Good Morning all! :) I do hope some one out there can help me with the questions I have. I had a brain aneurysm coiling about 18 months ago and still suffer constant mind numbing head aches - I am taking a muscle relaxant for that but it simply hasn't really helped. Less painful but very worrying is that since then, my blood pressure has become high -last reading was a staggering 165/126.
My questions are: Will I always suffer from head aches now and if so, how do I know which of these terrible headaches is the one to be scared of - how would I identify the "worst headache of life" among all the other worst headaches I experience? Could the coiling procedure have anything to do with the hbp?
Hi Liam - thank you for your response! I am in fact getting treatment for hbp and have been for the past year - but as you can see, it is not really controlling the numbers. As for speaking to my neurologist or neuro- surgeon - well that's almost an impossibility - it seems once they are done with the op they are out of the picture and my gp admits (which I do appreciate) that he does not know enough about the effects of this kind of op to answer me with any amount of certainty.
I so agree with Liam...you need to get that BP under control...you really can't say right now that the headaches are from the coiling...they could be happening because of the high BP...like Liam...I had to go through a few tries with different Bp meds till one worked...and sometimes they must tweak it...
Please find another Doctor who will take this seriously and take care of YOU...~ gotcha in my Thoughts ~ Colleen
Hi Colleen - thank you, I will take both your and Liam's advice and get a second opinion. Does anyone else out there have short term memory problems? This is just another little thing that I noticed. However, it's not so bad - I manage with post-it notes all over my office and home! Nothing major - just really things like going to the shop, buying what I have to. Forgetting a little while later and going back to the shop to buy the same things! OR drawing money at the ATM and forgetting what I drew or that I was even at the ATM.....
Beryl...some of us have short-term memory...up to (right words?)...learning-to-long-term memory (related to temporal lobe and limbic system area w/hippocampus...I cannot begin to describe how many things were not done....some still not done...some fall-backs of what I thought I had accomplished...the later blank-outs...
How do you remember to look at your calendar and your "notes"...the only one usually effective for me is the one on the door...when leaving: heat, lights, security, cell, keys..."
Did you have treatment following rupture? How long in the hospital?
You may want to ask your neurologist / other about exercises / therapy to help you retrain your memory?
One day, I absent mindedly left my cash holder in a store...When I returned to ask IF I may have...they made me identify it and the apx cash in it...so pleased to return it to me...and, I felt so blessed...I have not done that again so far...
considering you've still got high blood pressure even though you've been on medication for the past year...then i'd think its time to switch your GP to another who acknowledges the risks involved -- and that you're at risk of having other health problems because of this being uncontrolled.
There are countless BP meds out there, different types (Calcium channel blockers, Beta Blockers, Blood pressure diuetics, Ace inhibitors and so on) and for many people, combinations of BP meds are used often (I've got my own 'cocktail' which is Lisinipril 40mg and Hydrochlorathaizide) . You may have to go about finding the right drug(s) in a hit and miss trial of sorts 'til you find the perfect bp med(s), but you'd be better off doing something about it now--not later.
As for the headaches: many doctors will never submit to one simple truth, and that is that yes, the coil has been well known to cause headaches! Are the headaches intensifying? when was the last time you had a scan to see how your coils are holding up? One of the more off-putting drawbacks to coiling an aneurysm is that in many cases, the coils will need to be re-addressed at some point down the road....meaning more coils will need to be added to the aneurysm due to the coils settling (compacting) over time. Mine compacted after having no problems whatsoever for a good three year span of time, and this was brought to my attention by a sentinal leak which caused a few moments of insanely intense head pain which brought me to my knees, but had no headaches to speak of at all during that 3 year run.
Depending on the annie, some will give a clue to its presence with an outrageous, 'thunderclap'"OMG-Make-It-stop!' pounding headache along with extreme light sensitivity and nausea...On the other hand, you may not get any headaches yet your eye may suddenly become dilated and not be reactive to light or your eyes may not focus like they normally would..
Hard to say how or even if symptoms are noticeable, but I do hope you're able to get follow-up scans done in order to check your coils. and get that BP under control ! This may help to lessen the headaches--I sure hope so at least.
Hi Janet, I had quite a battle to get my neuro surgeon and/or my GP to allow me a follow up scan just over a year after the coiling procedure - both felt that it was not at all necessary. However, I persisted and finally was allowed the scan. The scan showed a narrowing of the arteries in the circle of willis - that is what the specialist told me and that's about it - except that that three coils were quite okay :)
My GP has had me on various medications to try and control the BP and these normally work for a couple of months before losing its effectiveness and that's when I end up with crazy bp readings. I am now making an appointment with another GP for a second opinion and hope that this will bring me closer to a solution.
Beryl, I had the same problem with my BP for 2 years. I respond great to the drugs for a few months and then things get out of control again. I am under the care of cardiologists and they keep trying different medications. I was also given a medication to take if my BP went over 175. Like others have said high BP can cause some pretty bad headaches, as well as the coiling. I think you will have a better understanding of what may be causing the headaches after you get the BP under control again. I pray that that is the only thing causing your headaches.
Take care,
~ Carol
Well, I always had/still have horrible migraines..... this is why when I had "the worst headache of my life" I did not go to the hospital until my annie bled so much that I had a seizure. Now I go to a clinic to get checked if anything out of my ordinary migraine occurs. Trust your gut!
Thank you Carol, it gives me a sense of peace knowing that I am not alone out there with this problem and there is a solution waiting to fine me :) I am going for a second opinion on the 19th and hope that my problem will be solved.
Hi Jennifer! I do hope you are doing better now and that you at least have some relief of the migraines. This is certainly frightening. I suppose the best we can do is to trust our gut.