I read somewhere on the internet that life expectancy is about 5 years after a ruptured aneurysm.
Is this true?
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This is not nice to say, there are survivors on here that have lived for years
Can I ask once these Annieās are treated can we go on and live our lives , not cut short ?
Iād say the whole purpose of having treatment is to improve oneās life expectancy: to reduce the risk of a future bleed and to bring oneās risk back towards that of the average person.
Of course, if youāve already had a bleed, that may do some damage that reduces your life expectancy in a way that youāre less likely to get all the way back to the average, and there can be complications from surgery that do the same, but the whole objective of surgery of whichever mode is to improve your risk and therefore improve your life expectancy back towards that of the average person.
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I have never heard or been told that @Joy. I ruptured 11 years ago and am still walking on the grass, irritating folks and not feeding the roots. We have many members who are well past that having celebrated with us their 20 and 30 + years of surviving.
Some of us donāt have easy recoveries thatās for sure. At the same time others seem to do extremely well and can continue working with hardly any limitations or none at all! For the majority of us who do survive a rupture, Iāve read here that their doctors consider them a miracle same as mine.
With all that being said, my neurosurgeon said if I could make it past the 2 year mark that would be great. It was a theory back then that many of us who rupture canāt make it to that 2 year mark. Every time I had another repair, Iād have to start the countdown over again. She didnāt mention it on my last in 2020 and neither did I. I honestly donāt know if that still holds true.
I like to caution our members to be cautious with statistics they read, make sure whomever is saying percentages, numbers, whatever can back it up with real statistics. It could show up in a paper rather than proper research thatās done with control groups. However it should still explain where the numbers came from for this it would have to be the Neurosurgery department. I donāt think my State keeps any, maybe in their fatality section as they have to be reported which would be done at autopsy or through the coronerās report. I know they have a child fatality team in every county and at the State level. The specific hospital I go to doesnāt report on successful aneurysm repairs whether ruptured or not is what my surgeon told me. They donāt even keep records amazingly enough of aneurysms. Perhaps reaching out to your head of Health and Human Services Dept and asking about any thatās kept would be helpful. If youāre in the States, itās usually labeled as DHHS.
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Itās an honest question in my mind. I didnāt think there was any disrespect intended and I didnāt take it that way. Would you rather I move it to itās own topic?
In reply to your question, another honest question! - I look at life this way, Iāve no idea how long I will live before or after rupture. BH and I hold the same belief in that we donāt get to go until itās our time and not a second sooner or later. Iām not sure where we both came up with that but we held it long before we met each other many decades ago and we were definitely not raised in the same religion.
What Iāve learned here with those members who have unruptured aneurysms repaired, they do really well whether it is through an endovascular or craniotomy repair. Most of the members who come back and talk about it have had no complications, a handful have but have been fortunate to have it addressed right there and then, a few have had some long term complications and have their lives changed. Iāve also learned restrictions are up to our surgeons, some giving more than others. I recall a couple of topics this year asking about scuba diving! Weāve had folks who run marathons and all kinds of physical activities. I believe we take life and enjoy it to the fullest measure we can. In this way we reduce stress and according to everything Iāve been told or read, stress is a nasty bedfellow when it comes to our health.
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Hey Joy,
Iām Merl a member of the modsupport team here on Benās Friends.
I donāt have an aneurysm, but Iāve required a few neurosurgeries to manage another little nasty.
When I had my first operation, before the internet, I went to the state medical library at the local university. What I read was shocking, I left there thinking I was walking next door to death, I was scared shirtless, thought that Iād be bedbound eating through a straw for the rest of my days.
Since then, 20-30 yrs ago, Iāve required a further 5 brain surgeries and sure, Iāve got some side effects, but Iām still here.
The internet can be a great resource for information but there can often be some VERY generalised statements and some outright false. Some people can have a major rupture, with very little warning and almost drop dead on the spot. For some a rupture can occur on a lesser vessel and therefore have some time to react, get help and recover. Iāve found with some of these statistics, if they survey a certain group, the figures can sometimes be swayed. Itās not that the figures are false, but rather that the sample group is not wholistic across a whole population. For example, using rehabilitation clinics stats vs hospital stats. Not everybody needs rehabilitation, so although the stats maybe correct, the rehabilitation figures do not show the whole. This can also show up in socio-economic criteria ie Rich areas vs Poor areas or Public health vs Private insurance. Sometimes there can be many variables and when it comes to the human brainā¦ ā¦thereās just too many variables. None of us are āwiredā in exactly the same way so the effects, both long and short term results effects are impossible to gauge. The medicos will often have an educated guess on probabilities, but the reality is no one has a crystal ball.
As Iām often telling my wife āTomorrow you could walk out the door and get hit by a busā. We never know when that ābusā is coming. So we live for the now.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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Iām approaching my 11th year post rupture. Please donāt pay attention to what is on the internet. Enjoy every day you have. You have been given the ultimate gift!
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Hi Joy
I agree with the other comments that everyone has individual circumstances and itās impossible to make generalisations about life expectancy. Hopefully I will give you some encouragement when I say that I am now 12 years post surgery for burst aneurysm (multiple stents and coils) ā¦. I was also told that healing can take a long time and that progress continues up to at least 2 years so take heart if progress is slow - sometimes you donāt even notice it happening until you look back.
Best wishes
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I remember when my neurosurgeon told me my brain had done all the healing it could at my six month post rupture mark. I told her she was wrong. Dr. Sperry has done decades long research down in Texas on brain damage and recovery. I had attended training on it through work. I told Dr. Q-W she was wrong. I can honestly say my brain is still getting better this far out. Never give up hope! Oh and you have to put effort in to relearn what youāve lost. Some days itās more effort than other days.
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Im 12 years out and doing good!!
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