Like Sarad D I had some hair fall out about 1 month after my coiling. I know this could happen since my doctor warned me of it. . At first it bothered me, but i tried to put it into perspective and think about how blessed I was that my aneurysm was found before it ruptured. i had my surgery almost 1 month after my severe headache and didn’t know I had it until 3 weeks later. WOW, I think now… 6 months post op. We are all so blessed. It’s not easy what you are going through, but for me knowing how many other people had felt and were feeling the same way I was, was helpful. Prayer was my greatest go to coping skill. Ever since my surgery I wake up and take a moment to thank God for another day he has given me.
Wow thanks for letting me know this, I have not heard about this until now, how big is the patch of hair that you both lost? I wear my hair short so hopefully it wont look to crazy.
Have either of you had to have a 2nd coiling done or did your follow ups show that they filled it the first time? My doc isn't going to do a stent so I am told I will not have to take blood thinners which is good.
Was your recovery from coiling pretty easy? My nurse said I will be fine after a couple of days and that some of the patients have gone back to work after 1 week. I am planning on taking two full weeks off and work from home the 3rd week, do you think that is realistic?
What was the hardest part of the recovery? Were you both real tired for a few days after?
Sorry but I have so many questions and being able to ask those that have gone through it is such a blessing.
I can't really answer the coiling specific questions since I had a simultaneous PED and that alters my resulting outcome. Also, I had other factors such as medication reactions, and such a difficult to treat annie that also changed my outcome from most "normal" treatments. The patch of hair was a good 2 inches in diameter. My hair was long but I cut it to my shoulders and my stylist just made sure to cut it in a way that hid the patch (and I mean the hair fell out completely to balding). As for the coils compacting, I have not had any issues yet but it's only been 4 years and like I said, I had a PED too. Might affect how the coils work as opposed to being the only treatment applied. Now that you know you are being coiled, join a coiling group to gain yet more insights - they'll have specific answers for you! I'm always happy to respond as well but as you can see I can't be quite as compatible in my answers. All that being said, I did not recover quickly at all. I am thankful I did not have a job to have to return to but I still am a stay at home mom and I struggled the whole time - headaches, fatigue, brain fog, and repeat. Like I said, it's been 4 years, and every year I say "this is my best one yet!" and this year isn't any different. It's all been uphill at least, but that first year was a doozy. The second was mildly better. The next two immensely better. But again, I am probably not a good standard, more the outlier. Your best bet to recover the soonest is to have ZERO responsibilities and TONS of sleep and rest for as long as humanly possible. The quicker you start trying to act normal the longer you'll push out your recovery. It's brain surgery, no joke. Your body has to adjust to the new hardware they implant and the trauma from the surgery. Some people have almost no problems and others have an endless list. Where you'll land is anybody's guess unless you have at least some medical experiences to draw from and make educated guesses about (I knew I reacted poorly to medical interventions in the past but I didn't realize the extent or the medication problems until my annie experiences - I've learned TONS from this!).
The patches of hair loss I had were near the back (underneath my hair) and the side of my head near the ear, about and inch or two. It grew back within a month or so. I was able to hide the side patch by wearing my hair down and no pony tails. I was out of work for 2.5 weeks after surgery. When I got back I was moving a little slow, but after a week or so was back to normal. The time at home was helpful. I had no significant complications from the surgery with the exception of an infiltrated arm which was from the IV (that hurt a bit), and a UTI which quickly resolved with antibiotics for 3 days. I also suffered from headaches, which was told that could happen, but was scary for me. Other than that it went well. I just had my 6 month angiogram and was told the aneurysm was fully occluded. Yay!! I will come back next year for another angiogram.
Hmmm, I’ve had two coilings and no hair loss. My hair is really fine and now it’s really thick and fine! I was not shot with gamma rays. I ruptured in 2013. The second coiling was a walk in the park from the rupture My main issues after an angiogram is from the anesthesia. It takes my brain awhile to recoup
I totally agree with taking a notepad and writing down questions and the answers. I keep my questions in my phone and those of my support group. When we have a doctors appt, I just hand the phone to my doctor. Also I can ask questions through the patient portal
My personal experience was my Neurosurgeon took me off a lot of my medication due to the rupture
So remember, everyone is different and you do need to have a strong belief in the skills and experience of your surgeon. That being said, your dr should answer all questions to your satisfaction. My Doc never blows off a question as irrelevant. I think with the Internet a lot of Drs expect questions so never be afraid to ask. Good luck with your procedures!
Hi,i am leaning towards clipping as the surgeon says it tends to be final I have been told the risks are 5% as opposed to 3% with coiling but have come to the conclusion that if you have to have additional coiling treatments (as many seem to do),the risks may even out.Only thing is .is that you get more monitoring with coiling here in the uk.With clipping as it is so effective you only get monitored once.I have a friend who has had coils and at her last monitoring angiogram(10 years after her procedure) they picked up another aneurysm.I live in the uk so maybe things are different elsewhere.I am glad your procedure went well and i pray ill be the same if i go for clipping.Im not scared of the operation just scared if i got eilepsy as it would have a huge impact on my work and i am the breadwinner in our family,
Corinne MCH said:
Hi, I had two annies clipped on the right, no issues so far. I have two on the left that are being watched, so far so good. I chose clipping as it's supposed to be the best way to go, not having to worry about the coils slipping or compressing. Keeping my fingers crossed and walking in faith...
Hi, I actually wanted clipping for the one on the left as it is bigger and has a larger neck and a lobulated surface so for me I just think getting that one clipped and be done with it is best but I was not given an option. I'm wondering if I should schedule another appointment before surgery to discuss with the doctors.
Hi everyone. This is a little off topic but I have to brain aneurysms behind my eyes in the communicating artery and today my son blessed me with a flu that was going around daycare. I have a fever of 101.8 and the area where my are aneurysms is throbbing horribly. I’m wondering if this is just due to my temp being up if this is normal when sick or if I should be calling the doctor.
I know it's scary Tricia, and all I can offer is hope that it's probably no big deal but until they've been treated any change in how you feel is cause for at least some concern. No harm in calling your doc to discuss your concerns about them throbbing and you having the flu. Could just be due to increased blood pressure with the fever maybe? But that's also concerning. Usually it's nothing but it never hurts to ask! I'd just call them and see what they say.
I am.in a similar situation Katram2 where it looks like it is going to be advised I have one clipped and one coiled- however when I talk to the doctor next week I am going to ask why I can’t have both clipped. Obviously I would have preferred coiling but am of mindset if I have to have open surgery they may as well do both - less monitoring etc-has this crossed your mind?I have one above my right eye and one fairly central - I presume it may not be feasible if they’re too far apart as it may need 2 craniotomy s
Hi, Boozysuzi, I was told they cannot do both at once not exactly sure why but mine are on opposite sides of my head so that is probably why in my case. I have a call into my doctor but still have not heard back. I just want to be sure coiling is in my best interest, not sure I want to deal with the follow up it requires and scared that it could come back and still rupture. I am scheduled for coiling on Monday the 26th, very nervous.
To everyone, if I was having a craniotomy done and I haven’t but my husband has, my first question if I had two aneurysms I think would be if you were going to clip one why wouldn’t you clip the other one? We have a vascular specialist that would not coil the aneurysm because he said he doesn’t think it would last as long and we would end up having another craniotomy. So all I could think of was if they found another one while they were clipping one then why wouldn’t they go ahead and clip that one? Just curious, thanks for the inspiration!
One is above my right eye and one midline so I think they are fairly close for me - I’ve decided if I have to have a craniotomy they may as well deal with both instead of me having 2 procedures - I am very scared now though reading the horror stories- on some forums people have had a stroke a few months after surgery. I am hoping that those who do well are less likely to come on.the forums and are busy getting on with their lives x
I had my left one coiled last Monday the 26th. Horrible experience, he got one coil in and it came out he finally got it to stay and got a second one in and I developed a blood clot. Surgery was almost 6 hours, when they intibated me they jacked up my throat and I had to have a ct scan the next day to make sure I didn’t have an abscess, no abcess but an infection. He was only able to coil 50% of it. I am home now and still very tired, I also feel like I’m depressed. I’m terrified of having another surgery, is this normal how I am feeling?
I would say it is normal and you.must feel quite traumatised.You must feel quite disappointed that after all of that it is only partially coiled.Have they given you any reason as to why they were unable to complete the coiling or if indeed it is suitable for further coiling? - ie if the neck was too wide.
No 2 surgery’s are the same and it may be that you would sail through next time without complications.Big hugs
I am SO sorry for your recent outcome. I think your feelings are certainly normal and justified. Please take the time to work through your emotions, but in the end, you must face whatever is next to come with bravery and confidence. I hope you have a faith to guide you - that is what keeps me sane. Disappointment is great in this life, but you can choose to go another way. You are in charge of how you react to situations you are in. If you give yourself to God, then He is the one who will deal with it all and you must only keep your faith in Him. You will rise above this travesty that the medical community has dealt to you. Rest, then rest some more. Exhaustion will only magnify the damaged emotions. When you are recovered, then proceed with questioning your doctor about why the coiling was such a failure and question the hospital about the intubation infection (that seems really awful). I would think you should try another neurosurgeon as well for another opinion on your next step for treatment. Praying for you for the right path to open up before you and redemption to come your way. God bless.
Katram2 said:
I had my left one coiled last Monday the 26th. Horrible experience, he got one coil in and it came out he finally got it to stay and got a second one in and I developed a blood clot. Surgery was almost 6 hours, when they intibated me they jacked up my throat and I had to have a ct scan the next day to make sure I didn't have an abscess, no abcess but an infection. He was only able to coil 50% of it. I am home now and still very tired, I also feel like I'm depressed. I'm terrified of having another surgery, is this normal how I am feeling?
Thank you both, without my faith in God this would have been so much worse. I plan to question my doctor and see another one for a second opinion. I’m getting stronger everyday and I know things will work out for the best. I’m on the same restrictions as I was before the surgery for at least 30 days, that’s when my doctor wants to see me. I will post after that appointment.