How susceptible am I for another brain aneurysm?
Hello,
I had a ruputured anureysm on 1/9/06. The ER of our local hospital sent me home unresponsive claiming that I had a stomach virus and that I would be fine in a couple of days. My family doctor saw me on the 10th and 13th. I was still unresponsive. He also claimed that I had a stomach virus, all without walking into the exam room, just stood in the doorway.
I became responsive in the afternoon on Sunday 01/15/06. My eyes hurt badly and my neck was killing me. I saw my family doctor again om 01/16/06, who decided now that since my eyes hurt, I had a sinus infection on top of my stomach virus. So he shot me full of Toradol and put me on antibiotics. Again, all of this was with him standing in the doorway.
On 01/30/06, my left eye got stuck in the inside corner and I could not move it, I was still extremely weak. My doctor then decided that I had lymes disease, even though I told him that I never been bitten by a tick. He claimed that I had horses, so that I must have lymes disease. As I was getting into my vehicle, his nurse came running out and gave me a paper with a CAT scan with contrast ordered on it.
So on 02/06/06 I had a CAT scan. It was found then that I had a rutpured anuerysm on my brain stem complicated by another blood vessel coming out of the anuerysm.
On 02/08/06, I was admitted to MCV Hospital in Richmond, where other tests were performed.
I was told that I had a 10% chance of coming through surgery.
It was decided that my best chance was to have my anuerysm coiled. So on 02/14/06,
they put coils and a balloon in the anuerysm to keep all of the blood vessels open.
On 04/07/08, I felt a popping in my head. I was told after an angiogram on 0423/08, that one of the coils had popped through the balloon and that anureysm had regrown to almost three times the size it was in 2006.
They decided this time to clip the anureysm since it had grown in a different shape than two years ago. So the surgery was performed on 06/03/08.
On 09/18/08, I had a followup angiogram performed which showed the anuerysm has being totally gone. It showed the coils, the balloon and the clip. Neurosurgery has released me.
I have some residual problems, for example, my left eye will ache sometimes unbearably, I lost the hearing in my left ear, the left side of my head all of the way to the top is numb but painful, I stutter sometimes, and I am more forgetful, my vocal chords are not working properly, I choke when I eat, I get extremely painful headaches if I roll over onto my scar area (they wake me up just about screaming), and I carry a headache all of the time. According to my neurosurgeon, all of these will improve with time. However, I have seen not seen even the slightest bit of improvement.
During all of these tests, they looked at all of the blood vessels and could not find a second anuerysm.
I did extremely well emotionally and obviously physically as I am still here. I was a smoker for over 30 years (I quit 02/07/06), my blood pressure is really running great with this medicine I am on (my husband always checks it when my headache is really bad), and I am 55 years old. The doctor that performed my last angiogram told me I could do whatever I wanted.
Which since I was contractor installing countertops and kitchen cabinets, therefore lifting heavy objects, I was wondering how likely I am to have something like this happen again, especially since the rupture in 2006 happened when I was straining.
Thank you
peachygirl,
Wow! You've really been through a great deal. I'm so sorry.
I wish we could answer your question of how suscepbile you are to an other aneurysm, but that really cannot be anwered except by a physician with expertise with aneruysms who has access to your medical records and all of your imaging studies.
Given your current constellation of symptoms, I suggest that you get a second opinion of your condition and prognosis. With your latest surgery just three months ago, it may be that you need more time to heal, but again, that's something that simply can't be anwered via the Internet.
Sorry I can't be more help. Please come back and let us know how you're doing?
Good luck,
Teri
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