Hello all,
This is my first post (hoping I’ve added it in the right location), I am one week out from my second surgery - having a stent placed in the artery across my wide-necked 7mm unruptured aneurysm. I spent the past year on and off reading other’s stories and utilizing this site as a place of encouragement along this journey. My sister (sixteen years older than me) suffered her rupture in March of 2021 - paired with craniotomy, clipping, stroke, vasospasm and a lengthy stay in ICU and a rehab facility. (She’s doing incredibly well considering where she was and still making progress.) Her neurosurgeon suggested the rest of us siblings have an MRA scan to establish a baseline. Two siblings were clear, one has three very small aneurysms that are being “watched” and at the one year point have showed no change. Mine was 7mm on the Anterior Communicating Artery and our shared neurosurgeon recommended “treatment” considering my age, size of aneurysm, location and family history.
In January of 2022 during angiogram, Dr. Ringer placed a Woven Endovascular Bridge in the aneurysm. My recovery was rough and not dissimilar from many members in the group. There was absolutely no going back to work in “3-5 days”. I struggled with unbearable headaches, light sensitivity, dizziness, shakiness, vision issues, and fatigue like I’ve never experienced. I could not tolerate the pain meds and had to rely only on Tylenol. My vision and shakiness improved when I got permission to go off of the blood thinners when I accidentally forgot to take them and noticed an improvement. I went back to work three days/week for half days in early March and was finally back to “full time” by April. However, the drain was immense and I often had to call my husband, daughter or a friend to “talk me home” because I was so worn out. I work as an art therapist in a behavioral health hospital with teens and children who have come for inpatient treatment with diverse needs - suicidal thoughts, cutting behaviors, drug/alcohol use, losses, oppositional behaviors, etc. It took everything in me to get through my days and to be a caregiver to both myself and my patients.
When I had my angiogram at my six month follow-up, Dr. Ringer was unhappy with the progress. The imaging showed blood flow still entering around the “basket”. The plan was to wait for the one-year angiogram to determine next steps. When I got my call in early January to schedule the procedure I was out of work having been in a car accident on Christmas Eve that resulted in a broken rib. Add stress on stress when we’re not supposed to be stressing, right??? You could have knocked me over with a feather when sweet Karen told me to plan to go back on the blood thinners, plan for an overnight in the ICU and placement of a stent.
So this recovery has been drastically different. The ICU found me once again with a headache which led to pain meds which led to nausea which led to vomiting. I literally spent the entire 45 minute car ride home vomiting into a trash can that my daughter and husband brought for me despite intravenous Zophran and a patch behind my ear. And then I slept and slept and slept. The headaches were less intense than last time, no vision issues, far less light sensitivity, but incredible shakiness, breathlessness and fatigue. Oh, and the constipation. The miserable constipation. {Side note: I have taken Calm gummies (magnesium citrate supplement) with great success any time I have struggled in my life with constipation and THEY STILL HAVEN’T WORKED!!!}
I asked to extend my FMLA from work (3-5 days, for real?) and have my follow up in about three weeks with my doctor. There is no way I could go back to functioning safely at my job at the stage I am in this recovery. I got winded and dizzy last night and my heart rate was 118 from peeling potatoes. My family assures me I am “so far beyond” where I was at this stage last year and that gives me hope and encourages me along. I have made sure to get up several times a day to keep moving and have taken walks on my driveway to try to help rebuild my strength.
I can’t remember whose post it was, but the person shared that their neurosurgeon likened placing hardware in the brain to opening up a computer and dropping a drip of water inside the motherboard. Reconnections necessary? Some things going into overdrive to compensate? This analogy has helped me find my voice when I start to guilt trip myself for not being “back at it in 3 to 5 days”!
Thank you for listening. I have a lovely support system in my family and friends but most just don’t really “get it”. I was needing a place to vent without criticism and with understanding. Here’s to a peaceful night of sleep and ease in all areas for all of us!
. I’d suggest speaking to a pharmacist as many milder preparations are available over the counter.
