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Hi Zoe, I was saddened by your post and really feel for you being faced with this current dilemma. We all know you that it has been a difficult time for you all since Rich was taken ill and we also know that you have given 110% to help him in his recovery. The safety of you and the children are obviously of paramount importance and the daily worries must be an enormous strain for you. Your final decision will inevitably be a hard one to make, but I guess you have already spent some time trying to weigh it all up and possibly spoken to others for advice, if not maybe Headway have someone who could help. You will know better than any of us how things are between you and the difficulties you face, so whatever you decide, we will be here to listen and support if needed. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi James and welcome to BTG. A well written account of your experience of sah and I sense a determination to get back to what you enjoy doing. Drinking plenty of water is probably better at this stage of recovery than swimming in it! Last month I was watching some competitors taking part in a triathlon- from my lounge window;-) Despite thinking how gruelling it must be, I now realise that at 420m swim, 20K bike and a 7KM run round the Derbyshire peak district, must seem like a mere walk in the park to you! All the best for your continued recovery, Sarah

Hi Tracy, So pleased you are finally finding some relief from the pain - a week without pain must make you feel a lot more optimistic and therefore a lot happier. Taking the time to write your post will hopefully help others in a similar situation. I wish you well and hope things continue improving, Sarah

Hi Samantha, Well done for getting through all that! They're horribly noisy things aren't they:roll: I had one on the 25th July, but it was a short one compared to my previous one, only 8 mins which was quite long enough to be in there! I hope you don't have to wait too long to find out the results - unlike me who is still waiting a month later! Hope you are feeling a bit better and more relaxed now it's over. Liked the comment about L plates - not that we really need learners when dealing with our brains! Take care, Sarah

Hi there, I'm trying to cast my mind/memory back to those early days to give you some useful advice, but I am failing miserably! I guess it is not too early to be discharged if the consultant is happy with things. I was in for 11 days in total although I was not 'coiled' until the 4th day, (11 days after the event). I don't recall being told that the first 3 months were critical - I might have taken to my bed if I'd known that! To ensure she takes the nimodipine at the 4 hourly intervals is helpful - I used to set my phone alarm as it meant taking it during the night - I think the drug is to prevent vasospasm, so is important. She will no doubt be told of things not to do, such as lifting or basically anything that might strain the brain. As with all major surgery, I think rest and plenty of fluids will help. She might get strange sensations in her head over the coming weeks which is quite normal. Let us know how you get on or give us a shout if you have any concerns. All the best, Sarah

Hi Elaine, good to see you have found BTG so early on, I'm sure it will help by reading other people's experiences. The symptoms you describe are pretty normal following a sah, but if you are feeling overly scared/frightened by any of them, then perhaps a visit to the docs for a chat might be an idea, if only for peace of mind. I visited my gp within a week or two of getting home from hospital because I was so tired and was getting muddled by all the tablets I was having to take! I remember how anxious and frightened I felt when my Dad, who had taken me to the docs, said he was going to wait in the car. Hardly things that would normally concern me, but in those early days it was quite common to feel uneasy and scared. Things do and will get better. I'm not a 'gym' person so can't help with that, but Gill is right about the driving - not that I knew that at the time of my sah, so I drove when I felt up to it, it was only after my second op, a year later that I found out you are supposed to advise the DVLA if you have suffered a sah. In my case they let me continue to drive, but wrote to my consultant for a report, then advised me to have a field vision test at the opticians. A phone call to them, when you feel up to it, should get the ball rolling. Everyone's recoveries vary, but getting sufficient rest and drinking plenty of water does help the brain recover from the trauma. I wish you well, but don't forget we are here if needed. Sarah

Hello Victoria and a warm welcome to you. I think many of us can relate to what a shock it is to have suffered a sah and the many questions of what you can and can't, should or shouldn't do. You are very early on in recovery and as others have suggested, you perhaps ought to try and rest as much as possible now as many of us have learnt the hard way and tried to do to much too soon. I believe it's a case of doing what you feel comfortable with but bearing in mind that your brain will object if overstretched. I personally took 5 months off work. I work in a bank so finance and figures were all there and even after 5 months my brain couldn't handle it like it once had. I am fine with it now although I still get "Brain fog" if tired. If you do decide to try working, I would certainly stick to a couple of hours to start with - you may be fine, but again be prepared that it might not be as easy as you had hoped. It's so hard to judge as everyone's recovery is so different. I thought everyone who had coils put in had a follow up appointment approximately 3 months later, so I would get your gp to check that out. As for other aftercare, it is in short supply, although there is currently a link to a survey on here, the results of which will hopefully lead to an improved aftercare service in the future. Wish you all the best in your recovery, Sarah

Hi fancydancer. Welcome to BTG. Isn't it so annoying that A&E only see chest pains as serious, don't blame yourself for leaving - many of us on here were actually seen by the medical profession and still turned away - so staff at A&E 'check-in' need their awareness raising too by the sounds of it. The wrong words coming out is quite common following a sah - the passage of time has helped me with that - it' really early days at the moment for you, so your brain will need a lot of rest to help it's recovery. There is a lot of combined experience on this site, so don't hesitate to ask questions if anything is bothering you. A list of questions is always helpful to take along to your follow up appointment too. I wish you all the best, Sarah

Hi Kate, A belated welcome to BTG. I'm sorry to hear your Dad suffered this awful event, but glad you have found this site which will hopefully give you a lot of advice and reassurance regarding recovery. I suppose the medical team will be a bit mystified by the high grade bleed and not finding the origin/cause, so hopefully your Dad's next scan will help with that. I appreciate everyone's story is different, but there is a lady who lives in our village who was never operated on following a bleed, and although in her case it was known to be caused by an aneurysm, she is doing fine and the sah happened 16 years ago. It sounds like your Dad has done really well in the past 6 months - the way he feels is understandable and very common following a sah. When he is ready, I'm sure he will find comfort from this site and realise he is not alone in how he feels. I wish you all the very best. Sarah

Hi Robert and welcome to this site. To have gone through two sahs is very unfortunate to say the least. I wondered if your second aneursym had been discovered and monitored after the first rupture or whether the rupture of it was the first you knew it was even there. I have an untreated, unruptured aneurysm so it's always at the back of my mind that I could suffer a second sah, although I am putting my trust in those who are checking it annually. I am currently waiting the results of a recent MRI scan. The only family history that I am aware of in my family is that my Mum's Dad died of a sah in later life, but my Mum is not sure whether it was caused by an aneursym or not. You obviously have a wonderful son there whose actions were something he should be very proud of. I know my own son, when he was nine (he was 11, 2 days ago), was the only one present when his uncle had his first and only seizure. That was in the middle of a field and he had to run over half a mile to get my sister who then got an ambulance. I think they both deserve a medal! I'm not sure if you have heard whether you will need more coiling yet, but I remember being particularly emotional around the time when I found out I needed more coils put in. My only regret was that I hadn't discovered this forum at that time - I think if I had, it would have made that part of the journey so much easier. I wish you all the best in your continued recovery. Sarah

Hi Karen, I don't personally ever feel nauseous, but I can certainly relate to the tiredness, forgetfulness and either the right word not being there at all, or some other random word comes out instead. The latter two being more frequent when I'm tired which I have to say is far too often for my liking. Yesterday was a good day for me, I took my son and 3 friends out for his birthday. We were out 6 hours, then his friends stopped here the night (they were supposed to sleep in a tent in the garden but came in because they were too hot!). I was woken by them this morning at 6am, but it has taken 2x2hour naps today to feel normal again. My sah was in Nov 2008 (with a second coiling Oct 2009) and I was hoping by now I would be able to get through more days without having to resort to a daytime sleep. I'm 49 now and get quite frustrated at the amount of time I waste during the day being asleep. I ought to keep a diary so I could see how many days I do go without napping - Sorry I don't have any useful answers for you, but I think you could find you will have occasional blips and will just have to bear with it. I hope it doesn't become frequent for you especially when back at school. I only work part-time, but do do full days - I have managed this for the past two years without actually falling asleep on the job, so I hope you do too! Hope you feel better soon, Sarah

Hi Katie, a warm welcome to BTG. I have to agree, the others are right. I think the hardest part is having to accept that life has to become a bit slower in order to gain the best in recovery, particularly, if your life beforehand was like mine and others on here - ie. non-stop! My 3 kids were slightly older than yours when I was ill (8,13&15) and carrying on as before (or more like having to) was no mean feat. I soon learnt to take up any offers of help. I also took 5 months off work, but running your own business might not prove as easy. Try not to get too frustrated as you really are in the very early days - I believe you will benefit much more in the long run if you do rest and drink plenty of water now and go along with what your body is telling you rather than trying to fight it. A common problem between us on here is that no-one can actually see a brain injury and therefore a lot of people just can't comprehend how much we are actually affected by it. Hopefully, you will gain a lot of insight from this site and will become better prepared for the recovery journey ahead. Take care, Sarah

That is a long wait Karen and what a day for your appointment to fall. I was only asking someone the other day when GCSE results day was, but she didn't know, so thanks for that information. I think my 16 year old daughter was probably keeping her knowledge of this date from me on purpose! I am currently waiting the results of an MRI too. I had my scan on 25th July and was told I would get the results in 10 days - I wish they wouldn't tell you this when they obviously can't count!! Joking aside, the waiting period is not nice, I do hope I am not kept waiting that long:shock:. I wish you well for 25th, Sarah

That's great news Win, I think it deserves a sing song! Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Zoe, Good that you have taken the time out to let us know that you are still around and your update has some encouraging parts to it. Hopefully the counselling will eventually swing things round and be more of a benefit that it appears at the moment. Great to know the kids are doing well and keeping you on an even keel. Having to apply for a job later in the year is just an added stress for you, but you are an amazingly strong person who, I'm sure, will cross that bridge when the time comes. I hope all goes well with the scan on 15th. Keep in touch and take care, Sarah

Welcome to BTG Eric. You are doing well to post on here so soon after the event. Personally I didn't suffer the symptoms you mention, but I'm glad others have given you reassurance with this. I hope your angiogram goes well and I'll keep my fingers crossed that they don't find any aneursyms. Take care, Sarah

Hi Riane, A warm welcome to BTG. So glad you found us all so soon after your event - being amongst people who have experienced the same awful event is a great aid in recovery. It appears you are already discovering that how you feel is actually quite normal after a sah and that things can and do improve over a period of time. I'm sure it must be frustrating for you to see your garden suffer especially with all the hard work that must have gone into it. You sound very creative so photography seems like a good starting point - also seeing how well you write, maybe that could be something for you to continue, although I would imagine it could be quite tiring for the brain. I wish you well in your continued recovery, with best wishes, Sarah

Hello Samantha and a warm welcome to BTG. I'm sorry that you have suffered a sah and the experience that you have had. It is very frustrating and annoying when people say things like that to you - I don't think they would be saying such things if they had to walk in the shoes of someone who has had a sah. Such comments are most unhelpful. I'm not sure how long ago this happened to you, but having been a member on here for some time, I have read many stories where people have improved considerably over time and I hope you can be comforted and inspired by these stories too. There is a lot of support through this website from people who have been through a sah and I'm sure this will be of benefit to you. Take care, Sarah

Hi Michelle, Congratulations for getting through that so bravely. I had an MRI scan yesterday too and am always relieved when they're over. At least I didn't have a long journey like yourself to get to a scanner. Now we have the unenviable wait for the results:roll: Let's keep our fingers crossed that these will be good for both of us. Take care, Sarah

I'm sure being given the all clear has given you peace of mind and it's good that they will check you again in the future. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Minan, A warm welcome to you. I'm sorry that you had this accident, but glad you have found this site. It must be doubly difficult going through recovery on your own - I think all members on here have been very grateful to have found this site which suddenly answers a lot of those niggling doubts we have about ourselves following a sah. Like Sandi said, we do have a couple of regular members from the states - one of the wonders of the world wide web! Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Steven, Welcome to BTG. It sounds like you are doing really well despite it being such a short time since the event added to the fact that you were delayed getting attention. Mind you, I was operated on on day 11, had severe vasospasm and that was having rung 999 as the sah was happening, so unfortunately it doesn't always work out any better or quicker if, like in my case, you try and get help straight away and the professionals can't/don't detect the seriousness of it. But like you, I came out of it ok and am truly grateful to have been given that chance to see my kids grow up as I'm sure you are too. I wish you well in your continued recovery. Sarah

I've not heard of this method of treatment, but it maybe of interest to me, if Karen is right and it is used for wide neck aneursyms as apparently that is what I have. My only hope would be that they are better at sticking things together with their super glue than I am with mine, whereby I get everything stuck together except the intended target! I suppose another option to coiling and clipping has got to be welcome news. I wonder if anyone else has had this method discussed with them, as I have not even heard of it before today. Sarah

Hi Kate, Glad you found this website which seems to have helped you already in realising recovery from a sah is not as easy as some medics make out. They are, it appears from your story and the many other stories on here, quite good at misdiagnosis in the first place:roll: I am not sure how anyone can give a prediction on recovery time or tell us how it is unless you have been through it and even then we all differ. To say you had glandular fever on top, I think you are doing extremely well, but only you will know when you are recovered enough to face work. It can be frustrating at times - I still suffer from the tiredness 2.5 years on, but have learned to accept that a day time sleep every now and then works wonders! Take care and all the best for your continued recovery. Sarah

Hi Michael Welcome to BTG - good to have you here - sounds like you are doing pretty well. Sorry can't help with the RSL - not much fun if it disturbs you at night though:frown: Look forward to seeing inside your head if you get round to putting your disc on here - I have only seen glimpses of mine and the only image that I can remember vividly is the one that was of vasospasm which was not a pretty sight. Thanks for sharing your story and wishing you all the best for your continued recovery, Sarah