Symptoms Of PTSD After Thoracic, Abdominal Aneurysm Repair Surgery
Aug 13, 2015
Hi!
I am a 54 year old female who underwent a thoracic, abdominal aneurysm repair surgery 8 months ago. The aneurysm was 5.5 to 5.6 centimetres and essentially the aorta was repaired from my heart to my kidneys. I would like to discuss my recovery. I am still not up to my usual level of energy in that I still have to rest if I have not taken it easy. During the surgery the left side of my ribs were clamped open and I find myself still favouring that side of my body. eg: protecting my ribs with my hands if I am in a crowded area. But, what has really stumped me is a feeling of panic and anxiety. I had imagined that after the aneurysm was repaired that I would feel relieved. I AM most grateful but sometimes I feel dissociated from my body and I feel depressed a lot of the time...which was not a usual occurrence before the surgery. It feels as if for the 18 years that I knew about the aneurysm I lived in a mild state of anxiety as to whether or not it would rupture or if and when I would have major surgery. Now, that it's repaired I feel like I have to learn to live in a different way....kind of like when I was a child and went skating all afternoon and then took off my skates. It felt strange to walk in boots. I know it's a silly analogy but it feels like I have to learn to walk again. Is there anyone else that has felt this panic or does anyone have symptoms of PTSD following their surgery?
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Approximately 8 years ago, doctors discovered a 4.6cm aneurysm in my aorta during routine testing in preparation for an upcoming surgery. Fast forward 8yrs later my aneurysm has increased in size to 5.8cm so everyone in these forums know what that means...its surgery time! I've had echoes and CT Scans every 6 months as this appears to be the wait and watch approach when aneurysms are under 5cm.. My aneurysm was slow growing until the last 18 months. At least 3 CT scans were missed and the echoes didn't clearly show growth. Now, I am terrified out of my mind about having an "open repair". It has been brought to my attention that because of the location of my aneurysm, I am not a candidate for an "endovascular repair". Imagine my disappointment. My anxiety level is at an all time high and I am symptomatic. Chest heaviness and back pain coupled with migraine headaches. Apart of me realizes that these surgeries are done rather routinely now but that still doesn't stop the horrendous fear I have. I have had severe allergic reactions to meds in the past. I'm not a good sleeper generally and now its worst. I have to schedule my surgery by June, to have at least 6 months of recovery time before my family cruise in Dec.. I am a 56yr old female veteran. I used to run least east 3 miles a day and Jazzercise at least 5 days a week until I was told to stop by my cardiologist. I have since gained about 15 lbs in these last 8yrs but other than that, no high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes. My doctors assure me that I am a perfect candidate and shouldn't experience any complications but the idea of my sternum being cut open and just the entire procedure is frightening. What's more concerning is once you have aneurysm in one place, another could eventually show up somewhere else in the future. I've also been told that these repairs can require maintenance in the future! Its all just a little too much but knowing the alternative..carrying around a ticking time bomb, I have to have the surgery. I know people that survived a couple yrs after the surgery, had to have some type of maintenance and never truly recovered and died. My niece fiancé was life alighted to the hospital in mid March with a dissection, he is currently and the road to recovery. I have a lot of family support but of course they are all concerned as well. The saga continues..
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I am wondering if any of you have this and what the threshold is before a surgery is required. I do not have any heart valve issues. What are your experiences with abdominal (and thoracic) aortic aneurysms?
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I had a 2D echo last week and found 4.6 thoracic aortic aneurysm.
Cardiologist has prescribed blood pressure medicine. Shall I go ahead for surgery or wait till become 5 cm. I am 37 yrs old. I play volleyball every day. Is it ok to continue or stop?
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My younger sister aged 50 was diagnosed with TAA of 5.1 cm in January and operated in February due to her small frame. She is recovering well which is encouraging. I have been meaning to go and have a check myself but kept putting it off. I went to my GP 2 weeks ago and he immediately picked up a murmur. Echo followed by a CT scan confirmed I also have an aneurysm but mine is still at 4.27 and I am 55 years old. Clearly we have a genetic disposition but mine is growing more slowly (so far) . I am in shock and still cannot get my head round it. I am fit, practise yoga, follow mainly a vegetarian diet, don't smoke, hardly drink and do not have high blood pressure. I am now now in 'watchful waiting' and will have another CT scan in 6 months time. I have been advised to take Beta Blockers and was wondering how patients react to them. I have a professional job in sales and need to keep my energy up. I have off course been considering giving up work but sitting at home waiting for my aneurysm to grow will not help me. I would also like to know if aneurysms always grow and if I need to accept that mine will be bigger by the time I have my next CT?
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I have recently been diagnosed with an thoracic aortic aneurysm and a badly damaged left ventricular valve. The aneurysm is 5.9cm and on the arch at the top of my heart. It was found by accident when I had a ct scan for difficulty swallowing then further tests followed which found that the 'murmur' I was diagnosed with 7 years ago had deteriorated so badly the left ventricular valve would have to be replaced with a mechanical one. At the moment I am waiting for a final visit with the surgeon before being given a date for the op. The thing is I feel perfectly fine, I have no pain, no shortness of breath, have as much energy as always and in fact feel fit as a fiddle. I am 58 and have kept as upbeat as possible about all this, but my family are distraught with worry about the 10 - 15% chance that I won't make it through the surgery (national statistics) and the possibility of stroke or paralysis. My dad had an aortic aneurysm (unknown to him) and it ruptured, he survived the surgery but died 3 months later having never left the hospital. This was only 4 years ago and my mum is now sick with worry, literally, about me. I am worried that I will never get back to how I am now, that I will become reliant on family and friends. Its usually me who helps the family with the children and my mum. I live alone but have family close by and my ex husband (who is my best friend) has been a great support. My family, bless them, are fussing around and not letting me do anything and I know I would be the same if I were in their shoes but I feel like an invalid although I should be grateful for their concern. I am feeling so confused, I refuse to cry about this and I am holding myself so tightly together but seeing my families tears is breaking me up. I am putting my 'healthy self' up for a life threatening, painful operation. Has anyone else been in a similar position and could give a few words of encouragement?
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If you have a 75 yr old female Alzheimer patient with a severely distended stomach, a CT scan showing fluid in the stomach and a confirmed abdominal aorta aneurysm measuring almost 4 cm and the patient is in pain with troubled breathing, what is the proper medical progression in treating this patient?
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My AAA is currently 4.5 and monitored quarterly so I may need surgery sooner or later. But I also have Atrial Fibrillation and am concerned this may be a stumbling block for surgery? Anyone know? I take warfarin for the AF which is also monitored regularly.
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I recently felt that i can look at my abdominal aorta pulsate near my epigastric region. I can look at it when i hold my breath and also when i am in a lying position... Is it normal or do i have to check for AAA. I am quite confused. Recently i had lower back pain but it was due to a disc prolapse.
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I wonder if anyone has any info on "AAA".. during a routine physical checkup 2 months ago I had an ultrasound to follow up on "fatty liver" that was noted on a previous ultrasound 3 years ago. Well; I still have fatty liver and in addition they found a "mild" aortic aneurysm, fortunately found while still small. 3.2 cm diameter and 2.0 cm length, and also noted a 3.0 cyst upper pole of the right kidney, all other organs appear normal. The only advice I was given was to monitor with an ultrasound every year to make sure it's not growing. Dr. did not seemed concerned with the cyst on the kidney. Well; of course I am concerned !! I live in Honduras and plan on traveling to the Cleveland Clinic in Florida in October for a complete evaluation. That will be 6 months since the initial diagnosis. In the meantime; has anyone experienced something similar? do these AAA's tend to grow? has anyone had a cyst on the kidney do they tend to become malignant? I sure would appreciate anyone with any knowledge of these 2 conditions because I am "clueless".
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The thought of surgery down there is bad enough, But I do remember them shaving me for a forceps delivery and when the stitches healed the pain was made worse by the itching from the shaving. I am a rectocele with perineum repair.. will they shave? Am I best to get the area waxed instead?
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Can I ask anyone who have been diagnosed with aortic aneurysm did you have symptoms before the diagnosis
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Just curious what kind of symptoms did anybody have from an aortic aneurism?
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I was recently diagnosed with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The difference between C-ptsd and PTSD is that Complex happens over an extended period of time, and usually originates in childhood. Whereas PTSD is typically a one-time traumatic event (such as rape, war, etc).
After spending my entire life in pain, confusion, and emotionally abusive relationships, I finally have an answer. While it is a big relief, the process of recovery is not easy. I feel like there are two versions of me: The chameleon who has put on a good act and adapted for the sake of everyone else, and the real me, who has been hidden all these years. I'm just now starting to get to know the real me.
This is a relatively new diagnosis, and it didn't make it into the new DSM, but I read where someone said that Complex PTSD is at the core of a great many mental health issues.
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I have been constipated for years, I have swelling and tenderness in my left quadrant of my stomach slightly above/near my belly button. Around mid february I noticed that when I lay on my left side I get a tingling sensation and numbness with pulsating throbs through to my back. It stops when I turn over on my right side. I went to the ER and they said I have an umbilical hernia, however very small and shouldn't be causing this much pain. I hurt from my ribcage to my hipbone. I am having a colonoscopy done on friday because I thought my colon was causing the pain because I am severely constipated, however Im starting to think I might have an aortic aneurysm after researching some. has anyone had any similar complications? as I'm writing this my left side of my body aches. from my ribs down to my toes. its really strange. I'm worried because I have 2 kids and a husband. My feet are always cold, I figure I already have poor circulation...and I've always said I would die from an aneurysm.
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i had all the tests . My aorta has a aneurysm of 6.5 it is also split from one end to the other . . its pushing on my lung making me short of breath . I also have parkinson's . and have a deep brain stimulator to help my PD because of this Broad Green keep putting it off what can i do?
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My mom had been complaining of back pain for the past few months and was taking Robaxacet to fix the pain and it seemed to work ,she called it the miracle pill. Unfortunately and of me telling her to go get it checked out ,she did not and now has passed away and will be missed dearly and she was such a beautiful lady . She just turned 72 in Oct. Within 40 mins, she passed away and we found out today from the coroner that she passed away from a ruptured aortic aneurysm and he said that she went very fast and did not feel any pain and even if she was at hospital there was nothing that could have been done. I will miss her dearly and it is so painful because it is so unexpected and so sudden. I regret not pushing her more to go get her back checked out because they might have found the aneurysm and been able to fix it. I have just looked for the first time since I found out earlier exactly what it meant that she passed away from and the coroner said she would not have felt anything ,it would have just been like falling asleep and that has made me feel abit better because she was alone and I hate the thought that she died alone. I just wish she would have gotten her back checked out and then they would have found this and maybe saved her life and fixed it. She seemed to also ,for the past months have a hard time going shopping and being on her feet for to long , she would sort of burn out faster than normal and she was seeing her doctor because she was diagnosed with borderline diabetes and had 2 months to lose abit of weight and change her eating habits, she did everything she was suppose to and the doctor never picked up on this and this is something I do not understand because she had so many different bloodwork done for this and other things and is it possible that this was overlooked because I was also told that she had a lot of plaque and her cholesterol and was on medication for that. I don't understand why this was not found at all. With the high cholesterol why wouldn't a chest xray been done to make sure her heart was ok and also her aorta? If anyone has any kind of answer to my questions it would be much appreciated and comforting to know , anything about this and why it was not found. I loved her dearly ,she was my best friend ,my confidant and I will miss her so much, my life has changed drastically over this and I will never be the same person I was 3 days ago.
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I wondered if anyone has had issues with rectal bleeding a few years after major anorectal and abdominal surgery to repair a rectal prolapse.
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The doctor said the lung tissue is possible (mild) pneumonia. I'm less concerned about that, and I'm being treated with antibiotics. However, I have no idea what "degenerative change is present in the thoracic spine" means. He said nothing about that, but he's an allergy/asthma specialist, so it's not really his field...
Here's what the whole thing says:
"Minimal linear infiltrate is present in the left base. The lungs are otherwise clear. The cardiomediastinal silhouette is normal size and configuration. No pneumothorax or pleural effusion is identified. The pulmonary vascularity is normal. Minimal degenerative change is present in the thoracic spine."
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Im looking for some advice,I have been diagnosed with cervical rib on both sides and also thoracic outlet syndrome. I have had loads of tests and been told I have got to have the ribs removed but before they can do anything I have got to have one more test that is a VENOGRAM of the upper limbs, they have told me I will need anorectic and I will be in for the day but I'm still none the wiser of what they are doing other than having the dye. I was hoping someone on here has had it done and could tell me more about this procedure.
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I (have) had Thoracic outlet syndrome. It took approx 8 years to figure out what I had. Finally found a doctor I could agree with. He found cervical ribs both right and left. Only had symptoms on my right side. Pretty sure symptoms were brought on by a car accident (whiplash). Anyway.. Had the cervical rib removed and the first rib removed along with the scalene muscle that was in a spasm. It has been 5 weeks and I am still taking pain meds, although I am finally starting to feel some relief. Not ready to quit the pain meds though. Although I'm gonna have to since my dr wants me off them. Wish he could feel this pain. My chest is numb but it is painful underneath. It burns like heck and the muscles, or it may be the fascia that runs from my neck to my chest that is so tight it kills me. I try to do my stretches but it hurts. Mornings are awful. Be prepared to not sleep at first. I am thankful to have found this site. You feel like you are the only one out there who has been through this since it is such a rare anomaly. If you are going to have this surgery prepare yourself for not only the pain but the mental challenge of being in pain for so long. You will have some really down days.
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