Aneurysm Detection Methods

[lhagsjr]

Hello All Members,
I have read a lot of your posts and you are all very courageous people. I only wish all of you the best of wish. My name is Lou and I am 27 yrs old and Im from Philadelphia. My story goes a little something like this...
For the last 3 months I have been experiencing very odd symptoms in my brain. I have had very weird headaches everyday. In addition i have other odd feelings in my head. Sometimes I get a warm sensation at the top of my head, pressure on the top of my head, and sometimes even violent firecracker like bangs in my head. This has been going on daily for 3 months.
I went to the ER once and they performed a CT Scan. This was back in August. This was negative. In early September I had an MRI & MRA which also both came back negative. My grandmother suffered a ruptured aneurysm.
Basically the reason Im writing is I live in fear of an aneurysm everyday because no doctor, neurologist, etc can tell me what is going on in my head. Have I taken all the necessary precautions in trying to detect an aneurysm? Can you get an angiogram as a form of detection test or do they only use those after something shows on an MRA? Any help would be greatly appreciate as I live in fear on a daily basis.

Thank you,
Lou
Philadelphia, PA

[Craig]

May I suggest it's a long shot that your symptoms suggest a aneurism. Most aneurisms are symptom free unfortunately. I wish I could point you in the correct direction to what is possibly bothering you but your best avenue is through medical professionals. A angiogram is certainly the best test for aneurism detection but the test itself is not risk free and I expect your Dr. would only want to have it done if he saw some reason for it.

It will not help your problem by living in fear. Chances are you are aneurism free. Aneurism in the family increases your chance of having one in my opinion but certainly does not mean you have one for sure. Discuss your situation with your Dr. letting him know exactly how you feel. I would expect a competent Dr will order the correct tests that he feels appropiate for the situation.

There are plently around here living with aneurisms they know about and the best treatment in some cases (although unpopular) is to monitor them. It's a bit of a mind-game to get yourself in the correct frame of mind to continue on with your life as normal as possible but it is do-able.

Hope my opinion helps in some small way. Remember, I'm not a trained medical professional. Doctors are where you must go for education based decisions and advice. If your real uncomfortable try a second opinion even if just to provide a little reassurance.

Craig

[ChrisC]

Lou, I'm sorry you're going thru this and not being able to find out why. It's certainly frustrating. If your MRI/MRA was negative, chances are pretty darn good that you don't have an annie. However, it could be sinus problems, tooth problems, ear problems or even upper spinal problems. Hopefully your primary doc is a good one and will lead you in the right direction for any other testing. My best to you..

Chris

[Happydaze]

Hi Lou-welcome, In my opinion you have done all the right things to find out if there could be an aneurysm. The small one they are monitoring for me is checked every six months with an MRI/MRA. - I would do as Craig suggested and talk to your own physician about what further tests you can have to find out what is causing your symtoms. I'm sorry you are having to go through this and I hope you find the cause to get some relief. Let us know how you are doing and what your doctor has to say. Take care.

____________
Happydaze

[Kathie]

Welcome Lou
It sounds like you've done everything possible already. If your tests have come back negative, then good news for you!!!!
May I suggest that your headaches could well be that your stressing over this far too much. Accept that you don't have an aneurysm and enjoy your life. :)

[jeni3222]

Hi,Lou you story sounds so much like mine it was like reading a post form me about me!!I'm 30 years old now,but at the age of 26 i suddenly started getting what I called ice-pick headpains.They were sharp and struck and were gone just as fast.I had hardly ever had a headache in my life.The frist thing that come to mind was an aneurysn because my grandmother suffered a rupture in 1996 and had a clipping surgery done.She was very lucky and made it through and is still alive.I had a CT scan with and w/out contrast,and MRI/MRA with and w/out contrast and a CTA with contrast.All were negitive!!And i'm still scard theirs one their and their just missing it.I was offered to have the angiogram but I'm scard of the risks!I have 3 beautiful childeren 2,7 and 9.I still have the pains along with regular headaches and at times a hot burning sensation as i describe it in certain spots in my headand and I know what you mean when you say a pressure.All very real and scary for someone that it all started out of the blue 4 years ago with no warning!No doctor yet has given a reason for my strange things in my head yet.It is very frustrating,I want answers!!!!If you get some answers please pass them along.Jeni3222