Hi everyone,

Greeting from Vietnam :).

I have been home for almost a week. Still feel tired and need more time to rest.

I had the follow-up angiogram on Sept. 2, 3 months from my surgery in late May. It was a tight schedule but I was still so disapointed that I couldn't hear my test results from Dr. Steinberg before my departure on Sept. 6.  I tried to contact Teresa after that but she was away.

I still haven't heard anything from Stanford yet. I take rest at home now but feel weaker and more headaches than before the angiogram. I also feel dizziness when trying to stand up from a squatting position. A strange thing is that I didn't have those symptoms after my pre-surgery angiogram in another hospital.

Please let me know if anyone have similar experience.

Thanks.

Ha

Hi Ha,

All the way in Vietnam?  ;;D  I was interested in hearing that you already had an angiogram.  I too had my STA-MCA in late May, May 27 to be exact.  At first, a local neurosurgeon suggested that I have an angiogram 6 months post-op, but my original neurosurgeon recommended I wait closer to a year to let the "in-direct" part of the surgery have time to regrow new vessels. (gee..I hope I worded that correctly)  That way, we could check everything one time, and I wouldn't have to have 2 angios in a year if not necessary.  Of course, if I have symptoms, etc. that would change everything.

I know that no 2 surgeries are alike, so this may explain why you had your angio sooner.  I read on another post that Teresa may be on vacation, but gotchlorine (Jill) suggested this to someone else who wanted to ask Teresa a question.  
Quote:

gotchlorine wrote: "Have you tried Joli?  Her email address is jvavao@stanfordmed.org.  Yes, Teresa is on a well-deserved vacation, but Joli's great, too, and I'm sure you'll get some answers from her!"

  Therefore, I would try and contact Joli in Teresa's absence.

I hope your questions are answered...I know how the feeling of "waiting" and "wondering" can be.  Take care and try not to worry, Ha. You're in good hands.  ;) I'm praying for the best...

Take care,
Shan

Ha,

You must have left Stanford right about the time we got there, last week :)

I'm sorry that you are feeling so bad.  Hopefully it is a temporary thing -- I know that you can react differently each time you have a procedure, so one time you might sail through, but the next time, you might have more difficulties  :-/

I agree that with Shan that you should keep trying Dr. Steinberg's office.  Try Jolie, or you could also email or call Dr. Steinberg -- he's probably the one you really need to talk to, anyway.  Probably things are busy with Teresa on vacation, but you should be able to get your results.  

We are waiting on Daphne's SPECT study results, too, so I know a little bit how you feel (although at least we know that her angiogram looked good).

Good luck!
Jenny

Thanks Jenny and Shan. I e-mailed Joli yesterday and am still waiting to hear from her. I will try to make a call from Vietnam next week if there are no responses.

Shan:
Dr. Steinberg at first suggested me to have the follow-up test in November. Because my student visa expires in Sept. and it's better to have them done in the States than in anywhere else, I made the tests earlier. For those are in the U.S. please feel fortunate that you can get treatments much easier than others.  In fact, am I not only waiting to hear of the surgery's result, but also whether I will need to take another surgery on the other side.


Jenny: I hope Daphne's Spect studies will be good. Is an angiogram' result  the most important factor? My Spect studies pre and post-surgery all looked good.

Wish you all the best,

Ha