What is it like to die with an aortic Aneurysm?

I’m very much alive and here I am last month volunteering for the American Red Cross blood drive. It’s good to be alive. There is life after dissection.

So wonderful you survived it 🙏 yes anxiety and worry we have to live with unfortunately. Hugs of strength💗
I have fibromuscular dysplasia where you get aneurysms and strokes, had a TIA. I live alone and therefore afraid that I won't have time to raise the alarm myself and that my pets will be alone for a long time. There is nothing to be done, but you certainly get worried.

Nope. A1C of 5.7 (today) although I most certainly was obese and pre-diabetic when I dissected in 2015. I eat normally but I do not drink, smoke, or eat ANYTHING with added sugar. If I want something sweet, I eat an apple.

What if you could get a pendant that connects to a dispatcher. When you push the button they will send first responders. It would up your odds.

I do worry, all the time.
I currently have a sub clavian dissection, vertebral aneurysm, bi laterally. AAA, dissection in my left illiac artery. I'm also living with a hip that needs to be replaced and a broken vertebrae that needs to be replaced. They won't do either until I have gastric sleeve surgery. Apparently, my bmi is too high for any other surgery. Thanks for listening, it's nice to know there are people out here that totally understand.
I think you said you had a second OHS, so did I! 5 months after my first!

I was informed that after a CT scan for another issue my Abdominal Aortal Aneurism had enlarged and I have a CT scan scheduled for tomorrow. I can't remember what the actual number was. A 4.6 possibly or a 5.4, when should I be exercising gentleness and caution and what number is a trigger point for surgery?

Generally, the ‘trigger’ number for surgery consideration is around 5.5 cm for most people, but this can vary depending on your health and risk factors.

If it's under that size—like around 4.6 cm—they’d usually just monitor it regularly. You’d want to keep things pretty low-key in terms of heavy lifting or straining, just to avoid extra pressure on that area. At 5.4 cm, you’d be getting close, so that’s when doctors often suggest extra caution, even if surgery isn’t on the table quite yet.

Definitely best to see what tomorrow’s CT scan says, and if it’s still under 5.5 cm, they'll probably just keep an eye on it for now. Hope that helps. Peace.

@moonboy why the insulin, glucagon and glucose if you do not have diabetes?

I dissected at midnight on Friday/Saturday. It sounds simple. Like "I watched some TV." But it was anything but simple. Searing pain like being run through with a flaming sword. I cannot forget how instense that pain was.
After my valiant wife getting me to the ED they measured the aneurysm in the ascending aorta. It was 5.8cm. They were getting a surgeon up to the hospital, and I met the two of them, right before surgery. A CT scan then measured the aneurysm at 6.5cm. Another hour and I'd likely be ghost writing this message (pun intended).
Then I was whisked off to Neverland.
I think it was due to my total absence of any contributing issues, that I was in ICU for only five days, and I would have been out of the hospital in a week if it wasn't for liver issues and AFib.
So I don't know how long I was "unlived" - how long I was on the table without a heart beat. I guess I had the same like everyone else, but I never talked about it with my surgeon. I haven't actually seen him since before the operation and I don't even remember meeting him. But I have since met the assisting hospital Senior Registrar who when I asked "how bad was it", she replied "we had considerable concern". Which by the look in her eye (and in that exact moment you know) is doctor-talk for "we didn't think you were going to make it." I knew she was right. Everyone says that. I shouldn't be here. I won the lottery. Etc.
So now I have a super-power...
It is weird having a new perspective - not just "phew that was lucky, I am going to be a good boy from now on". No.
It's like I don't really care about my own life. Doesn't mean I am superman and I can do no wrong. But...
It's like, if that is the worst the universe can do to me then pffft! bring on everything you got, because clearly I am not going anywhere.
I have armor, and a shield, and a wicked scar that is more a badge of courage than a sad reminder, and you tried your best with your flaming sword, but next time around I know what is going to happen and I will be ready.
Yes I have the descending dissection and the rest of it, and it is reaching up now into my neck and down into my leg and across into my kidney. And because of the descending dissection I am on five meds for it.
But all these don't matter when I am still standing and the universe tried its best.
That's it?!
Come at me, universe! I am ready and laughing at you.

@martinkennot my kid had a life-threatening brain bleed after being hit by a car and expresses exactly the same sentiments. It has strengthened them in their approach to life as in "bring it on."

Receiving insulin, glucagon, and glucose during and after surgery does not necessarily mean you have diabetes. In the context of open-heart surgery, particularly after an aortic dissection, these medications are typically used to manage blood glucose levels, support metabolic needs, and stabilize the body under surgical stress, regardless of a diabetes diagnosis.

Surgical stress can lead to stress-induced hyperglycemia (temporary high blood sugar), even in individuals without diabetes. This is common in major surgeries, where medications and procedures can affect insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation. Insulin may be administered to keep blood sugar within a controlled range, but this is usually a temporary measure. Peace.