Hiya everyone

I have just been diagnosed with a 8.3ml unruptured aneurism in the circle of willis in my brain. I have to wait for 10 days and then I get a phone call to say what treatment will be offered. Maybe coil, maybe open surgery.

I feel dreadful. I don't know if its all psychosomatic(spelling?) but my head is sort of always pumping. Its not hurting just feels like blood trying to squeeze through. I've been taking paracetamols which helps. But just so scared - should I be worried?

Added to this I now realise I do have other symptoms - I'm always grasping for words - thought it was just aging - very sensitive to smells and have coughing fits. Literally cough and my nerve ends all over my body hurt. Anything from marzipan to cleaning fluids can set it off. Is this because of my poorly brain?

It would be good to hear from someone as I'm a bit alone here.

I'm sorry to hear about your aneurysm. I am praying for you. I have one that is 8.5mm on the top of my basilar and have 5 arteries feeding into it. Let me know if they can help you. Do you have any arteries feeding into to your aneurysm? I grasp for words and have the pumping feeling also, especially when i bend over or get upset, sometimes just by standing up it will happen. All this is so scarey but everyone on here will help you get through it. They have been helping me. If you need anything just reply. Your in my prayers,
Cheri

Welcome

I would be worried sick too. That's not good news. It always sounds bad in the beginning so don't get to worked up yet.

There's a lot of info here, so it will take a while to get through it.

Here's some links to start off with:

aneurysm:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum7.html

Social Chat:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum35.html

some good stuff in there.

Keep us posted.

Its good to talk!! I just don't appear to be able to find out as much information as I need. I suppose once I hear back from the hospital all will become clearer. Its just things like whether coiling is going to leave me with a permanent headache - so that I want to claw the thing out of me? Will I be the same me? How long does it take to recover? Will my friends and family try to avoid me now? Can I still trust my own judgement? - just nightmare scenarios like this are occurring to me. And on and on and on ............

Thank you for your understanding.

Hugs

Hi Ewoolf, and welcome to NT! This is such a great place, with many nice, caring, and helpful people.

We're so glad you found us!

My aneurism saga is still continuing. I seem to have spent weeks and weeks just waiting for these 'crucial' phone calls from neurologists who then tell me there is nothing to report, or what the next test is going to be. At the moment I am waiting to hear on Tuesday at 4.00, what treatment is now proposed following a group meeting of neurologists and radiologists on Monday.

I do now know that following the latest CT scan with contrast that the aneurism is small, on the left carotid artery. I asked what had happened to the 8.3ml aneurism shown by the MRI scan, but didn't really get a clear cut answer as to whether we were talking about the same thing.

I have naturally been trying to come to terms with this 'phone call' type of mental torture and have veered from thinking I am walking round with a time bomb in my head, to maybe there isn't much wrong as they don't appear to be too concerned.

My life is totally on hold and I know I should be grateful that the MRI scan I originally had to find the cause of my loss of smell found the aneurism but I feel like I am being driven crazy.

[I too, have been diagnosed. I am wondering what you have done about it so far. I went into "surgery" with the goal of coiling but it was, apparently, not possible. So, I suffered the anesthesia and catheter to come out with the aneurysm still intact. I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point--just live and enjoy a little until I decide. I know that it's better to catch it now and reason will, no doubt, dictate that I have the craniotomy, but there are so many questions and doubts flooding into my mind. I guess I'm curious as to what you have decided to to.