Hello! I’m new here so hopefully I’m in the right place. I presented in the ER in the summertime with a horrible migraine which the doctors thought was brought on by a UTI. I got an MRA and they discovered a small aneurysm in the ICA at the ophthalmic artery. The MRA was after my hospital visit, as I told my GP about the experience and he ordered the MRA. Fast forward a month, I was having episodes of head pressure and it got so bad one night I went back to ER. The neurosurgeon was concerned about the first visit with the migraine, and sent me to a larger hospital with more resources. After meeting with their neurosurgery team they determined because the first event was potentially a “leak” they wanted to treat it. The location & wide neck were difficult to treat so they decided the flow diverter pipeline stent was the best option. Surgery itself went very well, I had one small episode after where my hand went numb and I got tachycardic but it lasted only a few minutes and I was in the hospital still so the team could assess me and they weren’t concerned. Fast forward, I felt “off” after surgery. It’s hard to describe but I felt lots of brain fog, head pressure, off balance and like I wasn’t quite there. In hindsight, I should have stayed off of work longer, but I returned after 3 weeks to a job that heavily relies on computer use. I had a follow up MRI, the stent is working correctly, there are no concerns. At the 3 month mark (last week) they determined I could come off the brilinta and remain on baby aspirin. For the last few months I’ve been dealing with brain fog, severe fatigue, weakness, visual disturbances (light in eye, static in eyes). I visited a neurologist who explains he believes I have a migraine disorder, although I have no classic “headache” symptoms. Last week I had an episode where my vision went blurry and lights were everywhere, then I lost vision for a few minutes in my one eye. I went to the ER because I was concerned about a stroke after ending the blood thinner. The CTA showed the stent is in place and blood is flowing correctly through it and no other evidence of stroke / clots etc. my neurosurgeon took a second look at the scans and they were reassuring that the stent is working correctly. I’m looking to see if anyone has had on going weakness, brain fog, fatigue, and general feeling of being off for months after surgery? The trick is that they can’t say for sure if the aneurysm ruptured or not originally, although they believe it did not. I know it takes a lot for your brain to recover, and from a structural standpoint, the surgery was successful, however, I didn’t expect to feel so off weeks and months later. I’ve had several scans & bloodwork and everything comes back normal. I’m still working with my GP to get to the bottom of this but Looking to hear about others healing experiences, as much of what I read says people felt fine relatively quickly. Thank you!
Hello
I was diagnosed with a 7.2 mm paraophthalmic aneurysm lasr year and I had a flow diverter placed last May. I was on birlinta 2x a day and baby aspirin for 7 months until December after the MRI and now I am taking regular aspiring 325 mg what I belive it will be for life. Folow up MRI is in one year. My headaches/ miranes reduced after the procedure, in the first 2 months after the procedure I had strong headache and I was prescribed methylprednisolone 2x. After that no more migraine. However once in a while I do few a light headache or pressure behind my eye. On the first 2-3 months after the procedure I did felt my hand numb, after talking to the doctor the response is that it not most likely not related. I hope you feel better soon.
Hi @Casshe, thank you for sharing your experience and reaching out to this wonderful group.
I had a flow diverter placed this summer for unruptured aneurysms, and went back to work as quickly as possible to a screen-heavy job. I too experienced the “off” feeling for quite a while, like my brain’s processing speed was a quarter of what it used to be. I had to avoid intense problem solving for a few months, because my brain just couldn’t do it, and even normal things like driving felt far more challenging, like my brain couldn’t quite keep up with my eyes tracking, so looking both ways before pulling out felt dangerously slow and confusing. I had weird streaks of light on my visual field, really annoying pulsatile tinnitus, brain fog, and physical fatigue for months.
I had a follow-up angiogram to check the stent and my remaining unruptured aneurysm in December, and both are looking fine. I feel like I’m now able to process pretty quickly again, but my short-term memory still isn’t where I would like it to be. I’m trying to accept that it may never come online fully, so I play games like Sudoko and make up memory games with my husband to try to force the issue. 
Occasional silent migraines are a current annoyance, where I have the aura and vision loss, but no pain. They last about a half hour, then go away. I note that they come when I allow myself to fear, so I try to avoid that crippling mindset. I also can’t listen to multiple people talking at one time anymore, so I often have to mute the tv if my husband is telling me a story while a program is playing. It’s wild to think that my brain used to be able to handle three or four voices at once.
I was afraid to travel initially, but that feeling is minimal now. I just returned home from 12 days in Atlanta for work, and felt most excited when I realized that I hadn’t thought about my brain once during the flights. I plan to return to a more robust domestic and international flight schedule this year.
Everyone has different experiences, and checking things that don’t seem right with your care team is wise. We have to be patient with our healing, it takes time. I hope you continue to heal and feel more comfortable each day. We’ll all be thinking good thoughts for you.
Hello, @darlysaar thank you so much for sharing. I really appreciate everyone’s support on here and it’s helpful hearing others experiences. May I ask around what month you started to feel a little less of the brain fog/off feeling? Also if you don’t mind me asking did you have periods of it getting better than worse on and off? Thank you so much for what you’ve shared so far, it’s very helpful.
Hi @Casshe, I had to give your questions a little thought. Around Month 4, I started feeling more like myself. Months 5 and 6 were pretty stressful; that’s when the silent migraines came onto the scene, so I doubled down on meditation. I did notice myself feeling better and more mentally present daily. In mid-December my 6-month follow-up angiogram was all-clear. Since then I’ve really felt much like my old self, just a more forgetful version who can’t lift as much.
My youngest son has lived with static on his visual field, persistent images, light sensitivity, derealization and depersonalization as long as he can remember. We saw our doctor, tested for seizure disorder, saw a neurologist, etc, but no diagnosis was reached…he was told to essentially just deal with it and do his best. He has not yet had an MRA, so we plan to address that this year, considering my diagnosis. Visual Snow Syndrome was just recognized in the diagnostic manual in 2025, so health professionals seem to still be learning about it, and researchers are still trying to figure out appropriate treatments. I only mention this because you referenced static and lights.
I hope you continue to be well and can soon reach a time when alarming things aren’t happening. Each of us have different brains and experiences, but I’ve learned from reading here the past six months and from my own life that time does heal a lot, and that with a positive attitude, we can adapt around what doesn’t heal or come back. However, if things continue to feel off for you, keep notes about when and how strange things happen, and please keep communicating with your providers. We often have to be our best advocates, as most people struggle to understand what they can’t see.
Be well and keep in touch!
My situation is a little similar to yours. They found three un-ruptured aneurysms on the internal carotid artery near my left optic nerve. They treated them with a diverter stent in Jan. 2025. I found out I had an aneurysm because I experienced aura migraines and one of my eyes was smaller than the other. After the stent procedure, I had major brain fog, head pressure, visual disturbances. Like you, I was told to go to the ER, but the hospital findings saw that my stent looked good. It’s been a year and I still have brain fog, my eye is smaller than the other, visual auras, and battle headaches almost daily. Honestly, I feel like my cognition is not as sharp as it use to be: I am in my early 40s. It’s hard to focus, it takes me time to process information. I feel like I have a bad case of ADHD. I was told these symptoms stem from stress and regular headaches (not sure if I truly believe that). I am scheduled for an INR ANGIOGRAM CEREBRAL. If you have had these procedures after a stent procedure, how did it go? Was it as bad as the stent procedure itself. Quite frankly, I am freaking out about this procedure. I am afraid this will make my situation worse. Reading everyone’s comments here gives me a peace of mind that I am not alone.
From VA, USA
Hi! Thanks for sharing. It seems there are lots of similarities. I notice one of my eyes seems smaller as well - when I mentioned this they weren’t concerned because it was my opposite eye?! Odd. I find that the whole situation did severely cause me stress. I have an 18month old baby and am 29, so it was a crazy shock to the system. Not to mention, every odd symptom and situation has caused a lot of anxiety. I want to say it’s getting better - or at least I’m learning to live with it. I have not yet had any other procedures are I just got my stent at the end of September. I will be going for an MRA again in June to see if it has shrunk (please please let it be shrunk), if it hasn’t, they’ll think about putting in another stent. Although I’m hoping for the best. I wish you the best of luck. Did your symptoms seem to improve at all in the last year? I notice more so the last 2 weeks I have good days, and tough days.
No, my eye is still smaller. Like you, it’s on the opposite side (weird). Honestly, my symptoms have gotten worse. It use to be visual headaches and a small eye. Now, I have mental fatigue, slower processing deficits, and daily tension headaches (eye twitches, left side of face feels tingly, etc). I’m not sure if it’s because of anxiety, headaches, or both. I have my angiogram next month. I will let you know how it goes. This is to see how my stents are doing I guess.