Aortic Aneurysms – Introduce yourself & meet others

Unfortunately, such actions like requesting medical care from your PCP for something that doesn’t seem right result in “I’ll see you in 3 months “

The only quick solution is to present yourself to an emergency room physician.
This is usually much more expensive than seeing your doctor.

Insurance companies pay for the high price of emergency room visits. You would think that having to clog up an emergency department would be discouraged by the insurance companies.

It appears that going to an emergency room is much more expensive to the insurance companies.

My recent visit cost $ 4,000 for a minor issue and my insurance company paid it without batting an eye. My primary care physician has a portal and all I have to do is call him with my symptoms.
His nurse will call me back within 4 hours. There are no fees.
The Mayo Clinic has started charging for certain treatments or services rendered through a portal. This might be coming nationwide but so far I haven’t had to pay.

So sorry to hear that. It also seems to us, where we live, that if we had big health issues that would come up a few years ago, we could get in fairly quickly..now it’s “see you in 3 months and you a different specialist for that..let me refer you”…so another month..That’s very stressful when you have something serious.. I guess keep calling him OR someone else until they see you. Now more than ever seems like you have to be an advocate for yourself. Good Luck!

I just found out this week I have a 4cm abdominal aortic aneurysm. Going to a CT angiogram V2 in a couple weeks. Very surprised, overall very healthy, just got back from 85 mile walk in UK. I had an MRI done for Osteoarthritis in my lower back three weeks ago and that’s when they found it. Very stressed and worried

I went to an ER for something entirely different. As is usually done when going to an ER they normally do a CTscan. Long story short I was found to have an abdominal aneurysm at 3 cm.

No big deal I thought until the ER doctor came to the exam room and said “we are going to transfer you to a trauma hospital for emergency surgery”.
The reason was not the size but it is torn.
I was transferred to the trauma center and the cardiovascular surgeon said that they can acknowledge that I have one but “ you will have to come back later but it presently isn’t bleeding so we feel that you are stable enough to be discharged “
“Make sure to go to your cardiovascular surgeon ASAP.

I called him and he said that "we have an appointment coming up in 3 months and we’ll look at it then “
“I don’t think I need to see you now. I told him that the hospital surgeon wanted me to see him ASAP. He said that he wasn’t going to see me “until our upcoming appointment.” (3 months away) I told him everything and he agreed to see me the next day saying “ oh hospitals always say ASAP.”
We met the next day and he appeared annoyed because he already had appointments to get to that day. He was in a rush and practically laughed it off. I asked him as he was rushing out of the exam room if it could burst. He said “it could but we have ways to deal with that “ When? when I collapse to the ground?
Isn’t it too late then? Most people would think that I’m having a heart attack and perform a cardiac arrest procedure but it would be the wrong thing and I could die as a ruptured aortic aneurysm is usually fatal.
As he’s rushing out the door he said “see you next year” what?? He said that the echo didn’t show anything and that “I didn’t see anything “. Excuse me but 2 cardiovascular surgeons said I had one torn aneurysm and that I promptly see my cardiovascular surgeon and you say there is nothing you can see?”
Why have you been seeing me once a year if you didn’t see anything?” He didn’t say anything but walked out. Now what? Am I a ticking time bomb? Time for a second opinion?

Thanks for the replies. Have discussed with cardiologist and he agrees to every 6 month testing with ECHO and annual CT. Will likely request vascular surgery referral if there is any increase in size.

@gdog. I have only read about aneurysms of the ascending aorta. I have a dilation but it’s only 4.3 cm. I don’t have much experience beyond reading and talking with a vascular surgeon. However, if I were in your shoes, I would consider a second opinion. Are you seeing a cardiologist or a vascular surgeon? The growth rate could be uneven if it hasn’t been measured along the way. When were you diagnosed with GCA? Is your cardiologist or vascular surgeon aware of the GCA? I believe the new threshold for surgery is around 5.0cm. Yet I am not a doctor and could be wrong. It’s what I have been told about my dilation.

I would request a 6 month follow at that rate of growth. In May mine measured 3.5. My cardiologist sent me to a surgeon for a consult. He said it is the surgeon who decides when the repair needs to be done. I did go for the consult. It’s a complicated decision based on state of valves, growth rate, age of patient, etc. After that I decided to reach out to the Cleveland Clinic. Discovered they are in network for my insurance (I live in NC). My stress went down after making that appointment. I go to them next month. You need to drive the process and do what makes you feel comfortable. If you want to consult a surgeon, make the appointment.

I am 64, thoracic aneurysm at the root that last measured at 4.8 by echo and 5.0 by CT. I am on a 6 month schedule. With the size of our aneurysms every six months makes sense to me.

I am 73. Had 4.0cm ascending aorta dilation on CT in 2015. In 2019 was 4.0 on ECHO. March of this year measured 4.8cm on ECHO, confirmed on CT. ( BTW, I was diagnosed with giant cell arteritis in 2015 which predisposes to aneurysm formation ). After the ECHO and CT in March, my cardiologist recommended repeat CT in 1 year. I'm nervous waiting that long and it seems guideline would suggest every 6 month monitoring at this size and rate of growth ( 0.8cm / 4 yrs = .2cm/yr. ). Is it time for surgical consultation? Comments?

Hello all,
3 years ago I started making abdominal aortic aneurysms like Krisp Kreme makes doughnuts. I've lost the ability to walk twice because of the subsequent claudication. I have bilateral illiac stents. I've suffered additional system damage because my local small town medical team didn't believe me twice, until I showed up in the ER.
I have Overlap Syndrome; struggling with my autoimmune pain and the idiopathic aneurysms is exhausting. I've been swollen and numb on my R side since the beginning of July. I take no prescription pain medication. Opiates scare me more than the pain.
I go back for my 3rd visit in 7 days. I'll be there for 7 tests. Blood work didn't narrow anything down the first visit.
Does anyone have any experience with this quick and repetitive building of abd. aortic aneurysms?
The Mayo is my last hope for stopping this cycle. My last surgery was 3/23 and I can tell another's forming.