I just wanted to welcome you to Neuro Talk. Your post to Cass was so wonderful and full of hope. Thank you for coming on to NT with such positive and good information. I like to greet new people, and I could not have done any better than the kindness you expressed to Cass. I also know waiting can be such a difficult thing to do, when you are frightened. I hope you come back to NT often. I am glad to meet you. ginnie

Hi Janet,
Thank you for ur kind words. Its a pain sitting and waiting but Im now on the countdown, my appointment is next wednesday 25 jan, I have annoyed my family everyday reminding them we are 1 day closer lol. I think i have even given myself a few headaches with all the reading but Im certainly more equipped to fire off a million questions to the surgeon.

Hi Ginnie, its always lovely to see u here, ur angels and ur thoughts have kept me smiling and with Lynn I feel well supported and looking forward to getting to the final stages of the annie trial.

Maybe u have some questions that i havent thought of that possibly first timers dont think to ask. I have a list as long as my arm regarding recovery, dealing with all 3 while "under" and the common questions regarding the various options ive read up on.

I think I have covered all bases and eagerly looking forward to letting u all know my surgeons opinions.

Welcome Janet and Terri to NT, I do hope we all see u again soon. Once again a big Thank you.

Cass
hugs to all xxx

Hi all, I am from the UK, I had my unruptured brain Aneurysm diagnosed in June 2011, after having a bad dizzy turn at home at the end of March 2011, I hadn't felt well all day in work, the room was going around and I was getting really tired all the time especially towards the afternoon. Also for years I had been getting a pain in my right eye. The outcome was that I ended up in the A & E department of the local hospital with a suspected TIA commonly known in the UK as a Mini stroke, thank god though, it wasn't that, but the A & E doctor had the sense to refer me for a CT scan, which revealed a problem, after a further MRI scan ( I had to wait ages for the MRI scan on the NHS) and a Cerebral Angiography they found the Aneurysm, mine is a fairly wide necked "Dissecting" aneurysm approx 9mm , which is a bulge in the main part of the artery in the A1 segment of the right anterior cerebral artery, in a part of the brain known as "The Circle of Willis".
I was told to by the Neuro doctor to go away and think about whether I wanted to have treatment as that itself has it's own risks, I finally decided I couldn't live with this "time bomb" in my head, so had a Coil Embolisation done on 25 November 2011, I have been off work for nearly a year now, ( but it was not just because of my aneurysm, unfortunately,at the same time I also had a bad dose of sciatica from a previous vertebral disc injury). I am due back in work really soon, I do suffer some memory problems, and have to grasp for words sometime but that is slowly getting better. I just want to tell you that I am glad that I made the decision to have it done. The Coil Embolisation procedure wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, I had a full anaesthetic so didn't feel a thing, the worse bit was having to lie down in bed for 12 hours after, to let the cuts in my groin heal over, even those were just a little nick in the skin. I hope this helps someone in the same position to make a decision. But ultimately only you know if you can "live with it", I know I couldn't.

Hi daffodil,
I agree with you, I cant live with the "time bomb" either. Im looking forward to having treatment. Its been a llong road so far, things go wrong and other issues have cropped up but we are now moving forward and heres hoping that by the end of the year it will be all over with and I shall be able to return to my normal life as well.
Good luck to u, i hope all continues to go well.
Cass

Hi cass3765

I know just what you are feeling, only someone else that has been diagnosed with a Brain Aneurysm can understand the feeling, even though family, friends etc try to help, they still don't really know what it's like to have this "thing" in your head. I am going back to work next week on a "phased" return over 6 weeks as recommended by the Occupational Health Doctor (OH). I couldn't manage otherwise, I have made it clear to my boss in a meeting 2 weeks ago, that I don't want a load of work thrust at me on the first day, the OH doc also backed me up on this.

I wish you all the best for the future, I think you have to take each day one step at a time.

God bless and take care of yourself x

Good luck on ur return to work. Im surprised with a wide neck that they coiled, but its great that u didnt waste time and had it dealt with. I wish u all the very best for ur return and I hope that ur work buddies take it easy with u and give u all the room u need to adjust back to that life.
Mine is a narrow neck and there are three of them. I have been rushed to hospital twice since december '11 and have been told that my first visit was from a TIA and that the second was a case of migraine disease. They also tell me that the memory issues, the stutter that I left with and the lack of being able to go to busy shopping centres arent related to the annies. I beg to differ as I have never had these issues before with migraines. Suffice to say we are well on our way now to treatment, angio first then discuss options.
Keep in touch and let us know how ur first wekk back at work went.
Good luck, big hugs xo

Hi all,
Yesterday I had my angio. I cant say all went well cause nothing seems to come easy for me. My femoral artery went into spasm n collapsed so it was a fight of wills between surgeon n artery, suffice to say the surgeon won. I shed many tears while they fought. Thru it all i had a wonderful nurse who just kept wiping away the tears and assured me all was ok.

Once the surgeon was in i felt more at ease till the dye started.. i dealt with the warm sensation and the golden worms running across the eyeball, but not the eyeball about to explode feeling. I was glad when it was over. I was sposed to go home that evening but they ended keeping me for the night, that didnt go down well, but we managed.

My partner was to pick me up at 11am but 11.15am rolled around n he hadnt arrived so i hobbled to the nurses desk n asked to fone him, i left 2 very cranky messages. As i left the second one he turned up and it was like xmas for me. I guess he had never seen me sooo happy yet cranky at the same time n i hobbled my fastest out of there.

Today im resting n my partner has kept the fone messages and has laughed at how upset i was cause he knows hospitals are like a jail sentance for me and im always looking for the escape route. He has waited on me since being home and has been just wonderful.. even in my crankiest moments i love that man dearly.

My surgeons appointment is on the 28th, so I can let u all know the outcome then. What he did say tho was that I had some very good annies, they are very photogenic. Good on him, at least a part of me smiles for the camera. He asked the radiologist to size them and report on them for surgical intervention, not sure what that means but, Im glad that part of it is over now.

Sending u all big hugs n lots of love
Cass

Cass, I had a family friend who lived with aneurysms for 18 years, and he at the old age of 78 died from a heart attack, not the aneurysms. He had to be careful about stress and medications , but he did lead a fairly normal life, had a wife for 48 years, had kids and grandkids and seemed to be happy with his life. And your so lucky to be in Australia, if you were in the USA ,your health care would be so expensive you couldn't afford anything else, and your treatments would be limited by what the high priced insurance would allow. Australia's health care is great and some of the best in the world. I know as my ex wife is from Australia and her father had a long bout with cancer. Your system did more for him than anyone I knew in the US who had cancer ever had. Your in good hands thats for sure.. and you wont lose everything you worked for in the process either.

Hi all,
After losing my puppy, I feel heavily into the depression pit and found it hard to bring myself out. My partner decided to take me away for 8 glorious days on the beach in Far North Queensland. I spent last weekend booking a hotel and flights and spent the week organising our bags n food for the kids while we're away.
I did a last shop Thursday morning n was eagerly awaiting Friday to catch our flight out.
A quick insight into my "6th" sense. Many a time in my life I have woken from a sleep to the horrible feeling of dreed and doom and I cant shake it. With that feeling something will happen within 24 hrs. My partner always laughs it off and tells me to just "chill out". On Wednesday I woke with that feeling. I thought immediately about our holiday but decided this time not to say anything and put it down to being overly excited.
After my last shopping trip on Thursday I sat down and felt rather dizzy from all the rushing about. Our phone rang but I chose to ignore it. It went to voicemail. I heard a womans voice asking me to ring her urgently so I jumped up and picked up the phone. It was my wait list lady. I said to her "u better not be asking me in next week"... she paused and said I have good news for u, ur op is booked for Tuesday. I burst into tears as I was soooo looking forward to my holiday. My partner proceeded to cancel everything.
I now sit in wait for Tuesday, my bag is packed and my lappy loaded with movies as Im booked in a day before my op. I cant say Im eager to have this op, Im ***** scared and beyond nervous. I have talked with my youngest girl as I have decided I dont want her coming to hospital n seeing me all messy. She has been taught to cook several basic meals and will be keeping my side of the bed warm for my return. Mt eldest is moving back home on Sunday and my partner starts work ( a job he has been hoping for) on Monday. So its going to be a hectic few days but we are ready to go.
I look forward now to coming back here and letting u all know how textbook it was and that we are ready to start the whole process over again for the left side clipping.
Thank you everyone for the wonderful support, I really couldnt have gotten through this wait without it.
Heres hoping the chocolates will be overflowing and the pain is minimal.
See you all on the flipside!!!!

I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. Everything will turn out OK. I know that nervous feeling too. Soon it will be over and you will be home being pampered with chocolates! I am also sorry to hear about your pet. They are family, and you had every right to grieve. Be at peace Cass, we will all be waiting to hear how you did. ginnie