Migraine post flow-diversion stent

Symptoms and Treatments
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Dear Friends,

I had a large aneurysm (11 mm) in my left ica that was treated with a flow-diversion stent. I was seeing double with my left eye (aneurysm was pressing on the optic nerve), which is why I had a CT scan in the first place. I’ve had terrible migraines ever since. I had migraines before the procedure, and they were getting worse over the months before the aneurysm was discovered, but this is now worse than anything I had before the procedure. Has anyone else had this problem, and has anything worked for you? The vision disruption is profound and a new symptom, and the migraine headache is as bad as it ever was. I am very grateful to the surgeon and his team. Everything went well, but something has changed in my head and I don’t know what to do.

Thanks in advance…

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Good Morning Susan and thank you for starting a new topic! How long ago did you have your procedure? I ask this because we require a few things ruptured or not and that’s to follow the mantra my neurosurgeon taught me hydrate, eat protein hydrate some more, rest and repeat. Some of us have lingering effects from the contrast dye and anesthesia, so it’s good to keep hydrated as it flushes everything out. Our brains are protein hogs and it’s good to feed them but there’s a fine balance there between what the brain needs and what too much protein can do.

When I was in NSICU, they sent a RDN student in her last year who told me I needed 90gm/day minimum. When I got out and a long while later, I read the Dietery Guidelines for the US was 90gm/day but the WHO was saying 120 gm/day. The DGAs changed recently and goes by weight 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram of weight. I found this article Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030: Progress on added sugar, protein hype, saturated fat contradictions • The Nutrition Source which links to this one Protein • The Nutrition Source both of which I found interesting. WHO has changed as well Healthy diet . Personally I am sticking with the 90 gms, sometimes I have off days which we call bad brain days in our home and I have to up the protein and hydrate more. I love a good sirloin, it’s my favorite cut but if I’m out with friends for dinner, I always try to get salmon, which I love. We have to be particular in our semi rural area as good wild caught salmon is hard to find it seems.

For every angiogram I have had, my neurosurgeon has always recommended that I drink 3 of those 32 ounce Gatorades and twice that in water. I have to do this for several months as my body despises gadolinium and because I had brain surgery. When she put in my stent, I felt the best of any of the other procedures but still had to do the water Gatorade routine. There are many other sports drinks and electrolytes choices now then when I first ruptured.

Why did I focus my reply on diet, you may be asking. Simply put, our diet affects everything. Since you’ve had migraines in the past, have you a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)? I would strongly suggest touching base with one. I would also highly encourage you to reach out to your surgeon through your patient portal and let them know what’s going on. If you have a neurologist, I’d let them know as well. My PCP is extremely knowledgeable but doesn’t think she knows it all and will always recommend I reach out to one of my specialists unless it’s within her expertise. Headaches and migraines always means to bypass her and touch base with my neurologist’s NP. 9 times out of 10, he orders MRI/As as the neck of my aneurysm has never completely closed resulting in a small leak and it bothers him.

I wish you the best of luck! Please let us know what your surgeon says as it’s how we learn here.

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Hello Susan

Welcome to the group. I had suffered migraines for years and I know have debilitating they can be. I would suggest getting back in touch with your surgeon just to check that these are migraines and nothing else (I am sure that that they are but just get it checked out). .

I am currently waiting for surgery for a flow diversion stent so I am interested to know how you got on with that surgery.

Take care

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Hi Susan, so sorry to hear about your migraines not getting better after the procedure. May I ask what kind of new vision disruptions you are having, and how long has it been since your surgery? Thanks!

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Welcome @SusanD -

I’m sorry your migraines have gotten worse. I started having a new visual migraine symptom - scintillating scotomas - four months after my stent/coil procedure. It’s been three years post surgery and the repair looks great - my neurosurgeon is pleased. Now I am working with a neurologist to manage my migraines. I hope that a neurologist can help with yours.

:two_hearts: @Shinykai

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Thank you so much for this wonderful reply! I really appreciate the information about nutrition. I suspect that this is how I’m going to get a handle on these headaches. If it were just headaches, I suspect that I wouldn’t be as bothered by them, but I get the full migraine-with-aura experience, and I often have a difficult time with words. I’m a college professor, so this is an issue!

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Thank you for the reply! I had a flow diversion stent for a large aneurysm (11 mm) that was pressing on my optic nerve. The surgery went well, and the stent looks good 9 months out. I had always had migraines, and often they occurred with aura, but the kind of aura is new (loss of right field of vision, crescent-shaped patch of vibrating shards of light and color that expands over about 25 minutes, loss of language, numbness on the right side, dizziness). The headaches last for days, but I can manage them with medication. Good luck with your surgery!

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Thank you! I also have the scintillating scotomas. This is a new symptom of migraine for me, or a new aura, I guess. I had one episode of this right after the placement of the stent, then about 4 months after the surgery it started again, and I now get them every few days. It’s such a strange thing – my mother always got them without the headache, and I got other aura symptoms (numbness on one side, loss of vision, loss of language), but never the scotomas.

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Thank you for replying! The new vision disruptions are the scotomas that I’ve had since the surgery, and they happen frequently. i also have something that is hard to describe, more a disrupted quality of vision. It feels like I’m looking through wavy glass. I feel dizzy and everything looks like I’m seeing it through wavy glass. It’s bad enough that I shouldn’t drive during these episodes. Fortunately, they don’t last very long (25 minutes or so).

- Susan

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I think these are still migraine-like symptoms.

I read a book by the late Dr Oliver Sacks, he of Awakenings fame. His book is called simply “Migraine” and I think it was published in about 1970, revised in the 1990s. In it he describes every feature of migraine and distinguishes migraine from seizure and both of them from what he calls “migraine-like” symptoms, which are not unexplained like true migraine is but perhaps driven by some abnormality. Having had brain surgery of one kind or another, that invasive action may well be enough to provoke some migraine-like symptoms.

And if you should have any doubt about the value of such a book – perhaps see if there is a copy in the local library system first – here is a wonderful tribute to Dr Sacks written shortly after his death in 2015.

Richard

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I ended up with aphasia as both language centers (Wernicke and Broca’s) took a hard hit when I ruptured. Depending on one’s outlook it was either a good thing or not that I had no affect for several years. Once I regained emotions, it bothered me I couldn’t remember a specific word or what a word meant. My career centered around words both in documentation and in court, not to mention speaking with families who had different educational levels. Words are so important to one’s existence aren’t they? It is one of the ways we communicate. My best friend brought a simple to read mystery book when I was in NSICU and I couldn’t understand the meanings of many words. Any poor soul who walked by was subject to me asking what a word meant. Thank goodness for all of them, mostly Susannah (RN), EB (med student) and Dr. Walker (Critical Care who also had brain surgery) who were always around.

I’m more apt now to read on a tablet or my phone, easier to look up a word immediately but worse for my brain. I should get out the old red Webster’s and a printed book. Too much time on an electronic device does no good, so please practice the 20/20/20 rule ophthalmologists recommend. Every 20 minutes look away from the screen, for 20 seconds and look 20 feet away. Mine said we tend to stare at a screen and forget to blink which in turn can cause dry eyes so blink 20 times is what he added. It’s much harder for you now I would imagine since everything is done on electronics instead of written or typed words. We have a member who’s done a lot of reading research into it and has several recommendations to help others. If you can’t find it let me know, I tried to find it whilst typing this and my tablet won’t let me.

I never had a migraine prior to rupture. I had headaches caused by stress, lack of sleep, lack of eating and poor posture at my desk due apparently to the way everything was set up. Had one of my neurologists diagnose me with atypical migraines, I forget what he said they were when I would see beautiful filigree lights that looked like fine Irish lace. He recommended an OTC that I had to tell the one pharmacy that carried it who had told me to get it as it was pretty strong and behind their counter. My body didn’t like it and I had to continuously reduce the amount I took until he said it wasn’t something that worked for me. I think it was some type of magnesium but don’t hold me to it. He did prefer one type over another more common, believing folks in the USA don’t get enough of it. He later ordered a SPG block that I don’t really recommend after talking it over with my neurosurgeon. The first one went fine but when I went in for the second, it hurt like the dickens and I’m not into pain. When I told my surgeon I wasn’t having another, she was happy about my decision. Then she told me that the needle is actually going through the brain barrier. I wish she had told me she would prefer I not have them but that’s not what she does. I forget how the conversation went after my third procedure, but I told her I was never going back to a chiropractor and she said that was good. She was all for me going to get my massage and said she wished all her patients would. Maybe that can help you as well, just remember to let the massage therapist know you have had a procedure.

Came back to edit, I’ve found it Post Surgical Headaches - Suggestions for Deal

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Wow, I wish I had read this post two weeks ago. I had a pipeline stent in February 2026 from a non-traumatic subarachnoid cerebral hemorrhage from a 3 mm aneurysm that I’ve been following for 17 years. I originally found the aneurysm because I had Bell’s palsy from a migraine. I’ve had migraines on and off my whole adult life and more so post menopausal. I had a very uneventful recovery until 2 weeks ago with being unable to speak clearly and feeling like my mouth was filled with rocks, it was followed by a slight headache. Another episode followed a few hours later.

The Kaiser Advice Nurse sent me to the ER where I had a non-contrast CT scan and also an MRI both showed no issues. My neurologist said they were concerned about Two issues - small blood clots that might be causing TIAs or seizures. We scheduled an EEG for the following weekend with sleep deprivation. We discussed medication changes and they sent me home.

Five days later, I had two more episodes of apraxia (not being able to speak) coupled with numbness in the right side of my mouth, lips, tingling and tongue tingling. My doctor again sent me back to the ER where I had another round of CT scans and an MRI, again always clear.

My surgeon decided to switch me from Plavix to Britanta which I am told is a stronger blood thinner to lower his blood clot concerns, the next morning I had an EEG., which was inconclusive. Apparently EEG’s can confirm that you have a seizure disorder, but they cannot confirm that you do not so their results could be inconclusive.

When discussing with my doctor possible treatment plans, she suggested Topamax, which is a treatment for both seizure and migraine. During that session, she mentioned to me the concerns of me having complex migraines! I had never heard what complex migraines were or what the symptoms were and now I have a much clearer idea they do a lot of mimicking of seizure or stroke symptoms. As follows: dizziness, nausea, tingling in limbs up into arms, neck, pain, head, pain, face pain tingling in the mouth, and around the mouth being unable to speak clearly, and the list goes on. Having had migraines for years all the symptoms attributed to migraine was very surprising.

I was already taking medication daily to help prevent migraines, which was amitriptyline (Elavil) switched to nortriptyline at a higher dose. Apparently this medication is a bit stronger and has fewer side effect effects. My doctor has also given me a seven day course of prednisone to try to stop the cascading migraines. I really had very few headaches between my procedure and two weeks ago and now I’m having moderate to severe migraines with lots of bizarre symptoms every few days.

It seems interesting to me that I’ve read a lot about people in their 3 to 4 month of recovery starting to have migraines and unexplained bizarre symptoms. Clearly the brain doesn’t like to be messed with! In any case, I’m happy to follow up with how it goes as the new medication unfolds.

My best advice… Keep reading on your own behalf everything you can get your hands on if you’re concerned about something, as well as call your doctor and talk about all the symptoms. It took me a while to really talk about all the symptoms I was having when I start having speech issues. Your doc is only as good as your reporting.

With lots of gratitude for this forum…

All the best JBC

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What sage advice! Thank you for reminding all of us this little, but extremely important fact!