I have a simple question: December 10 I have a flight for London (I'm from Italy) but I am a little bit worried. I had a brain bleed due to my AMV (back left of head, 4cm big) in July. Doctors did not operate me because the bleed stopped by its own, but I had to stay in Hospital for a month: I had to stay in bed for "just" a few days and then they told me that I could walk around a little bit. I had also lost the left vision, but now everything is fine.
I asked doctors about this journey, and they say things like:"you can go, but remember that the risks are always there".
Anyone had experience of this type? To you, is it too soon to fly?
I hope my English is understandable :) Thank you all! x
I had the same fear but my neurosurgeon was happy to clear me…if their saying this then it must be a risk with the pressure from flying…maybe they also want to cover themselves but if it was me personally I wouldn’t be flying…I would look at other options…God bless!
Unfortunately I've already planned this journey :( what do you mean with "my neurosurgeon was happy to clear me"? Does it mean that they said to you that you could go? I experienced very long flight before knowing mt illness.. but now that I had a bleed I'm scared..
Thank you so much for your answer! I'm scared but I read that many of you did fly without problem.. hope that for me it will be the same... Really, thank you Louisa. You're experience makes me feel better about the flight. Did you do something in particular to keep yourself calm or to prevent possible headaches? It is not my first flight of course, but now that I had a bleed I'm a bit scared.
Have to say that even 6 months after my hemorrhage, I was in a zone and just didn't think much about it.
My sister arranged my flight ... up front near the flight attendant to watch over me...here's the funny part of the story....there was a doctor on the flight (I believe they give those seats to them in case they are needed)....However, the doctor's husband sat in my seat and I had to ask him to leave...he wasn't nice about it. Being a nice person, I told him he could have my seat 1/2 way through the trip, BUT he didn't even say thank you....Some people are just so rude.
I think that the secret is just that: we should not think too much about that and just have a normal life! Yes sometime I can't even understand how people can be so rude with others.. anyway, you managed to enjoy your flight and I'm really happy about that. Hope that now you're doing well with your AVM. Thank you again for your comment. xx
My doctor said there is always a risk of anything happening in the air, if it happens, it’s just bad luck. Just prepare the best that you can for your peace of mind. Wishing you all the best
Your English was great. You have already made the choice to live and get on with your life. As others have said, there is always a risk of a rebleed. And there is uncertainty about the triggers. I hope for the best for you. Enjoy your trip!
Nyanele, Know I'm not going to say this was a smart idea, but after I had the radiation, a month later, I went scuba diving...which was my beloved thing to do and nothing happened....But six months later, I was just cleaning my rugs when I had my hemorrhage. So...in my case I believe if it was going to happen...it happened doing something I didn't like. LOL
Thank you, your comment makes me feel more positive! I am aware that there is always a risk of rebleed, but I really do not want my life to be dominated by fear. I really thank you for your wishes!! I will post some photos of my trip for all of you if everything goes right ;) xx
Wow Louisa you are an anveturer! ahahah! Something similar happened to me: I drank alcoholics, I travelled to America, UK, Russia and so on, I used to have parties and go to bed very late at night..... all things that doctors said I should stop doing... but I kept doing. My hemorrhage happened... just after a 5h Russian exam! Sometimes life is really weird
I got cleared because I had brain surgery so it was something to check…like you I was scared because of my bleed also but I think this is normal as humans… God bless!
My neurologist said it was fine to fly because planes are "pressurized". She constantly reminds me that every day I wake up there will be risks. She helps me keep things in perspective. Of course there are risks for EVERYONE who wakes up each day! In 1975, when I first bled while in another state, I was put on a plane home not even knowing what was wrong! I'm just grateful for every day I wake up.
Wow Karen, I really thank you for letting me know your opinion and a part of your story. What a crazy and scary experience you did! I'm happy that now you're ok and like you, I am grateful to be here to enjoy life. I wish you the best!
Hi Nyanele I think Maya had the same problem as you.
I have been 2 years post op and have been told by my surgeon I can fly. But I live in New Zealand and if I need to go back to the UK, this will be a 36 hour flight!!
I have done a 2 hour flight last year and had no problems.
A lot of surgeons do "cover their backside" by saying their is risk, however I feel you had a bigger problem with your AVM than I did. I didn't lose any of my senses and it was a quite straight forward operation.
If I was you I would get as much confirmation from your surgeons as possible.
Before my AVM was diagnosed, I used to do the fight from NZ to the UK at least every two years. I don't know if this was ever coincidence or what, but I had no problem taking off, but when I was in final decent for landing, I used to get awful sinus pains around my left eyebrow. This never went away for at least a day or so when I was on the ground. I did suffer from nasal problems, getting a runny nose every time I flew, so it could just be me increasing pressure in my sinus's due to nose blowing.
However I didn't know I had an AVM then, and my AVM, when diagnosed, was in my left frontal lobe above my left eye.
Both could be completely unrelated, however since having this awful AVM business, you do tend to think back of anything you may have had over the years before it being diagnosed.