I found out two weeks ago that I have a 5mm Aneurysma on the left side of my brain. not to far from the visual nerves.
Here -in Germany - they told me I do not have to undergo surgery, I can choose. The Problem is that in January after a flight to London, I had a strange never felt before experience of headache plus throwing up and not knowing where I was and passing out. It was over after 24 hours. Now noone can be sure that it ruptured bt closed itself.
I will have my DSA Angio this monday where the doctors will look wether they suggest clipping or a flow diverter.
I am scared. I am 32, have three Kids - 7,3, and 17 month old. We are moving to a different Country in August and I am a very "mental" Person.
I tried not to think about it and to live but with every step I take I am scared - is Lifting my child now to dangerouse, can i lift all the things can I run with them, jup, be mad.... The second I get a head ache I am scared. So I am quite sure I Need to treat it as like this life would mean fear and not enjoying the wonderful life I have.
But my fear of not waking p again or not knowing in which state I might wake up is scaring me as well. Not so much for myself but for my Kids and what they might have to witness or suffer through. I am even scared of the angio. SCared to leave home as I never spend one night separated from my youngest. I am absolutely terrified of losing them and making them sad.
how can I cope with my fear? I would just love to Keep this life as it is Keep my Kids happy and just be us.
As for the surgery is a flow diverter as definitve as a clipping or might I have to do it all again?
I do not know where to put all my emotions and how to tell my eldest that I will go to the hosiptal. and all of this while trying to Keep the strong and happy front for my Kids.
I know what you are going through. I found out about mine 4 years ago with an angiogram. The angiogram itself is pain free … I wish I could help with the worrying. I worry every day as well I have a 14 and 15 year old and 2 2.5 mm aneurysms behind each eye that they are monitoring. Every headache I worry . I come to the conclusion that I in good hand with my doctors and trust them fully. I live every day to the fullest ! I pray you get pisitive results and your worry subsidies best wishes
Hello,
I’m not a doctor but can share with you the experience with my wife. She had suffered with headaches for 5 years and had been to hospital for treatment for these headaches but they did not do a ct scan or angiogram. She was discharged from hospital with painkillers and 5 years later suffered a ruptured aneurysm and ended up being in a coma for 17 days.this happened 7 years ago on mothers day 2008.
They did clipping of the aneurysm and she is now almost back to normal .she does forget stuff but it’s expected.
Don’t be afraid .its better they do something now rather when the Annie ruptures.
Trust in Jesus .He will strengthen u.
As I was told when I first joined this forum - you are already ahead of things as they have found your aneurysm before it's ruptured and they can treat it! This is fantastic that it's been found. As hard as it is, think of the positive that they are now aware of it and can go about treating it. Unruptured aneurysms that are treated are a different thing to ruptured aneurysms. Read all the positive stories on here and hopefully they will put your mind at ease. Good luck.
Hello from pa., unfortunately mine ruptured but ive known a lot of people like you, i would not lift the baby if you are straining which i suspect you are, please get help if possible. Also no straining in the toilet and no smoking and you will be fine, tc hang in there, prayers to you and yours~~
I actually found google helped me on this one occasion! Because all I knew about aneurysm was from my Nana who died from one - I didn't realise there were so many amazing stories of people surviving from ruptured ones. And I didn't know how advantageous it is to find one unruptured. It's the one time google eased my worries! :)
ronk said:
oh also stay off the scary internet articles, i made that mistake myself b4 recoiling, tc
In Oct last year I had a similar experience. I woke up with a tremendous headache and crawled into the bathroom to vomit. I vomited so much I was close to passing out. I could not get up from the floor (I was also impeded by my two injured feet) my husband called 911. I was taken to a hospital where I was left in a corridor for about 4 hours. I was given an intravenous cocktail and sent home. I was not myself after this and I had a bad fall 2 days later and spent another evening in the ER.
My aneurysm was discovered when I repeated the above story to the ER doctor I saw in March for an allergic reaction to the antibiotics I was taking. He sent me for the CT scan.
No one has told me this, but I believe in Oct. my aneurysm leaked and sealed it self.
I understand exactly how you feel. My daughter told me I was a “Debbie Downer” for worrying so much, but it is difficult not to worry. That said, there is an old adage “Worry is like paying interest before it is due.” After her comment I decided that I had to focus my attention on what needs to be done to prepare my life for the future rather than waste my thoughts on gloom and doom scenarios.
You are going to get through this and be there for your children. Just keep seeing yourself in the future with your family. Put that image in the cosmos. And follow the sage advice of the other posters.
I was supposed to have mine treated immediately, but I have recently been diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, which is an orphan disease, it is incurable, few know about it or how best to treat it, but it can go into remission. The big elephant in the room is that it can spread and cause full body CRPS. Surgery is one of the triggers. Presently it is in my right foot and ankle.
I just had a CT scan of my foot and I am waiting for the rheumatologist to call me. There is a treatment for CRPS in Italy, which has a 100% remission rate. Unfortunately, the drug is not FDA approved here, but is on the fast track for the approval. I can not wait that long, because CRPS has the best chance of remission in the first year and FDA approval could take another 2 years. I am contemplating going to Italy for the treatment which costs about 800, but I really do not want to fly, because of my aneurysm. Also the cost of the trip would be expensive, but I may have no other alternative.
First, Let me me the first to tell you everything you are feeling and thinking is so normal. I went through
these same emotions in 2011. and now here I Am very much alive and doing excellent and now retired this year
for my reason of my own. but the most important thing you got to do is to find a way to calm. you cannot have your B/P
to elevate.. The operation is not painful and recovery time is not as long as you think. I had a wonderful Drs here at John Hopkins Hospital and in 4 days I was home . every case is different. When you put good things out there in the spirit they will return good back to you.. Believe that you will be just fine and calm down. I see you home already .
I know how you are feeling as I have 2 children and was worried about surgery. Mine was successful. Try to focus on something positive. You need your bp to be normal. I happen to believe in God, and so my faith is what helped me. Try to find something that will calm & center you. Maybe meditation or even deep breathing. I will pray for you & your family.️
Came back from the Hospital yesterday. Had some complications with the angio - could not move my leg and my eyes kept blinking. But all is better now.
Result was that they found a second one. So now I know I have one 4,5mm front left next to the optic nerve and a second one of 3mm on the right front next to the optic nerve. Coiling will not be an Option and there is just a flow diverter or clipping - clipping might Need two surgeries as they are not sure they can work their way from the left to the right. Since I already reacted to the angio though the doc suggest it might be better to do a clipping as they would not put a foreign object into the blood System.
Since I am scared a lot about surgery plus rupturing I am even more scared now to know I have two of them which increses the Odds of a surgery to go wrong.
Logistical Problem for me and my Family now is that we are moving to another Country in July. My husband will start a new Job with a Trial period of 3 month. meaning till November he is on Trial.
Since they told me that even if all goes perfectly well I will not be legally allowed to drive for 3 month and should Count 6 month of recovering time - plus as I am emotionally very weak the doctors are sure that I will suffer badly. - now is not te time for me to do this.
I Need to move my Family and my Kids, set upp the life there. Manage all around for my husband to be "safe" in his new Job and then sometime next year start it all again.
Question is how on earth am I going to cope with my fear till then. How do I react when I get a headache? how can I still Keep my Spirits up while thinking I am risking it? Any ideas? I guess this will be a couple of hard months ahead but there is no other way. If something goes wrong now my entire Family might be in jeapardy.
Dear Tinchen, I know how frightened you are, because I am in a state of continual worry that my medical conditions will cause me to be a burden to my family. Since I cannot walk unassisted I already can see the future difficulties.
I am investigating hypnotherapy to help me with worry and healing. It was successful in the past for two medical conditions I had, stopped the issues overnight. I felt marvelous for two years after each of the single sessions. My mother, on the other hand, could not be hypnotized, so it does not work for everyone, but it may be worth investigating.
I found some self-hypnosis videos on You-Tube, but I have not yet watched them.
I also found a calming app made by local doctors that I put on my phone. It is so-so, but I figure it is better than not using something.
I also started to listen to calming and fun music to distract me when I think too much. You can subscribe to a free music program that will play whatever you like. When my mother was dying at home we signed up for Pandora (there are others) which played her favorite, Pavarotti.
There are also free breathing exercises on the Internet that can help with calming. There is one I tried that involves a long slow exhalation.
There are acupressure points on the body that can be used for calming.
The weather here seems to be in continual flux here, which brings on headaches, since I cannot tolerate NSAIDS I take holistic medication and put an ice pack on my head. You might want to speak to your doctor to see if ice is recommended.
I gave up all caffeine and I am trying to avoid being dehydrated. If I think of anything else I will post again.
wow excellant suggestions! also what helped me get thru recoiling was sermons on radio and tv, also currently i drink sleepytime sinus soother tea, it really helps- i can breathe so much easier!! i ran out and walmart didnt have any more- i got way worse with scratchy sore throat, i found it on amazon and bought 8 boxes and got free shipping, i now feel better once again even with all this pollen here in Pa, tc xoxo
I forgot to mention avoiding straining on the toilet. Getting constipated from stress can stress me out even more, so I started being more consistent in eating Chia seed gel in Greek yogurt everyday, eating an apple every day for the pectin and also eating a few prunes.
It’s a totally different game with an unruptured aneurysm. I waited a few months, even travelled to New Zealand from California, but knowing there was this ticking time bomb, I elected to have it clipped with an open craniotomy in January 2015. It was easy and I was home in 3 days and back to work in 2 weeks. I am 100% good and I’m 66 years old. I am so glad I had it done. Find a great neurosurgeon and go for it! My children are grown but I have 10 grandchildren so I wanted to live and be in their lives for many more years! I wish you well!
Hi Tinchen, I have an 8mm x 4.8mm unruptured aneurysm on my left opthalmic arteryand am mum to two boys aged 9 and 11. I became ill 5 years ago after an incredibly debilitating headache left me unable to walk or speak temporarily. I thouht it was a migraine, thought nothing of it until my walking remained disruped, I had major ptoblems with fatigue, concentration a nd brain power. 5 years on all this persists, but 6 months ago I was told I have an aneurysm too. It may have been there all along...perhaps it ruptured then re-sealed 5 years ago. Who knows?
I too cannot have coiling, only stent. But the doctors seem to have decided that the 4.8mm diameter is the only one to be concerned about, and since the opthalmic artery is lower risk for rupture than other sites are recommending I leave it. They say they will rescan in 5 years.
So i theory I should be happy to leave well alone. The doctors dont think it is seriously large, or ina bad place. They think it is unlikely to burst.
but like you I find that difficult to live with. I will be booking in for surgery. I want to get this done and behind me. The only advice I can give you is to think this through with as many different people and perspectives as you can. And make sure you are at peace with your decision, whichever way you decide to go.
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