Hi Have been having pain above my belly button and across the top of my stomach and pulsating above and below the belly button. My gp sent me form an ultra sound scan on my abdomen but nothing was found ...Would an ultra sound scan show up an aortic aneurysm x
Yes. That is how my one was found by chance when they were scanning my gall bladder. It is the standard test for it. They check mine every year.
When there is pain from one it is normally felt in the back but its pulse is felt in the stomach.
Thanks Derek
Thats made me feel better . I do have lower back pain but do have spinal problems as well Thanks for your reply.
Did you have to have surgery x
It would be a very different back pain. They don't operate until it is more dangerous to leave it (over 5cm) than to operate as it is a serious operation. Mine was 3.1cm when found and fourteen years later is 3.6 cm. Another scan due next month.
Thanks Derek
Do you still get abdominel pain and what meds have you to take
I don't get any pain from it nor do I take any meds for it. They say to keep your BP down and take statins. Despite Meds my BP stays high and I gave up on statins due to muscle pains.
I am glad uyou dont get pain now.
Shame about the hogh BP though
I dont have high blood pressure or high colestral thank goodness
Good luck to you Derek
Joyce, I'm sorry. I didn't know where your AA was? Can you complete your profile?...I just figured out how to do mine. I tried to put an updated pic but it kept turning side wards and upside down. I'm in my 20s in this pic. Haa..
About Ultrasounds...they're an excellent start, non invasive compared to CTs. Even MRI is less radiation ... "An abdominal ultrasound is a preventive screening tool that can be used to identify an AAA"...
An ultrasound was actually my first test to rule out Thryroid Nodules that my Mum and older sister had surgery for. There was a nodule that was larger than norm but evidence of an aneurysmal dilatation took precedent and that's what actually started the whole ball rolling...
So I would say YES to the Abdominal Ultrasound.
Here's additional info from this link,with regard to Abdominal U/S for AAA, as I'm sure you would find good helpful info, from this excellent UK website, right here under our noses!
"...Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm - Sono Guide..."
www.sonoguide.com/abdominal_aortic_aneurysm.html
Ultrasound, utilized since the 1980's to inspect the abdominal aorta, is an ideal ... (7,8,9) Kuhn et al. showed that emergency physicians can identify an AAA with ... Most scanning of the aorta will therefore take place in the short distance ... you find a sonographic window between loops of bowel: rock the probe up and down ...
or the one below
Best of Luck, J....Keep on keeping on!!
joanne k.
Emis Moderator comment: I have also added the link below to our leaflet on AAA which is linked in the right sidebar on these discussion pages.
hI Petuniagirl I am not sure if I have an AA.. My GP thought I may have one and sent me for an ultra sound but it came back ok.So I guess I was lucky .x
Thanks.... Do you have info on Endo leak classifications ...for TEVARs?
Sorry...I was just posing that question to the moderator who just checked and okayed my reply to you.
Hi Joyce,
Ultrasound is good start, and probably more reliable for AAAs.
I had an ultrasound about 6 months before they discovered my Thoracic AA, and pretty much in the area of the AA. The ultrasound did not see any sign of it, only a CT at a later date.
However being a Thoracic my symptoms started as the classic back pain many on here have described.
I have since had a CT scan done on my abdomin looking into my messeteric arteries and all was fine
It should, but if not a CT Scan would surely show it. Make sure it is a CT Scan with contrast.
Ultra sound will find any aneurysm - if you have a scan there is little doubt that its proof positive that your artery is ok. I developed that disconcerting pulsing when I was 35 and I was in a very stressful job. I have had it for 20 years but since being prescribed a mild anti depressant in 2011 I don't experience the pulsing very often. 4 years ago I had a AAA while I was in hospital with Salmonella which was diagnosed with Sepsis (blood poisoning). The poisoning also affects and weakens arteries. Post operation I was getting severe panic attacks, the kind where you think you are going to pass out the mild anti depressant was given to me to resolve the panic attacks. Try not to worry as that may well trigger a pulsing episode. I know it is very scarey, one doctor told me that if I have had it for years it can't be anything bad or else we would know by now.