Post aneurysm update

[alishape]

Well, during my last MRI an aneurysm was found. I opted for the clipping and I just wanted to leave an update since I posted about it before. The clipping was a few months ago in March. It was a successful operation with no immediate complications. It looked pretty bad, like a half-scalped Mr potato head at first, but the swelling went down in about three weeks. I was in the hospital for four days. Two days after I got home, I had a seizure -my first- and went back in for three more days. I was told the seizure is probably an isolated incident because my eeg was clear. The doctor called it provoked, you know brought on by the trauma of brain surgery. Since then, I've been golden. For about a week after the surgery, it hurt my head to think, read, or play candy crush. I would say all in all my recovery time was about two months.

The worst two things about it for me are things that no one warned me about, so I am letting you guys know just in case this happens to you. First of all I could not wash my hair for two weeks to make sure the incision healed properly. This was extra disgusting because I had dried blood, scabs and god knows what all crusted around theses staples in my head which stank for two weeks. Secondly, I am just getting to the point where I can open my mouth all the way. Because of the location of the repair, my jaw muscle was removed then reattached to my skull at the top. Of course all I wanted to eat when I got home was cheese burgers, lol.

[Thinkimjob]

Hello, alishape. I'm so pleased it went well.
I had the coils, and got a soccer ball sized bald patch, which I was not expecting. Grown back now.
The best thing about the clipping is you know it is over and done with.

Yay, you!

[KatieAgain]

Alishape

I always say, "It should be illegal for anyone who has MS to ever have anything else to deal with." Of course, that can never become reality.

You and Think have been through more than you both should.

I hope you are doing well.

[hunterd]

glad you are "back on your feet."! glad it all went well (, I should say that I am glad it is over for you)!!. Take care!

[palmtree]

I had an aneurism, too. (Think knows that already). I started falling. Every time I got up I would fall again. It was amazing I didn't hurt myself.

I called my neuro and the sound of my slurred speech. She said, "honey you need to call 911 with scary symptoms like that."

I got to the emergency department, they did a CAT scan. Next thing I know, my neuro was by my side. She said, "one of the arteries going up to your brain is ruptured we are going to have to put you in the hospital. If they don't operate you could have a major stroke." They gave me papers to sign, called my emergency contact ( my ex husband has been called so many times by the emergency room doctors since my dx)

They did an MRI and told me they were going to do an angiogram to see what needed to be done. I spent a week in the hospital. Then they sent me in for the surgery and my ex husband suddenly appeared as they were wheeling me in to surgery. The anesthesiologist said, "get out the..."

Next thing I knew I was in ICU and I didn't know where my things were. I spent a day there and at 8:00 pm a lady came with a cart to wheel me out to the car. My son said, "Do you realize you had a brain aneurism?"

Later I learned what I had was call a pipe embolization. They didn't have to shave my head or cut into my scalp. They went in like an angiogram and did it with fluoroscopy. I was told this surgeon was one of the few in the country who does this kind of state of the art procedure. I felt lucky that I had that opportunity.

There was really no recovery time. Although it took a few months to recover my "old normal" balance.

It's interesting that a few of us with MS have developed aneurysms. I wonder if we are at increased risk. Does anybody know?

[Thinkimjob]

My uncle, who likes maths and horse racing, did the odds once, Palmtree.
To have a burst one, and MS, was something like one chance in 250,000.
Almost as rare as winning the big lottery. We won the wrong one.

Makes Tysabri PML odds look kind of good.

Apparently, one in eleven people have a potential aneurysm but never know anything about it, because they never have any need to have an MRI, with or without "contrast", and the sucker never blows.

I don't think they check with an ordinary MRI.
It would be interesting to send the dye through all we MSers, and find out how common it is.

I'm looking forward (yes indeedy, can't wait) to having a stent put across the bottom of my coil-filled aneursym in January. (I think it's like your pipe embolization, Palmtree.)

Would have asked for clipping all those years ago, but I was unconscious.