I have recently been diagnosed with a 5mm paraclinoid annie and am in the process of a second opinion, which is taking a lot of time (my dr here in Boise wants to do open skull surgery as this is in a very difficult place and has a very wide neck)
Anyways, my headaches, he says, are not from the Annie. AND they are getting so much worse, now I cannot sleep because of the pain.
I don't know what to do at this point. Any suggestions? I have read that annies WILL give you headaches...how can my dr be so sure? Also, if this isn't from the Annie, then how can I get relief?
Any suggestions, I am getting desperate! thank you so much! ~trish
Hi Trish...don't let Liam know this...but I agree with him...he has given good advice...read so many posts...I never had a headache till that awful headache where my Brain aneurysm was eventually found...now that I have been coiled...my headaches are a norm...however, I would rather this than what could have happened...~ Gotcha in my Thoughts...~ Colleen
Ps...in the mix you may want to get a neurologist to help control those headaches...I had/have both...neurologist and neurosurgeon...
Yes, how can your doctor be so sure -- that's such a typical reaction of many a Neurosurgeon, thing is, they don't know and for some reason ( beyond comprehension,) many will say that your annie is not causing you headache pain...seems a tad on the counter intuitive side , doesn't it !
I agree with what Colleen and Liam both said (You can tell Colleen, but keep it on the down-lo from Liam) see your GP and/or a Neurologist in the meantime, perhaps also ask your GP to write up a script for the related anxiety you're no doubt experiencing (Xanax works well for me), Best of luck to you Trish !
Thank you Janet. I have been scheduled at Johns Hopkins on Jan 7. Dr Coon has accepted me for treatment. I feel better about this now, I know I am in skilled hands.
So pleased to hear you have some confidence in your surgeon. I had headaches for many years before my aneurysm was diagnosed. I thought everyone had headaches like I did they were just normal life, pressure, stress, over indulgence! I was then diagnosed with high blood pressure and once this was treated and under control the headaches improved quite a lot. I have had lots of headaches and now migraines since my aneurysm was stented and I see a neurosurgeon specifically to help control these. She told me that anyone who has trauma to the brain from any source- a bang to the head from an accident, surgery, things in the head that shouldn't be there (stents/coils/clips/aneurysms/tumours).. is going to get headaches! So I think what the surgeons mean is the headaches don't mean the aneurysm dangerous and is about to burst- just my personal thought.
Thank you Jennifer. I have never had headaches as a "norm" for me, they started a couple of months ago and progressed and got more frequent and bad. I hope I don't have to live with them after the treatment. How do you manage them now?
With painkillers- dihydrocodeine, paracetamol and anti sickness tablets- cyclizine. I try to take them as soon as I feel a headache is coming on and then if possible lie down somewhere quiet and dark. The less serious headaches I have just got used to. Mine are getting less frequent- its been 15 months since my surgery. The neurosurgeon said I could start treatment with other medication (and there are lots of options, but they generally have to be taken all the time rather than just when having a headache) if they continued at the minimum rate of 2 migraines per month or 1 significant migraine (1 lasting several days) per month but they have settled down again so that is probably not going to be necessary. There is also botox treatments available. You don't need to put up with them you can get help so try not to worry.
You know Trish...with all the procedures i've had done (clipping for an unruptured aneurysm...then a rupture 7 years later which was coiled...then 3 years after receiving the coils they compacted, resulting in another clipping) strangely enough, I've not had to battle any of the headaches or migraines after any of my procedures....
Everyone is different and all annies are not the same, granted, but i sure do hope you come out of this, headache free. It really does happen !