Ruptured brain aneurysm

Hi @zoe888, welcome to Connect. I added your message to the Cerebrovascular Diseases group as well so that you can connect with other members talking about brain aneurysms, like @kariulrich @jeancary @monicajones @edda @kristivila @abissol41. Some members have also experienced a ruptured brain aneurysm and may be able to share their recovery experiences.

I'm not a doctor, but feeling not quite yourself after such an experience as you did, especially spending 2 week in ICU, it is understandable that you might face things like sleeplessness, anxiety and depression. Have you heard of Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). You might be interested in reading the Connect page/blog about PICS here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/pics/ Nurse practitioner @andreab explains it in the series "Breaking it down: PICS Prevention and Recovery"

There's also a discussion about PICS and other discussions about aneurysms that you may be interested in reading and joining in:
- TBI and brain aneurysms https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tbi/
- #MayoClinicNeuroChat about Brain Aneurysms https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinar/mayoclinicneurochat-about-brain-aneurysms/ (Video and chat)
- Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) - Let's Talk https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/post-intensive-care-syndrome-pics-lets-talk/

Zoe, I think you'll find reading these stories that you're not alone. Have you talked with your doctor about your feelings?

Thank You so much ! I have an appt. I'm the near future with my primary care doc. I will also look into the links you providef! I appreciate it!!!

Hello Zoe, although I can not relate personally to your struggles I am familiar as 3 of my family members have had TBI so I am a witness of it and have nothing but compassion and respect for your "invisible injury". I work for the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance and wanted to make you aware of the support, education, resources and programs we have available for you at no cost, specifically our Resource Facilitation program. It has made a world difference for my brother and his family's lives. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for those coping with the sudden and long-term effects of a brain injury. Feel free to check out our website if you would like to learn more. Please know you are not alone, people care, and you have a lot of potential we can help you navigate back to. Prayers and thoughts go to you. Also please feel free to reach out to me anytime!

Hi zoe888,

Oh my dear one!

Thirty-three years ago I had a ruptured brain aneurysm
(right temporal lobe) which the surgeons clipped via open-skull surgery ( craniotomy). ( That was in the bad old days of open-skull treatment for such injuries. I expect you likely had the newer treatment involving a catheter inserted in a major artery in the groin with a mini-camera and repair tool that just slips up through that major artery to the brain to do the work. No blood! No scar! I hope, anyway, that was your surgery because what I experienced caused considerably damage to my life.)

My life was changed forever after my aneurysm. For the worse. Both physical and mental damage.

The thing hit me right out of the blue, no warnings! I was a university student then and had just gotten home from campus - driving!!!

My story is long - 33 years long- but in the early years I experienced everything you have described about your own case, plus other side effects.

I will make my details easier for you to appreciate by including below a link to my blog, “Will’s Brain Aneurysm.” The link will fetch a copy of my blog stored for posterity on the Internet Archives. I kept my blog going for several years but eventually deleted it and closed it. It was becoming too horrible and burdensome, and anyway a NYC doctor threatened to sue me for a comment about him left by a reader.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered my blog more or less whole stored in the Archives! The archive is a monumental operation that boasts of copying every notable website, blog, essay or other content ever posted on the Internet. It has been doing this for many years, so it has old and new content. Please note these few things about using the archives:
1.) Links to archived content load a bit slowly, be patient.
2.) Archived sites are not 100% complete. Links embedded in content that go to external sites do not work. Internal links work fine. Some large HD graphics will not load.
Here is my link to “The Narrative of Will’s Brain Aneurysm” Copy and paste into your browser if link is not clippable :
https://web.archive.org/web/20111222235429/http://nothingyoucansee.wordpress.com:80/2011/07/08/the-narrative-of-wills-brain-aneurysm-what-post-op-care-doctors-quack
Now you’ve read my story, the good and the bad. From my blog I met thousands of other brain aneurysm survivors and discovered many shared after-effects. Because my blog was so busy, many people might have thought I was a health professional, as people seemed to expect a cure from me. I was a news reporter and journalist, no healthcare worker, so I was always letting my readers down. Anyway, the aneurysm killed my career and I retired early, at 45, after trying for several years to work again. It took me years to admit to being a disabled person.

Good luck to you!
Viya con Diós,

WT.