After I had my aneurysm clipped following a rupture in Jan 2001 I was desperate to talk to other people. I never did. The internet then was not what it is now. Every time someone found out what had happened to me they would say "I know someone who had that but they're dead" And it happened over and over again.
I am so glad even after 14 years to find this community of living aneurysm survivors.
After a cursory look through some of the discussions I can see that I am definitely not alone.
Glad you are here, jenn!
Jenn, your fantastic! Glad you found us! I hope you told those individuals, “Now you know someone who survived!”
I certainly did! And I'm going to spread the word about this site too.
Moltroub said:
Jenn, your fantastic! Glad you found us! I hope you told those individuals, "Now you know someone who survived!"
Good for you Jenn!
I hear ya Jenn. It is good to be a survivor, good to find other survivors, the horrible truth is I only knew dead people that this happened to prior to my own experience as well so I understand where others are coming from. We are most certainly survivors!
You're so right about it being the horrible truth. I think that's what I found drove me crazy. I was experiencing all these things and even though I had no real deficits I still had a recovery period and my emotions were all messed up and I just kept thinking is there no one out there that will understand what I'm talking about? As a result I just kept a lot of it in. I looked fine so I allowed people to think I was fine.
Kellie said:
I hear ya Jenn. It is good to be a survivor, good to find other survivors, the horrible truth is I only knew dead people that this happened to prior to my own experience as well so I understand where others are coming from. We are most certainly survivors!
Jenn, welcome...you were blessed...
I will say that your results are like a few others I know who had treatment, even years prior to yours...
with the successful results...
So hope you can share whatever follow-up you had following discharge from the hospital..
I definitely feel blessed.
its been a long time since the surgery but I'll try to remember :) After I was discharged I wasn't allowed to drive for three months. I think I went to see the surgeon only a couple of times. I wasn't on any medication that I recall other than for pain relief. And they kept telling me to drink water which annoyed me to no end until my now husband then boyfriend told me it was to reduce the risk of stroke. The surgeon also told me that there weren't any other aneuryisms and I didn't have to worry about new ones as mine was a congenital issue. He also told me I didn't have to worry at all about pregnancy/delivery. I also had a second angiogram (I don't recall the first it was after the SAH) on September 12, 2001. ( an easy date to recall unfortunately) They cancelled the angio thinking that southern ontario hospitals might be asked to help with survivors. When it became clear they wouldn't be needed they were no longer on alert and the angio went forward as scheduled. Anyway the angio showed that everything was fine and confirmed what the surgeon had told me. Following that second angio I had another apointment with the surgeon to go through the results and that was it. He said I would never have to see him again.
I'm very sensitive to certain noises and while it has lessened over time it has not gone away. And of course the emotional differences.
patioplans said:
Jenn, welcome...you were blessed...
I will say that your results are like a few others I know who had treatment, even years prior to yours...
with the successful results...
So hope you can share whatever follow-up you had following discharge from the hospital..
Jenn...thank you for your response...You sound so much like the long-term ones I know.
I was coiled, and have hearing loss in both left and right and the reactions to certain noises...to not hearing others...this is just a minor result of the coiling issues. I did post my 11th anniversary under the Personal stories...and, it is not he complete results...One of these days, I will be adding more...I am so slow at all I do...so it is really gratifying to me to know more results of the open surgery, particularly because of the reduced volumes of angiograms.
I haven no expertise...just my experiences.
Again, thanks for sharing...
jenn73 said:
I definitely feel blessed.
its been a long time since the surgery but I'll try to remember :) After I was discharged I wasn't allowed to drive for three months. I think I went to see the surgeon only a couple of times. I wasn't on any medication that I recall other than for pain relief. And they kept telling me to drink water which annoyed me to no end until my now husband then boyfriend told me it was to reduce the risk of stroke. The surgeon also told me that there weren't any other aneuryisms and I didn't have to worry about new ones as mine was a congenital issue. He also told me I didn't have to worry at all about pregnancy/delivery. I also had a second angiogram (I don't recall the first it was after the SAH) on September 12, 2001. ( an easy date to recall unfortunately) They cancelled the angio thinking that southern ontario hospitals might be asked to help with survivors. When it became clear they wouldn't be needed they were no longer on alert and the angio went forward as scheduled. Anyway the angio showed that everything was fine and confirmed what the surgeon had told me. Following that second angio I had another apointment with the surgeon to go through the results and that was it. He said I would never have to see him again.
I'm very sensitive to certain noises and while it has lessened over time it has not gone away. And of course the emotional differences.
patioplans said:Jenn, welcome...you were blessed...
I will say that your results are like a few others I know who had treatment, even years prior to yours...
with the successful results...
So hope you can share whatever follow-up you had following discharge from the hospital..
Definitely not alone! Welcome to the land of those who get it :)
jenn, Ive had the same experience. It seems like just about everyone knows someone, or knows of someone who died from a ruptured aneurysm. I know someone who's wife has several but apparently they arent suitable for surgery so she gave up work to reduce her stress. she's doing fine though. my husband has lost a grandmother and an uncle to these too, but no one in my family has them.
Hi Jenn,
I’m so happy to hear of a survivor after 14 years. I had a ruptured anuerisym on Christmas Day 2014. I feel like I have made a full recovery after just 4 months. i joined this group because there are a few things I am concerned about and wondered if it was related to the aneurism. I am happy to hear that I am not the only one too! (although I would not wish this problem on anyone) I experienced the same thing as you when I told someone what had happened to me. Also everyone kept telling me how lucky I was to be alive. It took a lot of research to find out just how lucky I am to be here.
You are so fortunate to have found this site and all the wonderful people here. I wish I had had something like this when I was four months out. The thing that I've discovered is that at some point other people will decide that you're fine even when you don't feel you are especially when you don't have any visible deficits. Not sure if you do or not. I hope that you are able to feel supported here. Even after 14 years, I have to tell you I still wonder about my emotional reactions to things and whether its related to the clipping. Especially now that I have children. Wishing you well in your journey.
Cara said:
Hi Jenn,
I'm so happy to hear of a survivor after 14 years. I had a ruptured anuerisym on Christmas Day 2014. I feel like I have made a full recovery after just 4 months. i joined this group because there are a few things I am concerned about and wondered if it was related to the aneurism. I am happy to hear that I am not the only one too! (although I would not wish this problem on anyone) I experienced the same thing as you when I told someone what had happened to me. Also everyone kept telling me how lucky I was to be alive. It took a lot of research to find out just how lucky I am to be here.