Anyone here ever had an "angiogram"?? I'm having one next week (testing for aneurysm). =(

[pg22]

I've had a contstant headache for the past 3 1/2 months and after being blood-tested more times than I can remember, they finally sent me to a neurologist and I got an MRI on my head. I got the results back yesterday and they basically told me this:

"This may be an anatomic variant and may be accentuated by tortuous overalapping vessals. The possibility of mild fusiform aneurysm in this region cannot be excluded and therefore if clinically indicated, further evaluation with standard angiogram may be helpful in assessing this patient."

*sigh*

I'm scared sh*tless....they basically stick a cathader in my groin area and go up my artery to see my blood vessals in my brain, or at least I think. Everyone I've talked to say it's not a big deal, but it takes an hour or two, and I have to stay in the hospital all day. Doesn't sound so easy to me

Anyone else with any kind of experience with this? Thanks a ton,

pg19

 

[Bleep]

Not to worry, no strain no pain. They just shoot a little radioactive dye into you and track it through your blood vessels. Even if were painfull it may save your life or at the minimum keep you from having a stroke or bursted artery. You will just feel a little hot feeling all over your body when the dye is injected.
Best of luck to you.
Bleep

 

[BiggieN]

good luck. i haven't encountered anyuone that has had this procedure done. don't worry too much. think of this as preventive maintenance.

 

[Soybomb]

Angiograms are pretty standard procedure, don't worry, and try not to think about it if it makes you nervous. Best wishes on your health.

 

[DadofOne]

Momofone just had the heart version of what you will be going through---they had booted her butt out the door in under six hours after the start of the procedure. Your leg will be a tad tender for a few days as the glued site heals, and you can't lift anything. While this would not be my first choice on how to spend the day, it looks like there are worse medical procedures you could be going through.....

 

[SuperGroove]

Not to thread crap...well hey this is OT...but what is an aneurysm? I know it has something to do with the brain. Is it like a blood vessel popping in your brain? There's this student at my school who suffered an aneurysm and is now in a coma. What are the chances of recovering from an aneurysm. Have people ever described how they feel?

 

[pg22]

Thanks for the comments guys =)

As for an aneurysm, here's were I got all my info:

http://webmd.lycos.com/content/asset/adam_disease_cerebral_aneurysm

P.S. You coma story isn't particularly comforting.... But I kinda figure if I did have one...I would be dead or in a coma right now....I dunno, it's all kinda confusing :\

 

[Azraele]

I've never had to go through anyting like that, but from what I've heard it's pretty straight forward to fix, especially if they use the cathader (sp?) technique. You'll be fine

 

[chess9]

Be thankful they have a lead on what may be wrong with you. Better to catch it now than have a life threatening stroke while driving or something similar. The angio will be a piece of cake. Let us know what they find and what they are going to do about it. Let's hope drugs are enough. But if you need surgery, everyone here will be pulling for you.

 

[I'm Typing]

I have had it done. It is a piece of cake. They will shave the area where the catheter goes in though...if you are shy, you may want to do it yourself beforehand. The main thing is to just relax, and enjoy the show...see if they will provide a videotape of the angio so you can show your friends later.
You will get to look inside your brain, dude! Ain't that cool?

Finally, if they find anything wrong, they will be able to fix it with great accuracy...usually the first symptom of an aneurysm is sudden death...so consider yourself very very lucky!

 

[C'DaleRider]

Good luck iwth the procedure. While an angiography is as dangerous as a cardiac catheterization (with a cardiac cath, the catheter has to be threaded into the heart's left ventricle for the proper injection of the dye and visualization of the coronary arteries, and this can cause irritation of the heart's wall sometimes causing abberant beats, at worst cardiac fibrillation or standstill), and your risk is MUCH lower. The worst, as noted above, is the insertion site......tenderness, possible bleeding, except for infection from break of sterile technique.

I'm really surprised that they aren't doing a CT with contrast first......much LESS invasive (every time they enter your body, more chance of infection and other complications, especially when entering the arterial system) and should visualize the vessels almost as well.


Aneurysms are just what the link said, a weakness in the wall of a vessel. Usually don't show up until they cause a definite problem, ie rupture or shower clots causing a blockage of the artery, cutting off blood supply to whatever is downstream from the blockage. Aneurysms can occur anywhere, with the head most known of by the public, but the abdominal aortic aneurysm is one of the biggest killers by any type of aneurysm....very large vessel, usually pops when one is on the john straining. Person usually dies before anyone finds him, and is usually a male.

But just relax, they give good drugs, and if they use Versed, (great drug....a VERY potent amnesiac), you'll not even remember it. That drug works wonders...patient stays awake but has absolutely no memory of anything that happens, making difficult or painful procedures easier.....and the patient is also much more compliant to instruction.

 

[Total Refected Power]

but the abdominal aortic aneurysm is one of the biggest killers by any type of aneurysm....

Yup. This one killed my step-grandfather. He was rushed to the hospital and they him a 5% chance to live.

He didn't make it.

 

[pg22]

welp....I'm going in tomorrow at 9:30 AM......at this point I'm thinking...&quot;what on earth have i gotten myself into&quot;...lol (<---nervous laugh)