Mine is in my cerebellum on the right side and am wondering if it ever bled would I go blind and forget how to walk and talk? because its in my cerebellum and the cerebellum controls how i move right? Will it only effect that then? or does it not matter?
Hi Chelsea. I did a search on here for you...
http://www.avmsurvivors.org/main/search/search?q=cerebellum
The place of the bleed is essential for the effects that it has. And also the size of the bleed. When someone has a little bleed he or she can life without even notice it, and it doesn't always have effects. Big bleeds could couse more and bigger effects (sometimes life long). And it also has something to do with the side of the brain (opposites). My AVM and CM are on the right side. The risk during my treatment was getting paralised on the left side. I also had defidicts on the left side after the treatment.
you might want to check with your dr. on this, but depnding on the damage of the bleed, the cerebellum controls not only your balance, but also coordination (e.g. multi-tasking, trying to carry multiple things - the occipital lobe is right above (which could impair your vision) Double vision and other vision problems seem to be pretty common...however, I've never heard of the blind thing. The good thing...this experience will make you an awesome problem-solver (without the duct tape).
Mine was also in the cerebellum. The cerebellum is next to the brain stem, so your involuntary responses could be impacted in some ways, but not always. My doctor said the cerebellum is not normally a place where seizures can happen, so that's good. It controls balance, coordination, repetitive tasks (like pushing buttons--when I text, sometimes I will hit a button rapidly a few times without even realizing it) and it's probably a better place in the brain to get an AVM (if there was a "better" part). The brain is also very resilient and can bounce back from some of the worst things and other parts can take up the slack if some function is lost.
The vision thing is called hemianopia. There are different forms of this, depending on where in the occipital lobe an AVM is located, It can go from not a lot of vision lost, to a lot of vision lost, sometimes you lose a quarter of your visual field on the lower outside of each eye. Sometimes the vision returns. I have homonymous hemianopia to the left, which means the AVM was in the right occipital lobe, I did not regain vision. I can't see from center to left in either eye, which means up and down, also. I have had it for over 50 years. (I am 61 and had craniotomy in 1959.) I can't see well in poor or changing lighting or bright light; I cannot see much depth unless there is a lot of light; I read at the speed of a 2nd grader, but comprehend well. I was a paralegal for a lot of years. I have no binocularity, meaning my eyes do not see much 3D. I fall easily, and have injured my poor old body too many times. When I was growing up, no doctor knew what my deal was. No eye doctor, anyway. That is because the eyes are healthy but the brain is not. The problem is not optical, but it is cortical.
beans
People who have it in the cerebellum too?
how big or small was yours? mines 3 to 4 cm but eventhough it seem s small its still scary to me.
how big was yours and where in the cerebellum was it? sorry if i sound nosy...
How old were you when you had a rupture?...and thanks for being so nice and praying for me I appreciate it alot <3
growing up i had this weired thing where I could make myself have double vision...id do it for fun if i wanted to see two people or 4 eyes on a person...sometimes it would do it by its self if i daydream but i can always focous it back...also when i look in the mirror if i relax my eyes then look at my right it would look to the right a little more by its self...isnt that weired?
I hit buttons rapidly on accident sometimes too!!! lol!!! mostly if im trying to type fast though...but the worst is dropping something out of my hand but thats very rare...i sometimes loose my balance out of nowhere though and look like im drunk and wonder what people think...and that makes me feel sort of better...
hi beans, sorry to hear about your vision.
My AVM is on the left occipital lobe about 3cm large. Just like you, before i knew i had an AVM all i know there's something wrong with my eye. But it's not the opposite side, It affects my left eye. I'm 16 and I told my parents about my eye at early age like 5 or 6.
Just like you again, no doctors can't figure this out, and no one could tell that because of the AVM (before my neurologist). The eye doctor said my eye is healthy, just much of the range of vision lost. I can't barely see a thing, my left eye can only define colours, not the shape. Thank God, my right eye still function normally :)
Well, I pray for the best for you beans :)
You know, we all usually learn to compensate for any loss we sustained from our AVMs. I'm just so grateful to still be alive 50 years after the event. Right now, at Christmas, I am pretty sad, but that will pass with the holidays. Alone and holidays do not mix, yet when I do see people, I get antsy to be alone again. Go figure.
beans