I have decided to go ahead with having a clipping done on my aneurysm in June. I have gone back-and-forth on this and I finally decided that I just don’t want this thing in my head anymore especially because I’ve had stroke like symptoms. My question is: if I
someone is staying with me the first week after surgery, can I the just have them go with just checking in on me? How long does soneone have to stay with me? Also, I teach and I want to go back to teaching. 6 weeks later ? is this feasible?
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Hey Abbycat,
From my perspective, that question of ‘How long…?’ is a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string?’ type question. There are just too many variables to be giving a fixed response. Please DO NOT be setting a fixed recovery time. It can be really soul destroying when we set a date, but then that date comes and goes with very little results. And it’s the same with supports, cutting your support a week later maybe OK for some, but if you have a set time/date only for your recovery not to go to your plan can be a HUGE emotional toll. Take the time your body needs and not just the time your mind expects.
Recovery from neurosurgery takes as long as it takes. It’s a time to be kind to yourself. Is 6 weeks feasible? In theory, with all of the stars aligning and your recovery being perfect, possibly. But the reality is that it could take longer, much longer. Some things may return unaffected, but then some may take time and by ‘time’ I mean years to fully normalise. Some medicos like to give us the standard 6-8week recovery timeline and for bone/muscle to heal, 6-8weeks is about right. But we’re not talking about just bone/muscle, we’re talking about the brain. 1mm to the left or 1mm to the right can make a world of difference when it comes to the brain. So making ‘hard and fast’ decisions now is impossible and may only serve to disadvantage yourself.
I say all of this as I’ve required a few neurosurgeries and none of the recoveries have been the same. The first surgery was a shock to the system and I too was given that 6-8weeks. I pushed myself to keep to that 6-8weeks, which I missed, it was more like 10-12weeks and even then I wasn’t 100%. With the 2nd surgery I thought “I’ve been here before, I’ll recover the same” only I didn’t and the more I pushed my recovery, the more my body pushed back. My frustration was massive and it was more frustration with self “I could do before, why can’t I now…?” I didn’t want to accept ‘THIS’, so I kept pushing my limits. Something went ‘POP’ and I found myself back having further neurosurgery. So, don’t be doing that.
Listen to your body. It will tell you when enough is enough, but only if you listen. I convinced myself I was building stamina by pushing myself past my limits, but the reality was I was doing myself more harm than good. It’s good to have a plan, but sometimes even the best laid plans don’t always go to plan. So, have a backup plan for a ‘worst case scenario’. We all hope/wish/pray that our backup isn’t needed, but it can be a real shocker when our initial plan is unattainable within our fixed timeline and we have to reassess our expectations. I felt a real failure for not achieving my goal and mentally, ohh, that was a challenge to accept.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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I’ve not had any clips installed but the longest someone had to stay with me was 72 hours, had to ask BH😂. The stent required 24 hours I couldn’t be left alone. Someone from my surgeon’s team always called at the 24 hour mark I do remember. They’ve also called on the weekends if needed.
I know by your posts this hasn’t been an easy decision for you. I do believe you have weighed all the risks and have asked all the right questions, thus you’re making the best informed decision a person can humanly make. Good for you!
It seems some teachers on here can return to work after six or eight weeks. Some need to adjust their schedule but the school they work for works with them on it. I can’t remember the member’s name and I need to leave or I’d try to search but she returned to working this school year. I hope she comes and replies…I do apologize for not being able to recall this morning.
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Hello, wish you health. Could you please tell me the size and location of your annie? Mine is 2 mm and doctors don’t hurry to do a surgery. Thank you
i would double that to be sure and for peace of mind otherwise you will stress and thats counterproductive to healing. You will need help. let others help. You are worthy of a restful recovery, tc prayers
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I am new to this group. I was diagnosed with a Supraclinoid ICA right side near ophthalmic on Jan 30,2023. I had the angiogram and they found another. The neurologist says he can treat both with a flow diverter. I am going on March 6. He says I will feel totally normal within two days. Reading these posts it sounds like people aren’t even driving until months later. I am going back to work March 15. I work in peoples mouths and have to have a steady hand and i drive 30 minutes to work. Should I be concerned?
Jenny 71
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Hey Jenny,
Welcome to Ben’s Friends. Lots of great people, with lots of experience around here.
The reality is any neurosurgery is not a simple procedure. Some people can bounce back relatively unaffected. For some recovery can take a bit longer and there for some there can be ongoing issues. But ‘totally normal within 2 days’??? that is with all of the stars aligning perfectly. Me at 2 days and I’m still trying to get completely straight from the anaesthetic, let alone the surgery.
As for driving, it seems it can depend on your state laws, but in some places the medicos are mandated to report neurosurgical procedures to DMV. I’m in Australia and I have to obtain medical clearance yearly to maintain my license.
We all hope that you have a successful procedure BUT at a very minimum I’d suggest to give yourself another week, then reassess from there. You may come out the other side and think ‘Well, I don’t know what all the fuss was about…’ but if you make concrete commitments, then can’t reach them, that can REALLY bash your self esteem. As I stated in an earlier post ‘Take the time your body needs and not just the time your mind expects.’
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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@Jenny71
Hello Jenny
Welcome to the group that no one would like to be a member of. But here we are, trying to lift each other up.
I will share my own experience. Unfortunately I ruptured in October 2020, that was awful and it took me about three months before I could/ wanted to drive again. I had a second procedure with a stent and more coils six months after the rupture. My neurosurgeon assured me that this would be totally different from what I had experienced when I ruptured.
Although I was hesitant to do this and anxious about the outcome, I decided it was the best to do. The day came and I was sent home the day after the procedure. I remember that for me, it took about a week or two to get back. There were two things, I was very sensitive to bright light in the beginning and the groin had to heal from the catheter. Other than that I was mostly back to my normal self in a couple of days but not enough to go to work. ( well I’m retired so I didn’t have to) We are all different but that was my experience.
I agree with @ModSupport try to get an extra week off to fully recover I think it’s better to have some extra wiggle room instead of feeling overwhelmed of starting to work too soon. A few more days will make a whole difference.
I am among the few who came out on the other side after a rupture feeling almost like my old self.
Let us know how it went when you feel ready to share. It will help others going through the same thing.
There is a post about how to prepare for the surgery, it can be very helpful to take a look at it.
Good luck with your upcoming surgery. You are a lucky woman to be able to have this taken care of before the aneurysm pops.
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Thanks so much. Yes i feel ver blessed that it was found before it ruptured. I will write after it’s done and will let you know how it went!
Jenny71
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Like @oct20, I ruptured so my story is going to be a bit different from those who didn’t. I lost peripheral vision so it was a bit scary for me to be in a vehicle, I became accustomed to it and then got it back a few years later, so had to get accustomed to that 
. I also developed a tremor but oddly enough my hand lost the tremor if I was holding something for the most part. My stent which is different from the one you’ll have has changed my brain for the better in my opinion.
I’m one of those people who prepare for the worse and expect the best. I’m also a cup half full person, so always look for positives. I have learned from our members that a positive attitude can really help in recovery from any procedure.
Like Merl from @ModSupport and @oct20 suggested, try for an extra week of recovery. If nothing else, you’ll have time to get accustomed to the extra protein and hydration you will need to help your brain heal and get to see the Spring flowers bloom up there.
I’m looking forward to reading about your procedure but don’t forget, we are here for you before and after! Any thing we can help with, just ask…
I had a rupture while at the gym when I was 26. Spent 9 weeks in the hospital and three months in physical, occupational, and speech therapy . It took me 9 months before I could go back to work because I had a paralyzed vocal cord and had to wait to have a vocal cord implant. I worked as a tv news anchor so that was hard to deal with. When I did go back I could only do 2 days a week working my way up to 5 after many months. I say wait and see how you feel before committing to going back.
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Hi Abbycat,
I am also a teacher. I had a ruptured aneurysm in December 2019, and then I didn’t return to teaching until Fall 2020. As numerous people in this thread have said, everyone’s different and everyone’s experience is unique. But as for me, I was in the hospital from December 19 until March 20. I had a SAH and then had hydrocephalus (fluid buildup on my brain as a result of the rupture). I ended up having coiling immediately after the aneurysm rupture, and then a craniotomy in February 20 to place a shunt to drain the fluid. Basically, I feel very lucky both to be alive and to have a job where I could take a whole semester off and then have a summer adjacent to that, so it ended up being a “break” of around 9 months total. Personally, I needed that time to recover, but each person has a different story, and your experience will certainly be unique.
Best wishes, and if you ever want to chat, please feel free to send me a message.
Katie
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First of all, welcome and thank you for being a teacher! I would consider taking your time returning to work so soon. Just like many replied, everyone is different and recovery depends on each individual and procedure. I was told that I can return to work within 2 weeks after placing a stent for a small 5mm aneurysm near the brain stem. I had multiple issues with BP, headaches, neck pain, and severe anxiety. My mistake was attempting to return to normal too soon. Subsequently, the symptoms intensified and was not able to do even the basic tasks at home. Fortunately & 2.5 years later, I have been able to get additional medical support from the VA and still recovering at home. Your profession is extremely stressful and you should be healing and relaxing after a major procedure. Best wishes & bless you for what you do. Ben
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Thank you all. People that do not have them, simply cannot understand.
Im trying to wait until summer, but my job is causing me so much stress I am having nose bleeds.
It’s name is blobbo, The aneurysm, I mean. but I may have to rename it after my vice principal who is an absolutely atrocious human being and making my life hell. His name meant be more fitting than the one I’ve given this thing.
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mine is almoxt 4 mm but it is on the pericollsal artery, Thus it is rare and it had a lot of unknowns. I’m the last year it went from 2 to almost 4. I was also taken to the ER with stroke like symptoms.
Just time to say goodbye to it
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I’m roaring with laughter! You are too funny! Seriously, it’s never the children, always the politics isn’t it? Maybe he is intimidated by your skills and might be a control freak as well. Can your union rep help you? I don’t know if this will help you at work How to Expose a Narcissistic Boss | Psychology Today
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The union is supposed to be talking to
him. i am home with a migraine. my head and back are not happy
I wish you a positive recovery. I am also a teacher and I had an annie clipped after it ruptured. I was off work for about 2 months, because I had my surgery in Germany and it was mandatory for me to do 1 month rehab. I pushed to return because I couldn´t afford to stay on sick leave. I was also lucky my school admin team allowed me to return slowly. I did 2 hours a day for the first week, 4 hours the next, and increasing by 2 hours each week until I was back on full time. Looking back, I wish I hadn´t pushed myself. It was so tough to come back. I was lucky I have no deficits, but I was so sensitive to noise, which is unavoidable in a class. I was not myself and the kids sensed it. It was super difficult and I wish I had taken the time my doctor suggested. However, with all this being said, the most important is that everyone heals and recovers at their own pace and you need to listen to your body and do not be afraid of not being at your full potential right away. If I am completly honest, it took me years to be completely back to normal, and 8 years on I still have aphasic moments. So what ever you do BE KIND TO YOURSELF and allow your body to heal. Good Luck on your journey, you are brave and will recover. I hope you have a complication free recovery.
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Ahhh, yes, workplace politics. I must say, the one thing I don’t miss.
For some reason (and excuse me for those who maybe offended) but male bosses with female workers and female bosses with male workers seem to be the worst. I worked in a female orientated office as the sole male and ohh some of the politics was nasty. I’m not a politician, I go directly to the point. But that was not the ‘office environment’ way. It was all of these whispers around the filing cabinet. You walk into a room of chatter and everything goes quiet. If you had a sensitive disposition, it was toxic ‘Are they talking about me?’ Not me, I’d walk in and make the point ‘So, who are you lot talking about today…?’ in a none to subtle volume, so everybody knew. With the boss, anything you’d done, she’d done it better or bigger. Anything you’d been through she’d had it worse or harder and as for headaches…well…her’s were the worst on earth. My headaches were nothing compared to hers, I just had to harden up because she got through it. She had no clue. She would manipulate people with crocodile tears, making herself out to be the victim, especially against a male (me). I was the big, bad meanie.
Male bosses are no better, if fact in some cases worse. Many things, especially headaches just get labelled as ‘Woman issues’ and diminished because of it. Acting as if your skill set is inferior because of your sex.
+1
Intimidation can play a big role, especially when dealing with a control freak. It’s their own insecurities, their own perception of power and how to wield that power to control. I don’t respond real well to power, I’m in control of me. If requested with respect, I will respond with respect. Order with power and I’ll reject with equivalent power. Bosses often don’t like that. (well, this one didn’t) She didn’t have that control.
I can have a short fuse sometimes, add a headache and that short fuse gets even shorter and patience evades me, hence one reason I’m no longer working.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
I felt totally normal two weeks after my coiling and flow diverter. I could not have done dental type work that first week. Fatigue and headaches (the sharp kind when I walked or moved my head-not all the time but enough I would not have been ok working) would have gotten in the way. Second week maybe for half days as I still had some little sharp headaches and napped each day. But the third week it would not have been a problem, I went back to my full schedule and energy the third week. I was driving the first week,only once or twice because I was mostly home but driving was fine. I had a couple strange things those first two weeks that went away by the third week. Periodic numbness in one arm and hand. Happened a handful of times, then not again. Freaked me out the first time, but it was not stroke related, doc thinks maybe nerve being compressed from slight swelling? Has not happened the last few weeks. And visual auras like the kind people get with a migraine. Happened once or twice a day for about 10 days, then stopped happening. So don’t worry that strange things that happen will last, they may be very short term.
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