I am so thankful to have found this group. I was diagnosed with a 17mm middle cerebral artery aneurysm on May 14th. Had an angiogram on May 22nd and a Coiling procedure on May 28th. Unfortunately they were not able to place the stent they wanted so they were only able to coil about 80% of the aneurysm. I am thankful that it is more “stable” now but am looking for any guidance on next steps. I prefer to just move forward with clipping as I do not do well with the wait and see approach. Has anyone ever had this scenario occur?
Dear Angela,
Want to say glad to meet you.Waiting is always hard for me too.I have had two brain aneurysms surgery’s clipped.I am sure will take sometime to let your body heal.My surgery’s were two years apart.But hope you get to get done sooner.To let you know it wasn’t as hard as I thought.I wish only that you can relax at times. Something you love to do it helps.So only good wishes for you.
Welcome Angela! We are happy you found us as well:). My one much smaller aneurysm has been coiled three times. It’s a complicated little thing with lots of little daughter sacs attached. At the last coiling, my Neurosurgeon wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have to do a craniotomy, so we were prepared for what she might have to do. We let her make the decisions for how best to treat it. She’s the one with the education and experience. Although I have never asked her, I believe she prefers to do the least invasive procedures if she can.
I had a similar situation. Mine ruptured 2013 (posterior communicating artery at the junction of the internal carotid) and was coiled but the coils compressed in the first 3 months leaving a remnant aneurysm. I did the watch and wait for 3 years on the advice of my initial neurosurgeon whom I was never completely trusting of. I changed doctors to one of the best (I had to travel) and he told me that mine should have been immediately fixed and recommended clipping as the safest and most permanent for me. We did another angiogram (my 3rd) and it still showed stable, but we decided to go forward with the clipping. I hated the watch and wait, always worrying about it and not feeling free to live and enjoy my life. During the clipping, the doctor found that even though it had not grown in size, the walls were so thin it was just a matter of time before it ruptured again. So clipping saved my life. Lesson learned - nothing can 100% show what’s going on inside, not even the gold standard angiogram. Go with your gut instincts. My other lesson learned through my entire aneurysm journey is that my gut instincts have always been 100% right. I was still very scared but knew deep down it was the right thing to do. I don’t worry about it anymore and will have my 3 yr CT follow up this coming December.
Thank you all for your input! I have my follow up tomorrow and feel more empowered in our discussion. I have always been one to trust my “gut” which is why I moved forward with my surgeon so I am looking forward to tomorrow and hope for a positive moving forward outcome.
Again, I am so thankful to have found this group and found a community I can go to for discussion.
Hello All!
Very late in my update but I had a clipping and artery bypass on November 9th. I had to change surgeons and travel for my treatment but I am so thankful to have found my wonderful genius surgeon who finally spoke the words I had been longing to hear “I can help you Angela”. I am two months post op and did have a stroke during surgery but so far with the help of therapy, family, friends and my doctors I am doing better than they had even hoped and expected. I feel like I am getting my brain function back but I have to say the fatigue is debilitating. I keep just waiting for that day that a light switch happens and I kick back into gear but it just is not happening.
Any tips or ideas on kickstarting energy would be so appreciated!
@Angela1975 I’m glad you’re doing better and found a great surgeon for yourself! Three things come to mind -Hydration, protein and patience. We really need to keep hydrated and consume enough protein that it helps our brains. There are different suggestions all over the internet on what the proper amount of protein should be, I stick with the 90 gm that the dietician told me in ICU. That being said, I always urge members to touch base with their doctor.
Water is the best means of hydration and it can be flavored in a number of ways if you have the need. If I was still living in Los Angeles Co for example, I’d be filtering the heck out of it and using different fruits or vinegar to flavor it. But we live on a well and the water is exceptional, we just use a whole house filter for sediment reasons.
Patience is the key to everything life throws at us. It took several years after rupture to have things “clicking in”. Our brains need to redevelop pathways or to develop new pathways around the damage. It can be done, but it needs time. In the beginning I had very little awareness of my brain healing, but now, I can tell and it’s wonderful! Play word and brain games, focus on issues you want to improve. Memory, math, patterns and words were my biggest downfall. I had my family and friends send photos so I could attach them to my contact list as I couldn’t recall their faces. The younger family members send me new ones every couple of years as they change so much.
I know we have several members who can help out with this and you may want to start a new topic so it doesn’t get lost.
All the best in your continued improvement.
Moltroub