just found out

[alcable]

i got a 9mm 1 at the front dont know which 1 but would like to here from ppl thats had them and is it anything to worry about

[me2you]

Alcable I'm new to all this I haven't even seen a doctor yet still waiting? Had MRI scan xmas eve from that they sent me for CT scan then via a letter to my gp stating that I got 7mm Annie behind eye on base of brain!! Think I been though ever emotion possible. But if you ever need to talk I'll be willing to listen. One thing I have found out people seem to wait a very long time for treatment or a plan?

[alcable in reply to me2you]

Hi me2u its the waiting thats hard but was at doc the guy who operatating on me yesterday he said 7mm or under they dont worry about it if that helps u mine was not to bad spoke to surgean yesterday was only found in dec and he said there having a meeting with docs which is better clamp or something in the groin and he will do the clamp if they choose that thanks for the offer of help appracated its the time off work i worried about also going throught alot since oct last year i just keep getting hit down but i always get back up just seems to be taking forever just get better then something else happens

[me2you in reply to alcable]

Poor you but I'm sure all will come good in the end. Well nice to hear what your doc said about 7mm and below they are not worried about it what area of the country do you live in? hope when I see someone at the hospital they will say that to me finger crossed.

Look after yourself and keep us updated on you process

[alcable]

They will that was the guy that doing the clamp looked like he just done 10 if u get a sudden headacre head straight to ae i stay in bonnie scotland near glasgow airport what about yourself where u stay and inwas in waiting room ppl waited long time as they have ur scan they will know but 100% they said he does not worry about them as much under 7mm over that he said can burst anytime that was the specailest the main doc who is doing the operatatiom all will be good waiting hard bit

[malalatete]

Al - I copy here something I have just posted for me2you. Hope it helps.

Hi me2you

7mm is borderline for treatment in the NHS, and there is a national shortage of neurologists, so other larger annies will be treated with priority, which doesn't really help you but may explain why there are such significant delays.

Once you get to see a neurologist they will explain the options available to you, which will be from a selection of do nothing - wait and watch (this is usual for anything standard and 7mm and under); treatment by way of endovascular coiling (where a catheter is inserted in the artery in the groin, fed through to the brain, and miniscule coils of platinum are used to fill up the annie, thus encouraging the blood to clot); or if this is not available (usually because of the position of the annie) then a craniotomy (hole in the skull) and clipping across the base. another option, if your annie is deemed to be high risk but inoperable with either of the above, as mine was, is to have a flow diverter device placed across the base the annie neck in the hope that by encouraging blood to flow in its normal direction the flow to the annie stops and it can deflate in on itself.

After being told what the options are you will be sent away to weigh them up and come to a decision. They like to give you time to do this as there are risks whether you have surgery or whether you don't.

After you have made a decision, any decision towards intervention will require you to have further 'gold standard' scans - called neuro-angiogram (and you need to get used to these if you are going down the clipping route as there will be lifelong follow-up in this vein).

Only once the neuroangiograms have been done and your case discussed by a multi-disciplinary team - including neuroradiographers and surgeons - to weigh up the pros and cons of your preferred intervention - will you be given a date for your surgery.

From diagnosis to treatment if yours is held to be a routine annie, and therefore classed as elective surgery can take up to 18 months. You will get used to the waiting...

They say that if you have a 9mm annie the risk of rupture is 20% over your lifetime. If it is smaller - say 4mm, then the risk is significantly less - more like 5% from memory. The rupture, or SAH as it is called, has significant risks should it occur - something like 40% of people don't survive, 40% are left with significant disability, and 20% come out of it fine but probably with minor changes to life nevertheless. So if you plug those into the above, if you have a 9 or 10mm annie the risk that it will go pop and kill you is about the same as you dying from heart disease and cancer. If you have a small annie it is less. The only difference with an annie is that you know it. You know it every morning.

If you are someone who is able to be philosophical about these things, you might decide to leave alone - particularly if you read what happens to people post-surgery (even minimally invasive procedures such as FD stenting and coiling seem to leave people with issues with headaches, memory loss and other cognitive difficulties. SAH though is quite on another plane.

There is no right or wrong answer here. You have to go with what you think you can live with - whilst accepting that there are risks either way. Ahead of my neuroangiogram which I had to have ahead of the stenting procedure I wrote my will, DNR instructions, got power of attorney organised, and filed my funeral instructions with my local vicar. There's a 1 in 100 chance of having a stroke and a 1 in 100 chance of dying on the table whilst being investigated. Whichever way you go it ain't pretty...

Best of luck with working through it all.

[Lyndaryan1 in reply to malalatete]

Hi,

I read your message with great interest regarding the gold standard scans. I'm under a Consultant in East Yorkshire area & after only one scan with dye & a visit to discuss my opriins which are exactly as you have listed I'm now on a 24 hour cancellation list. If there are no cancellations the longest I will be waiting is 4 Months. Maybe my 7.5 Annie is just a little bit different as it has a sister bleb attached?? Trust mine to bring along part of its family plus I've already had a SAH some 14 years ago which took me years of recovery but I got there in the end. My Consultant wouldn't make any decision at all regarding either clip or coil even though I was insistent he was the expert & looking at his monitor with the Annie in front of him asking which way HE would prefer to tackle it he was totally none commital saying he would be happy either way & had been as successful equally with both procedures!! Maybe I live in a good area regarding time scale but I certainly haven't been hanging around. I hope I'm not on a 24 hour list to only arrive & have lots of scans done I just want some ACTION ha ha I can't live my life how I would like while this alien is stuck right in the middle of my brain stopping me making any flights. I'm self employed so driving isn't an option it would take far too long!! Let's hope I carry on moving quite quickly as patience is not one of my strong points ha ha

For users of this site I must compliment you on your valuable input it's really helpful to all us users.

THANK YOU

[alcable]

Thats basically what my doc said just could not remeber what he said nice post by the way goodluck me2u