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Anne Fleming

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  • Location
    Edinburgh. SAH 21st Nov '07. Right mid-cerebral artery. Coiled.
  • Interests
    Reading, Cinema and making Silver Jewellery
  • Occupation
    Theatre Producer

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  1. Thanks everyone. I've decided not to go ahead with my op next week though the anaesthetic was just one of the things that led me to that decision. I wouldn't want to make anyone else worry about having an op & getting anaesthetic. I don't think I would worry too much about the effects of an anaesthetic it if I needed an emergency op for something. but I feel that I shouldn't put myself through it just now. Am relieved to have come to a decision. Best wishes Anne
  2. Hi I had my SAH over 5 years ago. However I still have another small unruptured anni which is being monitored. I am due to go in to hospital soon for an op (not related to my head) which would require a general anaesthetic. The anaesthetist phoned me yesterday and mentioned that the risk of complications not during but after surgery (ie when I was coming round from the op) were higher because I have an anni. She did not give a % increase in risk but indicated it was small though higher than for the average person. My op would be beneficial to me but it is not urgent nor life threatening if I don't have it. I am now having second thoughts about going ahead with the op. Anyone experience something similar since their SAH? Thanks Anne X
  3. Hello I've not been on the forum or posted for a while. It's now more than 5 years since my SAH. However I still get really tired if I overdo things at all. I'm an awful lot better than during my first couple of years & feel I've kept on improving slowly over the years but still feel I've not got back my stamina. I've given up mentioning it to people as it's now so long since my SAH and it seems as if I've been moaning about being tired forever. Does anyone who had their SAH a while back think that the fatigue element ever goes away? I'd be interested to hear. Also a big thank you again to Karen for all her work on setting up the forum - if it hadn't been for BTG, I don't know how I would have got through coping with the frightening symptoms I was left with after my SAH and managing to come to terms with what had happened to me. Anne X
  4. Hi MaryB I noticed exactly the same symptoms as you after my SAH - I found it hard to know where noise was coming from and thought I couldn't hear so clearly. I also had constant ringing in my right ear. I had my hearing tested and it turned out I had lost quite a lot of hearing in my right ear (my SAH was on the right side of my head) and apparently if both ears aren't working well this results in it being more difficult to make out where sounds are coming from. In time I got used to it and better at judging the direction sound was coming from. The hearing specialist diagnosed senso-neural hearing loss which means that it is difficult to separate sounds and so background noise can make hearing difficult. It's more than 4 years since my SAH and I have got sort of used to my hearing loss. I also have a hearing aid for that ear though I don't wear it all the time & in fact even the hearing specialist isn't sure it makes any difference. I think it may be worth you having your hearing tested. The hearing specialist also looked at the physical structure of my ear to make sure nothing was damaged that could be put right though in my case it was all fine. best wishes Anne
  5. Hi Mary I was exactly the same. For the first year my diet consisted mainly of bland food - porridge, ice cream, plain yoghurt, mashed potato, milk. Even now these foods are still my favourite. It's almost like being a child again and having to get used to stronger flavours. For me the worst taste is still vegetables which have been roasted and leeks, as I can taste the sulphur. I'm a vegetarian so when my taste was at its worse, the range of foods I could eat was very limited. After my SAH I really wanted to look after myself and eat well etc, so I was really distressed to be on this very repetitive regime though my GP reassured me and said that it wouldn't do me any harm and to take a vitamin and mineral tablet (which she wouldn't normally recommend patients to do) and she also provided me with bland tasting drinks to provide nourishment and calories. I would be hopeful that yours will improve though it may take quite a long time. I think the nerves linked to our taste have been injured and this seems to take a long time to repair. If they are completely severed, I think people can lose their sense of taste altogether. Best wishes Anne
  6. Dear Mary Yes I had a lot of taste problems after my SAH. Of all my after effects it's probably the one which upset me the most. For at least a year most things tasted like sewage/rotten eggs or mould, depending on what the food was. I lost a lot of weight and it really got me down too. 2 years post SAH I was faring a bit better. With me, everything tasted too strong, processed food was very metalic tasting, my sense of smell was also very strong. My GP, neurologist, a dietician I was referred to, all knew little about taste problems and even on Behind the Gray, not a lot of people seemed to have this type of problem, or at least not to the extent I did and so I found it a very isolating problem to have. I have written about it quite a lot on Behind the Gray already. Now 4 years on it has improved enough for me to enjoy food and also I have got used to things tasting differently. I'm not sure how bad yours is but feel free to PM me as if it would be helpful, I can go in to more detail on how I coped with it. With best wishes Anne
  7. Hi everyone Just wanted to post on my 4th anni-versary. It's taken me all this time to more or less accept the "new" me following my SAH, well, a mixture of acceptance and of the after effects of my SAH improving very slowly over the years. For anyone in the early months and years of recovery, I think there is hope that recovery can be ongoing and doesn't stop after 6 months or 2 years, or whatever the time scale a doctor quotes. My sense of taste was very badly distorted following my SAH (most food tasted like sewage, I smelled random phantom bad smells and the whole thing really got me down) but it has gradually kept on improving and this summer I was able to eat and enjoy strawberries for the first time in a few years. (I loved them before my SAH but after they had a sewage taste). As a result I spent £s on punnets of them. I know it's a small thing but it was important for me. My hearing was quite badly affected and though it hasn't improved, I have got used to it more and now have a hearing aid which I put in when I want to make sure I hear what's going on. I was despairing after my SAH and just wished I had known then that I would be as well as I am today, 4 years later. Warm wishes Anne x
  8. Hi I'm coming up to my 4th anni-versary. It falls just after my birthday. I think the longer it is since the day it ruptured, it feels stranger celebrating surviving it with family and friends. However for me it's a very special day and one on which I feel both a bit nervous and also particularly grateful to be alive. Around the time of my anni-versary I buy myself a piece of jewellery (not expensive). Last year I got a silver ring and have worn it nearly every day since and the year before it was a pair of earrings. Every time I wear a piece of my "surviving the anni" jewellery, it always reminds me to make the most of that day. I'm hoping to end up with a big box of the stuff! Love Anne x
  9. Hi There's an interesting article about AVM in Daily Record today. I noticed it on the front page in newsagent this morning and have just read it online. Unfortunately I don't seem able to open 2 sites at once on my computer so am unable to insert the link. However it's in today's Daily Record. best wishes Anne
  10. Hi I wasn't sure whether to post this thread or not as I don't want to alarm anyone when they're no need though at the same time it's good to share information. My GP is sending me for an ultra sound to check for an aortic aneurysm. There is apparently a general screening programme being introduced by the NHS (I think it's for high risk groups such as men 65 and over) but my GP decided to send me as there is a history of both subarachnoid and aortic aneurysms in the family though no one's had both. I have no symptoms of an aortic aneurysm and haven't been worried about having one. I'm also not aware of a connection between a subarachnoid and an aortic anni and my GP hasn't suggested there is. I'm just posting this as I feel it's important to discuss family history with your GP. Warm wishes Anne
  11. Hi Leonie - I'll be interested to hear if you are offered the option of coiling for your 2mm one. It's only quite recently that the new smaller coils have become available. I hadn't really thought before (probably naively) that an op on an aneurysm would be offered in some parts of the country and not in others. I know it happens with drugs and aftercare services. Jan - hope our op goes well. If my surgeon had been more encouraging, I would have had my little unburst one coiled as well but he seemed quite reluctant so I've not gone ahead, for now at least. Warm wishes Anne x
  12. Hi I was interested to read this thread as I just had a neck and shoulder deep tissue massage at the weekend. On the day I had my SAH, I had a sore right side of neck. At night my aneurysm ruptured. Since my SAH the muscle on the right side of my neck is periodically sore and this gives me headaches. My GP doesn't think my sore neck is related to my SAH but thinks it's tension and at the time my neurologist didn't know for sure. I have booked a further 2 deep tissue massages to try to relieve the tension in my shoulders and neck but now am a bit concerned. Nothing seems safe any more! Love Anne x
  13. Dear Winter The other day I was reading about a depression sufferer who started a web site to help others. It's called Depression Can Be Fun. You may already know it. Warm wishes Anne
  14. Thanks for all your replies. I'm starting to feel "normal" again. I think it must have been exhaustion which caused the disorientation and I'll have to allow for more time to recover in future. I still find it hard to factor in the fact I get tired more easily. I must admit I didn't venture out of Edinburgh until about 9 months after my SAH (and even then, only the length of Glasgow on the train) and it took me about 18 months before I plucked up the courage to fly over to see family in Belfast. Warm wishes Anne
  15. Hi This is a bit of a weird question but I know it's ok to ask anything on this forum! Since my SAH I've been abroad on holiday twice and have been fine when I've been there but on coming home I've felt awful for a good few days - a feeling of general disorientation, anxiety, unsteadiness and overwhelming fatigue and have had to spend one or two days in bed. My holidays were not too far - only France first time and Morocco second time so it can't really be jetlag. I've never had this before after holidays only since my SAH. It's quite a horrible feeling. Has anyone else experienced it? Sorry if this is a silly question! With best wishes Anne x
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