Kerry Hood

Hey Everyone.... It's been a long time since I posted on here and I had been doing really well, had come off all my meds and anxiety down to a minimum..... Well that has all changed..... on Friday 25th Jan 2013 I was with my husband at the checkout in Tesco waiting for the lady in front of us to pay when I went all hot as though I was boiling from the inside out and started retching as I felt like I was going to be sick and then I don't remember anything.... until I woke in hospital... I had a full blown seizure and this is the first one since my TIA at the end of March 2012..... Am so fed up about it, anxiety back up to max..... Saw my neurologist yesterday and have been diagnosed wit Epilepsy due to the amount of damage to the right side of my brain from the surgery to clip my aneurysm and my TIA caused a lot of damage and scarring..... started Anti Epilepsy Meds today and had to ring DVLA to cancel my application to get my licence back and will now not be able to drive for another year as long as I don't have any more fits.... this has seriously annoyed me as was about to go out for my first drive on the weekend of my seizure...... Am so angry about it all and feel like I've gone back a year!!!! Nothing I can do about it all except get on with it... but now my family are back on full alert and worrying where we were just comfortable with our everyday lives again!!! Sorry to come back and moan:frown: Kerry xx

Hi Sandi I'm 1 1/2 weeks in to being weaned of the antifit meds and have been so tired this weekend and had a headache since friday too, although banging my head on the boot of our car on the side I had the op didn't help on friday!!! I'm thinking the way i'm feeling is down to coming off this drug... which anti fit drug are you on Sandi? I'm on Levetiracetam 500mg am down to one a day and from wednesday next week its one every other day for 7 days then stop.... am quite nervous about it all but keeping fingers crossed that I don't have a fit!!! How long before you are off your anti fit drug? wish you luck with it and that it all goes well too...... I'm also quite proud of myself as the other day whilst walking home from work, the cut through I go down is a small treelined slope leading to a path and road near to my house and there were 3 men who I didnt see till it was too late to turn around, they were foreign and shouting in there own language which was quite intimidating as had no clue what they were shouting about but I carried on..two of them went down the covered slope the other procedeed to have a pee as I walked past him then had to walk past the other two on the slope... I felt my anxiety rise a little but carried on as they followed me but I refused to let them make me more anxious and they stopped and turned back around.... 4-6 weeks ago my anxiety would have hit the roof, my limping would have kicked in and I would have been a complete wreck... so i'm very proud of how I reacted!!!! onwards and upwards...

Well I lost 1/2lb last week but not beating myself up about.... hopefully will have lost some this week....... I aslo got the go ahead from SGH to my GP that I can be weaned off my meds, we have started with my anti fit meds and hopefully it will go well, gonna take 3 weeks to be weaned and im now going into my 2nd week... I'm presuming if I'm gonna have a fit it will be within the next 3 weeks, im not sure but have a GP appointment on 8 august then if all ok we will start on the blood thinning meds but think i will be staying on the aspirin.... fingers crossed as dont want to have a fit as that will mean not getting my driving licence back for a year Hope everyone is doing well xxxx

Well I did well my first week and lost 3lb but had a bad week last week and put 1 1/2lb back on... Oh well start again today.... Need to do more exercise too, was gonna use my treadmill but I've hurt my ba k so that has been put off for a bit.... I did a Jhoom class last week which is bollywood aerobics really enjoyed it and managed to keep up but we did Zumba this week and it was too fast for me and my left leg wouldn't keep up with it and wouldn't do what my brain was telling it too... I ended up sitting out of the last 15 minutes and being very upset and frustrated with mself as it made me realise I'm not back to full health...for an ex dancer picking up dance moves were no problem before..... Not happy with myself at all!!!!

Hey, yes we can do it together... I am going back to my Rosemary Conley class on thursday and am dreading the weigh in but I'm going to do it for me and my health.... I am going to do my measurements to to see if I start losing inches from the keep fit class on a thursday but I am going to use my treadmill too.... I bought the treamill after my op/TIA to help with getting my left leg moving properly again but have been so lazy over the last month it hasnt been used.... am so upset with myself but as of thursday I'm gonna get this diet going!! fingers crossed, I will update you each week and if i go off the rails then I can tell you and the same with you, if you want to have a good moan about anything then feel free... lol..... its frustrating hey? Good luck and keep smiling and any walking you do is a bonus so dont feel too down about it.... You keep smiling too xxx

I had my 3 month post op check up and saw the registrar who was very happy with me.... she is going to talk to my consultant about weaning me off my meds and just keep me on aspirin everyday... I hope he agree's as I really want to come off the meds..... have to wait three weeks then contact my Dr and hopefully they will have received a letter from my consultant. saying to wean me off the meds.... I'm also allowed back to my keep fit class which I really need to do and loose weight as have put on so much since last year finding out I had this large aneurysm, I comfort ate to keep my mind off it, which didn't work and just made me gain weight... so back to keep fit next thursday just got to take it easy...listen to my body and see how I go.... as for the anxiety that seems to have calmed down a little bit more but I just take it day by day... can't do any more than that, take it one day at a time and deal with it as it happens.... I think though that my anxiety may get a bit worse when being weaned off the drugs.... especially when I'm off the anti fit drugs, think I will be wondering everyday if I will have a fit that day..... the registrar says that she thinks it was post op seizure's as nothing showed on CT scan so we are hoping it was just that and nothing else will happen.... we shall see.............. but am feeling good at the moment

Thank you all for your kind words.... Train journey has been fine, felt a bit anxious amongst all those people but as soon as I get a seat I'm fine.... I don't get full panic attacks and unable to breathe I just feel like everything is closing in on me and my world is moving too fast..but I'm getting there with the help of my wonderful hubby and gorgeous boys and being very stubborn helps too xxxx

My anxiety has been getting better, especially when I'm going to work, the walk to the railway station and being on the train have got so much easier..... BUT I took my boys to the dentist on Thursday and my anxiety hit a high...We walked a different way to the dentist, not a route I have been on since my op and TIA.... I ended up limping most of the way and we had to go through a couple of underpasses and I felt like it was swallowing me up, I had to hold on to my boys arm so they could guide me and so I could get my limping under control... They were amazing and didnt care that I had to hold onto them (it was me that cared that I had to do it!!) after the dentist we went into the town centre and I was fine, limping had stopped and anxiety gone because I go into town nearly every week..... It feels so weird, to have it one day and not another..... I have had this week off work and on monday I am going back to work for 5 hours a day instead of the 4 hours that I have been on for 6 weeks, so am going to get the earlier train which I know is the busier train, so I am expecting a bit of a tough, knackering week and anxiety to be high on monday morning....... well fingers crossed it won't be too bad, but I am preparing myself for it and to be extra tired at the end of the day 5 hours at work 40 mins each way travelling.... early nights for me next week!!!!

Hi Kris I am definately better than I was a few weeks ago but sometimes when I'm on my own I talk myself into a situation that isn't happening but give myself a good tellling off!! Take care x

Thanks, I don't get full panic attacks I just get really anxious and feel like everything is swimming in front of my eyes and then I limp badly on my left leg.... but my Dr said it was only a matter of time before full blown panic attacks could happen...... I have good days and bad and give myself a good talking to....not that I listen all the time but its worth a talk!!!! xxxx

I have my medical details in my bag all the time,someone said about a medic alert bracelet and have to be honest I had never heard of it, will have to find somewhere that does them.... Thanks for understanding me and all the kind words from you and others are so encouraging.... I can see this site being a big help You take care too xx

Thank you for your kind words and I look back over the last 7 weeks and see a massive improvement, but as you say have to remember how I was and how I am now... I'm just a very impatient person Best wishes to you to xxx

Thank you SarahLou I couldnt believe it when they said I could go home 48hours after the op and when I walked out I was dragging my left leg and slurring but was happy to be going home.....I returned to work 5 1/2 weeks after and couldnt wait to be back around friends at work, but I know I have to have patience and understanding with myself, I just find it hard to be slowing down compared to before... but am happy that you found me on Wessex support group but found it very confusing this site seems easier... thank you for your kind words and I wish you well too Take care Kerry xx

Hi Jess It was my choice to go back to work as I couldnt stand the anxiety of not being able to go out and after speaking to my Dr he was happy for me to go back on phased hours, am only doing four hours a day but have to travel to Southampton from Basingstoke, he spoke to me about it as he said the longer I put it off the anxiety could turn to panic attacks as time went on and I could understand what he was saying..... my trouble I feel is that after the fits/stroke I am worried that this will happen when I'm out on my own or if I'm in a crowded place people will ignore me if it happens.... To me this sounds silly but I cannot get my brain to understand that im ok so then I get the anxiety and then I start limping and then I get annoyed and frustrated with myself.... I'm an administrative assistant and my work have been really good, I just do what I can and take breaks when I need to, I am normally a confident and independant person and I think the fact that I have had to surrender my driving licence and have to rely on my husband to take me anywhere now really frustrates me too.... hope this all makes sense Jess and I hope you are doing good and getting better too xxx

Hi My problem is anxiety... I had an unruptured Aneurysm clipped on 21 March at SGH I was discharged on 23 March and was recovering at home, whilst about to have a nap on 26 March I started to fit, my hubby had to watch this and two further fits in the ambulance on the way to Basingstoke Hospital, I had a CT scan and nothing showed up, no bleed, no clot nothing wrong with my clip but then I started showing signs of a stroke, my left side all went paralysed.... SGH were sent the CT scan and they were happy that it had nothing to do with the surgery, I have to say I'm lucky I don't remember much about all this but I do remember coming round in A&E and being very aggressive to everyone apart from my boys!!! My symptons of the TIA or Post Ichtal Phenomenom as they put on my discharge papers have reduced but I have this really bad anxiety when I do everything I used to , being in crowded places, shopping, getting train for work are when it happens most, I don't go dizzy but feel like everything is spinning in front of my eyes and then my left leg gets a bad limp!!! I find it very frustrating but refuse to let it stop me being back at work or going out but I dont want it to get worse but I dont feel like its getting any better!!! From a stubborn but very frustrated person