Welcome to the club. Everything you're experiencing is normal for an event of this type. There are many various issues associated with this. Everyone experiences some of these. All in different degrees. I didn't get sick but I did get the thunderclap headache and I lost the use of my right leg. fortunately I got it back in full. Your fatigue is caused by the enormous amount of energy your brain and body are using to heal. you will be fatigued for quite a while. Remember it's not just the wound in your head that's healing it's also the brain trying to reorganize itself. Grow new pathways and force itself to learn to do the things the damaged portion used to do. I'm 2 years into it and I'm still having issues. My damage was relatively light.
The best medicine I've found is support from friends and family and a very odd sense of humor. Understanding loving family and friends can cure almost anything. If you're a person of faith that can be a huge help also. Good luck and you have come to the right place for support. No judgments just experienced people who understand.
Hi Jody, welcome to this beautiful site thanks for sharing your story with us I had my rupture in September 27 2009 and it was clipped and I thank God everyday that I am here with my family and friends I too still get tired and I have double vision wear glasses , I just love this site it has help me understand somethings I went through everybody here is always tryin to help anyway they can its been a blessing to me to have found this site glad your here with us lots of blessing for you and family remember we are bless by the blessā”
Welcome to the forum, Jody. This is a great place to meet others who have been through what you've been through and to gain strength from knowing that you're not alone in this.
I think everyone's recovery is different because everyone's aneurysm is different but it sounds like yours is coming along fine. I think some have headaches for a long time, some not so long, and some maybe forever. Don't give up hope.
My prayers go out to you and your family.
By the way, I'm not a survivor; my wife is. But coming here was so important to our journey because hers didn't go well at first (she's doing fairly good now) and I had nowhere to turn before I found this forum. I still get choked up reading stories like your own. God bless you in your recovery.
Very awesome post, Scott. It is amazing how well the brain can find new ways to sort out the information it holds. When Debbie (my wife) started recovering, a couple months after her aneurysm, her memories were jumbled and put together in a very disorganized and confusing way. Over time, all the lost memories have been found and all the jumbled ones have been straightened out. I think of it as the brain reindexing itself.
So thankful you are with us. My first Aneurysm was clipped 16 years ago (found because of headaches) and the second one was found 1 1/2 years ago (told my doc I had another one) and it was coiled and stented. Headaches have been with me for a long time now. I had migraines before the Aneruysms were discovered, my Surgeon referred me to a Neurologist/Headache Specialist and within 3 months the headaches were under control. He put me on Topomax, 2 anti depressants, and a migraine med and no caffeine. Because of the stroke I had during surgery the Neurologist referred me to a Neuro Psychologist for a Neuro Psychological to determine what part of my brain was damaged due to the stroke. Well, because of the stroke, I had memory deficits, Attention Deficit Disorder, and deficit's with Executive Functioning. I immediately began speech therapy and cognitive rehabilitation (I was already doing PT and OT 4 times a week). Awesome program for me, it didn't help to repair my memory but it did help me cope with my new memory and find ways around constantly forgetting what I had just said or done. I had a second stroke with the second Aneurysm and the memory, ADD, and headaches have gotten worse and I have started over with the cognitive rehab.
I will never be back to "Normal". This is the new me, I have more patience, much happier with life, and glad to be here also. In the beginning when things wouldn't go my way or I would get frustrated I learned to tell myself "This ain't BRAIN
SURGERY":) and whatever it was it was never as bad as brain surgery. Good Luck Rebecca
Jody, I understand, my rupture was back in October of 2011, I still have trouble with walking and my thought process, I was 62 years old at that time, I understand the having no recollection, mine took almost a month, and of course I had a stroke along with the rupture, so I ended up in a nursing home for Rehab.
My past several days have been reading/comprehending an article on STROKE from the Cleveland Clinic ...re: the new(er) drug, rtPA for ischemic stroke... and notes hemorrhagic, too in their brain anatomy...
If cannot pick it up; search: Stroke and use it to help in finding it...
The article does cover the brain and its anatomy; so impressively...it includes the two hemorrhagic strokes: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and Subarachnoid (SAH)... that fall anatomically to the areas listed in Tables 1 and 2...tho tPA/others for ischemic do not apply to u.
Please let us know how you perceive it...particularly since you and others have had both open surgery and the endovascular minimally invasive procedures...
Thank You Pat that was interesting but the cause of my stroke is still a mystery. The Neuro Surgeon stated I had Vasospasm's but the NeuroSurgeon that did the Coil and Stent said no the stroke was not caused by Vasospasm's. The first surgery (clipping) was a 14 hour procedure due to the difficulty of reaching the MCA and then the annie had a very large neck. I have the hospital and surgical records and there is nothing about a surgical SAH and I didn't have a SAH before surgery. The second stroke was much smaller probably more of a TIA and I know when that happened and it was before the Coil and Stent. I have read two books about the brain (several time) and refer to them on a regular basis. But "IT IS WHAT IT IS".
Every one of these stories of ruptured aneurysms are miracles because a third don't survive, a third usually have permanent physical limitations, and a third are fine. So happy for you that you're one of the fine ones. You say you're still fatiqued and get headaches every day. On a scale of 1-10, how bad are they? I was recently diagnosed with 3 aneurysms and it seems like every day I change my mind about whether to have surgery or not. I'm terrified and one of the reasons is what you said, that you have distorted vision. I have only one good eye and that's the side they'll be operating on. Again, so happy for you, your husband, and your children. I'm sure they're grateful to have you back too!!
Every one of these stories of ruptured aneurysms are miracles because a third don't survive, a third usually have permanent physical limitations, and a third are fine. So happy for you that you're one of the fine ones. You say you're still fatiqued and get headaches every day. On a scale of 1-10, how bad are they? I was recently diagnosed with 3 aneurysms and it seems like every day I change my mind about whether to have surgery or not. I'm terrified and one of the reasons is what you said, that you have distorted vision. I have only one good eye and that's the side they'll be operating on. Again, so happy for you, your husband, and your children. I'm sure they're grateful to have you back too!! I don't know if you'll be able to acknowledge that you've received this. I'm having a hard time learning how to use this site. There's so much information!
Hi, thanks for the note. I have good days with about 3 on the scale then the bad fuzzy days where the headaches are around 6. My vision has improved a bit I now donāt see two or three people of the one Iām talking to, but my distance is still pretty bad
I have hopes that this too might still get better as itās only been about 9 weeks since the surgery.
Hi Jody. I know everyone's saying this, but you Are doing well. I had a ruptured anni on 4/2013 and had double vision too. I wore an eyepatch for awhile, then after some improvement I got prism glasses which helped me to see single vision. I was able to drive after a year!!!( hallelujah!!) Now @ 1&1/2 years my eyes are still improving very slowly but I do see double without the glasses. The fatigue has slowly improved over time. I hold onto the hope that they will continue to improve. Hang in there. Try not to rush it. "Let go & let GOD" & hold onto your faith. I wish you allthe best and a speedy recovery!!