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Hi Andy and a warm welcome to BTG. It is understandable that you have concerns/worries as this unexpected event has suddenly thrown your life into turmoil. Your wife is obviously in the best place where they will be monitoring her carefully and like others have said be given drugs for any vasospasm issues. Whilst vasospasm can cause problems, I'd like to try and reassure you that it doesn't always - I am only saying that as I had severe vasospasm and came out perfectly ok. I've just seen you've posted again and what I did when I got too many visitors was fall asleep! -I think they must have got the hint because they weren't there when I woke up! Perhaps just explain when they arrive that Donna will be extremely tired, so don't expect her to chat as if nothing had happened. Having an sah is exhausting. Take care and I hope Donna continues to improves and perhaps you could celebrate your birthday another day when you're both feeling more up to it. Sarah

I've not posted on this thread for a while but hey, ho, another working week is about to start - albeit I've worked both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, so it doesn't actually feel like last week has ended yet! Not so long ago I was working between 16 & 20 hours a week, but have been working extra hours recently and out of interest I added up the hours I actually have worked between my 3 jobs. I was quite amazed when the last 2 weeks have totalled 37 hours each week. I'm hoping to reduce the hours I have been doing lately at the cafe - I find generally that is the job that tires me out the most especially if it's busy - like it was yesterday - 7.5 hours with a five minute break to eat a sandwich is just too much! However, overall my hours won't alter much as I've just taken on a 4th job doing 6 hours a week. I know it won't be easy, but if working these extra hours takes some of the financial stress out of my life, it will be worth it:-D I hope everyone else is coping ok with their own work situations - it's not easy, but be proud that you are trying. Sarah

Hi Michelle, Being an 'old time saher' (almost 4 years) I could have written the first part of your post myself. I too was amazed how my tiredness suddenly stopped and I got through day after day without a daytime nap. I remember thinking how strange it was that it had happened so suddenly and being able to get through days, as I had pre-sah, was a great feeling although I couldn't quite believe it was happening, expecting any day for the crash to arrive. I am sorry to hear you had such a massive 'crash' - that must have been quite a scary setback for you. In comparison, I've just had a couple of minor 'near misses'. I certainly wasn't expecting it to last as long as it has (approx 4 months now), but I am more inclined to think that it is possible for good spells to come and be longer in duration - at least believing in that gives us a hope to hang on to! Anyway, having been awake now for almost 17 hours and wondering if this post makes any sense, I think it's time I went to bed! Sarah

Hi Karen, I've not said hello before, but have been reading your thread and was so thrilled for you when I read about Jim's phone conversation with his friend. I can just imagine what a boost that gave you. I hope Rachel's letter has the desired effect and his care improves forthwith. It appears Jim is getting excellent care from yourself and it's great that you've still had some energy left to come on here at the end of day. Best wishes to you both, Sarah

Hi Ceekay A warm welcome to BTG - good that you found us so early into your recovery especially as there is such a lack of information/support when you leave hospital. That aspect doesn't appear to have improved at all since I had mine nearly 4 years ago. Like Dawn said you'll probably learn more from this site anyway - I'm sure you'll find being amongst other sahers is very helpful and reassuring. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi, I would use the term 'brain haemorrhage" if I were you - I think more people can relate to that rather than subarachnoid haemorrhage which quite often needs more explaining. It can be exhausting after a while if you have too many people asking lots of questions. When I returned to work my work colleagues were great, understanding, sympathetic etc, but there were only four of us in the office so it was ok in that respect. The problem was that it is a bank in a village and most the customers had heard about me and were continually asking me questions which I found a bit hard going. I don't work with any of the staff that I did then - the staff I work with now know what happened to me, but to them it's as if I had a cold!! When I asked last week if I could have time off for a neuro appointment next month they seemed more concerned that I wouldn't be back in time for them to have their lunch! I hope all goes well on Monday for you, Sarah

Hi Daff, I certainly think time is probably the best healer here. It is hard sometimes to appreciate how such events can affect a child and sometimes even harder to know how best to deal with it. Children can be pretty good at trying to hide their fears and worries so that they do not cause us further worry. Young children can’t always easily express how they feel so dealing with it is probably best done in your own way with plenty of reassurance. Now, nearly 4 years on from my own sah I can look back and say I am extremely proud of how my children are now and how remarkably well they have dealt with it all. Their ages at the time of my sah were 8, 13 &16. As I look back I can also say it has not been the easiest 4 years as there seems to have been so many other issues which they/we have had to overcome along the way, namely my husband losing his job, my Mum having breast cancer, my youngest son being bullied for almost a year at school, (during which time he broke his nose in a footballing accident, had a pot on his ankle, has been diagnosed with Junior Idiopathic Arthritis), he was also the sole witness to his uncle having a seizure in the middle of a field, my eldest son was in a car crash, we have had burglars twice, and more recently, the sudden deaths of 3 of their friends (ages 14,18 & 21). During this time, it is my youngest son who is the one who has caused me the most concern with regard to the effect all this has had on him and is currently getting help through the educational psychology services. He is 12 now and although we have had difficult times, I am now amazed how well he is doing - he is so caring, he often makes me a cup of coffee and if I'm upset he brings me tissues - he still gets concerned about me and was overheard last week telling my husband "not to wind me up"!! Children must be amazingly resilient - time, love and family support certainly go a long way in helping children deal with trauma. Sarah

Hi Vanessa, A warm welcome to you. I'm so sorry to hear this has happened to you - and just as you were setting off on a career to help others. I do hope you will be able to continue with it all before too long. In the meantime I'm sure you will concentrate on your own recovery and hope you get some help along the way through this wonderful site. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Phinella Welcome to BTG. On the whole you sound upbeat and doing well. I'm sure this site will help you during your own recovery whilst posting your story will help others. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Stephen, A warm welcome to BTG - glad you found us while searching - this is a great place to find following a sah as we have all suffered one and sharing experiences/concerns helps so much. You are very young to go through this, but you sound very positive despite the NHS not being very impressive at the outset. I too hardly ever visited my gp, so when I rang 999 knowing something was drastically wrong the paramedic left me at home saying "well, I could take you to hospital, but you've probably got better things to be doing on a Saturday afternoon"!! I didn't get to hospital until almost a week later. These and similiar stories of other members are really not acceptable. However, it is very early days for you and I certainly wouldn't recommend returning to work for a while, as work can be very draining on a brain that has just been through so much. Numbness/pins & needles are quite common, but would be worth mentioning to either your gp or consultant (you should have a follow up appointment in the near future) Sleep problems are also common, but mention that as well - make use of the NHS that is what it is designed for - never feel you are wasting their time. they are there to help us, not for letting us down in the first place. I wish you all the best in your recovery, Take care, Sarah

I have aura of migraine without the headache and I'm 100% convinced it is as a result of the sah. It is too much of a coincidence that in the 46 years leading up to the bleed, I never had a single episode of aura or migraine and within a day of my coiling operation I experienced my first episode and have had well over 100 auras in the 3years and nine months since my sah. Approximately 18 months after my sah, I started recording each time it happened in a diary. I have never been able to establish a pattern as to when or why I get them. There have been some months where I've not had one at all and other months I have had 4 or 5. I have had them at all times of the day - on a few occasions they have woken me up in the middle of the night. I was referred to a consultant opthamolgist at the hospital in July 2009 and she could find no ocular cause for this migraine type phenomenon. Because I had not had an episode of the zig-zag flashing lights in the three months prior to seeing her, she noted that these episodes had resolved, but if there was a recurrence I could be referred to a neurologist. As they did re-occur, I was referred to a neurologist in August 2010. Whilst there is medication available for migraines, I was advised that prophylactic agents have limited effectiveness in treating pure visual fortification spectra and mainly have an affect on headache frequency. Even with their suggested medication it was expected to only reduce the freqency by 50 % at best. My GP was not familiar with the drug the neurologist suggested so took his other advice which was to give me a prescription for a beta blocker. I have been taking this for the past two years and although I still get the auras, they are perhaps not quite as frequent as before and they also keep my blood pressure at a good level:-D I was also concerned that my other aneurysm which is a right ophthalmic artery aneurysm could be in any way causing the visual disturbances and I have been told it is not the case. There is no family history of migraines other than my sister who has bad migraines with the aura and the headaches which she has had most her life. I have often wondered if hers started as a result of being knocked down by a car at an early age when she sustained a head injury. I do remember my consultant saying that he was seeing more and more cases of aura following a sah. I am beginning to think this will be a life-long after effect of sah for me - I long for the day when I fully understand the aura of migraine - until then I will continue to wonder! Sarah

I'm sure many viewers to this site will find your information useful Patsy. I hope this route works for you. Jill, I'm not sure what the average time is to be re-issue your licence. At the time of my sah, I was unaware that we were to advise DVLA and when I asked a member of staff at the hospital when I could drive again, she had said 'when you feel ready'. It was not until a year later when I went in for more coiling that I was given a leaflet from the hospital saying that we need to inform them:lol: I did so at this point and whilst they never asked for my licence, they did make enquires through my consultant on my fitness to drive. Because my consultant told them I had visual disturbances since my sah, DVLA then asked me to go to an optician for a visual field test. Once DVLA got the results they told me I was ok to continue driving. That all happened quite quickly, but I guess it all depends on how efficiently information is dealt with and passed on. I would be inclined to ring DVLA once you think they've had long enough, despite them saying not to. I would also be inclined to SORN your car until you've heard so as not to waste your money. It's quite easy to remove the SORN declaration and tax your car when the time comes. Good luck, Sarah

Hi Julie-Ann, Welcome to BTG. The slowness to full recovery, (if there is such a thing) can be very frustrating. I have two anneurysms too - one coiled, the other is being monitored annually. Whilst I have not suffered with any pain since it ruptured I have suffered extreme tiredness and I found that very frustrating as I could only get through a day or two without day time naps of between 2 and 6 hours. I know we are all different and no two recoveries are the same, but the tiredness for me seemed to suddenly disappear at the 3 and half year mark. I'm now at 3years and 9 months, but to have had 3 months of feeling normal is nothing short of a miracle as far as I'm concerned. I have gone back slightly this week and had a couple of day time sleeps, but the 3 months without has given me hope that I will get longer periods without exhaustion setting in. All the best, Sarah

Welcome to BTG Debs. Glad you found us - a great place to be amongst others who have experienced the same thing. The way you describe feeling now is very common, but can still improve for you. I hope you manage to find some work eventually, perhaps start with a few hours if possible as working with tiredness is not easy as I'm sure others on here would agree. You can gain a lot from reading other people's experiences on here, but if you want to ask anything specific, just shout up and someone will come along and try and help. Sorry to hear you didn't get that piece of furniture you'd waited so long for:frown: Take care Sarah

Good title David, just a shame the bad and the 'very' ugly had to be in there. That nurse is obviously trying to raise people's blood pressure with comments like that:crazy: Let's hope your appointment is a good one with a capital G. Sarah

Hi Jack Welcome to BTG. Sorry to hear you have flu so early into your recovery. I'm 50 too and have had a few colds and coughs in the 3 years & 9 months since by bleed and nothing untoward has happened although I do have another unruputred aneursym sitting in my head so it can be a worry. It's very early days for you and anxiety plays a big part in those early days, but I think most on here would agree it diminishes with time. Take care and don't hesitate to ask any questions if you are at all concerned - there is always someone willing to help out. Sarah

Hello Jill and a warm welcome to BTG. It does take courage to post on a forum for the first time, so well done for doing so well with your first attempt. Hopefully you'll become more confident using the computer and finding your way around this site - being amongst other sah survivors is certainly a great aid in recovery. Having a small holding must be quite demanding and I too wondered if you have some help with it as you may be doing a bit too much at the moment. Take care, Sarah

Hi Shellie, You've every right to post on these boards - you've had a serious episode and the fact that you may feel you're not as ill as others is irrelevant - you need to recover just like anyone else does and it often helps talking to others who have been in a smiliar situation. Tears, mood swings etc are a common occurence following a bleed and perhaps letting your daughter know this might help her understand that it is not intentional or aimed at her specifically, it's just an after effect of a sah. Not sleeping properly will be a factor, but sleep patterns can also be affected by a bleed, but the good news is that all these should gradually improve over time. Certainly consider taking as long as possible with your phased return to work as working will possibly make you more tired than before especially when you do get back to 11 hour shifts and that could slow down improvements in other areas. You are also in the very early stages of recovery and being a nurse indicates that you must be a patient person and I'm sure one of more difficult things we all have to learn following a sah is patience. Wishing you all the best, Sarah

Hmm, I'd not heard of that before. Not a good time to read about it especially as I'm just off to the hairdressers! Hope that bit is soon over;-) Sarah

Hi Jus and a very warm welcome to BTG. I'm glad you found us all on this site as it seems to be helping you already knowing you are with others that have suffered the same thing. I was treated at the next neuro hospital down from you - the Hallamshire in Sheffield. I had my bleed in Nov 2008 and remember well the feelings and anxieties you are currently experiencing. My three children were 8, 13 and 15 back then and the same thoughts went through my head and I spent most of 2009 fretting about a second coiling op that I had to have to add some more coils. I was put on aspirin for 6 months following each op so there must be a good reason for it. The worry/anxiety does lessen with time like others have said. By the sounds of it, you are getting excellent support from your friend Wendy and there is always this site if you need to ask anything. Take care, Sarah

Congratulations Ron for getting to your first anniversary and your return to work - yes, who would have thought work could ever be so appealing! I'm sure that first year is the most difficult in recovery and I'm sure you can look back and see how much progress you have made during that year- well done, Sarah

Hi Olef I'm one of those who had extra coils put in. Likewise following an angiogram, they discovered the coils had settled and they wanted to add some more to further reduce the risk of blood entering the aneurysm and therefore reduce the risk of any possible further rupture. I was worried sick when I got the letter telling me this. I received the letter in April 2009, five months after my sah and it suggested I have the treatment in the next 4-6 weeks. I did not actually have the op until October 09. The reason was due to the operation being cancelled twice and although I got myself in a state for most of those six months, it was actually a lot better than the first one. I had the op on the Wednesday and was out on the Friday, feeling fine. Despite feeling well, I did take a couple of months off work after the second op as I didn't want to risk any set backs. As is standard practice, they informed me of the risks of the op but did say it would be easier for them this time as they didn't have the leaked blood to contend with whilst operating. The relief afterwards was immense and knowing that it would pose less of a risk bursting in the future made it all seem very worthwhile. Unfortunately I do have another aneurysm with a wide neck which they are monitoring annually and I am currently awaiting the results of a recent MRI, so I can't say I'm completely free of the worry yet, but I certainly wouldn't hesitate to have that one coiled if they deemed it necessary. I wish you all the best, Sarah

I'm certainly not superwoman David, but thanks for the title anyway! I have now been doing 3 jobs for a total of 4 weeks and so far, so good. A few of the extra days that I was asked to work at the cafe were cancelled due to the unseasonal summer weather, but I have been asked to work tomorrow so that a colleague can attend a funeral. I am actually amazed and don't want to speak to soon, but recently the extreme tiredness that I have suffered since my sah has abated. Whereas I was having a daytime sleep several days a week (anything from 2-6 hours) and having thought I would be like that for the rest of my life, I now get through nearly every day without a nap - many days I survive from 7am (ish) to 11 or 12 at night. The change happened about the 3 and half year mark for me - although that probably seems a long time away for some of you, it may give you some hope that it is possible for the tiredness to ease and in turn make life a little easier. I do hope I'm not tempting fate saying all this, but nearly 3 months of having normal energy levels is something I feel worth celebrating! Even my 11 year old son, who would often say "Oh, you're not going to sleep again are you?" has noticed the difference in me. I still don't have his energy levels, but it's a start. Keep going everyone, I'll give you all a gold star for effort! Sarah

Hello Maria and a warm welcome to BTG. Well, that exhausted me just reading the sequence of events that you went through - but glad you found this site which certainly helps when we leave hospital with no advice or information about what to expect during recovery. It's good to hear your balance and the right side weakness have improved for you - and that reading the experiences of others has helped too. Wishing you all the best in your continued recovery, Sarah

Hi Sam and welcome to BTG. I think it is only natural to feel confused, upset and worried to be told you have an aneurysm, probably not helped by the fact that you have had two contradicting locations of it. I presume the hospital would send your GP a letter in due course with the details, so you could check with him/her, or contact the hospital direct to get clarification. It is my understanding that a 2mm aneursym is quite small in comparison to some and if I were you I'd take the doctors word that you are a low risk and try your best to wait calmly to hear what they decide. I'm not sure if it helps at all, but I have a 3 or 4mm aneursym (can't remember the exact size) and have lived with the knowledge of having it for approx 3.5 years and remember clearly the feelings you are going through now, but as time has gone on I have found living with it a lot easier - even though I have also experienced a ruptured one. I have mine monitored annually and am currently awaiting results to see if there has been any change in the size, but I do manage to get through most days without even thinking about it, which I wouldn't have been able to do in those early days. I would be lying if I said I didn't worry at all, but I try my best not to as my youngest (11) would certainly pick up on it and then get worried himself. It certainly isn't a nice position to find yourself in, but I do hope it doesn't get to you too much. Take care, Sarah