As some of you may know, I have an unruptured annie and surgery coming up soon for clipping. I was just wondering if I am the only one who has had problems with dizziness and lightheadedness with an unruptured annie. My general practice doctor thinks its unrelated and that unruptured aneurysms don’t typically have many symptoms at all but we have zero explanation for why this is an ongoing issue lately. (Which I can’t complain about too much, as its why I went to the dr in the 1st place and ended up with a 2nd scan that let us know its been growing faster than any of us would like) the almost daily headaches and dizziness however say perhaps thats not always the case😕 Has anyone else experienced this, or am I the only one?
I have an unruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm found with MRI due to inner ear pain. I have experienced light headed and headache which dr says unrelated as well. The aneurysm is located on the same side as the ear pain.
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I’ve been having ear pain too…weird.
Can’t help but think these symptoms are related.
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Same. The ear pains been weird though…been happening for a long time, which I guess would make sense seeing as they originally found it a year and a half ago. Its like i get an earache…ear hurts to touch etc, but I can make it go away quickly (usually like a min or two) by manipulating my ear and moving it all around (which takes some easing into seeing as it hurts like hell at first), but it always comes back. Sometimes in 10 minutes, sometime a day etc. I have gone to the doctor many times and they always tell me it appears fine. I’ve avoided water thinking it was maybe swimmers ear or sometime…nothing helped. My lightheadedness has been around for a long time too…both have gotten worse…the anuerysm has gotten worse. I have a clipping surgery coming up. I find it interesting that you have similar issues.
Oh, and the ear is also on the same side as my aneurysm as well.
My 2 cents: Dizziness and lightheadedness is not uncommon in my world (a little before and a lot after the Annie burst). It is usually relate to too much coffee and not enough water or I forgot to eat that day. My Annie killed most of my hunger symptoms – I don’t “feel” hungry. So my symptoms are dizziness, lightheadedness, dropping things, or anger/frustration. We may tend to connect all behavior with or as a result of our Annie, but sometimes it may be something more simple. Lack of water, lack of healthy food, or lack of sleep, (lack of laughter).
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I think you’re spot on, symptoms can appear to be caused and blamed on our aneurysms but more often it is the simplest of things, especially hydration and protein in my world. I know for me, I become dizzy if I fail to eat and drink water. I think it may be related to my sugar level dropping but I’m not sure. I know it stops when I stop and eat and drink water.
@Mnmandy and @AHam1115 have y’all touched base with an ENT or Ophthalmologist? Just curious as those symptoms can be related to ears and eyes.
I was experiencing headaches, dizziness and was lightheaded. I could not lay down because everything would start spinning so I had to sleep sitting up. This is why I went to the doctor for testing where they discovered an aneurysm behind my right eye. We are monitoring it. No surgery. But, I still get dizzy spells occasionally. My neuro also said these symptoms were not related to the aneurysm. Go figure.
ENT found the aneurysm after referred by GP with middle ear infection. I have taken weeks of antibiodics and still have ear pain and dizziness. ENT ordered MRI and found it.
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Good point, KyrsG. I have found that “after this, therefore because of this” can be a dangerous diagnosis. It is always good to rule out other possibilities.
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My clipping of 2 Internal Carotid artery Annie’s was delayed by two and a half years due to various factors. The larger aneurysm ruptured during surgery and the surgeon said rupture had been imminent (as soon as he saw the aneurysm he could see how fragile the blood vessel was).
I agree with a few others that sometimes the lightheadedness is due to dehydration and drinking more water regularly definitely alleviates that feeling. However, I never had the lightheadedness and water intake sensitivity to the degree that I started to experience pre-Annie clipping. I still need to drink a lot of water 2 years post-clipping and I drink water through the night now also. I always have a bottle of water in my handbag -so I really need lots of water day and night, I’m more sensitive to the heat and that is very different to how I used to be. It’s a pain how many trips to the loo I make but it keeps the dizziness and some of the headaches at bay.
These are the symptoms that I had in the lead up to the very delayed clipping. When I told my neurosurgeon some of these he raised his eyebrows in a way that suggested he didn’t think they were related. Here goes:
-Dizziness (especially after bending down). I had to stop working in the garden because it made me so dizzy.
- Extreme tiredness
-Terrible, ghastly headaches that lasted days and left me feeling damaged and unable to verbalise normally. - A rushing feeling/sound inside my head if I walked up a steep hill and lightheadedness.
-a stretching feeling behind my eye when I turned my body a certain way (I angled my body to get into the car because another car was parked too close). The feeling made me want to throw up. It was scary and I felt it for the first time 6 weeks pre-clipping. Because of this scary feeling, when the surgeon got sick and said he wanted to delay again (the 4th delay), I said no, please refer me to someone else, I can’t wait any longer - I felt my time was running out. - My eyeball felt like it bulged slightly and when I rested by fingers lightly on both eyelids, the aneurysm side felt tender.
- My eyelid drooped. (It doesn’t anymore post-clipping)
Given the placement of my aneurysms on the Internal Carotid, and having seen XRays showing that the clips are placed behind my eye, all of these make sense to me that the sensations and pain I had were due to the aneurysms.
I think it makes sense that if an Annie is closer to the ear, it would also create some sensations near/in the ear.
I also think our systems are so interconnected that being just a little dehydrated when you have something “wrong” with your blood vessels has a disproportionate negative effect. Regularly drinking just a little more water might help:)
The lead up to the clipping is scary and recovery takes patience and time, but
you will get there! My little side note is that I felt that post-surgery is more uncomfortable and it was a variety of strange sensations rather than pain. The headaches pre-surgery were far more painful than anything from the operation. I hope that thought gives you some comfort. Life is better after surgery but just go easy on yourself during recovery!
I’m 2 years post-clipping and after my most recent follow-up scans the neurosurgeons say they don’t need to see me or do any more scans for another 3 years.
Best thoughts heading your way!
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@Nat Thank you for telling me all of that. I am trying to drink alot of water, but this lightheadedness is stubborn, coming on and off in a frequency I would rather not deal with, and it has a very distinct feel that isn’t much like any lightheadedness I’ve had in the past. The best way I can and have explained it to the doctors is that its the feeling you would get if you press on your carotid arteries so it restricts bloodflow…the face and head will get a weird pressurized feel along with a head swim, almost like what I imagine a full sinus feel in the face would be but much more intense and also in the head. I try to just ride it out everytime it happens, but its often and it gets a lil scary for me when I have a more intense one. Its happening often, so I no longer drive anymore. I’ve been to the doctor and we can’t figure out the why of it. I’ve never had any kind of ENT issues and everything looks good. Even still, outside of the waves of whatever this is…my sinuses and head feel normal, well normal besides the 24/7 low grade headache, which is my new normal. The ear pain was an interesting side note also, especially since its not a typical earache, but obviously it doesnt concern me really at all in comparison to the passing out/lightheaded feel. The eyelid drooping must have been concerning for you. I have been getting a consistent eyelid twitch for weeks, a normal thing to be sure, but annoying all the same, but I would def be at the doctor if it started drooping and I would find it concerning. I am glad you came out ok and that you told them you were done waiting. My wait since we found out its growing fast isn’t nearly as long, and it would already be fixed even, if the planned coiling had ended up being a feasible option. So you are a warrior in your own right to have gone through that long wait, especially when you weren’t feeling right. I don’t want to blindly blame anything on the aneurysm, but I am at a loss on what the cause is. So I am drinking alot and just trying to roll with everything until the surgery. I dont even know exactly where my aneurysm is…well I mean I know its location, the A2-A3 juncture of my anterior communicating artery…and its in the pericollsal area. I have seen brain diagrams etc, just cant seem to figure out its related location in my head. Like is it more towards the underside of my brain, top side, more in the middle, toward my ear in the side of my head, or the eye towards the front, or more towards the middle hemisphere…I just dont know its location in relation to other structures. Thank goodness I never tried to become a brain surgeon I can’t seem to follow a brain / artery map very well at all. 
Frustrating since I am usually good at that kind of thing, maybe its because its more dimensional and less familiar than im use to 
Thank you so much for sharing and I’m so happy to hear you are doing well and now only need to go every 3 years!
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Yes i have dizziness /lightheadedness all the time plus headaches everyday which they tell me its not related to aneurysm . Plus bad ringing in my ears. that all they ever say
The brain and its bits and pieces can be difficult to learn. There are two hemispheres, left and right. Here’s a good place to start. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain
The pericallosal artery goes over the beginning of the corpus callosum Corpus callosum: Anatomy, function and clinical aspects | Kenhub. You can see that here https://healthiack.com/wp-content/uploads/Pictures-of-anterior-cerebral-artery-14.jpg
Here’s a good representation with a face Pericallosal Aneurysm - TrialExhibits Inc.
The best I’ve found is this Anterior Cerebral Artery - Anatomy, Branches & Relations - YouTube
Hope this helps…
So I am going to back-track just a bit. Though it could be something simple, please do listen to you body. I am currently dealing with another problem and the doctors are stymied. I have gallbladder stones, but the gallbladder appears otherwise fine. All other organs and my heart tests are strong and fine. But my symptoms are that of a heart attack. My general surgeon wouldn’t do the surgery until I had my heart stress test. Then he failed to schedule it after the test came back fine. This weekend, I had an extreme gallstone attack that, again, the emergency room did not understand the symptoms of no pain of gallbladder but extreme pain at chest and upper-back. I share this with you just to say – YOU know your body. No one else does. My ex-husband still laughs about the fact that I have odd symptoms, or no symptoms, like other people. A result of the Aneorysm? I don’t know but I can’t think of any other real reason. I felt minimal or no contractions when delivering babies, I bruise or cut myself frequently and don’t realize when or why, and I am having heart attack signals for an unhappy gallbladder. Who the crap understands the miracle, the mystery, and the confusion of our body and brain. If you don’t feel right – don’t stay silent about it! I am sure everyone on this web page has a story to share about not being understood or listened to.
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Before they found my 4 unruptured aneurysms, I was at exercise class and felt lightheaded and couldn’t get up from the mat. Luckily my neighbors were there to drive me home. The next day went to my GP and she sent me to get an MRI/MRA where the aneurysms where found. That was in 2016. I went through 2 surgeries because two of the aneurysms were on the left and two on the right and the dr didn’t want to do the PEDs all at the same time. I’m feeling good for the most part but I do have some balance issues at times and like someone else mentioned I get foggy but I think it’s because I don’t drink enough water. I’m trying. When I get foggy I also feel like I’m starting to slur my words. Tylenol and water usually help. I’ve mentioned it to my dr and like many here they don’t see why that happens. But also like many here I’m grateful I get up each morning and can enjoy the day. Enjoy what we have.
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Have a small Aneurysm thats after a recent CT-scan was advised it’s shrinking. Also the wall of the artery is becoming stronger (thicker). Too start there was a incidental finding during a MRI in ER. Thought I was fortunate and escaped a heart attack/or Stroke diagnosis as my speech was impaired due to Hyponatremia. Otherwise I thought I was feeling fine. Yet an Internal Ceberal Cartoid Aneurysm was found on Right size was 2.9 x 6.1 medial wall of the right supraclinoid ICA.
The stroke was verbally dismissed by doctors. I don’t understand the following medical language though:
Age indeterminate: Hypodensity or Lacunar stroke seen in the left external capsule MR imaging may be obtained for further chacrazation. I’m seeking advice as to the reason a stroke was ruled out. As I read this is a ichemic stroke. This was in May of 2021 now almost two years later, confused by my diagnosis.
I think what this is saying is that there is an area of the brain that appears less dense than would be expected or may be a sign of a specific type of ischaemic stroke. It is not clear how long ago any such stroke may have occurred. They propose an MRI type scan to look at this area to characterise (= more accurately determine) what is going on.
If they’ve refused to say you’ve had a stroke, it may be that they don’t want to say so while it is unclear what they can see on your existing scans.
Hope this might help,
Richard
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Thank you for your response it sounds logical. Next visit with my Nerosurgeon I’ll see what he has to say about it. Its been almost three-years and no doctor has talked about this, even my Cardiologist.