Hi itsme!

I'm Kevin's (cubbie) sister Lore.  Kevin had swooshing noise in his ears.  We were told the swooshing noise is the blood trying to flow past the blockage. Obviously, he hasn't heard the swooshing since he had bypass surgery.

Have you had surgery or are you awaiting surgery?

Thank you so much for your input guys....Yep, I think it's time for me to get this bypass. I've been dealing with this for quite some time and if the bypass can take care of this, it's a "good thing." I hate the noise, but confirms
my MM.....

Thank you again and hope all of you are looking forward to a wonderful 3 day TIME OUT from WORK/SCHOOL etc.

LOL,
itsme

Hi Roz,

In Dec. 2002 I had the STA-MCA surgery on my left side.  I felt pretty good for about a year and then started having MM symptoms again.  The wooshing noise returned, I had problems with my speech and words, tingling/numbness etc.  I wasn't sure what was going on although I really thought it was the other side that I didn't have surgery on (my right) that was probably the problem.  It turned out that it was the original side that was still causing me problems.  In fact the MM had progressed to the basilar area which I understand is fairly rare. I consulted with several neurosurgeons at this point, some told me there was nothing further that could be done. I saw Dr. Steinberg who told me he could "try" to do an indirect surgery, but there were no guarentees.  I ended up having surgery again in April and my neurosurgeon here in Chicago did indeed do the indirect bypass (again said no guarantee) but surprised me, during surgery, by also tacking on the direct bypass by using the occipial artery.  I had two surgeries in one- the indirect overlay and a OA-MCA direct.

Roz, did the swooshing noise just recently start up again?  Are you having any other symptoms or TIAs that you weren't experiencing until lately?  If so, I would definately get it checked out, otherwise, if the wooshing is normal for you I wouldn't worry too much about it.  Everyone experiences different things with MM, both before, during and after the corrective surgeries.

What I hope my experience shows to everyone is to remind us that there is no cure for MM.  That has been written in medical journals time and time again.  BUT, surgery is a treatment, the best and only treatment that they know of right now.  Could the surgery not work?  Could the MM progress, even after surgery, 10 years down the road?   It's a possibility.  I just want to remind everyone to always pay close attention to their bodies, even after surgery.  If at any time you just don't feel right again, show any signs/symptoms of MM, do not hesitate to contact your neurologist/neursurgeon and get it checked out via MRI/MRA or an angio if necessary.  I don't mean to scare anyone, not my intention at all, but I don't want anyone to take the surgeries for granted and think all will definately be A-OK just because you have had a surgery.  I know there are a couple of other people on this board that have had to have repeat surgeries.  It's not the "norm" but it can happen.

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for your post.

The swooshing has been a background thing for years though I've only really noticed it after my surgeries, I think. I can't even remember mentioning it to my doctors as I thought it was normal. I think I might bring it up at my annual appointment in August though. The only different thing I've been experiencing are the dizzy spells though, this is looking like it's more ear related than Moya Moya.

I'm scheduled for an MRI scan soon - my apponment came through for August but I am away on the date they have in mind so it's being rescehduled. That should be reassuring and am waiting for an appointment with an ear specialist for the dizziness.

Thanks for your advice, Lisa.

Best wishes,

Roz