my sister has lost the use of left eye after ruptered annie can anyone help please??

[leanne07]

hi my sister had a ruptered aneurysm about 8 weeks ago and she has lost the use of her left eye,she had the coil op and all went well.the doctors found another small one but she will be scanned again in may.if anyone knows of a similar situation please could you help!! as we all are very confused and doctors say it might right itself or it might not also can she lead a normal life now or does she need to take any special precautions? thanks leanne:confused:

[Malgosia]

Hi Leanne,

My Dad suffered a ruptured aneurysm in June of 2007 and was also coiled. He lost the majority of hearing in his left ear (and now has some echoing/swooshing sounds too) and about 50% in his right ear. Dr.'s also told him that it takes time (a year or more) to see what long term damage has been done and how much will correct itself. He had a hearing test done in Aug, and one more recently in Nov, and there HAS been improvment already. He also couldn't speak for a while and still struggles with some words but, that too is getting better with time.

So, I can only tell you what we've been through and, as i'm sure you've heard a million times by now, "everyone is different", but it is still very early for your sister, so chances are that things could improve for her also.

As far as precautions go, she should talk to her neurosurgeon or interventional neuroragiologist about follow up for the coiling (they will likely do a 6 month checkup via angiogram) and meds. Might need to take aspirin for some time, and def. avoid smoking, but lots of it is also dependent on individual needs. I'm sure others on here will chime in with their advice. Don't lose hope and stay strong. This is a really hard time, i know, but it will get better. It's still very early.

Take care.

[dawnmn]

Leanne,
I had a SAH which caused what they call Terson. Terson is where blood gets into the eyes causing lost of vision. Sometimes it will clear up on its own. I had to have surgery in both eyes because mine never cleared up on its own. Maybe that's what the doctors are waiting to see if it clears up without surgery.
Take care,
Dawn

[goldie411]

Hi Leanne, welcome to the site. Sorry to hear your sister had a rupture. As far as the sight goes, I'm not sure. Others could probably help you with that.
The neuro doc's should of sent a list or something home with her of the precautions she should take..I would check with them..I know right after my surgery I was to avoid heavy lifting etc.
I hope she continues to heal..God Bless..take care Cindy

[rmbing64]

Hi Leanne, I see you found the thread. I hope your sister is doing better. Did she lose her vision because of bleeding in her eye or because of damage to the optic nerve? Where was her bleed at? I am like Dawn and I also had Terson's but did your sister have some nerve damage? It can take a long time for everything to settle down and things to return. I am at almost 10 months and I am still not quite back to my old self, but I am getting there. Have faith,it sounds like you and your family are a strong support for her. Rose

[leanne07]

i cannot tell you how glad i am for all your support and advice i know it must be a terrible time for you all also, she(my sister) would be overwhelmed but as i said before we are so confused about it all she seems to think that she will recover like shes had the flu or something , but me i dont seem so optimistic i'm very worried,i am the baby of the four of us and i seem to worry the most haha i'm scared about the other one they found what if it happens again?

[leanne07]

me again! so sorry but when i read back what i wrote does'nt seem any sense! thats just me sorry i can't spell or write !! she is still smoking at least 20 a day i don't think she realises what has happened yet? also she was drinking at xmas and new year is this ok? her eye today is still going to the side and she still has double vision not much better at all
appologize for my text !

[Travelingdueo]

hi
my husband Ray also suffered from Terson's .. they made him wait to see if it would absorb on its own but it didn't so he had the surgery to replace that old thick built up blood that was behind the eye... also said he would most likely recover with a caterac which he has right now in that eye...

He needed to see a specialist eye Dr to see .. ended up with two the last was a retina specialist here in WA..

Smoking isn't good.. Ray was a heavy smoker.. they had to give him the patch while he was in ICU when we finally figured he was having withdrawels besides the pain from the surgery. he had his clipped..

I would think drinking isn't good especially if one is on a lot of medications.. Ray liked his beers but hadn't had any and no urges he did have a little bit of wine at the holidays and he really didn't like the taste ...

8 weeks is really early to really know ..

best of luck to your sister and all her family... with good support she will do good especially emotionally and everyone can lean on each other

[Greenie]

Sorry about your sister. My Mother had an SAH and has impaired vision. The Neuro Opth said it was tersons and she will not regain her peripheral vision. Her straight-ahead vision is getting better. She is 20/30 reading and 20/35 far vision with correction.

It gets better in the first 4 months and then levels off. Her left eye was really wonky for a while and now its recessed but tracks pretty much with her other eye.

Mom is 8 months post SAH and surgery. She had 5 annies...3 were clipped...2 we are just watching (both less than 1 mm).

My heart goes out to you and your family. Brenda

[rmbing64]

Hi again Leanne. Maybe her doc could talk to her about the smoking, because there is a definite link between smoking and an increased risk of aneurysm. I have also found that I do not tolerate alcohol very well at all any more and have pretty much given it up. I was also like your sister; I kind of thought that I would just rest for a few weeks, then I would be back to my old self, kind of like the flu. 10 months later, I am still "resting" in physical therapy and trying to recover. It took a while for the enormity of what had happened to me to sink in, even though I was in the hospital for about 2 months, I still felt like me and couldn't really understand what all of the fuss was about. When is she seeing the doctor? Will she let the family go with her? Maybe if she will, you can go with a list of questions/concerns to ask and that will help. I would always have my husband prepare a list, because I could never remember everything I wanted to know. Rose

[leanne07]

hi she does,nt go to the doctors until may , as for eye i think it was muscle and nerve damage but it is looking a bit better as days go by , but writing a list is a really good idea :)

[rmbing64]

Does she have a family doctor? My internist has been really helpful. May seems like such a long time. Does she get online at all? Maybe hooking her up with this site would help. I was so lost. I didn't really know anyone who had had an aneurysm and most people who told my husband stories about someone who had had one were not very uplifting. It was so helpful for me to find everyone on here and to talk to other people who had first hand experience with what I was going through. Even just reading other questions and responses was so helpful- I could say, aha, that's what I have and it's okay. Rose

[leanne07]

hi rose yes our family doctor is nice he prescribed her with sleeping tablets at first as she could'nt sleep with the flash backs but other than being nice he does'nt know much about what happened to her yet as he only has her admission notes. i have tried to tell her to use this site but she is hopeless with computers haha also she can't really look at the screen (not even tv ) for a long time as her head aches start she is wearing a patch at the minute to try and stop her from straining her eyes too much

[rmbing64]

Where are you at? Do you live in a rural area or are you close to a medical center? I really feel for you, your sister and your family. It is so scary and I'm sure you must all be really frightened. It will get better over time. The important thing is to get plugged into the right holes. Is she getting any rehab? I had kind of fallen through the cracks as far as therapy; because I didn't have any mental status problems, they thought a lot of my problems were from my lack of vision, but they were a little more than that and when I could see again, I still wasn't getting therapy but once I called and got hooked back into the system, I have made so much progress. I also assumed that I was just going to have headaches, but now they are under control, but if my husband wouldn't have called my neurosurgeon, which initially I was mad about, who had me come in, I wouldn't be feeling so good now. I guess my point is, as a patient, you really have to advocate for yourself but the problem is often, you don't really know what you're supposed to be advocating for. Usually, if you ask the doctor, or his nurse, they'll say, oh, yeah, we should do that, and get you started on something that maybe you should be doing all along but they don't realize you are not, for whatever reason. Rose

[ChrisC]

Hi Leanne, I'm sorry to hear of your sister's aneurysm, but you've come to a good place for support. It kind of sounds like she hasn't really come to grips with what really happened to her. I agree with going to the doctor WITH her, and telling him/her what's been going on. It might be wise to see an eye specialist who deals with neurological issues - there have been several posters here, in the past, who have had to wear the patch on the unaffected eye to retrain the affected eye, and have done well. It is early on in her recovery, and hopefully, will get alot better. Best of luck to you and your sister.

[leanne07]

hi chris thank you for your advice and support x sorry i have'nt replied been poorly with flu !!

[leanne07]

hi just a quick update my sis is going to the gp today as shes been suffering bad dizzy spells,whether this is connected or not we are'nt sure but thought we should get her checked over just incase, i'll be in touch soon and let you know the outcome x leanne x

[Lifelines Dallas]

Hi there. How is your sister? Did you find anything out about the dizzy spells? I had a rupture 7 1/2 years ago but was only recently diagnosed with the visual deficits and vestibular issues that made my life miserable. It sounds to me as though your sister is experiencing the same issues I had.

I would suggest that you find a neuro optometrist who specializes in vestibular issues. Here is the web site for my doctor, and on it you will find good information as well as links to other resources.

http://www.dr-s.net/index.html

The brain can only heal so much on its own. Proper evaluation and therapy is needed to help recover brain function. Some tests that helped to diagnose my problems were: Visual Evoked Potential, Otoacoustic emissions, platform posturography, vestibular-ocular reflex function test (VAT), electronystagmography (ENG). I also had testing at an occupational therapist who specialized in sensory integration issues.

Good luck, hang in there, and let me know if you have any questions.

God bless,

Kimberly