurysms, although I have seen some tv programs that talk about how alcohol is a toxin to the brain, but again, I leave that to the medical professionals.
I have always been a non-smoker/non-TcH person, so I have not investigated that. I do miss my NSAIDS though, but am learning that acetaminophen isn’t a bad alternative! 
Please keep us posted on how your appointment goes and what we can do to support you!
Fin Whale Fan 
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Had an evaluation appointment with my doc on the 24th. He basically told me to “live but don’t go off doing a marathon or CrossFit”. He didn’t specify substance restrictions or if sex was dangerous or not. He did give me 6 more weeks off from work and informed me I needed to be evaluated by a specialist to be able to drive again as it is required by law. I’m left with more questions than answers. My wife is afraid to have intercourse with me and sends me links she finds of ‘sex being dangerous for aneurysms’. It’s definitely going to put a wedge between us if I can’t get solid answers. I’ve told her I’ve climaxed several times over the past few weeks and everything works. I know she’s dealing with PTSD of that night and she’s in fear of killing me with sex. How realistic is that mentality? I hate not getting straight answers on this and I’m gonna be forced to message the doctor tomorrow about it. So embarrassing.
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It’s only embarrassing to us because we don’t usually discuss intimacy in great detail with others I think. I can share what my Neurosurgeon or the NP said when we broached the subject “practice”. For me, my body temperature plummets, being that cold is painful. I told her something more descriptive but basically it was like wearing the emperor’s new clothes outside in a blizzard.
It’s not uncommon for our partners to develop PTSD, on the other side of the coin, it’s not uncommon for people who’ve ruptured to develop PTSD. When we went to see Dr. Gary for my Psych testing, he told us BH definitely had PTSD but I didn’t. BH asked why and I being the mostly confused person I’ve become said it’s a 50/50 shot - genetics vs environment. (It’s funny if you were a Psych major, it’s a fall back answer and question all at the same time).
Be kind to your spouse, be open to discuss her feelings. She may need to speak to someone and work out her feelings. Treat her like she’s your best friend. I truly believe we made it through those early years because we communicated with each other. To this day, I can’t imagine what BH went through being told each day for 21 days not to expect me to live until the next. They don’t tell patients that.
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Hey Pepsolman,
Often, when it comes to the brain, obtaining a hard Yes/No answer is near on impossible. We get lots of ‘possibly’ or ‘maybe’, but because we are all different that ‘hard answer’ is not possible. I think the best way to look at it is ‘all in moderation’. I do understand your wife’s caution (so was mine), so we took it a bit more carefully with her doing most of the work 
She was forever asking ‘Are you OK? Are you sure?..’ but once it was established all was working fine (and she could see it was OK), her guard relaxed a bit. Now in saying that I must also agree with @Moltroub
Us blokes often don’t get much into the ‘feelings’ side of things, but a bit of that touchy feely emotional side and a whole heap of honesty can go along way to putting her mind at rest, well, it did my Mrs.
I’m 12yrs on since my last surgery and still today she often asks ‘Is your head OK?’ to which I often cheekily respond “which one?” SMACK “I didn’t deserve that…” (OK, so maybe I did )
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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Directly messaged the doc’s office. He gave the OK to resume intercourse. I know this is a bigger deal for my wife than it is for me because I know how I feel. She’s the one that went through pretty much saving my life. We definitely have two different perspectives on the events. But I’m relieved to know I’m in the clear. 
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Now you just have to practice patience with her. It won’t matter what your doc said, she needs to feel comfortable. So start with holding hands like you did when you first started dating.
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