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Cat03 - new member


Cat03

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Hi Cat :)

 

A very warm welcome to BTG !

 

Great news your 3 month MRI was clear :thumbsup:

How are you doing and feeling ? 

Feel free to ask any questions, we cant give medical advice but can share our experiences.

 

You have come to the right place for lots of helpful information and caring friendly support.

Please also feel free to join in the daily banter in the Green Room and the Brain games :) 

 

Take care

Tina xx

 

PS love your profile picture :) 

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What a lovely reply, thank you Tina.  Am doing not too bad, get tired easily, have some headaches and would say my memory is definitely not what it was.  Am not sure if these things have anything to do with the aneurysm.  What I have noticed is that I don't seem to have any concept of time, like it's 5months since it happened, if you asked me what I've done in those months, I honestly couldn't tell you. I just take each day one at a time, glad to still be here, yet there are days I feel empty....if that's the right way to put it.

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Cat, you are in the very early stages of recovery and just taking it one day at a time is the very best way.

Pace yourself and listen to your body and drink plenty of water.

I think we all have good days and bad days, its only natural after going through such a life threatening trauma.

 

So pleased you found BTG :)

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

Take care

Tina xx

 

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Hi Cat,

 

Welcome to BTG!

 

Everything you describe is par for the course.  You are still in the early stages of your recovery journey so just take each day one at a time, step by step.  Perhaps keep a diary so you can plot your progress and look back on it to see the progress you've made as time passes.

 

Stay hydrated, keep talking to people and keep in touch with your doctors and us.  We'll help you as best we can.  As Tina says we can't give medical advice and that's because we are not doctors, not because we don't want to.  What might be right for me might not be right for you, so that's why we don't do it.

 

But we have been down the road you're on - so any time you've got five minutes, come on here and talk to us, there's usually someone who'll reply soon.

 

Macca

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Thanks again to the both of you. It's quite a lonely situation to be in, outwardly you look okay, only if you look closely can you see the stumbles, the peering to read something, and the annoyance at some noise. It's strange because I wear a hearing aid, so my hearing is very poor anyway, yet since this happened noises seem to really grate.  

I feel I'm complaining, and I'm not. it's just I don't know if this is how it should be and there doesnt seem to be anyone to ask.

I'm looking forward getting to know the group, so again , thank you for such a warm welcome. ?

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Welcome to BTG Cat, sounds like you have made a good start on the long recovery road.

 

Noise was and still can be a major issue for me. I remember that when I first came home from hospital I had to have the TV turned down low, could not stand the noise. It was impossible to watch any programme with a lot of cheering or shouting and I must admit I still have some difficulties in that area. But it's easily remedied, turn it down or off! ;)  I also have a problem with repetetive noises  (babies crying is one!)  and even some music if it has a very repetetive beat or sound. I will say though that this problem has lessened with time.

 

Are you back at work yet, if so hopefully it is on a phased return. You are still in the early months so take it slow and drink plenty of water.

 

Will be looking forward to hearing more from you, hope we can be helpful in answering any questions you may have.

 

Clare xx

 

 

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Hi Cat,

 

It must be a huge relief to get the results of the MRI and see that they are clear - I guess that's one of the first hurdles and you can at least breath a sigh of relief at that. My SAH was Dec 16 which was coiled, and I have my first appointment at the hospital 22nd of this month. I don't know whether I will have a scan, or just a chat. I still have two or three aneurysm's not dealt with so I'm anxious to know where we go from here.

 

What you have described..... tiredness, headache, and noise adjustment is what I think most of us have had or are still having. I am improving in terms of both tiredness and headache but always have a mild pain in the background and it still hurts when I bend down. 

 

I understand exactly what you mean when you say it's a lonely situation to be in. I feel that too, as no one really understands how I feel, I look fine, and I sound fine, so most people think it's like a broken leg that has now healed, they think I have made a full recovery. It's not easy to explain to those who haven't been through it, which is why I like to come on here and read other people's stories and experiences, and try to help if I can.

 

It's still very early days for both of us, and we have a long journey to take, which has it's twists and turns, it's ups and downs. The physical recovery is one thing, the emotional/mental recovery is something different altogether, and is as complex as it gets.  I really do try to keep positive and upbeat, but I also have moments where I feel cheated of the future that I once had. I guess that's par for the course, and something I have to work on. I am still adjusting to my new reality as you and everyone else on here is too. It's good to talk here with people that understand. You are not complaining, and you are not alone here. 

 

Wishing you well on your journey. Take good care of yourself :)

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By far the hardest to deal with is the emotional side of it.  The ups and downs, knowing that you are so very thankful for being here , then guilty because you feel so low.  

I hope you get positive results when you go for your appointment and find out what is to happen with the aneurysms you still have.  

Wishing you well ?

 

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Thanks Cat,

 

I am looking forward to my appointment with the consultant as I know nothing at all about the aneurysm that burst, or the untreated ones. They have cleared me to go on holiday which is a relief and means that I am not in immediate danger, but just to understand more about my situation will be helpful. I'm not even considering that it might be bad news when I go.

 

Today I have an appointment with a local Doctor to ask if I can drive. I am excited about that and it will make a huge difference to my mood if I am cleared to get back in the car as I feel so trapped here at home at the moment. 

 

I completely agree with the fact that the hardest thing to deal with is the emotional sides of things, it really is very difficult and I'm guessing that time is the healer on that score. I tend to swing between positive and negative, I feel good about everything and then it hits me again and I have a down moment. My therapy is this site where I can express myself and talk openly which I can't really do in everyday life. Other than here, no one really wants to know every detail of how I'm feeling and what I'm going through.

 

Take care.

 

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Fingers crossed for you that you get the all clear to drive again.  I don't drive and am dependent on my partner.  Before the aneurysm my balance wasn't good due to numerous operations on both ears for cholesteatoma and since the aneurysm it's got worse, so don't go out without my partner.  A couple of years ago I taught myself how to crochet from you tube, I wish I had learned to do it 30 years ago, I love it, but again since the aneurysm I can only do it in short bursts and have lost or misplaced the passion I had for it pre-aneurysm.

 

I am looking forward to getting to know some people on here.

Good luck for today ?

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Hi Cat,

 

One of the biggest problems to deal with after a SAH is that other people can't see any scars or plastercasts that shows there's something wrong. It can be very frustrating.  I've cried like a baby in the early stages of my recovery and that's me, a big daft bloke talking!

 

It's not a crime to cry - it's natural, because a SAH is a massive blow to take and to live with afterwards. But it's also a release of pent up emotion and it's better to let it out than to bottle it up.  However, you need to tell, and keep on telling, people that you are still not well.  If they get fed up of hearing it then that's their problem, not yours.  Tell someone else instead!

 

Crocheting is a skill and a talent - you can still do it even if it is in short bursts.  As time passes those bursts will get longer and then you'll be doing it all afternoon before you know it.  Take up some reading or if you prefer, audio books.  They're a great way to relax and for you to learn to concentrate again - short periods at first and longer as time progresses.  I also find that they're a great way to help me go to sleep.  After a few paragraphs my eyes start to roll and I'm away!

 

Try and get out if you can, even if only for short spells even if you sit in the car whilst your partner goes into the shops.  It helps to break up the day.

 

Good luck,

 

Macca

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Hi Cat,

 

I'm sure your passion will return, for the moment you have other things to contend with but you'll get there. At least you are doing a little of it, that's better than not be able to do any of it. Have you tried doing tapestry? There are some lovely ones to do out there.

 

Spring is here, summer soon after, so plenty to look forward to in the coming months which will make us all feel a bit better. We had snow here last night, thankfully it had cleared by morning.

 

I am delighted to report that I have had the all clear to drive and hastily went out to do some shopping.....I need a rest now, a simple grocery shop has tired me out, but it was nice to be out and about for a change.

 

Take care, All the best.

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Welcome Cat,

 

I wish you the best on your recovery.  Great advice up above.  I think all of us have low moments, but mine have gotten better with time.  I have to work on my perception often.  When a hurdle comes my way, I think, at least I am here to face it.  Memory and time are familiar too.  I have no doubt my short-term memory has been affected.  But now I just joke about it with my family, and try to take better notes for myself at work.  The time thing with me is more of a reality experience.  I can spend all day doing something, and the next day it may feel like it was a week ago, or in a dream.  I can live in the moment easily, but the effects don't seem to linger with the "tangible" feel that I would like. 

 

So now, I just view myself as a day-to-day type of person and make do.

 

Please be patient with yourself.  Healing takes time.  Adjustments take time, The farther out you get from your bleed, the more others around you will discount it.  So you have to be prepared to deal more and more with it yourself.  I pray for your inter-strength, patience, and wellbeing.  Welcome to the BTG!

 

Chris

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Hi Cat,

 

I get teary and I can be a miserable old gal to live with,  poor family.

 

I try and explain but then I feel like I am nagging them !!  I do find when stressed singing happy songs help me.

 

I try and think happy thoughts but end up teary half the time.  We will get there and as time goes on we find we are not alone in this.

 

It helps to know we are all going through what others have been through and we are still here xx  Thanks to Karen and Mods  and Karen's Family who started this up xx

 

So if you hear or see a song it is me typing a happy song as I must not stress  ha ha  xx

 

Keep chin up and keep looking forward xx

Love

WinB143

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