Overstressed
Senior Member
- Messages
- 406
- Location
- Belgium
Hello friends,
as some of you might have read in another topic here, I'm suffering from a thoracic aortic aneurysm, which was diagnosed last October by my cardiologist. The TAA measures 1.77 inch, and last year(2011) it was 1.57 inch. This is a big increase in only one year. If it reaches 1.96 inch, it becomes critical, and life-threatening.
In the meantime, I had two independent consultations with specialists on syndromes where this aneurysm might be involved: marfan, Behcet, Ehlers-Danlos, Reiter, psioriasis... None of the consulted instances think I suffer Ehler-Danlos, Behcet or Marfan. One of the instances test me on genetic mutations which are seen and known with these illnesses. Results are to be expected within 3 to 6 months. They also test me on the known mutations that are responsible for TAA. Of course, the known genes involved is just the top of the iceberg, there are still a lot to be discovered, and are not known, yet.
So, most likely, my answer is not to be found in that area. So, I went searching, seen the nature of how my illness started, and to my surprise(and not), people infected with HIV have complications during their illness, of which TAA is surely one of them. This HIV-TAA differs from the 'normal' TAA such, that with HIV+ people, the TAA occurs with relatively young people, and is called in the literature 'pseudo TAA'. Tissue biopsies clearly show a different picture as with 'normal' TAA. Another feature of HIV related TAA is, that it's agressively progressiv, meaning, the aorta is becoming wider over a much shorter period of time. Most of the specialist don't know this, and I'm sure my cardiologist doesn't know either, since he wants to see me back, next year October, most likely I'm dead by then.
Since I was diagnosed having CFS, I'm wondering whether there are friends here suffering from the same? If not, I'm wondering if I have another illness? There are some folks here on the forum, of which the illness started the same way as mine, then they should check with their cardiologist if they are in danger. If the aorta ruptures, you might be dead by the time you say 'HELP'.
Best wishes,
OS(incredibly worried).
as some of you might have read in another topic here, I'm suffering from a thoracic aortic aneurysm, which was diagnosed last October by my cardiologist. The TAA measures 1.77 inch, and last year(2011) it was 1.57 inch. This is a big increase in only one year. If it reaches 1.96 inch, it becomes critical, and life-threatening.
In the meantime, I had two independent consultations with specialists on syndromes where this aneurysm might be involved: marfan, Behcet, Ehlers-Danlos, Reiter, psioriasis... None of the consulted instances think I suffer Ehler-Danlos, Behcet or Marfan. One of the instances test me on genetic mutations which are seen and known with these illnesses. Results are to be expected within 3 to 6 months. They also test me on the known mutations that are responsible for TAA. Of course, the known genes involved is just the top of the iceberg, there are still a lot to be discovered, and are not known, yet.
So, most likely, my answer is not to be found in that area. So, I went searching, seen the nature of how my illness started, and to my surprise(and not), people infected with HIV have complications during their illness, of which TAA is surely one of them. This HIV-TAA differs from the 'normal' TAA such, that with HIV+ people, the TAA occurs with relatively young people, and is called in the literature 'pseudo TAA'. Tissue biopsies clearly show a different picture as with 'normal' TAA. Another feature of HIV related TAA is, that it's agressively progressiv, meaning, the aorta is becoming wider over a much shorter period of time. Most of the specialist don't know this, and I'm sure my cardiologist doesn't know either, since he wants to see me back, next year October, most likely I'm dead by then.
Since I was diagnosed having CFS, I'm wondering whether there are friends here suffering from the same? If not, I'm wondering if I have another illness? There are some folks here on the forum, of which the illness started the same way as mine, then they should check with their cardiologist if they are in danger. If the aorta ruptures, you might be dead by the time you say 'HELP'.
Best wishes,
OS(incredibly worried).