Dizziness post embolization, left parietal/occipital AVM

Hello all. My 10 yr old has experienced dizziness, more so each morning post embolization. As well as a frontal headache. These are the same symptoms that lead to his diagnosis. He is expecting 2 more embolizations followed by gamma knife radiation. My question is what can I do to help with the dizziness, and will it ever go away???

Hi Amy, its great you’re here, welcome! A lot of experience on the site and many with embolization experience. I went straight to Gamma Knife so when that comes closer I’m more than happy to pass along my experience and answer any question you may have. Folks will most certainly chime in who have been there, so to speak. I wish the best for your son and you. Take Care

Hi John,
Thank you for being there. I can see that this group will be a great resource for us on this journey.
Amy

Amy,

How soon are you post embolisation? I was having dizziness. Immediately post op I felt worse, if anything. 6 months down the line and an “all clear” (no more embos required) I’m getting better month by month rather than instantaneously.

If he is very soon post op, it would not be a surprise still to be dizzy, perhaps. Equally, if he needs more embos or gamma to fix the AVM then the dizziness may be to do with one of those later stages.

One cautionary note was my radiologist said he might not fix the dizziness but he was obviously aiming to reduce my stroke risk back to that of a normal person of my age.

Best wishes

Richard

Hi Richard,
It’s been 2 weeks since my son’s first embolization. He just feels horrible. Mainly in the mornings. He is dizzy, headache, and everything is “slanted”. These are the symptoms that lead to his diagnosis, but they were sporadic before. Now the are constant. He has missed nearly every day of school post op. My fear is that he will remain in this state. Hoping that the future procedures improve rather than worsen his symptoms.
Thanks,
Amy

I can’t tell you how it will play out for him but 2 weeks is very early. If he’s got more work to be done, I can imagine it might make things much worse until those are complete.

My story post embo…

http://www.avmsurvivors.org/t/my-update-dural-avf-embolization/16916/22

Richard,
I can’t thank you enough for sharing your story. Some days it’s just so hard to see past the current situation. It’s nice to see your progress. With my son being so young I try to remain optimistic that his young healthy body will accommodate and heal quickly. I just want this AVM ordeal to be a distant memory, when in reality we are just in the beginning stages of our journey.
Thanks,
Amy

Hey, Amy,

I was browsing and thought I should ask after your son. Is he still as dizzy as post op? Has he had any more embolisations? I seem to think you said he had several stages to go through.

Hope you’re both doing well,

Richard

Richard,
My son is actually doing quite well! Just within the last week and a half the headaches and dizziness have vanished. It just took time to recover. His right peripheral vision has been affected, and he says that his vision is always “slanted”. He goes for his 2ND embolization Friday. Now I will have a better idea of what to expect with recovery. Thank you for checking in on us.
Amy

Amy,

I’m glad he’s doing well. I think whilst embolisation is a pretty uninvasive treatment, all the tissue around the embolisation gets pretty upset at the foreign body being there, including the solvent, and takes at least a couple of weeks to calm down.

Very best wishes for Friday!

Richard