I am 54 years old, married almost 31 years, and have 4 children aged 21 to 29 years of age. My husband and I, as well as my parents, live on a small farm just outside of Brockville, Ontario and I work as a legal assistant. My overall health is good or so I thought until my last checkup. I did suffer for many years from cluster migraines but for some reason they stopped about 10 years ago, for which I am grateful. I was told that cluster migraines mainly affect men and it seems that AAA mainly affect men as well - or else it's mainly men who post? Goodness, at this rate what next - testicular cancer?
At my regular physical exam last Friday the nurse practitioner found that I have an "enlarged aorta" and called in the doctor for confirmation. He said there was a bulge in my abdomen and was probably an aortic aneurism. He was able to schedule an ultrasound for next week - which is kind of scary because usually you wait so long for tests to be scheduled. He advised that depending on the size of the aneurism that surgery could be necessary.
Now I'm only 54, with no history of problems with heart or blood pressure. I was very obese until recently and have just finished losing 110 lbs. I guess I've probably had this bulge all along but they just couldn't find it :).
I've started my own research and am becoming terrified by what I'm finding out. I feel like I have a time bomb in me right now. Apparently this condition is not usually found in the doctor's office but mostly by abdominal x-rays for other conditions...so if there is a noticeable bulge I can only feel that it's large enough for surgery; and the surgery sounds like it's major.
I'm so angry - for years I didn't take care of myself and now that I've reached my proper weight, work-out regularly, and enjoy my time with my husband and family (especially since the kids have left home) I get hit with this. Just doesn't seem fair.
Sorry for the whining - my husband is out of town this week and I can't tell my parents or kids about this. I'm praying really hard that the ultrasound finds just a little tiny bulge that will just go away on it's own. I've had two scares in the past 2 years with breast lumps that turned out to be nothing so who knows - maybe good news comes in threes also.