I have a 5mm cerebal aneurysm on my left side. I see a specialist next week but when in er with headaches I was told being so small I will probably not get surgery. I have two young children and am too scared too live my life like this. I need the surgery to calm my nerves. What ate the chances of surgery at 5mm?
Fiona, welcome...anticipate you will get lots of feedback...ask the specialist next week...Did they explain which artery / segment? My personal opinion (no expertise) is that you should not have to wait...
Please keep us updated....and, tell us more about your children...
Prayers for your comfort and right decision...once the options ae explained to you...
Pat
Hi Fiona I know it is very scary, mine needed to be fixed as it was pretty large, my sister has a couple which are being monitored, it has taken her a while to calm down but she is now fine and knows she can live a totally normal life. Ask as many questions as you can think, make sure you do not smoke and keep a close check on you BP.
Thanks Pat and Lynn, I am such a panicky person. I used to suffer Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well. I pretty much have learnt to manage that but a diagnosis like this has just thrown me back so far. I have a beautiful son aged 3 and a half and a gorgeous daughter aged 2. I just think of my children, the what ifs and cry. I really feel for my own mental state I will not rest until it has been dealt with.
Hi Fiona, I was recently diagnosed with a 3 mm aneurysm of ICA. Neurosurgeons seem to think both surgery and waiting are options. They did seem to favor surgery..mostly for the reasons you have mentioned above. I have surgery scheduled for May. Today it seems to be the right decision. Might not be the case tomorrow ! Good luck..
Hello Fiona
Yes, I'm with Pat on this , I'd say "can't wait"" no matter what, but like Pat I'm not a doctor either( although sometimes I might think I am!! )
The waiting game has got to be the worse! I've had two clippings, etc. but in my case I never really had much to think about in terms of waiting it out, both were done after being admitted to the hospital and I never had to leave the hospital then come back to have either surgery done...(Do you know what type of procedure the doctors are considering such as coils or PED, etc.?) Janet
At this stage no idea a specialist in another field, gp and emergency drs all mentioned watch and wait. Hoping neuros see it differently. Ashhan where are you located, what was their reasoning for surgery? Hoping mine feel that way?
How are you now Janet?
Fiona,
I am well, Thanks for asking...I had my 1st aneurysm/clipping in 1998, then the next aneurysm in 2006 (had it coiled, in a coma for 6 weeks), managed to recover well though on both situations. In 2010 the coils compacted and I had another clipping (in order to "fix" the coils)...and tomorrow I have an appt. with my Neurosurgeon , as I'm getting a little paranoid about pupil dialation in one eye..(Haven't seen a doctor in three years, haven't had any issues that needed dealt with until now) ..with me, I usually wait til the bitter end to go see whats wrong (hence the rather emergency-like surgeries, 6 week coma, etc--described above)! so now that I'm being pro-active in my concerns of late, I hope if something is wrong I don't wind up in the watch & wait category . And I hope I can get an MRA performed quickly (I've no health coverage, so we'll see what happens) Peace, Janet
Good luck let me know
Hi Fiona,
I am near Boston..met with Neurosurgeons in Mass General , Lahey clinic and my own hospital. According to them, even tho the largest study for unruptured aneurysms suggests that aneurysms smaller than 7mm are less likely to rupture, in their practice most common ruptures seem 4-5 mm.
I am 42 years and have two young kids. Anxiety from an untreated aneurysm will probably run high..annual risk of rupture is 1 % and cummulative over time....for all these reasons they think surgery might be better.....being a physician myself I agree..being a patient I wonder :(
How can I convince them to operate and how will I get through the days till Friday I am scared stress will burst it.
How big was yours?
Just realised you’d mentioned size already.
See what the neurosurgeons have to say. Non surgeons tend to lean towards monitoring.
Thanks Harold, so is that to say that the hope of treatment is not all lost. From what the GP was saying they may not even consider it because it is small and I for one know people who have had one of my size that has ruptured so to me basing it only on size is totally wrong.
Fiona yes they wont base it on size. Mine was only 2mm and I was trying to see if they could just monitor it for years to come but they wouldn't have it. And their reason was cause mine came from been hereditary & my mothers aneurysm had ruptured 4mths before mine was diagnosed so they wanted to treat mine asap and not take no chances with it rupturing. And I asked if there was a size that aneurysm get to before they rupture but they said there isn't...there's too many factors on what could cause an aneurysm to rupture. So I ended up getting it coiled a few months after on March 2012. Sending u best wishes. And make sure to ask questions on your appointment.
Hi, Fiona! I can relate to how you are feeling... just wanting to get this thing fixed. I have a 7 month old and a 2 year old and I understand that you love your babies more than life itself!
My annie was an incidental finding and to be honest the neurologist acted like it was no big deal. (initially it was said to be 5 mm but the neurosurgeon measured it 7.8 mm) Anyway, the neurologist actually said to me "don't get all anxious- it's just a brain aneurysm." I told her "well, it's not in YOUR head!". I immediately made my own referrals to two different neurosurgeons and BOTH said that surgical clipping is what we need to do given where the annie is, the wall properties, my age and general health.
I'm scheduled for clipping on March 20th. I'm getting a bit anxious about the recovery with two small children but I keep reminding myself that we NEED to get this thing fixed so that I will be able to take care of my little one's for years to come!
I hope you get the answers you are looking for on Friday. I'll be praying that you have peace about the situation, too.
Big Hugs!
I'll try to respond with a longer message when the kids aren't needing me ;) Just know, you're not a lone!
-Cordie
Hi Cordie,
Sorry you are in this position but great to have someone with a similar background to talk to. Where are you located. Do you have FB would love to add you. I wish you all the best for surgery as it is coming closer. How long have you had to wait? Do you have plans for recovery regarding your little ones? I am all prepared with a response if they tell me not to stress. Are you going privately or publicly?
Hi Fiona,
I'm not on FB for about a million reasons (but if I were, I'd love to be added ;)
I was diagnosed Feb 1st, met two different neurosurgeons the weeks of Feb 11th and I scheduled surgery for March 20th. I could have had the surgery as early as the week of Feb 18th but I wanted to wait because I am still breastfeeding my baby and needed to have time to pump enough milk for her for the 5 or so days that we'll be a part.
As far as plans for my recovery with the little ones goes, that's what I'm most nervous about. I'm blessed in that both my parents and my husbands parents are near and we also have a church family that will be sending meals and such. It's just going to be challenging for the 4-6 weeks that I'm not allowed to even pick up the baby. I'm sure you pick up your kids about a million times a day. I don't know how I'm going to NOT pick them up. My husband is also taking a couple weeks off work to be home and help. Somehow I'm trying to believe that God is allowing this so that I can REALLY depend on Him and so that I can learn to give up some control- I have to admit I have a few issues with having to be IN CONTROL at all times ;) I'm sure you can relate!
I am located in Florida and we are going to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. It's about a 4 hour drive from where we live. I'm pretty sure Mayo is a not for profit hospital. I saw you're in Australia - not really sure how health care if different in regards to your question of "private or public".
I would have to say that you're not going to get the same response of someone telling you not to stress- BOTH neurosurgeons I saw seemed to think this needs to be fixed. It was the neurologist that took it lightly. Please do share what your response will be if someone tells you it's "no big deal." ? I'm all ears and would love to hear it!
Fiona, please try to take deep breaths and know that you are in God's hands. He doesn't allow anything to happen to us that He isn't fully aware of and however hard it is to believe He actually loves your kids even more than you do!
sending Hugs!-
Cordie