I’m 48, have a 7mm aneurysm in my anterior communicating artery. I’m scheduled for craniotomy and clipping in 2 weeks. I have good support around me and I’m blessed because of it. Just hoping for some good vibes sent my way from all of you and I’m all ears on any advice regarding care and recovery. Thanks and take care. Keith
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Welcome to our community Keith! We can give you a lot of tips and of course you can do a search on the site for more. For starters, go to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation site Recovery - Brain Aneurysm Foundation
This will give you and the people who support you a lot of good information. I ruptured back in 2013 and had never heard of a brain aneurysm. So no preparation.
Some of the things I like to do prior to a procedure is to make sure my house is in order. Not just cleaning and doing things to make ready for easy meals, enough Gatorade, enough easy proteins to eat but also we had our wills updated, paid the bills, all those things one does to make them feel right in the world as much as possible. I’m one of those individuals who like to prepare for the worst and expect the best. On procedure three, my Neurosurgeon thought she may have to do a craniotomy. I cut my hair very short just in case. My reasoning was it wouldn’t be long on one side and “bald” on the other. My Neurosurgeon was very tickled about it all.
Make sure you are well hydrated prior to and afterwards. It makes it much easier for needles to go in and for your surgeon. It helps the healing process dramatically. When I was in ICU for the rupture, a dietician came by and said I needed to eat at least 90 gms of protein a day. Your body, especially your brain will need this to heal
Understand the risks completely, both you and your support group. This is serious surgery but the benefits do outweigh the risks. You and yours also need to understand there may be some personality changes. We never know what, most folks recover quite well, some have a longer time of it. Expect you will need a lot of rest afterwards. Give yourself about 2-3 months. Hopefully you won’t need that much.
I remember vacations of fishing, hiking and horseback riding in Oregon as a young person. It is a beautiful state! Try to take walks as soon as you can but cresting Mt. Hood may take a bit of time, so make the walks easy.
Remember to take care of the surgical site and follow all your doctor’s orders. Don’t skimp on them, this isn’t the time. Oh and make sure you and everyone else that comes close to the site wash their hands well.
I hope those members who have had craniotomies will chime in and share their personal experiences. If you need help navigating our site let us know. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy.
Sending all the good vibes I can for you and yours!
Moltroub
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Hey Keith,
Welcome to Ben’s Friends.
I’ve gone through a few neurosurgeries and none of them have been the same either in procedure nor recovery. Some people can recover miraculously with very little after effects, but for some the effects can be ongoing. And there does not seem to be an exact measure on how or why. In fact at my last neuro review, for the first time ever, I had a neuro admit that they simply do not know why some patients have ongoing symptoms.
My recommendations to all neuro patients is : BE KIND TO YOURSELF and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
I thought post surgery I could just continue on with life/work as I had before… Ohh, I was very wrong. I convinced myself that by pushing my limits I was ‘building stamina’, when in fact I was driving myself into the ground. The more I pushed, the more my body pushed back, so I pushed more, doing myself a greater injury, requiring further neurosurgery… …ahhh, don’t do that. Take the time you need to recover and when your body gives those signs to slow down or stop, Don’t ignore them.
Having a support system around you is a HUGE plus. I thought I could do it all myself, wrong again. I had what I call the ‘caveman’ attitude ie I man, I strong. I could before, so I can now, only I couldn’t. I tried to do it alone but ohh what a mess, having others around is a must because there maybe times when you simply cannot do everything you think you can.
Your recovery is going to take as long as it takes, don’t push it. I tried to measure my recovery, firstly on how others had recovered and then comparing each of my own surgeries. As I’ve often said to others, ‘we’re all wired differently’, so which neuro-circuitry has been disturbed for you can be totally different and uniquely ‘you’. There is no exact comparison. Even with my own surgeries, none of them have been the same.
Sending you as many good vibes as I can.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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Thanks so much. Very thoughtful.
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Hi Keith
God bless
Always remember “recovery is not an event, is a journey “ don’t rush
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Hello,
Praying for a great recovery. Please be patient with yourself. Take it easy, get all the rest your body requires, and do not stress.
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You got this! Prayers being said and just think positive. The one thing I learned before surgery is you may get some discoloration in your face from bruising. Don’t be alarmed, it’s typical.
Take care,
Jj
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Wish you all love and a great recovery!!!
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Good Luck Keith. I’m praying all will be fine.
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Hi KMG,
I sent you all my good vibes!! and I am here for you for support!
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Sending positive vibes your way.
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Sending well wishes and positive energy for a successful outcome. My suggestion for you is to be gentle with yourself before and after. Your body as well as your spirit need time to recover. Also try and stay connected here, as there is amazing support from all of us. Love, Blessings and Healing💜
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My 77 year old cousin had his Anni coiled a couple of years ago, and all went well, he is living a normal life, and from what I read the same can be said of clipping (I had my ruptured Anni clipped five years ago and, apart from the damage the rupture did, I am stll plugging away, can think, talk, cycle my trike, cook, eat and feel blessed to have this extra time with my wife. Good luck, and believe in the surgeons
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Hi Keith,
Best of luck with your surgery. I too had an ACOM annie, 6 mm. It was repaired with coils and 2 stents. One nice thing about clipping is, I think you wont have to take daily aspirin for life? Keep us posted!
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Sending you all positive vibes a d prayers!! I am 2 years post-op from a DACA aneurysm. This forum is a huge blessing!!!
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Hi Keith, I had my aneurysm clipped a year and a half ago. Recovery is longer than I anticipated and I was otherwise in good health. You will be tired and easily fatigued. I had a sensitivity to light for a while. No real pain, except in my jaw right after surgery. I couldn’t chew and requested pureed food. That didn’t last long. Along with Moltraub, I recommend that you eat really well. Fruits and veggies! Good luck!
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Welcome to our group Keith. I had 1cm aneurysm it was operated trough Interventional Radiology. I rested and slept a lot during pandemic. Since it was repaired in February of 2020. It took a year for me to go back to my normal self. I’m able to multitask at work, most of all no more head aches.
Maggie
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Hey folks! I sent a private message to Keith. Keith is having his surgery tomorrow, March 31, 2021 at 0530. He continues asking for good vibes and prayers.
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Are there any updates on Keith? Sending him prayers and positivity…
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@phoenix33 i haven’t heard from @KMG (Keith) yet. I hope he’s fairing well. Perhaps when he is ready he will come back and check in. Let’s continue to hold him in our thoughts. As we know, his struggles aren’t over yet and recuperating can take a bit of time.
All the best,
Moltroub