Reduced hip movement since endovascular coiling

[PurplePhoenix]

Hello all

 

Has anyone had trouble bringing their knee up while standing after SAH and endovascular coiling surgery? I had terrible bruising 'down there' after my surgery that took over 2 months to clear up but I'm now left with a lazy right leg (the side they went into the femoral artery)  and I can't lift my knee to a right angle or higher now. 

 

I reckon the the surgeon would have had to push past my hip flexor muscles and tendons during the op and that I have been left with a leg I can't use properly anymore. I have big problems climbing deep steps and have to lift my leg out of the car with my hands now. Do you think it's the bleed (3 months post ruptured SAH) or the surgery that has caused this problem? 

 

My GP doesn't seem interested and I haven't been called back for any checkups since I left hospital. I feel discarded and have been left to sort myself out. I go through stages of feeling low but I talk myself around and meditate but I even find that difficult now and harder to focus on being calm and my breathing exercises. It's as though everything is surreal, nothing is real and that I am in limbo, almost suspended in time. 

 

Any views on legs and hips would be fab but I also want to know what others are experiencing as nobody around me can hope to know how I really feel since they haven't been through an SAH. I love my partner and friends and value their support but I can't help feeling that I am now very different but have no idea how to tell them how I feel when I don't know myself! 

 

With love

Mandy x

(rising from the ashes, yet again!) 

 

[Chelle C]

Hi Mandy, Welcome to BTG so glad you have found us, you will find a wealth of information here, although we are not allowed to give medical advice you can learn a lot from all the different experiences that other members have had due to SAH,

 

I'm sorry that you appear to have a problem with your leg, it is still early in your recovery but if you are very worried maybe contact the hospital where you had your treatment to get some advice about your leg.

 

As for whether it's the bleed or the surgery that has caused it, the only person who can tell you that is your surgeon, most people get a follow-up appointment around 6 months after the event, if for whatever reason you don't get a letter then you should contact the hospital.

 

I had left sided weakness after my SAH, I also had to lift my leg to do certain things and had to use crutches, when I went back for my follow up my surgeon suggested that I should have some Physiotherapy and it did really help me, 4 years down the recovery road I only notice a bit of weakness whenI am tired or if I have over done things, so it might be worth asking about.

 

I think you will find that most members have had a similar experience when leaving hospital, especially not being given much information and also finding that gp's don't really have much idea about SAH because they very rarely come across someone who has suffered a one, you can start to feel like you've just been dumped and left to get on with it.

 

As I said at the start, you are very early in your recovery, your brain and your body have suffered a huge trauma and they both need lots of time to recover, making sure that you are getting lots of rest and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated is very important, staying hydrated will help with any headaches that you may have and resting when you need to is also an important part of your recovery.

 

I think the worst thing for me was the fatigue, in the first couple of months just moving from one room to another was exhausting, I also found it very difficult to explain to friends and family how tired I actually was, you could show your partner and friends this forum, they can read some of the posts that relate to how you are feeling and maybe get a better understanding of what you have been through and what you are still going through, you also need to understand that no two bleeds are the same, so recovery levels and recovery rates are all different, 

 

I wish you well as you go along the recovery road, it can be a bit of a bumpy one at times, we are here to help you along that road, come along into the green room and join in the daily banter, you will get a laugh at some of the posts and also make a lot of new friends. You no longer have to feel that you are going through this alone.

 

Love & best wishes

Michelle. Xx

[Macca]

Hi Mandy,

 

 I was coiled in 2010.  My groin area was very sore after my coiling and I still have some difficulty kneeling down and getting back up again. They went in through my groin. It's also difficult pulling my socks on in the morning and many a time I had to roll around on the bed to achieve it.  Thankfully I'm not quite as bad a I was and as I am getting older too I fear it's not just the SAH repair procedure that has caused me to be this way.

 

Maybe a trip to your physiotherapist would be a good idea who could give you some ideas on mobility exercises that could help you  to stretch those tendons a bit more with less discomfort.  Keep trying, don't give up.  I'm sure you will improve over time, just grit your teeth, dig in with the effort of your exercises but don't start until you have seen your doctor or professional medical advisors.

 

As for your friends and family, why not tell them what you've just told us!  we're all at least a little different after SAH - it's how you deal with it that counts.  You need to change a little too, to adapt to the change.  Be flexible and move things around a bit and learn to cope with it in a different way.

 

Might not be as good as before, but you will be better than you are now. Worth a shot isn't it?

 

Best wishes,

 

Macca

[Karen]

Mandy, it's not an easy one to answer. I had the bleed on the right hand side of my brain...Which affected the left side of my body and often, my right hand side would be more dominant and it would pull me over, when walking or doing anything else.

 

The bleed also caused me balance issues ... I've had to work on my left hand side a lot! .... At first that involved a walking stick to help my balance and also to regain confidence, as I had sight issues which involved depth perception too. 

 

I've also had problems getting in and out of a car ... it also depends on what car it is and I still loathe getting into the back of a two seater!

 

If you have balance issues, it may be worth asking your GP for a referral to the hospital for Physio or for a balance check.

 

I've not personally heard of anyone suffering a physical problem with the the bruising post coiling or even with a check up via the same procedure. The bruising isn't nice, but I've not heard of a long term problem.

 

You're very early days post SAH... keep exercising that leg, whilst doing it in a safe place.xx

 

 

[Super Mario]

Another possibility is an actual problem with wear and tear of your hip/knee, nothing to do with SAH at all. Could just be coincidence.

I am 14 years post SAH and over the last couple of years have had to manually lift my leg to raise it even slightly and after x-rays it was found to be wear and tear although not bad enough for replacement yet.

 

All things to be investigated

[Winb143]

They put a tube in my groin and I couldn't open my legs.

 

Then I had a young girl see me once I woke up and she leaned on my legs and put all her weight on my legs,  I felt a crack in my groin and a tear in my hip.

 

She wrote to my Doctor and said in Letter I have left her walking,  I was in agony I still cannot walk that far but 300 yards is better than nothing as I was told I'd never walk !!  She saw me 3 times my husband wrote a letter saying "she only turned up 3 days and after that my wife couldn't walk at all", he also added she must be a miracle worker !!! ...keep moving as it can stiffen up more but gently does it. Try and get help on it but if you see a young girl with her children with her... Run!!!... Good luck and try swimming xxxx