Author: heiditea

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Angiogram Results-With Visuals!

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I had an uneventful angiogram last week at Maine Med which is good. It’s probably not a good thing that I’ve been to the radiology department so often over the years that many of them remember me, but it is what it is.

As I was still laying on the angio table after the procedure Dr. Ecker informed me the good news was that there were no new brain aneurysms and the clipped aneurysm from last year looked great. However, there was that pesky “remnant” on the neck of my original annie that he needed to review from previous images and we’d discuss it this week.

So, I went in to his office today for the follow up appointment and finally got to see the images of my clipped aneurysm and the “remnant” in question on my original brain aneurysm from 2006.

I missed getting a photo of the 3D images, but I snapped the photo below from the angiogram last week. It’s a straight on shot looking at my skull from the front. You can see my eye sockets and the large black mass in the middle of my eyes is the 1/2″ diameter (11mm) aneurysm from 2006 that now has 20 platinum coils in it. If you then look to the right, you can see the clip that was placed at the neck of the smaller aneurysm, which is no longer there. The clipping was a huge success. I thought this visual was pretty neat…and scary looking with that black blob there. Can’t see the arteries in this image because they’re only visible when the contrast dye is injected.

Brain Scan

Yet again, I am faced with three potential treatment options:

  1. Do nothing. Have another angriogram in another year and see if it changes size or shape. It may stay the same size for the rest of my life. We just don’t know. Watch and wait.
  2. Re-coil. Insert more coils through the stent into the remnant to fill that up again. This may, or may not be a durable, more perminant option and may require more procedures later…or it may not.
  3. The Pipeline. This is a relatively new, but highly successful option for those wide-neck, large, difficult to operate on brain aneurysms. Dr. Ecker has done 40 of these procedures in the last two years with very good results. I also know another survivor from Florida who has had the pipeline and she’s doing great.

The pipeline is a different type of stent. The issue with my particular case is that the pipeline would have to be deployed inside my existing stent. We’re going to investigate how successful that could be or if it has even been done before.

That’s what I have to think about now. Nothing life threatening, but it could be….or it couldn’t be. It’s that uncertainty that I always hate. At least I know what’s going on and what I have to deal with and my treatment options. Currently I’m leaning towards waiting a year, but at the same time I’m thinking if I took care of it with the pipeline while I’m still relatively young and mobile and have a job and good insurance…I should take advantage of all of those things that are in my favor. I just don’t know. That aneurysm is in a bad spot, sitting on my ocular nerve. If something were to happen during a procedure that effected my eyesight, I may not be able to work or drive anyway….OH, the scenarios that play out in one’s mind!

I know Dr. Ecker wouldn’t guide me in a direction that would potentially pose a serious risk and that his recommendations are based on the experiences he and the fantastic staff at Maine Medical Center Neurology have encountered. I will rely on their expertiese, even though I’ve grown far more knowledgeable than I ever thought I would become about brain aneurysms. The pesky big aneurysm is testing my patience, yet again.

 

Checkup Scheduled

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My angiogram to check on my aneurysms has been scheduled for February 18th. Of course, I’ll be nervous the day of the procedure hoping that all goes well and all looks good.

Thankfully the angiograms at Maine Med aren’t the all day events like they used to be. They have improved the tools & procedure and you no longer have to lay completely still and flat for hours and hours afterwards. There still is a significant recovery period, but nothing like it used to be.

However, I’ve had so many angiograms since 2006 that the initial puncture is quite painful due to scar tissue in those exact spots I think. I usually ask for extra meds as a result.

I have to get some labs done next week. Been there…done that!

Celebrating My Brain Bling – Year 1

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Sung to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” starting with the 4th day….

“On the 17th of January my neurosurgeon gave to me:

  • 53 dissolving sutures
  • several plates and screws
  • one titanium clip
  • and a dent in the side of my head.”

Yep…that’s what happened a year ago today when I had my 2nd brain aneurysm surgically clipped. It hadn’t ruptured, which was a far different situation from my other aneurysm rupturing in 2006. This second aneurysm, although a riskier procedure, was more of a preventative. Because I’m susceptible to ruptures, lost my sister Dori to a ruptured brain aneurysm that was about the same size, and this second one was starting to grow, everyone felt it was in my best interested to go ahead with the procedure. Get the darn thing before it got me.

Now, don’t get me wrong…the decision was not an easy one and one I didn’t take lightly. Not only did I know the risks going in, but I also knew how the decision and any possible bad outcome would effect my family. That being said, once I DID make the decision, it was “LET’S DO THIS!”. I wanted it done sooner, rather than later, but my work schedule prevented a quicker date with the surgeons.

Having a doctor who you have confidence in and who has been inside your brain before was a huge plus. He didn’t force me to have the surgery. I could have waited if I wanted to, but I think we both knew my specific risk factors were significant enough to have the surgery. I already have 20 coils and one stent in the other brain aneurysm – what’s one more tiny clip and a few pins and screws?

I won’t go through the minutia of the surgery again as it has already been well documented in this blog, but I’m doing well. I still have issues with fatigue, my scalp feeling numb and odd aches and pains on my skull from time to time when I got overly tired or for other reasons I have yet to determine. Open brain surgery is very scary and certainly risky. I’m one of the lucky ones. Even with the dent and bumps in my head, the alternative is worse for everyone in my life.

Me! Brain Aneurysm Survivor
I have a “Brain Aneurysm Survivor” sweatshirt that I wear occasionally. Some people might find that self-promotion a little tacky. If a breast cancer survivor walked by me with a shirt saying ‘Breast Cancer Survivor”, I’d give them a thumbs up, perhaps a hug, and certainly congratulate them. I don’t EXPECT any response when I wear my sweatshirt, but it’s something I’m proud of and if it initiates a conversation with someone who may not have a lot of knowledge of brain aneurysms, perhaps I can even save a darn life.

So, on today’s 1st anniversary of my newly acquired brain bling, I don’t know what to call it. My previous anniversaries I have call my “annie-versary”. Annie for aneurysm…get it? But what does one call the clipping anniversary. A clip-aversary? A craniot-iversary? A bling-aversary? I guess I’ll just called it “a year out” and wear my “Brain Aneurysm Survivor” sweatshirt to work.

 

11-Month Update

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I realized I haven’t given much of an update on how my brain aneurysm is doing for many months. My 2nd aneurysm was clipped 11 months ago.

Physically, the hair has all grown back and didn’t ALL come back in gray, but certainly one streak snuck it’s way through. A few blonde highlights helped cover that up temporarily.

The incision where the skin was pulled back, then replaced and sown on with 53 stitches is almost non-existent. I say “almost” because there are still some dry, itchy spots directly along the incision cut that’ll flare up occasionally.

I do still have quite a good chunk of my scalp that doesn’t have much feeling and some nights it’s uncomfortable to lay on the left side of my face and head still. I haven’t been able to determine what triggers that uncomfortable feeling yet. But I certainly feel it and know that the brain bling, the bone plate and screws are there and making their presence known.

A good indentation has now become more pronounced where the piece of skull was removed the replaced, however. I can cover it up with my bangs for the most part, but I know it’s there and I’m a tad self-conscious about it. I don’t know why I feel that way….I should be proud of my battle scars and brain bling.

I believe I’m supposed to have a follow-up angiogram in January and I’m looking forward to finally seeing the images of the clip and it’s location. And hopefully everything will look good with the clip as well as the other, older, clip-filled aneurysm and they don’t locate any others.

I’m so ready to kick the year 2014 in the arse and kiss it goodbye.

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Still looks better than it did 11 months ago below

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Post-surgery. Yikes!

The day after craniotomy & brain aneurysm clipping