been waiting weeks to go for AAA op

You are lucky, I have no idea what size mine is

I dont even know what caused mine

Mine might be fatal, I dunno

I cant even find out how to get mine checked again, it was over a year since it was checked

If I die there aint much I can do about it, I am just doing what I have done for years, I am not going to sit around worrying about it, I'll end up with ulcers

Everyone here will sypathise with you, but you wont get much information, if you want that speaak to your GP, he went to Medical school to give you answers and its what he is paid for (assuming he hasnt moved to Oz)

Well good luck with whatever you find out and do

Dieing aint so bad, its just for such a long time, Life is the longest thing you are ever going to do, make the most of it live each day like its your last, I do, and today is a good day

My repair was open but my nephew surgery was endovascular. His surgery was performed through an incision in the groin and a small one in the upper left chest. His was emergency surgery because he wasn't aware that he had an aneurysm until it dissected. He is 50 yrs old, 6'2, 195lbs. He was very active, infact he was on a treadmill when he noticed a problem. He went to er the following morning because he hadnt recovered from feeling sick the night before. Doctors ordered test only to discover the aneurysm and its dissection. Endovascular is definitely not as invasive or traumatizing to the body but its still heart surgery and carries risk. His main hurdle to overcome was tiredness. Also, his recovery time was a lot less than mine. His surgery was April 14, 2016. He says that he still gets tired faster than normal but not in pain except for occasional brief fleeting pain. His incision looks like a scratch... My aneurysm was monitored for 8yrs before my surgery. When it started to enlarge and doctors said surgery was necessary, it took about 3 months to actually get me to surgery. I know having this knowledge probably has caused a lot of sleepless nights, it did for me but your doctor's truly have your health as their number one concern. Everything has to be in place for them, for you health wise and for your recovery. Continue to get as much information about it as possible, it will help. 7cm seems huge but your height, weight and other factors are taken into consideration as well. I am 57yrs old 5'5" and mine was 5.8 cm by the time I had surgery. I hope you received a little comfort here. It is scary, it's a lot to wrap your head around but you will get through it. Try to take it one day at a time and make sure you have a good support system.

I think the timescale target from diagnosis is approx. 8 weeks. Though you have a large AAA ( mine also was large but at 5.5cm which then triggered the repair process ). Some have grown to 9cm without rupture. Any burst/rupture could be fatal regardless of age.Try to carry on normal though this will obviously be at the back of your mind. Once you've had your consultation they'll soon have you in for surgery. You will probably have evasive surgery rather than open surgery due to age. I'm 68 and had evasive. From my own experience you should not feel any discomfort. I had EVAS performed in preference to EVAR. Slight difference but effectively same process ie Stent. I went in one morning and back home the following evening. The only discomfort I had was having to have a catheter ( to check colour and volume of urine to make sure renal function was ok ) until the following morning. Yes, key hole surgery via groins, no soreness and the 'nicks' are hardly visible. Took it easy for 6 weeks and now doing things as before. Had mine done end June, follow up CT Scan in October and seeing Consultant in November for review. Hope all goes well James but do try to carry on as normal. Regards.

At last, someone who can tell me how they sort these things out,

I thought they opened up your chest and had a good old poke around until they found something

This keyhole surgery sounds a lot better (who want a big zip in their chest anyway?)

But again I have no idea how big or small mine is, but 5cm sound big, no wonder my gut seems to never go down (I hope mine isnt that size yet though)

I do take a rather fatalistic view though, I got Cerebral Malaria a couple of years back, died twice (thanks to the nurses and doctors that bought me back) so nohing is impossible thanks to the NHS and our wonderful doctors/nurses

Thanks to everyone on this thread, its been interesting reading how this has affected them and how they got over it

I wont be jumping in with more comments/views, but I will read them

If it goes belly up for me I'll post that though

Have a good day and an even better life

Hi, I'm here to give you some encouragement.  My husband is 72 years old and was diagnosed with an aortic abdominal anuerysm 10 cm. three and a half months ago. Had no idea he had it.  Went to the doctor for a completely unrelated issue and this is what was found!  A big shock.  He was in a surgeon's office the next day and in the operation room for an Endovascular repair the next week.  He did great and went home the day after the surgery.  He is 6 feet and before the surgery weighed 198.  He was not in any significant pain, only the incisions in the groin area and only took Tylenol.  But he completely lost his appetite and lost about 15 pounds.  Just could not force food down.  This went on for about three week and of course he was tired and weak.  He slowly got his appetite back and has now gained the weight back.  His energy level is improving and I think he will soon be 100%.  During this recovery period, he quit smoking so he has been dealing with that in addition to trying to come back from the surgery.  He goes tomorrow for his three month check of the scan area to make sure everything is in place.  I know you are afraid of your aneurysm bursting, but as you see hey can get pretty big and not burst.  I am kind of glad we didn't know about his but a few days before he had the surgery.  He had been very active, playing golf, doing yard work, lifting heavy objects, just what he had always been doing.  I don't know that there is anything you do that actually causes one to burst or anything you can do to keep it from bursting.   Hang in there for the next two weeks!  I will pray for you to have your surgery soon and recover completely!  😊