I am being promoted! :) or :(?

Support Prayer & Healing Energy Requests
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Hello to all my beautiful BA people!

I sense that there was a overarching theme among many of us this past week, and so it is time I own up that I was part of the club as well. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

When I referenced in a prior topic that I was reading a book about TBI, I was actually waiting for my neuroradiologist, after - yes! - getting an MRA done earlier that morning. [Is there some kind of mandate that aneurysm patients get MRAs done in the same week?? :rofl: :rofl:]

The end result is that my annie is growing. It is still very small compared to what most of you have (~2mm) (!!), but my doctor wants to retreat it, and not take the chance of another rupture. (It has grown since the angiogram 6 months ago, so it is on the upward track.)

So, in a couple of weeks, I am going to be promoted from just the Coil Club to the Coil & Stent Club! :grin: I understand the procedure to be very similar to an angiogram 
 but selfishly I think it will be easier since I will be under a general anesthesia and not a sedation (sleep) anesthesia.

If anyone has any advice or experience about moving to the Stent Club, I am all ears!

On top of all that, I did my preadmission labs where we learned one of my non-related prescriptions side effect is lower potassium levels - low enough I was sent to the ER that same day to deal with it! So, now trying to throw everything potassium-related into me to build those levels up so I can actually have the procedure, and am leaving shortly to have my levels rechecked. :crossed_fingers: :crossed_fingers: :crossed_fingers: :crossed_fingers:


 and because you know me well enough that I have to try to see the humor in this someway, somehow, I have named my annie “Elmer.” Why? Well, the nurse was explaining the stent to me, and how the long range goal is to cut off blood flow to Elmer. I replied back, o.k., so we’re trying to kill it off over time, and she agreed that is correct. Ever since, my mind has been replaying the famous Bugs Bunny cartoon I loved as a child, “Kill the Wabbit,” excepting, of course, substitute “annie” for “wabbit.” :rofl: :rofl:

[For those who are from a different country or a different generation, I share this brief excerpt that was evidently permanently engrained in my brain!

Kill the Wabbit

Hence how Elmer got his name! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Thank you in advance for all prayers & healing energy. It truly means a great deal to me!!

Fin Whale Fan :whale2:

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I’m the proud owner of 4 flow diverters. I do believe the procedure is much the same as coils, so I believe you can expect the same preparation and hospital stay as your coiling. I’m not sure if you are prescribed blood thinners with a coiling, so that may be different? If not, you can expect 4-6 mos of heavier blood thinners (plavix and aspirin or brilinta and aspirin in most cases), then a continued regimen of 81mg aspirin for life.
At least that’s the norm - there are always exceptions.

Sorry you aren’t done yet, but as I am also a repeat customer in the endovascular procedure world, I must say it all gets easier and, bizarrely, pretty routine. Never thought I’d say that a few years ago! You’re going to do great! Let us know when you have a date. Meanwhile, I’ll be praying and sending good vibes your way.

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@Judi -

Thank you. You are such a gift to all of us with your kind, compassionate, and wise words. I am so grateful for your presence here! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Your experience truly shows! You are correct that I will soon be on a Plavix & aspirin regime in prep for the surgery, with Plavix fading off whenever I am told (gathering somewhere in the 6 months to 1 year routine). When my neuroradiologist said I am on baby aspirin for life, I held up my pill box (had in hand since I was due shortly before the appointment), and said what’s the big deal if I take another pill? :rofl:

This sounds horrible to say, but tongue-in-cheek, I will say that there is one definite advantage to a rupture: no prep was required, so no stewing about what is to come. However, I am treating this period as a good opportunity to lean into all the mindfulness I have been practicing since, playing lots of neuro music to soothe and relax the brain, and treat this time as the gift that it is. So much better to know and recover from the stent than from another actual rupture!! We are blessed to live in an age when these medical miracles are possible!!

Sending much gratitude to you!!! :pray:

P.S. Oh yeah, the important detail! October 17th is the lucky day at this point, presuming I get the potassium where it needs to be and everything else falls into place.

P.P.S. I am not quite there yet, but far enough along I can see your point about it being pretty routine. :upside_down_face: The world is an amazing place!

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I just want to shout this out.

I have a different vascular thingy from most of the people here (I have an AVM and we have a separate support group for AVMers) but the risks are very similar to those of a brain aneurysm. My grandfather never had a diagnosis but he lived in an age when it was impossible to even look at what is going on inside our skulls, never mind do anything about it. He had migraines and bleeds from the age of 29, was never admitted to a pension scheme as a result, suffered from dementia and passed away in an asylum in 1955, aged 61.

We are completely blessed to live in an age when these things are possible and are done very well.

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Oh my, if that doesn’t humble us and remind us that we are VERY fortunate for the medical breakthroughs that have kept us going, I don’t know what would. It certainly makes me even more grateful than ever that we are here today rather than at some point in history where almost anything could have happened, with sudden death not always being the worst part.

I am the first in my family on either side to be diagnosed with an aneurysm. But I always remind family concerned about the next generation that the beauty of medical science is that is rarely works in reverse
it moves endlessly forward at varying rates of progress offering more and more hope for those who follow. I believe one day in the future the technology in our brains we find so miraculous will give our descendants a chuckle as they have their AVMs and aneurysms completely corrected with ease and safety as if they’re ordering a burger at a drive-through. Wouldn’t that be great?

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That IS a lucky day
 that was my Mom’s birthday so there’s no way I’ll forget you on that day!

Definitely get at the mindfulness exercises in whatever way works best for you. Practice some good breathing exercises as well so it can be easy and automatic on the day you go in. They’ll marvel at your low blood pressure and apparent fearlessness :smiley:

Sleep issues plague me from time to time - most recently from a medication I was taking that they thankfully took me off (not related to the aneurysms). But it led me to a new resource that I love for getting to or falling back asleep - let me know if you need it and I’ll post a link. It helps retrain your brain so that oftentimes I fall asleep just hearing the speaker’s voice utter a sentence or two! I love it. Unfortunately, my husband does not share my appreciation, so if I need it to fall back asleep in the middle of the night, I have to slip away to the spare room so I don’t wake him up with the sounds of my sleep stories. But it works every time.

Keep coming back and chatting as often as you need to
time will move both fast and slow all at once and we all know the feeling. We’re all here to support you.

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I too grew up with Bugs Bunny and know Elmer too well - my older siblings nicknamed me Elmer Fudd when I was very young, it did not go over well.:rage::rofl:

Stents - welcome to the club! Do you know which one they’re putting in? I wasn’t on Plavix too long because I kept bleeding. @oct20 shared there’s a test that they can do about Plavix, you’ll have to do your own search here for it. Had to switch from bandaids to Vet wrap and gauze that doesn’t stick.

I also practice the getting my house and House in order before a repair. Have meals ready or someone to cook them for you. Get hydrated before and stay hydrated after eat protein. When I got the balloon assist, we updated our wills because we thought I was getting my skull cracked open (craniotomy). With the stent, I’m a wired, caged airhead nowđŸ€Ł

@Judi and @DickD yes it’s truly a blessing to live in a time where neurosurgeons have so much information and they keep on learning! Sorry to read about your Grandfather Mr. Richard. BH’s Granny had what we believe to have been a rupture. The mill village doctor drove to her home hearing she had left work with a headache. She never left work. He drove her to the hospital and she had a craniotomy in 1960. They put in a metal plate and when it heated up, the strangest things would come out of her mouth. Scary and funny all at the same time. She developed Alzheimer’s and passed away at 85.

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@FinWhaleFan @Moltroub
The test is called P2Y12 Platelet Function Test
This test measures the degree of platelet inhibition from thienopyridines, a class of drugs including Plavix.
The standard dosage of Plavix doesn’t work well for everyone, it’s a genetic thing how we respond to the drug. Therefore it is necessary to check how it works. I was a high responder to this drug, and the dose had to be adjusted several times.
Good luck and welcome to the Stent Club.

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Promoted ? One way to look at it I suppose.
My surgeon told me he was adding ‘An appliance’, a shunt to drain brain fluid. When he said ‘an appliance’, I had images of a toaster or a frypan strapped to the side of my skull :face_with_spiral_eyes: :roll_eyes: :rofl:

And this is something I need to remind myself of frequently. I curse my former Dr’s for not finding out decades ago, but then I think “
if they’d found it then I’d already be dead or comatose in a hospital bed for life
” Back then they couldn’t do a scan and see inside the skull, so they would be going in blind. That thought alone is scary enough.

As I’ve often said “Could things be better? Hell yes. But then by the same accord could things be worse and again the answer is yes” Got to be thankful for small mercies.

Merl from the Modsupport Team

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Gosh, y’all (slipping back into my days spent in the South). I feel the warmth from every one all the way up here in the Northeast, and am so grateful for it! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

I will confess this latest round has knocked me back a bit emotionally; probably because I felt like I was FINALLY turning the corner and moving forward, but, oh no, here we go again. :upside_down_face: However, I am still remaining grateful for this obstacle and all of you - because Elmer is a small obstacle, since we’re getting it resolved ahead of another rupture. It is just a half-step back but still two steps forward!

@DickD - I still consider you an important part of the family even though you have an AVM! The story of your grandfather is very humbling indeed. How his suffering impacted the rest of your family, but I bet it made you such a strong people! I am doubling-down on my gratitude all that much more; thank you for the actual reminder that all of these miracles we have are extremely recent, and have occurred just in our lifetimes. What a gift we have!!

@Judi. Yes! I love your vision of drive-through aneurysm repair! What a wonderful thought to hold onto, and I am sure we be getting of glimpses of this happening soon. [Hmmm, I might need to set up some alerts so when that breaking news alert hits 
 :grin: ] I also want to take you up on your offer for the meditation you use. I downloaded the “Healthy Minds” app (free), and just finished up the whole series yesterday! I was planning on either restarting from the beginning or trying another one, so it was very fortuitous you offered that. I typically have no problem falling asleep, but I often wake up in the middle of the night, so I will try anything to improve that. [Side note, I did try some “binaural beats” just yesterday (without head phones, see comment to ModSupport below for why), and fell asleep part-way through! I have no idea as to if it is scientifically proven to be helpful, but at least it is another potential tool in the toolkit.] Happy birthday to Mom, and my grandmother’s was on October 19th (sorry to our friends across the Pond, but she would only refer to it as “Cornwallis Surrenders Day” so no one would know
)),

@Moltroub: Trust me, I get it! I once got Oscar the Grouch as a Christmas present from my sibling when I was a young child, because I was supposedly so grouchy. :rage: We were not amused either. Ironically if you ask people who is the grouchy one these days between us, well, I am convinced most people would not point at me between the two of us 
 :rofl: :rofl:. Thanks for asking about the type of stent: you caused me to research as I had no clue there were multiple types of stents! I am pretty sure it is a pipeline - only because he used that word multiple times, but I thought he was using as a plain English word: What is a pipeline stent?. I :heartpulse: your description! It’s perfect!! [With the stent, I’m a wired, caged airhead now​:rofl:]

@oct20. OMG, thank you!! After I finish this up, I am off to check the recent bloodwork to see if they already tested for that. I really appreciate you explaining, and to you and @Moltroub for letting me know about things to watch for with Plavix. Bruising I was expecting (family member is on it as well, so we’re going to work for matching bruises), but I had not thought about all the rest so good to keep in mind. It’s all good though!

@ModSupport. Merl, Ha! Thanks you made me laugh!! Yes, I am in the shunt club too. After all this time I still can’t used to the bump on the top of my head, nor have I been able to return to sleeping in a bed (it’s on my right side where I start sleeping). I am happy that your surgeon decided not to go with a toaster or blender, although it would be more convenient for meals
 :rofl: I had just received a nice pair of headphones (gaming style - yes to hear low hertz whale calls) 6 months before for Christmas, but my sibling told me no more since the magnets would impact. :sob: Since my sibling is an engineer, I can’t help but trust the expertise and wisdom. Still wouldn’t do without my shunt though - it is truly (another) miracle procedure - and yet another small mercy!

P.S. Unofficial, but yesterday’s labs showed the potassium was in the “normal” range (albeit barely, but it was there!). I am sure I’ll get guidance on what to do about that next soon, but was SO grateful that - on the surface - the procedure looks like it will go through. :crossed_fingers:

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@FinWhaleFan
If they haven’t tested you for how sensitive you are to Plavix, I think you should ask them why.
I remember when the pharmacist called me just a few minutes after one of the tests. She was worried that I would start bleeding somewhere because I was very sensitive to the drug. You must have started with the Plavix before you get tested , my neurosurgeon said that they always do it when they are going to put in a stent.

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@oct20 -

Aha! Perhaps I haven’t been tested yet as I don’t start on Plavix until later this week. I am sure I will have more follow-ups this week, and I have the full physical & history early next week
 I have a feeling more bloodwork will be happening again then. Definitely will ask - its a great question!

Sooo grateful for your expertise!

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That’s me exactly - I fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow, then when I wake up later, I can’t fall back asleep for hours and I’m dragging the next day. I used a bunch of different sleep meditations with varying degrees of success. Some worked well, but my current solution isn’t actually meditation, it’s sleep stories. It’s just relaxing happy stories that distract your mind and you fall asleep. For years, I used the same technique to fall asleep except I created the stories myself in my head (daydreams, but at night) and would drop off quickly and pick up where I left off the next time I woke up, or rewind and change things around if I felt like it. Post-stroke I can’t do it anymore (or perhaps I should say YET, as I haven’t given up. I’m planning a creative writing class soon to try to get that part of my brain firing full throttle again).
Anyway, there’s a woman that does a great podcast, also available on her webpage and YouTube, called Nothing Much Happens.

Option one is her webpage:

[S14 : E1 Ladybugs and New Leaves — Nothing Much Happens]
(S14 : E1 Ladybugs and New Leaves — Nothing Much Happens)

Option two is via YouTube:

Option three is via Podcast:
Nothing much happens: bedtime stories to help you sleep Podcast Series - Apple Podcasts

Give them a try for about a week and see how you make out. If it’s not working for you, I have some others that I used in the past I can share.

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Oh @Judi - I can’t wait to wake up in the middle of the night now to try this out! Thank you!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Regarding the Plavis, they won’t test you until you’ve been on it. For me because I was traveling for my procedures I wasn’t tested until a couple days before when I went for preliminary bloodwork, a COVID test, and to get other clearances for the procedure. Plavix wasn’t effective enough for me so I was switched to Brilinta. It’s very effective at getting you into range but much more expensive, so it only gets used if Plavix doesn’t work (insurance companies make you start with Plavix because when it is effective, it’s also cost efficient).

@Moltroub is so right about the hydration. You will be unable to eat and drink from a specific hour the night before, and up to the procedure so make sure you are VERY well hydrated in advance. It will make for an easier recovery AND help if you’re a hard stick. My veins are hard see, feel, and actually roll when they’re trying to gain access, so they often have to call for someone from the vascular access team to put in the central line. The more hydrated I am the easier it is for them to gain access. Also, some of us complain about headaches afterwards and though they don’t strike everyone, I’m sure hydration is helpful with that as well. You also will have just been pumped with anesthesia and contrast (likely contributors to headaches), and you want to flush that out for a faster recovery.

I used the nervous energy I had ahead of it all to clean like crazy. Coming home to everything its place felt great. If nothing else, make sure the place you plan to spend your first couple of days is straightened out - if it’s the living area, have a book/kindle or a couple of your favorite magazines there, a binge-worthy series or a couple of good movies ready to stream, or some favorite music ready to play. A cozy blanket or your favorite throw if it’s chilly up your way, and a comfy pillow never hurts.

Planning ahead with some food is also great advice - Moltroub always remembers the important stuff. You may not feel like cooking, and you don’t know when you’ll feel like getting out for groceries. If anyone asks what they can get you, I found one of the best gifts to be DoorDash cards! You might want to whisper that in the ear of a family member so they can drop the hint to others!

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In between hurricanes but welcome to the club and good luck with your procedure! First coil, they gave me plavix, second one Brillinta. Insurance doesn’t always cover Brillinta and its very expensive (as someone else mentioned previously)
Sending prayers for healing.

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@ladydawg -

Most importantly, hoping that you are doing o.k. after Milton stopped by to visit. Hoping this is the end of hurricanes for Florida this year; you have taken your fair share for sure! (I know it isn’t likely, but the optimist in me will still root for it to be so.)

Thanks for all the prayers for the upcoming procedure. Always good to know that others have gone through this, and I am standing on the shoulders of giants! First dose of Plavix is in, and now I just pray that I have the genes of the parent who has taken Plavix for years, so I can easily tolerate it. :rofl: :pray: :crossed_fingers:

I will continue with the prayers for all of you, and please let us know how you fared!

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@FinWhaleFan
Sorry I’ve been preoccupied for a bit thanks to Hurricane Milton, so pardon me if I missed an update, but last I knew you were scheduled for your procedure on the 17th. Is that still the big day? Just wondering how you are doing!

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@Judi -

Oh my goodness! Of course I don’t expect you to have to think about me, when Milton came your way. How are YOU doing? Is everything o.k.?? [It was very kind of you to so do though!!]

Yes, your Mom’s birthday is still the official day. Tomorrow is the physical and history, so presuming all goes well with that, I should be good to go.

I can definitely see the ramifications of Plavix, but it is so minor I have nothing to complain about. (How did that bruise happen?? :smile: Well, it isn’t exactly the first time I have thought that, so just moving forward! :rofl:)

I did have a horrible night’s sleep last week; up for about 3-4 hours in the middle of the night - hurray! :tada: I did listen to an episode that you had mentioned, and my she does have a soothing voice! It did take me awhile afterwards before I feel back asleep, but am sure she helped to contribute. I haven’t really had much of a need since, as I have been trying to be more strict and not have any screen time before sleep, so that may be a factor - or not. Time will tell.

Let us know how you are faring, and glad you are safe!!

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You will unfortunately get used to bruises where you didn’t even know you bumped anything. If you’re like me and prone to put too many plastic grocery bags on your arm to save trips from the car to the house, you will get some lovely reminders to break that habit. Actually, it’s around that time that I finally started remembering to take ALWAYS go in with my reusable bags so I couldn’t even consider an overload of those plastic handles digging into my arm!

Glad you are on schedule and I hope all goes well tomorrow. I know your anxiety might be full force about now (or will be soon), Remember, you will go in and get some really great drugs to give you the best sleep of your life
everyone else will be hard at work. These folks know what they are doing. Relax as much as possible, BREATHE, and let them do what they do best.

Probably the most noticeable thing after this is done, is how free your mind feels once you can put all these worries in the past. The aftermath is a good time to get a bit Zen, and in the words of Shunryu Suzuki, “leave your front and your back door open, allow your thoughts to come and go, just don’t serve them tea”. Just get lots of rest and take care of yourself :slight_smile:

I know what you mean about it still taking time to get to sleep. I used to listen to two or three of her sessions in a night before I’d drift off in the beginning, and then with a bit of time it got easier. There’s no quick fix
but on the bright side, maybe once you get through Thursday you won’t have to worry about it. The night in the hospital is never restful with machines beeping and all the neuro checks, so you’ll be up so much you’ll probably sleep great once you are home. Hopefully it stays that way.

I’ll be thinking of you and sending prayers, positive thoughts, and good vibes your way!

Judi

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