Ok, correct me if I am wrong..but the way to stay pretty healthy is eating right & exercise...so why am I pretty scared to just dive in? I went to bed one evening a pretty healthy person and woke up broken..lol. My annie is 3mm. I am 35, I am in "waiting" mode, I don't want to gain anymore weight..Has anyone else been advised of exercises they can or can not do. All my doctor really said was I needed to keep my blood pressure down, which isn't really a problem. Thanks for the insight :)
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Jamie,
My dr said don't do anything that causes the blood to pump harder. I was advised not to mow the lawn (push mower). One morning in May (after being diagnosed in March with 3.5) I mowed the lawn and around 10 p.m. that night, I thought it was rupturing. I had the worst head pain and pressure behind my right eye. My annie is in the right internal carotid artery near the opthalmic artery. The pain and pressure scared me really bad. I saw my neurosurgeon the next week and described this to him and he said that I should not do any activity that can increase the blood pumping. He also said that they suspect that when we have these severe head pains, that is when the annie is growing. Well, mine was wait and watch then, but, when I had another angiogram in June the annie had grown and when I had the liquid embo, it was 5.6. It had grown that quick in 14 weeks. Just be careful, and if you have severe pain in that area of your head, get it checked.
I will keep you in my prayers. It is learning a new way of life right now.
Karen
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I'm 43. Prior to my AVM & aneurysm diagnosis, I went to bellydance classes regularly (I'm in a local troupe--was at reharsal at least once a week & frequently attended two day workshops & had just attended a 3.5 day workshop before diagnosis). I didn't do any dance during the time between diagnosis & meeting the neurosurgeon (family doc said not to do anything that might jar my head. Surgeon said to dance as much as I felt like. With end of the school year paperwork & getting ready for Gamma Knife & then craniotomy, I didn't have time for classes. (And the troupe was working on choreo that could have been to jarring on the head). I spent 4 months of NOT dancing & it made me crazy!
Four weeks post craniotomy, I was back in the dance studio--just taking it a little easier.
The troupe started spinning poi in May. I didn't attempt it until last month--I am being very careful--I already bopped myself in the head right on the incision site & I am careful doing zar (trance dance). Otherwise, I can shimmy all I want. :)
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When I first got out of the hospital after my coiling, I could barely sit up for more than an hour at a time..later on I was allowed to increase activity and the one thing that I knew I could do a little at a time and progress without increasing my BP (as long as you keep it slow and steady) and increase to infinite (If I really wanted) was walking. I don't think anyone will disagree, I'm certainly not talking race-walking, or even walking at a brisk pace, because that would raise your BP, but a slow steady walk, you could walk for miles and miles and never raise your BP (in fact it actually works to lower it). Now that I try to think of it, there were a lot more "no no's" like, no putting your head below your heart, no weightlifting, etc. , but no on ever said no to walking so, I would check for sure, but walking has been my savior.
Good luck and Blessings in your waiting mode.
-Cec
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I walk and walk alot. I do go to yoga but restorative. I hesitate doing any strenous exercise as not to get my blood pressure up. I have low blood pressure normally.
I have asked my GP....and I just cannot get a straight answer.....is my heart rate (which goes up when I do exercise) the same as my blood pressure and how are the two related?
I don't mean to sound ignorant...but no one has given me a clear answer.. I am always being told to just be careful.
Well I am now 15 pounds overweight...(quitting smoking has alot to do with that, I'm sure)....
Sorry, I guess I am not really much help....I would like to know also.
Maybe someone on this site will know...
Good luck....
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after i had my 5mm anny rupture about 6 wks post op, dr said i could go back to doing pretty much watever i wanted to do…exercise, dance n that lovely past time sex…lol…i had one restriction…no rollercoasters…pretty much that was it…i feel great n its been 2 yrs since i met my anny…ugh!..lol…but dont let it keep you down just work around it…its not supposed to control our lives…love n prayers coming ur way sweety
I have no restrictions - not the same as no FEARS! But no restrictions. I’ve never been a runner, so that’s a non-issue, but I do yoga, walk, am active at home w my kids. I’m going to get back to aerobics eventually (that’s a motivation issue…not an aneurysm issue!)
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I have a follow up appointment this Friday and the excersise question is at the top of my list. I am just gaining weight sitting around resting. I had planned on walking as soon as I am cleared but I will certainly ask about the blood pressure issue.
Thanks Guys for all the answers!! I too have been just packing on the weight! I think it has a lot more to do with the slow down of my metabolism and hormones…I’m at that “35” number in age where these play a huge role in weight gain in women ;( I am constantly on the run with my kids, sports, school functions, etc,. but that is not really the same as exercise. My annie hasn’t ruptured nor has it changed since being diagnosed-- but I do still have the screws on the right side of my skull where my lobectomy & craniotomy where done from a previous bleed or rupture , and when I exercise-- I FEEL everything in my head…so my heartrate shoots up, mostly out of fear…blah…but my radiological interventionalist docc said he doesn’t see why I can’t do exercise as long as my bloodpressure stays down ( which I run VERY low)…I started seeing a personnel trainer in April/ May…he did get me motivated, I was walking first and worked myself up to the crosstrainer and I also lifted light weights…I wore a heartrate monitor and always checked my blood pressure and just listened to my body…I lost 14 inches…BUT as all of you know, a busy mom, not making that time for herself, well I gained it back!! I did ask about running, and again all my doctor could say was not to let my BP get up …nothing about the running jarring my annie or anything…so thats why I am asking everyone what they have been told…I think I will find an exercise physiologist and see what type of research they may have read or know and I’ll post 
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Jamie,
It's funny to me you use the word "broken" because every time we go to the doctors, that's what my husband says tothe doctor, "she's broken again, can you fix her?". We laugh about that, because he says with me being broken, it's like he's lost his right arm. (what he really means is he can't live without me!!). We've been married 31 years this coming November!!
As far as exercising, my surgeon gave me no restrictions at all! I had the PED done in June, I have my follow up angio and MRA in December and a small 2mm watch and wait annie. Although I have been told over and over not to "worry" about that annie, and that my 9mm has been "fixed", sometimes it is so hard to forget you have a ticking time bomb in your head! I dont care how many times someone says forget it's there! That's like saying forget you won the lottery and you now have 100 million dollars you can't spend!! LOL
The most important thing is to listen to you body!! It will tell you when you are pushing too much!! I think as women we tend to forget about ourselves, we worry more about everyone else, our kids, our spouses, etc. We need to relearn to slow down, take one day at a time, heal ourselves, listen to our bodies and our brains, exercise, eat right and do all the things we make sure everyone else does!!
I wish you the best of luck with this journey of yours, and hope that you can find the strength to take this slowly and listen, listen, listen!!!!
Best wishes,
Linda
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Suggest you watch the webinar with Dr. Christopher Ogilvy of Mass General, who addresses the issue of exercise and living with an aneurysm.
June 28, 2011
"Cerebral Aneurysms and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: An Open Forum of Questions and Answers" with Neurosurgeons Dr. Christopher Ogilvy of Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Aaron Cohen-Gadol at Goodman Campbell Brain and Spine and Indiana University Department of Neurological Surgery.
Click here to watch the webinar.
Of course, before beginning any exercise program, you should all consult with your own doctor.
thank you ......
appreciate the information....
shirley
Nicely put Linda,
I too have yet another small aneurysm being watched.....some days I have to try very hard not to let the ticking bomb take over....
But life is good......we (annie surviors) all have been given a gift of appreciating every "new" day....and I know that I certainly do....
We have the strength....we are Strong....we are HERE....
Prayers and best wishes
shirley
That was a question I had since I was first diagnosed with mine back in April. I've got a 4 x 3 basilar tip annie that I've been watching since it was first discovered. I'm 54 years old and have worked out my entire life doing both cardio and weight training. As soon as it was discovered I stopped cold...but I'm also on medication for high blood pressure and realized I needed to get that under control first. Since I stopped exercising I've gained about ten pounds of fat, so needless to say I need to do something.
I discovered this site and asked that very same question on here and received a reply from Ginny (thank you Ginny), who not only sent me a very informative link that helped answer that and many more questions, but also suggested a physician I can see for a second opinion in my area. I did visit that doctor (and was really glad I did), who gave me an answer pretty much the same as Dr. Ogilvy's response in the video.
Basically what I was told is I can lift weights (light to moderate), there are certain exercises I can't do such as squats or any type of bent over exercises, I can do light cardio...more distance than speed or inclines. I just need to use common sense and listen to my body.
For me personally, I don't know if mine is growing or staying the same...even though I think about it every day, I will not dwell on it and I refuse to stop living and walking on eggshells. However that doesn't mean I won't use common sense in my day to day living.
Rick
PS Thank you again Ginny for sending the link and the referring the doctors at Shands to me, both my wife and I were really glad we went.
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I specifically was worried about inversion type moves in yoga - and my doc said that blood rushing to the head, as when bent over - is NOT a problem, that pressure to the brain is regulated in a much more sophisticated way - that even when we feel the blood going to the head, as when bent over - pressure in the brain is protected. That must make sense, or every gymnast, yogi, etc would have brain problems! I’m doing my best to trust my doctors. Went back to yoga today after a month away, and it felt great. I think about the aneurysms, but am trying not to let them run and ruin my life.
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Good to hear, Rick! That was quick! A little common sense goes a long way!