Hi I am a 39 ( as of yesterday) year old stay at home mom/ step mother of five. I was diagnosed last week after an MRI prescribed by my Internal medicine doctor because of migraines with increased regularity and severity and new inset vertigo.( Way to be proactive Dr. FLYNN!!!) I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon on Monday 10/20/14. In the week and a half since diagnosis i have realizes my two greatest feaars. #1 that they will take the wait and watch approach. It is extermely unnerving knowing that i have a ticking time bomb in my head.
#2 is that I will rupture while home alone with my toddler and that I will be found by my 15 yr old when he comes home from school… terrified can not begin to describe how this scenerio makes me feel.
My aneurysm is 6mmx8mm located above the bifurcation of the carotid artery.
Any advice or worda of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you!!! Unfortunately for me my way of processing is to go over all senerios in my head so as not to be taken by surprise. That being said luckily i have a medical background and have even been in the room during clippings and coilings so I understand that aspect very well… My fiance and I had a weekend away planned starting tonight and I have choosen to not cancel… It will give me sometime to have fun and forget about it until the reality of Monday descends upon me.
Jennifer, first I want to let you know how sorry I am that you have been given this diagnosis. I am a lot like you. I like to know all options and usually look at the worse case scenario so I know that anything less than that I can truly be thankful for.
My aneurysm was found as an incidental find when a CT was done if my thyroid. No one had told me of this find. I saw it on my radiology report. I made an appt as soon as I got home from picking up the report. My appt with the neurosurgeon was 2 weeks away. I researched as much as I could before meeting with him. I had decided that if I was a candidate for clipping I would go that direction. When I met with him I had enough knowledge to have my list of questions that really didn’t have a whole lot to do with the medical terms or even with the different procedures. He appreciated that because he could then spend more time discussing with me my questions. We viewed my MRI and because of the knowledge I went in with I knew it could not be coiled or stented.
I wish that I had belonged to a support group before that meeting with him, though. I feel like I could have even been more prepared with more questions in regards to recovery. I had no real knowledge from survivors what recovery would be like.
The nice thing was, was that there were no surprises when I went to my first consultation with him. So time wasn’t taken by my surprise and breakdown it was spent on things I wanted to know. I did not walk out realizing there were some questions that I forgot to ask.
Enjoy your weekend away with your fiancé. I wish all the best for you. Do you have a date for your wedding?
Take care & God Bless,
~ Carol
Sorry my reply was so long
~ Carol
Hmmm....Don't worry. You will be having surgery soon. It was found for a reason. In December 2012, the FDA approved the EV3 pipeline. I had my surgery for my unruptured 5 mm twin aneurysm located on my occipital lobe on the carotid artery in April 2013 at Emory in Atlanta, GA. I have another one (3 in all) on my right side but its only a 2 mm and not as concerning. Anyway, this state of the art procedure is minimally invasive and they go through the groin! Amazing! Hopefully this will work for you as well. They have to go back in a couple more times afterwards but when you are talking brain surgery, it's awesome. Very quick recovery too. 98% of what we worry about never comes to fruition. Pray. Keep me posted what happens with your neuro appointment. What state are you in if you don't mind me asking?
Take care,
Tracy
Happy birthday!
Hug those kids
Take long walk holding fiance’s hand this weekend
Talk to doc Monday
I'm sorry to see you have joined our club - the annie survivors. I don't agree with the advice of not researching, however. I learned as much as I could before my first neurosurgeon's appt. and felt that I was more prepared and knew more questions to answer. I also had a lot of support from annie survivors - without this I am not sure i could have gotten through the time before my brain surgery.
My doctor put me on Lorazepam .5 mg - it was just enough to take the edge off the anxiety prior to my surgery. Let us know how your appointment goes on Monday and in the meantime, have a good time this weekend!
It is ironical /coincidental that both me and my husband had brain aneurysms. I survived it but still with migraines and mine was on the left internal carotid artery I had surgery within 48 hours of discovery.
However my husband had the "wait and see " approach a 25mm aneurysm on the brain stem which ruptured during surgery. he didnt have an open brain but the clipping he bled on the brain stem and suffered a massive stroke. He is totally disabled with multiple conditions severe respirtory problems and swallowing. Life is hell for a man who was a very healthy man.
I would say don't wait ..aneurysm is a quiet killer find another doctor if you can ...i don't mean to scare u but I WOULDN'T WAIT!!!
Dr Fiorella in stony brook university was my savior research him.
Hi Jennifer
I didn't have the chance to research Aneurysms mine ruptured slmost 2 years ago. I do have a second one they have been watching. I am reading everything about the different methods to remove it.This site is a good place to start. Everyone here has had many different situations in which you can get valuable information. The best thing to get, is help with the questions you should ask your nuerosurgeon. Good luck with your appointment tomorrow and let us know how it goes.
Debbie
Ok everyone…had my appointment today. They scheduled an angiogram for tuesday 10/28/14 to ensure a clear path for the coil procedure. I am happy this is moving very quickly…
Jennifer I tried to reply to you, but for some reason the system is not letting me.
I just wanted to say congratulations. Did you like the surgeon? The only real problem with the angiogram is having to lay flat for 4 hours afterward and being careful not to lift heavy things, but the angiogram is the gold for pictures of our annies.
Let us know if you need anything. Sherri
Thanks Sherri…
I actually only met the PA… the surgeon had been called in on an emergency surgery a half hour before my appointment. My best friends husband works in the same hospital and said the surgeon is a fantastic doctor . I loved his PA … she was warm and supportive and extremely knowledgeable. I am very confident in my choice. Let me ask everyone another question. How did your signifigant others handle your diagnosis. Mine always wants to " fix" everything and when he can’t he gets very testy.
So glad you liked them. Is he the one doing your angiogram?
Yes… he will do both… had my preadmission testing done yesterday so now we just wait til tuesday. I have a sweet sixteen cake to make and trip planned up to my best friends house for the weekend so the days should just fly by.
Jennifer, I am so glad the appointment went well and that you are progressing quickly. And your plans for the weekend sound great! Take each day and enjoy it, and your loved ones, to the fullest! Good advice for all of us, don’t you think?
Hello! You have found a great place for support! The wait and watch approach is an option but remember that you are in control of the situation. Hopefully, you had a chance to discuss options with your neurosurgeon. The option that you choose should be one that you are comfortable with. You may be a candidate for a clip or coils and or a stent. Every one is unique so you need to do what is best for you and your health. You found your aneurysm before it erupted which is a positive! I didn't know about my brain aneurysm until it erupted. Mine was 12mm. I received 9 coils in 2000. It worked for 14 years. Last July I had surgery and received a clip because the coils were protruding through my aneurysm. My aneurysm happens to have a very wide neck or base which did not make me a good candidate for a stent. Please keep us posted on your progress. Take care! In good health, Cindy
Hello Jennifer,
I am 1 and1/2 years out from clipping of a smaller aneurysm than yours. Your post felt like Deja vu to me. Like Carol, I had decided that if clipping was an option I would go for it and I did. 1 1/2 years later..no regrets..no worries..yes some changes in lifestyle.."new normal" as many people had mentioned on this website in the days prior to surgery. 6 X8mm is a size where books recommend intervention..clipping or coiling. Pick your surgeon carefully..and a hospital that is bigger with a neuro ICU....definitely research your options ..I can forward you articles from "Uptodate" that all physician use for reference if you want..includes a decision chart..this discussion forum is great too..lot of questions were answered for me before and after
Good luck
Hi jennifer,
Since being diagnosed this August, I have had many moments of fear as well. The fact is that until I have my surgery, it's all speculation. I know what you mean about what would happen if it or they rupture. The one time I think most about it is when I am at the gym. No one would know who I was. All of my ID is either in my gym bag in a locker they don't know of or in my car which they don't know belongs to me.
You must be going through hell, I think you should do some research if you can before meeting with the doctor too. I found that being armed with some knowledge allowed me to understand more of what he was saying and even having a list of questions was even more thorough after having knowledge as well. If you choose to just meet first, don't worry about that either because I'm sure you can get another appointment to discuss your concerns then.
Good luck and stay in touch.
JKnights
Hi Everyone,
So my angiogram went very well. I was sore and tired for the first day but i feel fine today. Incision looks fantastic and is only barely tender to the touch. The results were a little bit of a surprise. It turns out my annie has a wide neck and is not a canidate for a coil. The good news is the Dr. feels confidant he can do a pipeline on my aneurysm even though a pipeline is approved for aneurysms larger than mine with the neck being as wide as it is the pipeline is a very viable option. The other option is an open crani. Which i am strongly against unless there is no other option. Statisically the end result is the same the only different is the time it take for the procedure to be considered a success. With the clipping the aneurysm is immediately “gone” with the pipeline it can take up to 6 months but they have not seen any annie rupture within that six months. I have opted for the pipeline because of the lower risk of brain injury as well as the shorter recovery time. The only downside is i will need another angio six months later… all other vessel are clear and show no signs of aneurysms starting. Just waiting for the scheduler to call me with a date!!