I m at 2.5 years since my stent to fix my aneurysm. Mine was discovered because i was having troublewith my eyesight. Myeyedoc originallythough i hadasmall strokeas my eyesight had gotten worse withareasthatwere blank. She sent me to a neurologist that specialized in eyesight. He sent me for an mri and discovered the aneurysm. It was pressing on an optic nerve. Within a month I had an angiogram to give the surgeon a better look at it. My surgery was scheduled and a stent inserted. At 3 months i had a follow-up angiogram to see how the stent was doing. Aneurysm was much smaller but the optic nerve did not recover. Leaving me with worse eyesight and areas where i had no sight. 6 month angiogram showed the aneurysm gone. 12 month check showed no recurrence of the anurgsm. I am very thankful but still not feeling well. Headaches, extreme fatigue, restless sleep that is non refreshing. Myhead feels like it is stuffed with wet cotton,rining in ears, balance issues and no energy. I was always anavid quilter and now am so unsteady that i have notworked on a quilt since before the initial surgery. Is there a full recovery in my future or is this as good as it gets? Sometimes I can barely string together asentence, mycognitive abilities are terrible. We own a business andtaking care of accou ts receivable and payables is so mind tiring I barely get through it eachweek. We have been in business for 25 years and I am struggling everyday. I am 65 yeqrs old. Any insights would be appreciated.
Thanks for posting and welcome again! There is a wonderful psychologist down in TX thatâs been doing a long term study on head injuries of all types and has followed his subjects for decades. He says and I believe, that no matter our age, our brains can recover! Never give up is my motto. (I will be 62 this year, so pretty close in age). Iâve personally surpassed what my Neurosurgeon thought. The things I do, no secret here, is hydrate, eat protein, rest when needed, and exercise. Even to this day, we can tell when I have t hydrated or eaten enough protein. When I picked up my hobby again, I canât tell you how good it felt. Hopefully, others will come and share what they doâŚ
Hey Cindy,
Welcome to Benâs Friends
Iâm sorry to say but this is a question nobody can answer. Some people âseemâ to bounce back relatively unaffected, some can have a mild impairment and some can have lifelong issues. There is no measure to be able to quantify as none of our brainâs are wired exactly the same way. I say all of this because Iâve had to âjoyâ (Not) of enduring 6 neurosurgeries and none of them have been the same, but that extreme d.r.a.g.g.i.n.g. fatigue, that waking and feeling like I still need 8hrs sleep and the HEADCHES⌠ohh I know that all of that very well. My last major neurosurgery was back in '13 and still today I battle.
For me, I think the best way to look at it is that âI have good days and bad daysâ On the good days I can function and on the bad days Iâm almost bedbound. The headaches are just WOW intense. Iâve brought this up with the surgeon on many an occasion but in their view, the physical cause, the reason they operated, has been âsatisfactorilyâ resolved, so thatâs it, all fixed. But this is nothing like fixed, I wouldnât wish this on my worst enemy.
None of this is easy and we know that because we live it too, so come talk to us.
Merl from the Modsupport Team