Hi everybody,
I am going in for gamma knife on Monday 7th October. I had a really bad experience with my first angiogram and I am feeling really nervous! Has anybody got any tips for me? Thank you x
I had Gamma knife November 10th 2016, and my advice to you is based on my experience and reading what most say here about the actual treatment, and that is try to relax as much as possible! The folks who did mine were so great it took away a lot of anxiety and fear, combined with knowing the clock to obliteration was getting started. That in itself was worth a ton. I always appreciate and feel in good hands with those who love there job. My crew obviously loved what they did and I found myself perfectly at ease in letting it happen. The āhaloā installation was a little uncomfortable, but I rationalized it again by knowing it was a great step on the journey. I have fond memories of the day which may seem odd, but it was all about the big step in the journey! Take Care, and you do great! John.
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mine was recent almost 5 months agoā¦ fixing and removal of helmet was the hardestā¦ then recovery was taking smoothā¦ just try to relax in process you woudnt feel a thing during gamma knife
Good luck Monday! Iām new here so I hope itās ok to jump in and comment. I too, had unpleasant experiences with angiograms. Nothing really went āwrongā itās just that they triggered nasty migraine type headaches both times I had them. Neuroradiologist said thatās not uncommon, but it made me wary of other procedures. Itās understandable, one uncomfortable medical experience leading to anxiety about the next procedure. But fortunately I didnāt have a bad time with gamma knife treatment. It was really OK. No complications and the time went by quickly despite being wait-listed behind more urgent cases. The discomfort of putting the halo on and off wasnāt fun, but it was quite tolerable (and Iām not all that stoic). They gave me a mild sedative and they use a local anesthetic so itās just a few little punchy pains where they stick the needle. And the sedative made me not mind the restraint. The staff were the right balance of kind and professional so I felt in good hands. The angiogram was more physically uncomfortable (even minus the migraine) and more invasive by far. But in the end theyāre both tolerable. It helped for me to remind myself that I could endure many discomforts and fears in the short term, for the gain of symptomatic relief and treatment of the lesion and reduced risk of complications in the long term. The one thing that did turn out to be worse than expected was the bruising and swelling after I went home. They said I could go back to work as early as two days. Ha! I could barely open my eyes by then. My face was all puffy and bruised which took a good week to settle down enough to go out. And the spots where they attached the halo felt bruised for weeks. But even with that, i felt like gamma knife was not a terrible experience.
Hey there! Iāve had gamma knife twice. I know this is scary to say the least. But it certainly is a more timid medical procedure than a craniotomy! Iāve had that too. Just relax and try to imagine youāre in an episode of star trek! Gamma āknifeā is no cutting involved but you will do great! Hereās a video: https://youtu.be/7ScVu-ZGfu8
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I donāt think anyone has welcomed you to our group as of yet! So on that note welcome! We always welcome comments, and experience wether new or veterans of the site. We all have so much to add from such a wide array of perspectives, its a lot of our āsafe placeā to talk about things most donāt understand. Take Care, John.
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Thank you so much for the welcome John. Tomorrow I go for my follow up cerebral angiogram so Iām a little nervous at the moment. Glad to have found this group.
Catharine
CharlotteLouise, best of wishes for you for Monday.
I had GammaKnife back in September of 2008. I donāt remember much of it since I was sedated. Iāll echo everyone here and just say to relax.
Post surgery, be sure to listen to your body if itās tired. I hope that helps.
Again, best of luck. Please keep us posted.
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So, how did it go? Hope you feeling well today and wishing you success in your treatment.
Catharine
Dear folks, I had gamma knife in 2016 treating my AVM.Since then I am totally healed vein malformation gone and I am at full power and healed.I recommend this great instrument for anybody having neurosurgical issue.
Thank you all for your replies. I got through my gamma knife fine. It wasnāt a pleasant experience but I am so glad it is done.
My AVM is on my occipital lobe (vision) and once a week my vision goes completely blurry for around 30 minutes. I had my gamma knife done on Monday and my eyes have gone blurry on Wednesday and again today (Friday). The last time my eyes went blurry before treatment was Saturday so that means this week my eyes have gone funny 3 times compared to my once a week. Iām not sure if this is normal or how long this is going to go on for but I am hoping this stops really soon. Did anybody with an occipital avm experience similar? Thank you x
Charlotte,
I had scintillating or negative scotomas for a few weeks after my embolization and between me and another member here, we put it down to irritation from the contrast material.
So, if yours are similar, they will become less frequent until one week, I hope youāll realise youāve not had one for some time. However if they donāt fade away or last longer than 30 minutes or so, definitely talk to your doctor.
Hope this helps and well done for getting through your treatment!!
Best wishes
Richard
See here my description of my visual disturbances post embolization.
And the link to scintillating or negative scotomas here
Thank you so much for your reply! On Monday (the day of treatment) I started feeling sick and dizzy after the treatment and I am still the same today. I am dizzy, keep feeling like I am going to be sick, light headed, so tired and I have to be on painkillers 24/7 for headaches and pain from the frame. I am wishing the days away just so I can feel like myself again. It hasnāt even been a week yet but I am so inpatient and just want to feel better. I hope you are well
My pleasure!
I am sure the contrast material messes with your brain and, other than your screw fittings (which I think are very uncomfortable) Iām sure most of your discomfort is from the contrast material clogging everything up, a bit like a bad hangover.
However, if you continue to feel poorly, talk to the nurses. I assume you were given a specialist nurse phone no to ring for any questions.
Iām sure youāll get there. Honest!
Yesssss!!! A very bad hangover is how I have described how I feel! Thatās exactly it. Except I missed the fun bit which is the night before.
I do have a number for the radiosurgery team and if I am still concerned next week I will give them a call just to put my mind at ease really. Hoping it passes very fast! Also hoping one day I might find some patience!!!
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Does your blurry vision start small and grow? Does it cover part of your vision? If so, it sounds like a scotoma of some sort and I hope will become less frequent as the contrast material is dispersed. It took several weeks for mine to go away.
It starts where my eyes blur a little bit but then really soon after that like less than 5 minutes both eyes are completely blurry and I canāt really see much. It covers both eyes all over. I used to get this once every 6 months and then it started once a month and now it is usually once a week but since the treatment I have already had it twice and had it just 2 days before the treatment so 3 times in a week is a lot more than usual for me. Before my Avm was discovered I thought these were migraines I was having as when my eyes go blurry I always get a headache pain behind my right eye
Scotomas are often a migraine āauraā but I would guess yours are driven by your AVM. The contrast material has probably upset everything and/or the radiotherapy has. The fact that they grow from a small area and last no more than 30 minutes sounds like a scotoma to me but if it goes on for longer than we think or youāre worried about them, it is always worth asking the neuroradiology nurses. I do think they usually donāt block out all sight. For me, it was just the central vision really. Peripheral vision stayed there (though you donāt actually see much detail with your peripheral vision). I canāt exactly remember how much of my sight was affected but it sounds less than yours.
Keep an eye on it! 
Yes it does only usually last around 30-40 minutes. Occasionally it can last quite a bit longer but that isnāt very common for me. I have experimented when my eyes go āfunnyā and tried covering up different parts of my eyes and looking different ways and it seems to effect every single part of my eyes. It is an awful feeling every time my eyes go āfunnyā and it makes me dizzy and makes me feel sick. Iām starting to doubt myself now wondering if I made th right decision to go ahead with gamma knife. I have been feeling very anxious since I had it done and canāt sleep at night because I have heart palpitations with anxiety and I am scared to sleep incase it bleeds in my sleep. I am such a worrier. So sorry about my dramatic self