Category: Brain Aneurysm

March Stents Bring April Coils

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The date for my additional coils to be inserted into the brain aneurysm remnant has finally been scheduled for April 27th. I’m not crazy about waiting 3 more weeks, but it is what it is. I know there are other people out there with other needs and the scheduling at the hospital has been an issue because my Dr. is leaving for Finland for the entire month of May. At least I know when it’ll be done.

I forget that I have a stent in that artery, not something to BLOCK the blood flow into the aneurysms per say. So, there is still blood flowing into that remnant on the side of the aneurysm that has already ruptured once before. That makes me a little uneasy, but I’ll try not to think about it too much and continue on.

I’m hoping to get more seeds planted this weekend and continue to grow things as I normally would. It IS spring you know…the season of rebirth and renewal.

Another month…more metal in my brain! Yeee hawww!

What This Kind of Looks Like

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Although the diagram below isn’t exact, it’s a decent representation of how things are currently looking in my brain,
with regards to the larger aneurysm.

The one that ruptured in 2006 is approx. 1/2” in diameter. 16 platinum coils were inserted into the aneurysm. Since then, either the aneurysm has grown or the coils have compact resulting in a small pocket of blood to leak back into the aneurysm.

Last week, my neurointerventional radiologist attempted to add more coils to the aneurysm, but was uncomfortable doing that with the current conditions of my arteries and the wide neck of the aneurysm remnant, so a Neuform
Microdelivery Stent was implanted across the neck of the
aneurysm.

The stent will allow more control and easier delivery of coils to the aneurysm, which we will go back and try again
at the end of April.

According to the information I was given the size of the stent is a little less than 1/8” of an inch wide and a little over 3/4” of an inch long. The stent will allow blood to flow through that artery better and keep the artery open and clear for coil implants.

It’s pretty amazing to think of all this “metal” in my head now, but it’s saving my life.

Drugs and Other Enemies

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Hey, I actually slept all night and didn’t have to do it sitting up. Although i think I DID sleep in the same position all night. Neck is very sore. I have the bean bag heated up and wrapped snugly around it.

My job today is to see how the of ALL of my new meds act together. I am now taking 5 pills a day. 3 of which are relatively new (Plavix, Aspirin & Cymbalta). I have discovered this morning that if I’m going to take that many at the same time, I need to eat a lot more at breakfast. I’m shaky and a tad disoriented…..but then I guess I’ve been that way the last six days anyway. Just still not sure how all of this is going to effect me and for how long. I felt pretty good last evening, but had a bad headache right before I went to bed.

I’m not in horrible pain this morning either, so that’s a good sign. My head feels woozy, but not pounding or throbbing and I’m just wicked tired…what else is new. Let’s hope these meds kick in quick, I can get everything regulated and get on with my life as it will be for now. I’m trying to get up and walk through the house as much as I can to keep things moving, but when I’m dizzy…probably not the wisest thing to do. LOL

It feels good to know that a lot of “stuff” I’ve been going through truly WAS withdrawel from taking the Provac cold turkey. Not the wisest thing to do I know, but none of the so-called medical professionals could give me a straight answer…or they could, but they chose not to respond to any of my calls. Better late than never, so I now have a script for Cymbalta and my system will now have to get used to that now. I only take those pills for PMS and for work stress, but without it, all hell could break loose!

At least my appetite has come back and I’m able to KEEP things down now. That was horrible and so exhausting. It’s been seven days, and I don’t think I’m doing too bad considering, but I’m not quite there yet.

Post-Op Follow Up Appointment

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Here’s what I know 5 days later:

•I’ll be on Plavix and Aspirin for at least 3 months.
•The coiling will possibly be scheduled for the end of April. Probably the 20th or the 27th. Dr. Ecker leaves for Finland for three weeks in May to study with a top surgeon there and he wants to make sure he has a follow-up appointment with me before he leaves.
•He doesn’t feel the dizziness and acid reflux are a result of the stenting. I’m checking into one more medication issue with my reg. Dr. now that what I’m experiencing isn’t a common after-effect of stenting. He almost felt it might be from being taken OFF the prozac because of its complication with Plavix.
•The Dr. said if I’m still having dizzy issues at the end of the week to give him a call and he’d order up another CT Scan.
•He said, once I’m not dizzy (LOL), I can have a drink or two. Yippee!! I have some Guinness waiting in the fridge for me to have my delayed St Patrick’s Day drink when the time comes.
•He performed the usual balance and vision tests on me. Had to walk in a straight line forwards and backwards and follow the number of fingers he’s holding up, etc. I passed, even though I did lose my balance briefly and had to grab his leg for support. Ooops! Was that inappropriate? His leg was closer than Dave’s was. LOL
•I’ll still have to continue to take the 4 propholactic antibiotics before every dental visit. Probably the rest of
my life.

I love his confidence with what he does. It really rubs off. I asked him so many questions about things I could and shouldn’t be doing like gardening or soaking in the tub. He basically said, unless something occurs, continue with my life as I lived it prior to the stent insertion. I think he deals with a LOT of elderly people so having a younger person he can joke with and encourage to live my life and enjoy it, is probably
a nice change.

He showed us the images taken during my procedure and pointed out the stent. It sure is an odd shaped artery, but the
stent opens up the walls very, very well. Dr. Ecker seemed to think coiling wouldn’t be an issue at all now. He did start to try coiling during the procedure last week, but during that process the lower part of the artery “shut down”, meaning I had a vasospam and he had to inject me with some Nitroglycerin. In looking at the notes Dr. Kwan reported after my initial coiling in 2006, the same thing happened in that surgery too, so I guess it’s a really good thing it happens on the table, that’s for sure.

Dr. Ecker was also VERY pleased to see the vascular arterial structure on the right side of my brain and all around
the aneurysms looked very good. So, I was happy he was happy.

Dave and I discussed any symptoms to look for in the next few days, but Dr. Ecker was quick to point out that the first 6 hours after the procedure then the next 24 hours were the most critical and he felt I was doing very well. Tell my head, throat, bruises and dizziness that! I got no sleep last night because of this new acid reflux crap along with a dandy headache, so I ended up sitting up in the wing back chair all night. Which I’m sure just does wonders for my neck and my back. I just popped two pills to help with the headache I’ve had all day.