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Ruptured brain aneurysm
A recent terrifying experience.
We had been talking for about twenty minutes. The conversation was highly charged, and she’d been crying heavily about her mom. Then, she suddenly started to moan.
“Oh my god,” she cried, “I’ve never felt this pain before. Oh my god. My head is killing me.”
I didn’t want to get off the phone while she was in pain, so I asked her to describe it. In between sharp inhalations, she said there was a stabbing pain in one eye; she felt dizzy and thought she might throw up. The light from her window became dazzling, and the back of her neck was horrifically stiff.
Here are the most important words:
“I’ve never had a headache like this before.”
I suggested a cold cloth on her neck and another on her forehead. I told her to lie down but keep her head elevated. It didn’t help. She took Aleve.
We stayed on the phone for another hour; she said it was getting worse. In my ignorance, I thought it was from the heavy crying and emotional distress she was experiencing.
Wrong.
Later that day, I sent a text asking if Aleve had worked. No, it hadn’t, and a friend was bringing Tramadol. Was it safe to use alongside Aleve? A quick check to www.drugs.com suggested that…
