I am just here to seek information and share as I have been through a lot with my aneurysm and surgery and now 5 months out getting better but still having headaches and strange that I can’t lean over at all without feeling like I’m going to pass out.
I feel Unruptured aneurysms are not followed and the drs are very unaware that yes there are
Symptoms before and after the surgery. Just wondering what others have experienced.
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I moved your pondering to General in hopes more members will reply. For me personally, I didn’t have any symptoms I’m aware of prior to my rupture. My headaches were caused by either stress, allergies, not eating well or hydrating due to my career choice. We have a lot of members that believe or were told they had sentinel bleeding, some ruptured, some did not.
After my coiling there were obvious symptoms, as with each subsequent procedure. We never knew what symptoms I would wake up with or which I may lose. My Neurosurgeon has always accepted what I’ve said as more a cause and effect thing as she goes over all the damaged areas of my brain and says it may be due to a specific part. There’s so much they know and so much more they don’t is pretty much her philosophy I believe and it’s why she loves to do research.
She did tell me once that more aneurysms are found during an autopsy than incidental find or rupture which may be why the medical profession doesn’t see correlations between symptoms and unruptured aneurysms. Wouldn’t it be great if the different fields could do some research on symptoms? It would be quite a team with all that get involved prior and post!
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Does anyone after they brain surgery for an aneurysm in the frontal lobe have a hard time with headaches and bending even the slightest over. I get extreme dizziness and headaches.
It was worse before the operation. Just wondered.
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I’ve moved this to your topic.
All the best,
Moltroub
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I think for many, headaches and dizziness re quite normal after a procedure. How long ago did you have it and did you have a craniotomy or coiling? I’ve learned from other members that craniotomies can take a bit more time to recover.
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The day I had my rupture, I was just very tired at work and couldn’t wait to go home and take a nap. I am very lucky it didn’t happen when I was driving. As soon as I got home, I sat down, and it felt like an explosion going off in my head and I couldn’t see because it was so bright. It has been 10 months since my surgery, and I still get the headaches when I am stressed, and the dizziness comes when I don’t sleep well. Mine was in the frontal lobe as well. Sensitivity to sound and light also trigger headaches and neck/spine pain. It is all stressing for the brain. I am finding that headaches and the dizziness are not as bad as when I first suffered them after the surgery, but they are still there.
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I spoke too soon…today we had a rapid change in weather. My dizziness was so bad I was vomiting. I have had to deal with a headache and dizziness all day. Out of a ten, it was a nine. I even was contemplating on going to the hospital.
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Hello Suszanne,
I am glad you are going to the hospital to be safe! Here is my Aneurysm experiences.
I have 2 aneurysm/ craniotomies full clippings this year, the 1.) on 2/4/22 and 2.) on 6/1.22.
The second was the artery that is down through the frontal lobe split of the brain - pericallosal artery which is a rare location for aneurysm and if down too far can be difficult to treat- if at all. I was told that frontal lobe area has a lot of pressure so even at 4MM I needed to be treated and my family history ( I am the 4th person in my immediate family to have 2 aneurysms- theirs however, were in different locations).
My Aneurysms; both found last November during an MRI- I had at the EMG room due to eye disturbances doctors thought at the time was a possible retina tear- it was not-it was the back of the eye has some gel that pulled away due to age most likely ( I was 58 last year) .
Before the 1st clipping I had sudden waves of nausea, that for a few moments were debilitating, my family doc wrote a script for Ondansetron which I only took as needed.
After my 1st clipping 2/4/22 , I noticed the anxiety I had been having since 2016, abated a bit.
Only other issues I notice was when I walked over 5 minutes anywhere, I had what felt like a weird “metallic” (Sorry only way to attempt to describe it), sharp pain- buzzing like feeling on my top right temple which is completely gone since my 2nd clipping 6/1/22. I do have the occasional headache and Tylenol does well at and Icebag if needed.
I did have a lot of swelling, which was helped by pineapple (no sugar added) juice ingredient Bromalin. Check with your doctor if you try that- As some people can be allergic to Pineapple juice. Weather changes and seasonal allergies also seem to cause some issues for me. But again 2 Craniotomies in under 4 months, I can’t complain, I feel blessed they were found!
I do on occasion take allergy medicines if it gets the seasonal allergies are bad enough-I am not a fan of medication so only as needed.
I am carful not to bend over too fast as I still can lose my footing. I was told this should pass in time 
Hope you are feeling better!
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@DVH I am feeling a bit better. Yesterday the barometric pressure caused me to have severe dizziness where I had to stay in bed all day and if I had to get up and walk, I was side stepping all the way. The dizziness was so bad I got sick. My aneurysm was between my eyes and when it ruptured it pushed my left eye to the left so I could not see properly. Even when I put my glasses on 6 days later, nothing was lining up. I had to go and get new glasses with prisms so the images would line up. They put filters in the lenses and blue light for use of the computer. I do have problems with my speech when I am frustrated or stressed. My words don’t come when I want to use them. I cannot bend down or turn around because of dizziness. The only thing is we are all blessed because we have survived. I am grateful to be alive. I deal with the symptoms as they come on. Let’s hope we can all get to a place where the effects are not long lasting and become nil. that is wishful thinking, but I am an eternal optimist!!
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So glad to hear you are on the mend!
I asked my doctors about the speech issues as I choose NOT to speak very much after both surgeries.
You are right- it can be a bit frustrating- I still on occasion use the wrong word but its getting better!
You are correct, we are very lucky we live in a time where they can address these at all!
I am an optimist as well- watching both my sister and my father after their Aneurysms ruptured in the 1980’s and all they had over come was inspiring for me.
Wishing you a speedy road to full recovery!
I am grateful to hear similar stories. Yes we are all lucky to have had had good outcomes and good drs. All the symptoms seem to be driven by these little monsters.
Thanks for sharing.
Suzanne Dee G.
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I am 6 months out from a PED embolization for a fusiform and outpouching PCA unruptured aneurysm. I go to vestibular therapy weekly for balance, dizziness, concentration, vision issues. It has helped a lot. I too can’t do things with my head hanging down as it hurts and causes dizziness. I also am plagued with headaches (didn’t have those prior to surgery). It just seems like it’s a long road to recovery and unruptured aneurysms don’t seem to get the attention even though we have many side effects from the treatment. I hope you feel better soon.
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Hey Kiona,
Unfortunately, I have to agree with everything you’ve said. In many cases once the surgical procedure is complete and the scans look OK, we’re left to our own devices. I’ve made repeated reports of symptoms/side effects post surgery, for it all to be minimised because “…the scan’s look good…”. The pounding in my head disagrees.
My own personal view is that the flow of fluids in the brain, both blood and CSF, have been established by the body even before we are born. Our bodies have developed and adjusted around those flows, then a neurosurgeon has come in and altered all of those former ‘Normals’. There just has to be flow on effects. Sure for some they come through it all relatively unaffected, but for others it can be never ending. I am yet to hear of 2 people having exactly the same journey and it can be a real rollercoaster sometimes, both physically and emotionally.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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“Our bodies have developed and adjusted around those flows”…I’ve never thought of it that way but makes total sense why many of us have issues after surgery. Also having this foreign body in such a sensitive delicate part of our body contributes to the adverse side effects we experience.
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I had to go for a neurosurgical review, probably 5-6yrs ago now and after 20+yrs I FINALLY had a neuro admit they don’t know everything about the brain. She said to me “We don’t know why some people bounce back really well and yet for others issues can be ongoing…” I looked at my wife in astonishment. This was the first time a medico had openly voiced my view and it was such a relief. Prior to that they put it back on me “We know everything…It must just be you…” Grrrrr. None of us choose to be in this position.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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I had a lot of things go on after my first flow diversion for an unruptured aneurysm. I had weird traveling pains on that side of my head that were really freaky, and also both sudden and persistent pressure. Those were always scary. I even had two independent headaches at the same time - left sided migraines while the right side pulsed or did the traveling thing. Absolute worst combination ever. I can’t imagine how I would have felt if I’d also had a rupture. My second flow diversion was easier because it was a stent on top of a stent, so no real re-routing took place.
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I’ve had that pressure pain too since the surgery. Lots of weird things I’ve experienced since the balloon occlusion and flow diverter. Im guessing like it was mentioned earlier that the docs can’t even explain why. I guess because the endovascular approach is relatively new and the brain is so intricate they really don’t know all the things that happen inside.
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Hi
You are absolutely right about the docs not knowing everything. They go by the book and if it’s not written then it’s something they say is either normal or they don’t know. I’ve been through a lot since my craniotomy this past May. It’s always been, oh that’s normal or never heard of that and it’s not a part of the event. But it was.
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I admire any type of physician that admits they don’t know. I recall vaguely having a conversation about cause and effect with my Neurosurgeon, her NP at the time, and a Resident. The Resident and NP was adamant that my FAS was not caused from the second procedure, I think the two believed I was making up the strange accent I woke up with as well as a couple of other new symptoms. BH was getting mad, I was a bit confused and said something like “cause and effect, don’t they teach about that in school?”. I was a bit adamant about cause and effect since I didn’t have the symptoms prior and woke up with them. Dr Q-W interjected and suggested they just close the book that I hadn’t read as I was always a challenge to the “rules”…
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And this is why I LOVE ‘Ben’s Friends’, in this topic alone we have 5 members all saying ‘Yea, me too…’, but when we speak to the medicos the attitude seems to be ‘Never heard of that happening before…Don’t blame us…It must just be you…We didn’t do anything…it’s not our fault…’ I was even accused of trying to get ammunition to sue the surgeon, WTH? I’m looking for answers/other ways to manage it all, I am NOT looking for $$$$$ but they were all so scared I was going to make a claim on their indemnity insurance, they went into protection/blame mode.
I too tried the ‘Cause/Effect’ theory, ewwww, they didn’t like that. Turns out (seemingly) the cause is me and it only affects me, so there goes the cause/effect… …The answer is ‘Me’. Like we choose to be in this position. GGRRrrrrrr. It can all be so infuriating. Just in hearing others saying ‘Yea, me too…’ OHH PHEW, so I’m NOT the only one’ has been such a relief.
Merl from the Modsupport Team