Hello everyone.
A month ago I had my clipping surgery on a 1cm unruptured MCA aneurysm. Things went smoothly, but 5 days after I experienced a vasospasm and another day after that I had a seizure. Thankfully, things have been quite good since then and I’ve been able to return to work and my usual routine. As everyone who has experienced a vasospasm knows, it’s quite terrifying at the moment, and I feel more traumatized by it and the seizure than anything else in my recovery. I forgot how to speak for a few days and at first I really didn’t know how I would turn out, but thankfully outside of some mild aphasia now and then, I feel no different than I did before. I feel very, very lucky. I just turned 35 a few weeks ago, and to be able to celebrate this with my wife and a few friends made me feel so fortunate.
While I’m still having quite a bit of pain at the site, headaches, and jaw discomfort, I feel amazed by how quickly my body and mind have recovered. My forgetfulness has almost disappeared over the past few days, and outside of some occasional impulsiveness or excitability, I feel like my old self. The only things I’ve done that feel out of character were spending a lot of money on stuff I wanted from my iPad in the ICU, and getting so happy about my bagel spot having a new kind of cream cheese that it made someone in line laugh
Though this is a silly complaint, the most uncomfortable aspect of my recovery has been that it was suggested my wife and I refrain from being intimate for 6 weeks post surgery. I know that’s such a minor issue, but it’s an incredibly odd experience. Also, the combination of being unable to drive post seizure and not being able to carry anything over 5 lbs has made basic day to day errands difficult. I know that these issues are remarkably minor in comparison to the risk of the aneurysm, but they are still minor complaints
In case you haven’t had your surgery yet, I want to say that in my experience this has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I have had OCD and hypochondria my entire life, so learning about the unruptured aneurysm was the most difficult thing I ever experienced, but dealing with it head on has changed my life dramatically. I feel grateful for every day ahead of me, and happier about my life than I ever have.
This may be invasive, but when was everyone else able to have sex post clipping surgery? And when were you able to carry more than 5 lbs? And when could you resume driving if you had a seizure? And when could you go to the gym and engage in weights/cardio? I’m so eager to resume my daily life, I would love to hear about everyone’s experiences.
Thanks!