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Managing stress and panic attacks with an aneurysm
Hello,
I just found out that I have a 6mm right ophthalmic aneurysm with a slight irregular dome and wide neck.
My neurointerventionalist gave me options. I could do the watch and wait for 6 months to see if it grows in size. Flow diversion stent to repair. He stated that due to its size it is still on the small size but would not mind doing either of these two. I was given no restrictions and basically to live my normal life. For the last two weeks I have been living in extreme panic. I fear something is happening and get so in my mind. I am able to distinguish that is it a panic attack because once I get out of that mind state the feelings go away. Yesterday I finally went back to do a yoga sculpt class and regardless of how my mind was acting I pushed through. Glad I did because I feel I even slept better.
Just wanted to get some advice and encouraging words.
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Hi @barevalo4. I do not have an aneurism so no idea your challenges yet my reactive body requires I keep stress at bay and my trauma provider emphasizes self care as priority while adjusting our actions to symptoms. My perspective being mindful and putting ourselves first allows the necessary calm. Easier said than done I know yet seems you already are on a good start and wish you quickest healing 🌈
I think you are on the right path. Kudos over and over. We all are practicing. I don't think we graduate because, at least in my experience, life throws curveballs when they are least expected.
A close relative pointed out to me the importance of having a safe place to go to mentally and emotionally when feeling overwhelmed. It seems obvious and simple but it took some time to make it a habit to slip into my safe place like br'er rabbit into the briar patch 😉
Between reigning in the panic attacks and the yoga sculpt class, you are on a calming path.
barevalo4: I understand the stress you are feeling; I've been there. I turned the 6 month "watch-and-wait" approach into 8 months. I just needed time to wrap my head around it all. When my neurosurgeon at UCSF offered me the watch-and-wait (active surveillance) protocol he did have one suggestion he wanted me to adhere to, that being not to do things where my head would be upside down. That causes pressure inside your skull and puts pressure on the aneurysm.
@mkoch Thank you for your response. It is so hard to get my head out of this situation. I know some tell me the "watch and wait" is a good thing but it is so hard to move past the scary thoughts in my head. Did you change it yourself just because? I may request to get a scan sooner to just make sure it is not growing.
@piranha Thank you so much! I am so glad to hear from people who have learned to live with this. It gives me so much hope that one day I will get there.
@law59 Thank you so much!
@barevalo4: I checked google and learned that a neurointerventionalist is not necessarily a neurosurgeon. If your neurointerventionalist's background is in radiology I would get a second opinion from a neurosurgeon who specializes in aneurysms. ( I have 2 separate neurosurgeons; one who did my craniotomy for a meningioma and follows me for that and another who coiled my 6mm aneurysm and monitors if the coils are still in place with an annual MRA.) The neurosurgeon who coiled my aneurysm after I vacillated for 8 months didn't pressure me at all. He offered to me two options, coiling or watch and wait. I just had the coiling procedure about a year ago. I finally just got tired of worrying about it. It was like a constant cloud over my head. I wanted to "fix it," so to speak, and move on. But, like I said, it took me 8 months to get there. The placement of my coils was done through a catheter in my wrist at UCSF. I think you can also have stents place through this procedure which is called endovascular coiling or embolization. If your doctor has recommended this procedure as an option for you I want you to know it was not painful nor scary. You would be awake the whole time as the team will prompt you at certain times to hold your breath. The 8 months I spent worrying if the aneurysm would burst at any given minute or during any activity was far worse and ultimately more stressful than the procedure to repair it.