Ruptured Aneurysm Newbie

Hi. I had a 6mm aneurysm rupture while at the gym on 9/27/19. I was taken to ER quickly, and from there they took me 3 1/2 hours away to larger town and neurological center. They performed the new WEB thing on it going through the groin, and I had a drain tube in my head. I was in ICU for 2 weeks, went home for another 6 weeks before back to work. I did do some physical therapy for a few weeks before going back to work.
I am very fortunate that I came out of it with little effects. I have headaches, occasional arm numbness, and being tired.
I joined this group as I sometimes get questions and I don’t feel like I have any resources in my area.
My arm numbness is a big question. I had it twice a day when I first came home, then it receded and only happened occasionally. It’s started happening again more frequently and I am not sure if it’s stress or something else I should be concerned with. Winter has struck our area and driving can be stressful.
The numbness doesn’t last long, a few seconds, but I had one where I felt the tingling in my cheek lightly. I left message for my neurology doctor and never heard back. Small town problems. I am in search of a neurologist closer to home for questions and such.
Thank you and I look forward to this group.

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Welcome Melissa.
I’m Merl, I’m one of the Moderator Team here at Ben’s Friends.
It sounds as if you’ve been VERY fortunate to have little effects. If you go through and read some of the other posts here you’ll find that our members cover many, many differing symptoms and outcomes along the way. I’m sure that others with similar experiences will be able to share their stories.

Merl from the Moderator Support Team

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Welcome to the group ! I hope side effects will go away soon …

Welcome Melissa! Give a call to your neurosurgeon if that’s not the neurology doctor. If it is, call them again. They may have a triage nurse you can speak to about the numbness. One of my triage nurses taught me about the patient portal which is a great way to communicate. For me, I don’t see my emails to them unless they answer.

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Interesting. Two thoughts. When they are working on your head in the operating room, they may manually reposition your body to get the right access. Since it was very recent, it might be the result of people repositioning you or lying in an awkward position in the same side for the length of the procedure without moving. I had laparoscopic surgery for another condition and that was the nurse’s explanation for my postoperative shoulder pain. The tingling cheek sounds very much like an irritated nerve. I had the full clipping, so I was numb on one side of my face and then tingling when it was healing. By all means check with your doctor. I hope all is ok!

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Hi Kate,
That’s an interesting idea. It hasn’t happened again and I am seeing my regular Doctor today for other things. There is one neurologist in this town right now so hard to get in, but I am trying. Otherwise the weekend was great for me, went 36 hours without needing Tylenol :slight_smile:

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Hello! My experience with the burst aneurysm, procedure and hospital stay was very similar to yours, but mine occurred in 2017. I have had similar symptoms to yours but also had some vision disturbances; all these were usually quite mild. However, 3 times they were severe enough to send me to the ER because everyone thought I was possibly having a stroke. With all of these ER visits, the MRIs done were normal as was everything else. However, during my last ER visit (late October of this year) they admitted me to the hospital because the symptoms were so severe. In addition to the usual tests, they did an EEG. This result was abnormal and the neurologist concluded that my symptoms were actually partial seizures. They put me on generic Keppra and since then, I’ve had few to no symptoms. (Although the Keppra takes some getting used to!) So, if you haven’t had an EEG done, you might ask your neurologist to do one and see what turns up. I also think it’s critical that you find a neurologist whom you can easily access and who will listen to you and not brush off your symptoms. We actually ended up moving across the state so that I could have better medical care than I was getting in my small rural town. Hope this helps.

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Hi Noelle, I had an EEG done on Nov 18th and it was normal. I am going to find a doctor closer to home, working with my normal doctor to get referral. Thank you for the advice and experience. I don’t want to ever going on any kind of Keppra again and they know that. Horrible side effects. Neurology Doctor is going to prescribe me something else so fingers crossed.

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I hope you succeed finding a neuro dr. that you can communicate with. When I suffered a rupture 15 yrs ago, I found my neurosurgeons PA vey helpful for questions. I did not have numbness you describe, but did have double vision and terrible headaches for a time. Went back to work too soon, as I could only take 12 weeks off without losing my job, and needed the job! I also live in a remote rural area, and was helicoptered to a large hospital that is 4 hours driving away.

Hello Melissa,
I hope you are well.
My name is John and I am 57 years old. I experienced a Thumb size Aneurism that had acquired a “Berry tit” which is an Anny on an Anny. This leaked several times which caused a stroke three times. The first two not diagnosed. This was in 1985.
My SAH required drilling three holes in the skull and cutting the 6" triangle out so many of my side affects were more evident but went away eventually. I still get my skull crack once a year but used to it now…LOL
I was 22 and in the Navy. I was a bit wilder than I should have been and started doing Cocaine for a short time after being stationed in Caracas VZ.
I started having twitches in my arm and attributed to the substance abuse and I seeked help. They figured I was detoxing and discharged me.
I went home to NC and got a job with an Engineering firm. On my way home from a club after 1/2 a drink, because I was nauseous and left early to go home…something wasn’t right. On the way home I kept waking up behind the wheel and turned the radio up with the windows down. I woke up to late once and hit a pipe head on and was rushed to the hospital…This was my second stroke. They gave me a DWI and threw me in jail with a neck brace and stitches across my face. The blood test came back .003 and they dropped the charges.
At this time I still had no idea what was happening between my ears.
After several months at the firm I worked at my armed started twitching…just like when I was in the Navy. I turned to tell someone and could not talk. I fell to my knees…scared to death.
They took me to the hospital where they found the Thumb size Anny after several arteriograms and a cat.
They prepped me and gave me a clipping surgery. God makes miracles doesn’t he.
Its been 35 years now and life is great…some good some bad…Just like everybody else.
I didn’t have you guys back then so had to accept a lot of things on my own.
I don’t feel handicapped…anymore nor ashamed. We become stronger people than most. We earned it. We learn to enjoy the moments of to day…a beautiful gift.
I have through the years addressed my alcoholism which is another daily acceptance.
Life is Good.
I have a Wife, Two kids going into college and my own business designing homes.
Thank you all for being here and I am here for you.
Love
John

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Hi John,
Wow, you have been through the ringer, so happy to hear you are doing well.
I did get appointment with neurologist closer to me and will discuss with them the occasional arm numbness. After talking with people on another board, I think it’s a minor side effect that will eventually go away. I am doing well otherwise.
Thank you for sharing your story. Best wishes and happy new year to you and yours.

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