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

Sorry that proceedure was so difficult. I thought it wasn't suppose to hurt?
I hope you recover soon. I run out of a hospital too, just as soon as I can move! So glad you have a supportive partner with you. ginnie

Hi Ginnie,
No it wasnt sposed to be difficult, but for some reason the arterery spasmed n collapsed as soon as he cut it. So it took 30mins to get the catheter in. In the mean time my thigh started to cramp n the nerves went into "shock" mode. I could feel it right thru my leg n to my foot. Once it was in I was ok. Im still limping a bit today but we think thats more because of the struggle we had. Another few days n all should be just about normal.
U look after urself too. How are u feeling these days, hope ur smiling some.
Big hugs hun
Cass

Always we hope that proceedure can run smooth. It is hard enough to do them when all is going fine. I hope you are feeling better today. I hope you never have to experience that again. Get well, ginnie

Hi Cass

Sorry that you had a rough time with the angio - what is your next step? I guess you will know more on the 28th - I will be thinking of you. Please let us know.

Regards

Lyn

I am doing OK. This morning, hurting or not, I am going with a friend of mine to clean this little old ladies house. I am sick of not working to help myself. I am to stay off my feet, but the doctor doesn't want to do my surgery. There is not enough money to do the joint replacement, and the same thing is happening on the other foot. I don't think he wants to take care of the degenerative joint disease, I will seek another opinion, and maybe a more generous doctor next month. I will ask my pain doc for a referral to a guy my son wants me to see. My son is an OPT and has access to health information and what doctors are good. So we will see.
I do think about you. Don't hesitate to talk to SDFencer, as he has this same problem as you do. I am sorry you have to go through all that too. It seems in this site we all need to hang together, to help our hearts get through it. ginnie