I am currently waiting on my clipping surgery scheduled for 10th October and am interested to hear what others who are in the same situation or are monitoring their aneurysms have been told to avoid or limit to reduce their chances of rupture? I know that smoking and high blood pressure are contributors but what else? Over overexertion? Excessive coffee?
I have a 5mm unruptured. My doctor said one cup of coffee a day was fine.
Hi Wendy,
I have a 2mm wait and see annie and had a 9mm one fixed with a pipeline stent. The only thing my doctor said was quit smoking, which I immediately did. But as far as the other annie, he told me stop worrying about it and try to live a normal life... I said hahaha easy for you to say there's not a time bomb in your head.
Best of luck with your upcoming surgery - thoughts and prayers coming your way.
Linda
Wendy,
Avoid the overexertion. You are already scheduled for serious surgery so please do things very lightly. You didn't mention the size so I'll take it to mean the surgeon is concerned. Take this time to appreciate life and learn to relax. This will help aid your recovery
I was coiled, but told I was not to lift anything over 10pounds before surgery...actually after the coiling told that too...
This is a great post...it will help many...
Cyber~hugs Colleen
Hi Wendy:
I am watch and wait and my doc said no heavy lifting or overexertion, no bungee jumping. Beyond that he said no restrictions. He stressed I need to keep bp in check (am medicated already). Basically try to avoid anything that makes your bp spike. Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery. Mitch
Wendy,
I was/am a wickedly wired woman (a/k/a coiled) ...I feel those with surgery are truly blessed, even tho they are more visible initially; and initially with more impact. But that is comparing it to the minimally-invasive coiling...with adequate care...
Whatever the reasons, you are blessed to have MDs who did early diagnostics from your symptoms and before ruptures.
Prayers are wrapped around you...
Pat
I was told no resistance exercise, no lifting more than 10 Ibs, keep blood pressure in check, and no alcohol.
Thanks everyone for your replies. I must admit I had overlooked the “no lifting heavy objects”. I just had a weeks holiday before my surgery and was dragging a bag that weighed 21kgs (seriously overpacked) in and out of taxis and around the airport. Foolish!
Hi Wendy,
Just like everyone else on lifting, no over exertion. I had liquid embolization (onyx hd 500) post op 3 months ago. Learn to relax during this journey. That has been my biggest obstacle. I just found this website last Friday and I wish I had thought about doing this in the beginning. It is great therapy and comfort in learning how others respond and recover with the surgery. My thoughts and prayers with you.
Have a Blessed Evening,
Karen
I had a ruptured aneurysm on Nov 3/11 . I didn't know about it until they ordered a cat scan. Aneurysm was clipped. Now I need to maintain my Blood Pressure & heart rate to manage the physically needs for the body. I have been scolded many many times to slow down & sleep, I also smoke too. I dont smoke during the days while Im at work but when night comes... I am puffing away . Im a chain smoker at nights. I found a cup of coffee helps my headaches a bit. Caffiene withdrawal?? I dont know because I dont like drinking coffee. I must say I am probably the worst example of trying to live my life as a survivor. Every person is different & unique on how to make their choices. I will need to find out who you are after it is completed.
Good luck with your clipping surgery > say "I am not done working here"
I had a small aneurysm on my opthalmic artery coiled end July as it was causing severe symptoms despite its size and I've been amazed at how little information the doctors give you once they send you home. Most of the information on does and don'ts I've had to gather from other sources. I wish there was a clear-cut answer but what I've learnt thus far is it all comes down to each individual when you look at details like blood pressure, coffee, alcohol, exercise. I've had to learn to let my body tell me what is ok and what not. I still get quite severe headaches from doing something as simple as sweeping the floors!! I've recently seen my doctor (third follow-up since the coiling) and he has given me the go-ahead to do mild gym (once again, exactly what is "mild"??). So I've had to set my own limits once again. When I do cardio I've picked a heartrate and I quit the moment my heartrate gets to that point and I see every day if I can lengthen the time before it does so. I also let my body tell me during the rest of the gym session - if I feel a building headache I stop immediately. You get to know the warning signs soon enough.
I found this interesting post on another blog (and thanx to whoever posted it - it was VERY informative):
Coffee, sex and blowing your nose could increase the risk of a type of stroke, say researchers in the Netherlands. The study on 250 patients identified eight risk factors linked to bleeding on the brain. They all increase blood pressure which could result in blood vessels bursting, according to research published in the journal Stroke...
...They found that coffee was responsible for more than one in 10 burst brain aneurysms.
While people drinking coffee had only a 1.7 times greater risk, it is more common than other risk factors...
Percentage of bursts due to:
Coffee 10.6%
Vigorous exercise 7.9%
Nose blowing 5.4%
Sex 4.3%
Straining to defecate 3.6%
Drinking cola 3.5%
Being startled 2.7%
Being angry 1.3%
...Dr Sharlin Ahmed, Research Liaison Officer at The Stroke Association said: "A sudden surge in high blood pressure can increase the likelihood of an aneurysm rupturing. However, it's very difficult to determine whether the triggers identified in this study are definitely related to the onset of a stroke as they could simply be put down to coincidence.
"A lot more research needs to be carried out to assess whether each of the identified triggers could directly cause an aneurysm to rupture."
Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13294022
Source article: http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/STROKEAHA.110.606558v1
Hi Rushan, thanks for the information. Very interesting statistics. I must admit I have started blowing my nose alot more gently, switched to decaf coffee, and given up running for power walking ages ago.
Sounds like you are doing well after your coiling and being sensible by listening to your body. I hope those headaches keep improving over time.
Best wishes
Wendy
Thank you!