Aneurysm

[alishape]

Hello everyone. During my last MRI an aneurysm was discovered. Now, once again, my docs are telling me I get to choose my treatment. (Just as an aside, before I got ms, I thought doctors told patients what to do. I used to wonder why prescription drugs had commercials and everything.) Anyway he said I could choose between a coil and a clipping. Does anyone else have any experience with this kind of thing?

I think I'll go with clipping, even though that is the more invasive of the two procedures. I think I have enough ongoing medical issues for one thing. I don't want to have to continuously check the status of a coil if I can help it. Also I am deathly afraid of strokes and I have read that the risk of stroke is slightly higher with the coil.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

[Thinkimjob]

Hello! Now here is something I do know a thing or three about. I had one that burst, and I have a 'daughter' aneurysm near it.
Clipping sounds good because it is all over, but it a big operation.
Coiling which is what I've had, is less invasive, but the coils can compact, and they have to do it again. Had that.
There is a third option to me- a stent. They put that across the neck of the aneurysm and it seems to be the best option.

It is scary. Good luck.

[Thinkimjob]

Bad sign I can't remember if I responded

Had a burst one - the dreaded subarachnoid haemorrhage. I had to have coils. As you said, they need ongoing monitoring. These days they do that by MRI, so it can sort of tie in with MS check ups.
Stents are probably the go. My interventional neuroradiologist said strokes are a risk, and with my MS, that would be worse for me, than if I was otherwise healthy.
It is truly frightening, but strangely enough, it's never worried me as much as MS.
Good luck. You don't want that sucker to burst. It was the most painful experience, like being shot in the head.

[onlyairfare]

I have no experience with aneurysm, but I did have a brain tumor that generated different opinions about what the treatment should be.

The first brain surgeon said it should be removed immediately, which shocked me because the tumor was found incidentally on an MRI done for MS; other than the MS, I felt fine and didn't feel like I needed an operation.

The next neurosurgeon said that although it was not wrong to remove the tumor soon, it was also possible to watch, wait and operate if the tumor grew larger. I asked him "If this was your brain, what would you do?"

He said "Well you are OK right now, and the surgery is risky. If I were you, I'd just get an MRI every three months, and operate if it is growing." That is what I did.

So if you are not sure what to do, you could get a second opinion. Some doctors will even answer the question "What would you do if you had this aneurysm?"