Olef

Hi Fern, My aneurysm burst December 2011 and was successfully coiled. I had just one but it is 16mm dia. I was off work for six months and I have been left with reduced vision and the usual kind of numbness / weakness problems. Because of the size the good neuro people had me back early for an angio and they found my coils had compacted considerably and that about half of my anny was empty again. I was offered recoiling. The prospect of a second coiling op and recovery within lees than a year was pretty scary and like you I came here for support and reassurance. Everyone here is so kind and they understand what you are going through! I opted to go ahead because I didn't want to live with the risk of it bursting again and the second time around was a walk in the park. The op was completely successful and I was in hospital for just 36 hours. I had no ill effects other than normal post-op tiredness and I was back at work full time after two weeks off. Six months has gone by now and in two days time I am having an MRA scan and the week after I am having another angio. I think the docs want to compare the two and hopefully after this it will be scans only. I guess there is a possibility I may need another op, I certainly hope not but if I do I would not hesitate to agree to it. I hope my experiences are of interest to you and I wish you all the best! Olef

Thank you Jan, I'll leave a quick run down of my experience for those who follow on - I went to Wessex Neuro Southampton last Wednesday for pre-assessment during which I had many tests including an ECG and bloods. I met one of the two Doctors who would be involved who explained fully the procedure, including the possibility of needing a stent and why. I left with a handful of blood thinning pills to take that evening and the next morning. I was back there at 07:30 on Thursday morning and down in the angio suite by 9am. A nice little syringe full of pre-med sent me off and the next I knew it was after 2pm and all over bar the shouting. The procedure had been completely successful with one small issue. For the op they had gone in both sides of the groin and the left side incision was still weeping a little so I had to spend an extra couple of hours down there with pressure on to stop it leaking. In the end it did. Back up to the ward where I met up with one of the nurses I remembered from my previous stay. I had a bed right by the window so I could get lots of fresh air which I love. Standard obs at regular intervals, blood pressure, temperature, grasp the hands, pull toward, push away, etc etc. The only bad part of this period was throwing up while snoozing, side effect of the anaesthetic I guess. Most unpleasant. Only the once though thankfully! The following day, Friday, had several drips removed, arterial and otherwise and the catheter (nasty things). One of the Doctors came down to see me and confirmed all was OK, the anny was filled and a stent wasn't required, and my next visit would be in six months for an MRA scan instead of an angio. I had to drink lots then once my bladder started working normally following the removal of the catheter I was free to go and left for home mid afternoon. I was able to walk out of the hospital and to the car park. Total time in hospital just shy of 32 hours. Since I got home I've been taking it easy, catching up on my reading. I have been getting a recurrence of some of the tiredness and a fair old headache for the first few days but this has now eased and it's been a day or two since it was bad enough to go for the pills. In conclusion, all my fears were unfounded. The staff at Wessex Neuro carried out the procedure flawlessly and looked after me as well as anyone could hope for, and I am a lot happier to know that I no longer have an at-risk anuerysm at large in my head. It was definitely worth electing to carry on with the extra coils. All the best Olef

Steph, thank you for posting your experiences, it is much appreciated! Like you, I was eating my Sunday evening meal when my first bleed happened and I have almost no recollection of anything from then on until waking up in ICU eleven days later. Returning to the same hospital does indeed bring it all back but these good people are experts at what they do and that is looking after us Good luck with your coming angio and any treatment! All the best Olef

Congrats on making the year Ron, enjoy!

Thank you, it does help a lot. You certainly had a lot to cope with having to go back in after just eleven weeks, I hope everything is good with you now. Olef

Hi Michelle, Thank you so much for posting! I was really hoping to hear this from someone who had undergone extra coiling and I am so happy it went well for you. If you don't mind me asking, did you notice any extra symptoms or issues from the extra op? I am hoping to be in hospital for two or three days and then take off two weeks or so to recover if all goes OK - does that sound as if it might be reasonable to you? Regards and thanks again, Olef

Having the op cancelled twice must have been terribly frustrating for you, I am glad you got sorted in the end. It is a shame that you have another aneurysm to cope with but remember you are far better that the rest of the population in that respect - your anny is known about and is being monitored. I guess this is one of the positive things after having one, we all get much closer scrutiny than anyone else. Thank you for telling me about your experience with the extra coiling, I was hoping to hear from people who have had it done. Strangely enough the first time around hasn't bothered me much at all I guess because it happened and I knew very little about it until I awoke in HDU two weeks later. This time I am actually electing to go in there, a much more scary prospect! Good luck with your MRI results... Olef

Thanks Win, you have no idea how much I appreciate your kind words! Take care, Olef

Thank you so much Karen. I guess I am just looking for that reassurance that the second coiling will not be anything like the first really. My own common sense tells me that all the problems I had were due to the bleed, not the coiling. I had three weeks in hospital with a week in ICU and a week in HDU and when I came home I had to walk with a frame and I could barely see. An hour out of bed exhausted me back then. I really do not want to go back there! Thanks for the good wishes and I am glad your own anny is under control and being monitored. I will come back and post how I get on in the hope it may help someone else down the road. Best regards, Olef

Thank you Sami, I too feel prevention is far better than waiting for another bleed. I just got a bit rattled at being called in on short notice although I am not complaining at all, it will be good to get it over and done with and not have the knowledge that I have a half empty aneurysm at large in my head! Take care, Olef

Hi All, I don't post hardly at all but read lots and this is such a helpful place, I wonder if anyone can help me? Brief rundown, I had an SAH burst on 4th December last year and had it coiled. I had six months off work and have been back full time at work for the last couple of months now. I have lost some of my sight and some sensation, get the usual headaches and tiredness etc etc and am a bit less steady on my feet than I used to be but all in all I am recovering pretty well and am even driving again (after the usual faffing about with DVLA). As most of us I am just glad to be still here! A while ago I had a follow up angiogram which showed the coils in my aneurysm (which was 16mm in size) have settled a fair bit and almost half of the aneurysm was empty again. I was given the option to have a pre-emptive op to add extra coils to fill up the aneurysm again and I decided to go on the waiting list. I was told it would be November / December 2012 before I would be called in. Imagine my surprise when my wife took a call from the hospital this morning advising I will be in for the recoiling in less than two weeks time. I'm a bit shell-shocked at the moment and trying to take it all in, and I know next to nothing about having additional coils other than I think it is only a couple of days in hospital and a much quicker recovery. Can anyone offer me any insight in to the procedure and the recovery time etc for this, or indeed any reassurance. Any info / help would be deeply appreciated! Thanks and Regards, Olef