My son had his AVM removed 4 months ago. For the past few weeks he has been reporting to me that he has been dizzy most of the time. Yesterday he was dizzy while sitting (at school). He thought getting a drink of water would help. So he got up to get a drink of water and passed out. The school called the ambulance. At the ER they said he was having low blood pressure and gave him a bag of fluids then sent him home.
I'm wondering if the dizziness is from low blood pressure - a side affect after surgery. If so, will it get better?
Michelle: I have not had surgery but I have an extreme low blood pressure that can make me dizzy, especially when I get up from lying to standing or when I am very dehydrated.
So, drinking lots of water is a good idea.
Since your son´s avm is completely obliterated then the blodd pressure is no longer an issue.
Low BP is normally a good sign, but you should talk to the doctor about this just to rule anything out.
Otherwise, the combination of low BP and AVM is a nice combination
since the stress and pressure from high BP is more likely to provoke a hemorrhage.
Kandi: oxygen exchange happens in the capillaries which is the part that is missing in AVM, between arteries and veins. There is therefore no oxygen exchange in an AVM and has never been. The brain tissue merged in an AVM is therefore inert.
High BP put pressure on the AVM since the capillaries has a buffer effect, that means the arteries get lower pressure and the veins a much higher pressure than normal. This causes the arteries to swell up and the veins to curl (the typical appearance of AVM) and can also cause complications such as anurisme and hemorrhage.
If the AVM is large, the nidus can “steal” blood, due to this lack of capillaries , the result is hypoxia (lack of oxygen) to the otherwise healthy tissues in the brain adjacent to the AVM. This can give symptoms such as seizures, headache, vision issues, etc depending where your AVM is located.
Low BP reduce the overall pressure on the AVM which is good ! !
I am sure I have tolerated living with a very large AVM and survived without a hemorrhage due to the very low BP I have
As soon as my BP rise, only slightly, during physical exercise or stress, I get a pulsating feeling in my head, hypoxia, seizures and myoclonic attacks.
Low BP can make me very fatigued and tired, and dizzy if I rise up too fast. but that is a price I am willing to pay for the benefit it gives me.
High BP can be the cause of the “heartbeat pounding and pressure” in your sons head. I can imagine it can cause concern, even if the AVM is obliterated. The best would be to check it out with your hospital to rule things out or to act.
Sorry....i was reading just now and You said you still have yours. How did u find out you even had one?
Kandi: I have had partial/focal seizures since I was 19, they did a MRI back then, but it turned out that they only checked my back since they thought it was MS. So I learned how to live with this strange sensations a long time. Then, 20 years later I became more and more numb and the seizure changed pattern, so I decided to check it out again. This time they did a MRI of my head and the AVM was found.
My AVM was treated 98 & in 2008 it was gone. I was treated with X knife. My side effects are short term memory loss and some confusion. My BP was always good but now its high. The big problem now is ins. problems,memory,change in Dr.
