I have an aneurysm

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Stelth

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A little over a month ago, I had a "thunderclap" headache. Never had an experience like that before. Hurt so bad I almost threw up. I went to the doctor the next morning, and he did a CT scan right away. No sign of bleeding. My blood pressure had shot up to about 220/120 when the headache hit, and now I'm on blood pressure medication also. Prior to this, I haven't had high blood pressure.

My doctor referred me to a neurologist. Neurologist had an MRI of the cervical spine and one of the blood vessels in my head. Turns out that I have a 4 mm aneurysm on my left internal carotid artery. The neurologist said that it's normally the kind of thing they would just monitor, but since I had a thunderclap headache, they would probably want to do endovascular surgery to lower the risk of rupture.

I'm not worried, but I'd like to hear from any of you that have had similar experiences.
 
Are you able to get a second opinion? Very delicate that area.

Wish you the best!
 
mom had aneurysm surgery 8+ yrs ago (pretty big area also), by one of the elite neurosurgeon in the west coast. It's been 8+ yrs now, no issue so far.

Q.
 
Well I would say that you're pretty lucky that they caught it - with most people it goes undetected until they hit the floor. Best of luck to you going forward. I seriously think you dodged a huge bullet here and most likely the surgery will be successful.
 
My wife had the same symptoms the day after Thanksgiving with the thunderclap headache and pain radiating to her arms and back. About ten minutes after onset, she started throwing-up and would not stop. I called an ambulance. When at the hospital, the cat scan showed that she suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. The angiogram indicated three aneurysms, the larger (8mm) one had burst. She had endovascular surgery to repair it and was in the hospital ten days.

Thankfully, she has no lasting damage, much to the surprise of the hospital staff. We are very grateful. In my research, most do not do as well. She has to take it easy and recover for a couple of months before being evaluated to determine the repair plan for the other aneurysms.

Many of us have aneurysms without showing symptoms. Please follow your doctor's advice and keep your blood pressure down. I wish you well.
 
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Sorry to hear this. I too would say get a second opinion... Id guess that a CT scan doesn't lie, but I know Ill get headaches in the AM if I sleep the wrong way, related to blood vessels and or nerves...

Be safe, get this looked at rigorously.
 
Originally Posted By: Stelth
A little over a month ago, I had a "thunderclap" headache. Never had an experience like that before. Hurt so bad I almost threw up. I went to the doctor the next morning, and he did a CT scan right away. No sign of bleeding. My blood pressure had shot up to about 220/120 when the headache hit, and now I'm on blood pressure medication also. Prior to this, I haven't had high blood pressure.

My doctor referred me to a neurologist. Neurologist had an MRI of the cervical spine and one of the blood vessels in my head. Turns out that I have a 4 mm aneurysm on my left internal carotid artery. The neurologist said that it's normally the kind of thing they would just monitor, but since I had a thunderclap headache, they would probably want to do endovascular surgery to lower the risk of rupture.

I'm not worried, but I'd like to hear from any of you that have had similar experiences.


Did you hit your head on anything or fall? It seems like this isn't something that would just form out of the blue.

Best wishes for a full recovery.
 
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I work in the surgical industry, this is not a neurologist's area of expertise, do not be hesitant in seeking care, take your film or disk of the MRI to a vascular surgeon, they will want a CT or ultrasound of both carotid arteries, you want an experienced surgeon, do not be alarmed,this is common, but if this was me, I would be seeing a vascular surgeon tomorrow
 
I would also suggest getting a second and even third opinion. My mother has gone through this and there is a lot of interpretation that has to be done from the scans. Don't settle for one opinion.

Best of luck.
 
Originally Posted By: Plumber
Are you able to get a second opinion? Very delicate that area.

Wish you the best!


This. Unless medical emergency please, do your homework and don't rely on a single Dr., no matter how many people say he's great or he's horrible. Every situation is different. Best wishes.
 
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