I had an aneurysm that ruptured on October 27,2011 and almost died. My daughter was with me at the time and got me to the hospital. After they spent hours stabiilzing me was shipped to another hospital where I had the coiling surgery done. spent one month in ICU with numerous vasospams. I am pleased to be home but have numerous problems and hope i am not alone with theses problems. I have extreme headaches, blurred vision and extreme mood swings and fatigue. I am greatful to be alive but hope some of you can tell me that they also have these symptoms and for how long. I also have trouble sleeping....afraid of not waking up.
Hi Shari,
Welcome to BAF.
As you experience this site you will find that you are not alone in what you've experienced or are experiencing.. Many of us have had the same or similar experiences in our recovery.
Please know that the recovery will take time and getting good rest is important so while it's scary, do try to get some rest. Sometimes you have to allow your mind to focus on something else so all those thoughts churning away can die down.
I record episodes of Jeopardy for this purpose. When the chatter is too much for me to go to sleep, I get up and watch enough episodes -I answer the questions along with the contestants - so that my mind is not churning anymore. When I start to fall asleep in front of the television, I get up and go to bed. I usually fall asleep right away.
Maybe this or something like it will help you.
Good luck for your continued good recovery. I will add you to my prayer list.
Carole
Hi Shari -- I see we aren't too far from one another - I live in Andover, MA. I'm sorry to hear about your ruptured annie and subsequent problems. I was fortunate to have my aneurysm clipped before rupture in April 2011. However, I have suffered permanent vision loss in my left eye and just am coping with it best I can. I had a number of problems after surgery and have had two subsequent surgeries. Mood swings and fatigue can be expected as your body recovers from "major impact". Because we may all look fine others sometimes have problems understanding what we are going through. I often look back and how I was "perfectly fine" the day I was wheeled to the OR and now have permanent issues to deal with.. but I also know that my mom died at 45 of a ruptured aneurysm.. I'm 64 and can enjoy every day. Just this evening my two children (25 & 30) and my husband enjoyed a great home dinner and had fun around the table -- I used to take that all for granted.. now days like this are such a blessing. Don't be afraid to sleep (I too have trouble sleeping somtimes), you will surely wake up to see the sunrise! My prayers are sent your way to help you on your journey.
Hi Arlene, You have learned to appreciate the special moments. Sometimes it takes a near tradegy
to make us able to truly appreciate the most important aspects of our lives. I wish you the very best.
Can you tell me the size of your aneurysm? Mine is 5mm, unruptured and am about to go forward with treatment.
Millie
Hi Millie, according to a medical report I have my aneurysm measured 8 mm in height x 13 mm in length x 10 mm in width. It was on the left ICA and compressing my left optic nerve. Clipping was the only alternative for me. My neurosurgeon told me that based on location, my age, etc. it was the best solution. He said with coiling he sometimes needs to recoil and they're still not sure what the titanium coils will do overtime. Clipping worked for me although I developed a staph infection - long story but rare occurence. Best of luck to you.
Thanks Arlene. So glad that you are coping well. Clipping is my preferred option for the reasons you mention, among others. Mine is also on the ophthalmic segment and my surgeon has listed loss of sight in left eye as a “low risk” possibility. Tomorrow is the day I will get on the surgery schedule. At this point, cannot wait to have it behind me.
God bless.
Hi Millie Grace,
I wish you the very best with your upcoming surgery.
May God place his healing hand upon you.
Carole
Alot of what you are experiences is you still healing and alot is PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)...which Doctors should be able to help you out with many of the symptoms...I can't tell you how long this will all last Shari because everyone is different and mine didn't rupture, was leaking...
I do hope your Neurologist can help you with alot of the above...Cyber~prayers....Colleen
Thank you so much.
its to early to fully recover, it can take up to a year or more. Dont rush the healing process you and the brain need to work together,mood swings are natural and tiredness is natural for like 8 weeks, maybe you should see a counselor for the sleeping cause it can be post traumatic stress disorder. Do a little each day to build yourself up and dont rush, i appreciate you sharing .
i wish there were patient literature somewhere that would cover all these things we go through that doctors never mention. it always seems to take us by surprise because we weren't prepared for after-effects. when i mentioned it to my surgeon, he sort of scoffed at the internet research and looking for answers yet i wasn't getting them from him. he said most patients walk out as if nothing ever happened. i told him i don't believe that due to the amount of brain aneurysm sites i've found and the many people struggling w/life after surgery.
my aneurysm didn't rupture and was coiled shortly after yours was. all i can say is give it time. and please hang around - the people here are incredible and can help you understand what you're going through.
healing vibes coming your way!!
kat
Thank you all for your support. I have an appointment with the neurology team on monday and will bring up all my issues. I hope the can help at least with the headaches and fatigue. I do have another question for all of you...freinds and family don't seem to understand all i'm going through and expect me to be the way I always was because they don't see anything wrong with me. How do I make them understand that i am not that person anymore. It takes me longer to do just about everything, and I forget almost everything else.
Arleen, you are blessed...the size of your aneurysm in that tiny space is amazing. That is .3 x .39 x .5 inches... you were blessed you had not ruptured.
My aneurysm was L ICA...considerably smaller; and had ruptured. Unfortunately, I was coiled; I assume (imagine) the size of your aneurysm would have had more potential of rupture during coiling than mine had. Even those of us w/coiling can get infections.
Arleen, how was the access to your L ICA, i.e. a small hole in the skull, or a larger section?
You were blessed.
Shari, a belated welcoming... it has been 8 years since mine; still have fatigue; hearing loss, upper right peripheral vision loss, autoimmune issue (psoriasis), aphasias, and more. Oh, but I am able to shower and put on clean clothes... It is quite typical for friends/family to not understand; mine did not even notice my hair loss, until I whined and cried about my tub not draining.
You are blessed in having a neuro team avaialble to you; will be great to know your results.
Pat
Shari....I agree with you about friends/family not understanding....(Especially if you look the same or similar) It's a hard one to answer and could lead to alot of discussions....
Here is my personal opinion based on my situation:
I don't think that anyone wants to be reminded that life is fragile---and also of their own mortality...When faced with a life-threatening situation for one they love--well, it's scary and when you are "out of the woods" (figure of speech..), that "unpleasant and scary situation" is put into the "memory" banks...Heck, I really can't blame people too much ( I have a difficult time understanding--and it happened to ME...), but there are times when I just have to say- "really- I had freaking brain surgery....I almost died....I lost months of my life..."...and, in my case, that was just the tip of the iceberg.... ( and, yes, I am known for speaking my mind! That is nothing new- hahaha cannot blame that on the aneurysm...)
I have to be quite frank about it and even then I wonder if they really "get" it...
Good luck and keep us posted- D
Thanks, love that you speak your mind, I’m the same way. I am very frustrated that I have to keep reminding my family that I am not the same mostly because it brings it all back again. I worked so hard to get to where I am now and wish that everyone could just see the pain I’m in all the time from the headaches, nausea. Instead I get criticised for taking pain medication. Go figure, try having the same headache since October people and see what kind of a mood you are in! Then There is the frustration of still have short term memory loss and processing issues and just knowing that I’m not the same person anymore and why did this happen to me! Seeing the neuro team on Monday so hopefully get some different pain medication and nausea meds. Also still having lots of fatigue, but not sleeping well.
That's what I like about you Dana...you always speak your mind...
one of these days I am going to do this...lol....
Gosh Shari----I'm glad you like my post-and my opinion!---it seems like I totally gave you my thoughts on something you weren't even writing about! Can I pin that on the brain surgery?-hahaha
In all seriousness, I do agree with you about "bringing it all back again" that makes me sad...oh well, hopefully those who love us will learn how to "deal"
I couldn't look at this site and get involved too often cause it was just too much of a reminder of what I had been through... obviously I am past that now!
...thankfully... That means I am better at dealing with everything- my husbands told me that I have been through all of the classic stages of grief in the past 18 months- I guess that's healthy...(to clarify--my rupture happened in March 2010 but I was "out of it" for almost 3 month and in the hospital for 4 so I count my "healing" date from July 6th....)
I totally misread and thought you were trying to figure out how to "deal" with people who expected you to be/act the same way prior to rupture....ooops....perhaps I was "projecting"....
Enjoy the weekend! D
:-).....
I haven't dealt with the nausea but the headaches, fatigue, memory loss & sleep issues very much so. My annie reputered 5 months ago. The headaches were horrible & my neurosurgeon had me undergo a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) where they drained the cerebral fluid for a almost 2 days. It helped with the headaches so we opted to have a shunt placed in my head. The headaches pretty much went away however we've been getting snow & have had a lot of gloomy weather (high presure) so my head has been hurting again. I will more than likely have to have the valve adjusted on the shunt (done with magnets). My problem is I'm about 5 hours away from the hospital where it needs to be done. I'm always tired & a neurologist in my area is also seeing me. He prescribed a medication to help however my insurance company will not cover it. The doctor & I are now playing phone tag. I lost over a month of time with my memory. I have very minor issues now. I went through 2 weeks of daily physical, occupational & speech/memory therapy. I've been going to speech/memory therapy 3 times a week since the beginning of November. However I had to change insurance companies & I had to quit therapy this week because I can't afford it any longer. You may want to discuss a shunt. I'm not saying that it will completely fix the headaches but it certainly helped me. The lumbar puncture was extremely painful though. A few nerves got twisted in the tube that was in my spine.