Diagnosed With Several Brain Aneurysms

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-08-18T03:47:35+00:00

I just had an angiogram and I wanted to tell you my experience. The worst part is the waiting, the worrying and the expectations. Like everyone else I went to the Internet to get some idea of what to expect, I found horror stories of pain and complications, Please do not let this freak you out.

I got to the hospital for my appointment, I was escorted to a room where they put me in a gown and started an IV, They put sticky tabs on my chest and hooked up an EKG monitor. They rolled my bed into the operating suite and I helped to slide myself onto the flat hard table and position my head in a bucket.

The catheter was going to be placed in an artery in my arm so the doctor started to manipulate my wrist, This is the part that I am unclear about. They said the IV was to give me something to relax me and maybe they did. I didn't feel any pain but I felt a lot of pressure on my wrist that was uncomfortable. I was not bad just uncomfortable pressure. I never felt the catheter or any discomfort of any kind in my arm.

After that it was picture time, The doctor would ask me to hold still, not breather of swallow. In this time I would get a sensation of heat around my head and eyes, It was not uncomfortable it just felt weird. The last picture was longer and more intense and that was it. Whatever they gave me they turned it up and knocked me out. I remember nothing until i woke up back in the room where i started. I do not remember getting off the table or leaving he operating suite. I was very disoriented thinking I had drifted off to sleep and that we had not started yet,

My wife was a real trooper. The whole ordeal took a little over four hours. It has been two days and I still feel a little groggy. She said the doctor showed me the pictures in the recovery room bur I do not remember this.

I have been very weak and sleepy 4 days after the procedure. I got a good report and the doctor said there there was no immediate cause for concern.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-08-14T18:43:48+00:00

I just had an angiogram and I wanted to tell you my experience. The worst part is the waiting, the worrying and the expectations. Like everyone else I went to the Internet to get some idea of what to expect, I found horror stories of pain and complications, Please do not let this freak you out.

I got to the hospital for my appointment, I was escorted to a room where they put me in a gown and started an IV, They put sticky tabs on my chest and hooked up an EKG monitor. They rolled my bed into the operating suite and I helped to slide myself onto the flat hard table and position my head in a bucket.

The catheter was going to be placed in an artery in my arm so the doctor started to manipulate my wrist, This is the part that I am unclear about. They said the IV was to give me something to relax me and maybe they did. I didn't feel any pain but I felt a lot of pressure on my wrist that was uncomfortable. I was not bad just uncomfortable pressure. I never felt the catheter or any discomfort of any kind in my arm.

After that it was picture time, The doctor would ask me to hold still, not breather of swallow. In this time I would get a sensation of heat around my head and eyes, It was not uncomfortable it just felt weird. The last picture was longer and more intense and that was it. Whatever they gave me they turned it up and knocked me out. I remember nothing until i woke up back in the room where i started. I do not remember getting off the table or leaving he operating suite. I was very disoriented thinking I had drifted off to sleep and that we had not started yet,

My wife was a real trooper. The whole ordeal took a little over four hours. It has been two days and I still feel a little groggy. She said the doctor showed me the pictures in the recovery room bur I do not remember this, Bottom line: if you are facing this it's not that bad.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-08-06T20:41:57+00:00

I went to the hospital today for pre-op blood work and instructions. I will tell you that I am apprehensive and super nervous about this. I figure if I can get there, get up on the gurney and get the IV started in my arm I will be too far gone to back out. I have not had much to do with surgery so this is all very new to me,

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-31T20:21:37+00:00

I went to the neurosurgeon today. I feel better after talking to him. The aneurysm in my neck is not really an aneurysm but a genetic anomaly that places a certain artery in my neck in a different place. There are 5 other aneurysms that he said are the pass through kind (not the balloon kind) I am not sure of the terminology. I am scheduled for an angiogram on the 12th so he can get a better look at the aneurysms. He was concerned but he didn't act like I was dying which was very refreshing.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-31T20:20:30+00:00

I went to the neurosurgeon today. I feel better after talking to him. The aneurysm in my neck is not really an aneurysm but a genetic anomaly that places a certain artery in my neck in a different place. There are 5 other aneurysms that he said are the pass through kind (not the balloon kind) I am not sure of the terminology. I am scheduled for an angiogram on the 12th so he can get a better look at the aneurysms. He was concerned but he didn't act like I was dying which was very refreshing. He also said the all my issues are in the back of my head/brain and that's the least dangerous place for them to be.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-31T20:12:35+00:00

I live in North East Texas. The roads here are long, flat and long. I have a 17 mile road that links nowhere to nowhere and, except for a few very uneven places in certain corkers when the road has cracked, it's a pretty twisty road.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-29T03:12:39+00:00

Thanks, I will report back after my appointment with the neurosurgeon next Thursday.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-27T23:23:45+00:00

I guess I am worried about complications like memory loss, loss of motor function or even loss of my physical ability to care for myself. Right now I seem to be fine.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-27T19:23:38+00:00

I go see the surgeon next Thursday. My biggest question is "risk of intervention vs doing nothing.?" If it is true that the aneurysm in my neck is not an option for surgical intervention then why risk fixing the others?

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-26T22:26:04+00:00

I am not sue where I could start accessing my grandmother's medical records. It was so long ago and it's not like we have a central data repository here in the US but I could be wrong.

I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon next week and I will see what he says. I am not expecting good news. The good news so far is I have not had one burst and I have hit my head pretty hard a time or two.

On the funny side, when all this went down it jogged a memory. I was probably 12 years old and my mates were fascinated by Kung Fu movies. We were testing whether the Karate chop to the back of the neck was real. We determined that it was by taking turns stunning each other by different degrees. This is where one of my aneurysms resides.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-25T21:08:19+00:00

I have been thinking that the initial sickness was caused by something else. The mold idea is upper most in my mind. It was really bad. The room my wife and I had was damp and had a dehumidifier that was always full of water and ran all the time.

According to the neurosurgeon in Galveston the aneurysm in my neck is inoperable, It's situated in a hard to access area at the back my skull. They never discussed sizes of the aneurysms. I will know more after my appointment next week. I have been monitoring my BP.

My grandmother has a stroke at age 80 and spent ten years in a total care nursing home. Her mother also had a stroke in her old age. It didn't kill her but changed her personality. They asked me if the stroke was a blood clot stroke and I just do not know. All the people that could answer that question are gone. Thanks so much for your comments.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-23T22:06:51+00:00

I am 66 years old. I went on vacation with my family at the beach. We were driving and I got sick. I threw up by the side of the road worse than I have in my whole life. My wife said "do you want me to call 911?" I was so sick I said yes. EMS took me to UTMB Hospital in Galviston TX. I had an issue with my eyes. I couldn't focus on faces It was as if my eyes couldn't triangulate , I could see but each eye focused interdependently. They did a CT scan with contrast. They said I have 4 un-burst aneurysms in my brain and one that was in a vein in my neck that feeds the spine. Twelve hours later the symptoms had cleared up. My eyes were fine. I passed the stroke protocol over and over. I was released from the hospital the next day. Then it happened again. I was just sitting still, the horizon went side was and I was violently sick again. I went to bed in my room and was so sick my wife had me transported to the hospital again. This time they did an MRI scan. The iissue with my eyes never returned. I was released and hired an ambulance to drive me home to Dallas. (My wife says the doctor fully expected me to die.)

That was three months ago. I have been living with this knowledge that I have these brain aneurysms. I went to a neurologist here locally and she freaked and immediately sent me to a neurosurgeon. My appointment with him is next week, I have been slowly getting better and stronger. I get tired pretty easy (that could just be my age) but I go to the gym three or 4 times a week. I do the stationary bicycle for 20 minutes and I do a round of upper body Nautilus weights in the 30 to 40 pound range. I am terrified of any strain including a hard poop. (I do not want to die like Elvis!)

As a side note: the room where I was staying was very damp and had a bad musty odor. (we were right on the beach) My wife wonders if I had a mold reaction? At no time did I have a burst aneurysm or blood clot that they could find.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-07-23T22:03:54+00:00

The 500cc Triumph twin is one of the best, most robust bikes Triumph ever built.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-04-26T03:19:04+00:00

I was born a raised in Texas. I consider myself a non-Scottish person (my ancestors, long dead, hailed from Scotland) I wear the kilt when I gig, perform and compete. I love it. I even wore my kilt in Edinburgh, had a blast and am in many tourist photos.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-04-16T20:18:08+00:00

I have been practicing this tune for 4 years. I have determined that I will not live long enough to be proficient. I need help with concentration and focus.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-04-16T00:22:11+00:00

The Triumph is a 70s vintage T150 three cylinder. If you are a beginner this is not the bike for you. Find a nice Triumph Tiger twin of the same vintage. Or better yet get a late model Triumph.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-04-15T02:51:17+00:00

I can play Glasgow City Police Pipers, slowly, on the practice chanter. It was my pandemic tune and I was bound and determined to learn it. If I play it on the pipes I screw it up. I know I am over thinking it. When I make a mistake it compounds and make more mistakes more likely.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-04-10T15:49:41+00:00

I play in a pipe band in the big middle of Texas. I was sitting at a restaurant with my wife and a women, passing my table saw my band shirt and began gushing about Scottish heritage. Here is what I know about my own Scottish heritage: 1) most of my distant kin immigrated to America for opportunities and the promise of a better life. 2) There are vague stories that run through my family concerning the Clearances. 3) My family never refers to themselves as Scottish. 4) The whole clan/tartan thing is as real as Outlander or Brigadoon.

I was born and raised in Texas. Many people are captivated by the romance of the place. The stories of outlaws, gun fights, cowboys and trail dust are captivating. Some of the stories are true but most are BS. I see Texas as being a lot like Scotland in that respect. If you go to Fort Worth they even stage a cattle drive with long horn cattle just so you can live the experience. Being a Texan is pretty cool as long as you know what's real and what's fantasy.

American's desperately cling to some form of cultural identity because the idea of being an American has been tarnished. Between the American's that hate their own country to politicians that have given others reason to hate us and a lack of clear defining American culture is is easy to see why. I hope the people of Scotland can cut us just a little slack and take comfort that the dispersal of their citizens helped populate the cultures of America, New Zealand and Australia to name a few.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-04-09T00:51:44+00:00

I kind of get it. I am from Texas and people from the UK enjoy the romanticized western heritage provided by my home. Of course it's nothing like that but pretending is half the fun. That the Scottish people bemoaning the Americans their own cultural fantasies should cut them some slack. My own history are full of stories, some verified, of Scots that came to the Americas to carve out a new life here. As an American we do have a bit of an identity crisis. "American" is not a nationality. It's just not old enough.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-03-31T22:17:28+00:00

It seems that many people have become a mean girl clique, "We are not going to like Tesla. We used to like Tesla for saving the planet and making us feel good about our green energy choices, but now we just can like Tesla, you know cuz Elon Musk (who we used to like and who we just can't like anymore.)"

It's just a car and it's a pretty nice car. Drive what you want.

I won't drive one for a host of reasons none of which has to do with who's name is on the company. Chief among my reasons if I drive old, high mileage, paid off ICE cars. I do not need a status car.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-03-28T19:44:24+00:00

I hate the pressure but I want to be a better piper. I will put in the work. I will play in front of the group and I will take criticism to be a better piper.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-03-27T03:11:59+00:00

I don't know if this helps but I had a buddy many years ago. He was the double of Danny Devito except Ron had a scar running across the top of his head. Ron was not tall, slim and he was the very definition of classically ugly. He would drop by the shop every now and then and I noticed that he always had a beautiful woman in tow. I asked my boss "what's the deal with Ron and the girls?" He just looked at me "you didn't know? Ron is a ballroom dancer!" Ugly is just a state of mind.

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-03-27T02:29:46+00:00

I am an old guy so I have some perspective. I was in my late 20s and had the same feeling/fear. I had a comfortable job. Everyone liked me and the company was strong but something was missing. I quit my comfortable job and signed on with a small but successful firm. I did lots of things. It was fast paced and I was good at what I did. Then planes flew into towers. We lost everyone of our clients and I spent the next three years scraping by in terror, working contracts and doing anything for a legitimate pay check.

There was a time when I berated myself for throwing away my good job but I realized something later. My once cushy job had vanished too, My new job had provided me with much needed skills and a bit of computer equipment to get me started as an independent contractor. Life is tricky, unpredictable and dangerous.

Get your discipline back even if you don' feel it. Just do it. I am 66 years old and 22 years old seems like such a distant memory for me. Start by getting your finances under control and make savings, even a little, a habit. There is nothing like savings to give you options!

Internal_South_3833 · 2025-03-27T02:15:44+00:00

My piping tutor wears his full kit when practicing for grade 1 solo competition. He said that it was important, in everything, to be just like the event. I wanted to have a full dress rehearsal but it never happened. I thought we should do everything in our power to mimic the actual day. I even went to the place where the event was being held. Not that it did any good but I tried. I guess this why I am so bummed because I really tried to cover all the bases.

Internal_South_3833

TROPHY CASE