Hello, my name is Teri. I suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage in October of 2000. I like to say that my brain wasn't Y2K compliant! Anyyway, I had never heard of a sah, nor had I ever really had a headache. I was a 41 year old , married, working Mom with 2 awesome sons.
That day was as if my life ended and I had to start a new one, a life full of pain, fear, anxiety, confusion, and any other scary awful word you could think of. I woke up at 5:30 am and started getting ready for work. As I stepped out of the shower, I felt a bolt of electricity in my talebone and it traveled up my spine and then a huge explosion in my head. The shock immediately turned into a horrific, pulsating headache that made me fall down. I crawled to the bathroom door and started to bang on it for help.
My husband helped me up and we went to the e.r. From that point on I don't remember much, just that my head hurt really bad, and I threw up a lot. Since this happened to me 14 years ago, a lot has changed in the medical world on the topic of sah's and headaches. Mostly I see a little more knowledge about what the dr. should do in the early stages but not much progress in how to handle the aftermath, the nuclear fallout after the bomb has exploded in your head!
I have head pain every day, and severe migraines every 7-10 days. I am on a pain management plan in which I take a 24 hour morphine pill and I take norco for breakthrough pain. I see a pain managementt. therapist once a week. I think, for me, I have to learn how to live with pain, and to try to stop avoiding life. It is so easy and safe and stay at home and not interact with anyone but there is no joy in that. I need joy! So, I put one foot in front of the other and stay positive.
