Hello,
Wow, what a blessing this was to find this site last year.  My husband was diagnosed only because a radioligist had gone to a seminar recently.  IN January, he had surgery at UCSF and all was good.  Except for a week later he had a seizure but due to good communication with ER and UCSF it was just a 'angry receovery.'  HEre we are in November and he has been back to work off all meds and BAM, possibly a seizure but he has had a really bad headache for a week.  Here is the Question:  He went to ER on MOnday and they did and MRI and MRA to be sure and the report said there was a blockage but no mention of the bypass.  Back to ER on Wednesday, for possible seizure with nasty headache and the ER doctor says the bypass will not show up on the MRI or MRA and the blockage was the reason for the bypass.  I asked the radiology dept to reread the films from MOnday and they said the blockage was the reason they couldn't see the bypass.  I am extremely confused.  The headaches and other symptoms have slowly returned and I am concerned that the bypass has failed or there is a new blockage lower than where the bypass started.
I realize this is long but I am trying to gather information for doctors appt next week and what direction we need to go in.
Thank you, this group helped us get thru a difficult time and understand there was help.

Hi Ducky,

I have to agree with Mark; usually MM patients remain on some sort of medication after surgery. Like he said, almost always an aspirin and many times some form of anti seizure medication. Because for some reason MM patients are prone to seizure activity, especially after surgery, so they try to control it with anti-seizure medication, which also sometimes helps with the headaches. Every case is different because of each person’s individual factors, but this is what we normally see with MM, and why a doctor with MM experience is so vital.

I’m sorry to say, we can’t really give any more suggestions without knowing more specifics. For example, what type of surgery did he have, the direct or indirect approach? Did he have only one side done? I ask these questions because MM is a progressive disease and bilateral in many cases, so without knowing more information, we don’t know if he could possibly be having problems due MM now on the other side of his brain or whether it’s related to seizures after surgery or what? Plus, if he had indirect surgery, that sometimes just takes time with adults for the needed blood flow to lessen their episodes.

Are the ER doctors experienced with treating MMD? Did the doctor that did his surgery evaluate your husbands’ case yet? I think it’s very important that the neurosurgeon that did his surgery evaluate this or a doctor that is experienced with this rare disease. They would best know all the important factors involved with MMD and can lead you in the best direction for your particular case. We’ve seen cases where it’s simply a matter of blood pressure, and once a MM experienced physician finds the BP level that’s best for that particular MM case, the episodes stop, but we’ve also seen doctors’ who are NOT experienced enough with this disease treat MM cases, and it can create so many problems, in fact it can be dangerous, but we have no way of knowing if this is the case or not. I pray not.

All I can suggest is do your homework and learn all you can about this disease, so no one can lead you in the wrong direction, and stay proactive in getting answers.

My prayers are with you.

Mar