I am a 36 year old psychotherapist living in Chicago. On July 13 2012 I experienced one of the worst headaches of my life. The pain was overwhelming. I was confined to bed for 7 hours without any relief from the pain. Then all of a sudden the pain was gone and I was feeling fine again but I knew that I could no longer ignore the headaches and decided to go see my doctor. After undergoing a MRI I was told by my doctor to get an MRA which relieved that I had 4 aneurysms on both my carotid arteries. After meeting with a neurosurgeon I was promptly admitted into the hospital to undergo further testing to determine if my aneurysms had leaked. It was determined that the headache that I experience was a microscopic "warning leak" which usually happens 3 weeks before a full rupture. On September 14, 2012 I had a stent put in which took care of 3 out of the 4 aneurysms. After the surgery I was diagnosed with Fibromuscular dysplasia in both of my carotid arteries which aneurysms can form on another part of the arteries. I was lucky that I did not have any negative side effects after the surgery and my recover was very quick.
After my surgery the headaches that I was experiencing prior were gone and I was feeling great for a while. Currently I still have one more aneurysm that is being closely watched the headaches are back but not on the same level as before. In a few weeks I go in for my annual MRI/MRA and visits with all my doctors. It is just stressful knowing that I have one more aneurysm and going into panic mode every time I start getting a headache.
Hi Katarzyna: I’m so sorry you have had to go through all this. After I was diagnosed with a caratoid annie, I waited 6 months to get it treated. I had horrible migraines and headaches during this time (still have some headaches but am on meds for them now). I ended up making a couple ER visits before and after my surgery, figure better safe than sorry:) I completely understand how terrifying it is when you have a headache (I don’t think I sneezed for 6 months). You will be in my prayers!
Hi it is so natural to feel the anxiety from ongoing headaches...for me...I only started getting bad headaches since my coiling...in time you will put it in perspective and know that one headache...the one that says it is time to go to ER and hopefully that won't happen...many of us have one they are watching...and we learn that it is just a part of us...but don't be so hard on you...it takes time in this journey not only to heal physically, but emotionally too...Good luck on you upcoming tests ... keep us posted...~ Colleen
I'm sorry they couldn't take care of that last annie when the 3 others were taken care of~talk about disconcerting!
The 3 week time frame you mentioned varies considerably from person to person, I know that I too had sentinal warning leaks however mine ruptured in less then a weeks time. Best of luck to you , hope you're able to have that last annie taken care of soon.
Thanks everyone for all the messages. It is great to find a place where I can go and talk about my experiences with individuals who have been in a similar situation and understand what I have been through. When all of this started a year and a half ago we (husband and I) decided to deal with my aneurysms by ourselves. Other then my husband the rest of my family was kept in the dark until I finally was forced to tell them once I was admitted into the hospital after my first visit with a neurosurgeon. Most of my friends were also unaware of what was happening until finally I disclosed a month after my surgery.
The reason why only 3 out of the 4 aneurysms were taken care of was because there were complications with the surgery. Due to the fact that I was diagnosed with fibromuscular dysplasia the anesthesiology team was trying to put me under for 2 hours with little success. Once I was finally under the neurosurgeon had a difficult time putting in the stent due to the malformations on both of the carotid arteries. So the surgery that was supposed to only take an hour and a half took over 3 hours. So now I have yearly visits with all my wonderful doctors.
But I am glad that I found this site and can share my thoughts, experiences and know that I am not the only one.
Hi, I am so sorry for everything you are going through. Your story sounds so similar to my own. That's what's so great about this support group....YOU ARE NOT ALONE AND WE ALL HELP EACH OTHER. I SUFFERED same pain for years. Horrible headaches, facial pain and numbness. I had MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY ANEURYSM COILED 2 years ago and at that time was diagnosed with FIBROMUSCULAR DYSPLASIA in CEREBRAL, BOTH CAROTID AND BOTH RENAL ARTERIES AND CELIAC ARTERY. I had Ballooning on Renals 2 years ago. My Right Carotid Artery is severely stenosised and not treatable. I still have horrible headaches. I use OXYGEN and Lyrica to help ease the pain. I see a team of SPECIALIST at UVa. Medical. They are very knowledgeable about FMD . PRAYERS to you.