kempse

Hi Vicky, Sorry to hear you were left feeling this way after your initial follow up. It appears that not all doctors/consultants have a good bedside manner, all of the time. I think they sometimes forget that, although they might be dealing with these things on a daily basis, it is all new to us and we are the ones that have actually had the sah and, if like me probably had no knowledge regarding aneursyms/ sah prior to having one. Therefore it would be of great help and also reassuring if we were given information when leaving hospital and more so at the first appointment. At my last appointment to see my consultant, he had not received the radiologists report either and I remember thinking wouldn't it have been a good idea to book me in after it had been received and analysed, and not before:roll: I think your consultant will write to your doctor following your visit, so maybe you could go through it with your GP. I know mine did following my first meeting and it was whilst visiting my doctor and asking if there was anything else in the letter that I should know about, that I was told about another aneursym that I have - it was not quite how I would have expected to find that out:roll:. I'm not suggesting this would be so in your case, but I do think if you are not sure about any thing, then do as the others have suggested and make sure you get satisfactory answers to at least give you the reassurance you deserve. Take care, Sarah

Hi Karen, Pleased that you have had things explained to you which does help in alleviating those endless how, when and what questions. Hope you manage to get through 25th next week without too much worry. Good luck for your return to work and trust you have some understanding colleagues;-) - and pupils for that matter! Sarah

Hello Julie, So nice to have you with us on this site, but sorry for the reasons you are. Your story is, like so many on here, quite amazing and I too think you have done remarkably well in such a short space of time - I think you should be very proud of yourself. I don't think you mentioned what type of work you do, but do take it steady, two hours might not sound much, but working is a different environment and all jobs do involve the brain which can make it exhausting. I took 5 months off and I didn't have to deal with half of what you have, I appreciate our recoveries are all different but do take it easy. Good luck with your continued recovery, Sarah

Hi Fiona, It seems a long time ago since my first follow up appt with Mr Patel and consequently can't remember too much detail. I think it was very much to see how I was doing, asked if I had any headaches etc. But if I were you, I would take a list of questions/queries you may have thought of since leaving hospital and take your hubby with you if poss, to help remember the answers! Further tests etc will probably depend upon your individual situation, but again ask if not sure of anything. All correspondence from Mr Patel following any meetings I have had with him, has always been sent to my GP and in the case that any letters have been sent to my GP and not me, my GP has printed me off a copy. I've not had any dealings with Headstart, so can't help on that one. Sarah

Good luck for later Amelia, make sure you tell them to set Britney up beforehand otherwise you might end up with something boring on the radio, like I did! Can't remember how long I waited for the results, but not too long. Sarah

A very warm welcome to you Ian, I know many of us have been so grateful for this site, which has brought reassurance from what is a very frightening experience. At least now that you are among other sah survivors, you will no longer feel so alone and can see from others, that things do improve over time. Don't hesitate to ask any questions that may concern you, there will usually be someone around who has experienced something similar and is now wearing the T-shirt - this is a great, friendly community and it is nice to have you with us:-D Good luck with your continued recovery, Sarah

Hi Fiona, A warm welcome to BTG which I'm sure you will find an invaluable place to get advice and understanding. This all happened very recently for you, so you are doing well to have found us and posted already - the 10 min reading span will improve in due course. I live just outside Sheffield and assume you were in the Hallamshire too. I'm glad you have family and friends to help out - I found that invaluable in the early days - in fact I could do with a bit now - over 2 years on!! Take care and hope to hear from you again in due course, Sarah

Carolyn, so sorry you have been through all this:frown: I did notice you hadn't posted for a day or two and was hoping you were ok - obviously not. You do however always manage to contain a positive attitude, even when things are not going well. It must be a worry about the cost of health care and not having the insurance, but knowing your family are there to support you is so reassuring. I do hope these incidents don't happen often, and that you feel much better today. Take care of yourself - a big, cyber bouquet of flowers are on their way:-D Sarah

Karen, it concernes me to think you are feeling so low and alone. I can't imagine you have had the time or space to deal with your own recovery as you have had such a lot to contend with during this past year, and if it's anything like me, you just don't get a break from it all. I think you did really well returning to the ward you were on and as Sandi said, it probably brought back a lot of memories. I know your girls mean the world to you and I am sure you won't like feeling this way but hopefullly you will overcome this in due course. In the meantime, come on here, where you are among friends who have the time to listen and support you. I hope you enjoyed your recent holiday. Take care, Sarah

Hi Karen, I'm sorry to hear you have had another seizure, it must be frustrating and upsetting when all you want is to get better quickly. Hopefully your appointment will be fruitful on Thursday, make sure you have all your questions to hand to make the most of it. A return to work interview in the middle of it all, will not have helped, but I hope you are not considering returning until you feel well enough in yourself. I don't think you need to consider contributing to others on the forum - we all go through the stage of wanting help, answers etc and I am sure the time will come when you feel able to reciprocate. In the meantime you need to put all your energy into your own recovery. Best wishes, Sarah

Thanks for posting that Momo - I'm sure many will be able to relate to the condition. Sarah

Hello Mary and welcome to BTG. I think you have done extremely well with all you have been through - it's hard work bringing up a family when in the best of health and knowing from a family member, who has twin girls (and 2 boys) that it is very hard work. The youngest of my own 3 was eight at the time of my sah and I'm sure having this has made it so much harder. I definitely don't think you are going mad - on a quick calculation, I assume your girls are in their mid teens now, which is not always the easiest time to be a mother (I have a 15yr old daughter and 18 and 10 yr old sons) and find my patience is pushed to the limit sometimes. It might be worth a chat with your gp if it is really getting to you. Sarah

I firmly believe that my blood pressure rose, causing my aneursym to burst, due to the stress I was under at the time, although when the paramedic came it was raised but not sufficently for him to be alarmed, possibly why he left me home alone:roll: On leaving hospital I was told to have it checked every 6 months but when I went in for my second coiling I was told by my consultant to have it taken weekly for the 6 weeks prior to my op. It must have been ok then, but more recently, again due to stress, has been higher and at my request (don't want to risk my other annie rupturing) I have been put on Atenolol which I have been taking for a week now. I go to the docs next Thursday where presumably he will take my bp again. I think it wise to have it checked regularly anyway and am glad that mine is being monitored as it has been so up and down:roll:. Sarah

Hi Amelia, You should be fine with this. They will talk you through it beforehand. I didn't have any dye with mine, but I do remember it being rather noisy - clanking when it took the photos, but the ear phones they give you will help a bit. Certainly nothing to worry about. Take care, Sarah

Hi Sarah, I can't help you with this, but I am sure Leo, who I believe had the injection, won't mind you sending her a pm to ask her any questions - I know she comes on here still, but may not see this thread straight away, especially if it gets pushed to the back. She would see a personal message straight away I think. I hope it does all work out for you as the headaches sound awful. Good luck, Sarah

Good luck Vivien, It will be nice to hear how you go on - I have an unruptured annie close to my opthalmic artery and have often wondered how close that is to my eyes:frown: Sarah

Hi Sue, I can't quite remember when I had my first alcoholic drink after sah, but it was several months. I do have a glass or two of wine now, but that is guaranteed to send me to sleep, so I only do that once or twice a week. It always makes me more thirsty too, so probably not a good idea to try it too soon. I am trying to cut down on the coffee at the mo, but even that's proving hard;-) Sarah

Hi Sue and a warm welcome to BTG:smile5: I too was 46 at the time of my bleed and likewise was told to carry on as before (apart from move furniture, which wasn't in my daily routine anyway), which in reality is not quite that simple. It takes time to recover and get back to normal, something that they often omit to tell us. It is very recently that this happened to you and I believe the best way to make the best possible recovery, is to rest as much as possible and drink plenty of water. It is surprising how much the combination of these two things do help in getting us back to normal. I didn't get much chance to do the resting bit in the first year, but I do rest more now if my head begins to feel a bit odd and by rest I mean day time sleep! I believe if you do the resting now, you will gain the benefits later - I think I went about it the wrong way round:roll: Wishing you well, Sarah

Hi Dermot, Welcome to BTG - I'm sure someone will be along shortly to help with your query. The only weights I lift are bags of shopping;-) so not much help to you really. Enjoy your evening, Sarah

Sandi, Sorry to hear you experienced this over the weekend. I can relate to this as I have this type of migraine although in my case, they call it acephalgic migraine which as far as I can gather it is an occular migraine with a different name. Please note that the following is my experience and should not be relied upon or connected to anyone elses experiences of occular migraine. See a GP if in any doubt. In my case I am in no doubt that it is a result of the sah. I experienced my first visual disturbance, in the form of zig-zag, moon shaped, flashing lights, the day after my coiling op in Nov 08. I had never had anything before that and more recently have kept a diary of the incidents. Fortunately, although I have recorded 46 incidents since starting this diary, with an estimated 20 -30 more other episodes, I do not ever suffer a headache with it. They do however, shake me up each time and quite often result in extra tiredness. The episodes vary in length, but on average last about 20 mins. I have been trying to establish a pattern or reason why I get them, but nothing concrete as yet. There was a period of 3 months in 09 when I didn't have a single episode, but the week before last I had this phenomenon on 4 consecutive days which was a first. This coincided with the week I was signed off with stress. In June, 2010 I had my first and only experience of double vision where I had two images of everything on top of each other and it lasted for at least 12 hours. On the orders of my then 15 year old daughter, I rang NHS direct (a 24 hour health helpline in the uk). Because of my sah history, they sent for an ambulance and I was taken to hospital where they did a CT scan. This confirmed I had not had another bleed, but I was put on a list to have another MRI scan and subsequently had an appointment with a neurologist whose diagnosis was acephalgic migraine. This incident left me extremely tired, so much so that I was virtually asleep while they did the CT scan. I was discharged the next day, but do remember finding it difficult to get anyone to come and fetch me because England were just about to play in a world cup match! (I had, in July 09 seen an opthamolgist too) They were not 100% sure what had caused me to have the double vision, but they had discovered "evidence of an old stroke" on my scan plus a small amount of infarction (dead tissue - I think) I was under the impression that this old stroke was in addition to my sah, but need to check that at my next appt. My concern was that my other unruptured aneursym is apparently close to my opthalmic artery and I wondered if that had caused the double vision in any way. The Radiologist stated in a letter that he thought that was not the case. The neurologist suggested certain medications which might help reduce the occurence of visual disturbance and I was prescribed one of these drugs by my GP last week. Sarah

Hi Rog, Sorry to hear you are feeling like this - I don't think it's uncommon and is probably because of the two things happening in a relatively short time of each other. Your wife is obviously doing very well and I can only assume the being slightly less patient than before is only due to tiredness - whether we be toddlers or adults we all get more impatient when tired and that is something us sahers appear to suffer from. Hopefully you will feel more relaxed when your wife has had the coils checked and you have had chance to talk to her consultant. I'm not sure what else to say to reassure you, but I don't let it bother me too much and I live with another unruptured aneursym and carry on looking after my 10 year old and two teenagers. I think in time and perhaps with the help of counselling, you too will be able to carry on without this constant worrying. Take care, Sarah

Hello Jan, A very warm welcome to you. I know you will not feel as lonely now that you have found this site and are amongst others who have had the misfortune to suffer a sah too. It was just over a year after mine, that I discovered this site and I have not looked back - it is full of friendly people who regularly use it and offer a lot of support as well as helpful advice. Don't hesitate to air any concerns/queries that may crop up - it's the best way to get through what is, as you describe, a scary experience. Take care, Sarah

Well, Nessie, it sounds like you have had more than your fair share of things to deal with. It also strikes me that you have come a long way since those early days and I hope you continue to make progress in all aspects. Hopefully, being on here will help you a lot, as we don't tend to make a noise! I remember having a great dislike to noise early on. In fact I came home from hospital and on the first day back, two of my three kids were bickering and I said "send me back to hospital for some peace" I also found talking to others was difficult and often left the group as I started to feel dizzy. For me things have improved greatly, but I don't think I was as bad as you describe. My hubby lost his job during my first year of recovery and again this year so I know what stress that can bring. I also had blood entering the aneursym following the initial coiling and had to have more coiling done, and whilst it was not a nice thought with it pending, I am glad to have had it done. I hope you gain some more improvements over the coming months and don't forget we are all here to support you along the way. Sarah

It all sounds very positive Lynne, hope it all works out. I know you will be an asset to the Shaw Trust. Sarah

Hello Nessie, It's wonderful to have you on here with us. The beauty of this site is that we all do understand and please don't worry about it all being a bit much to start with. What you have told us so far is a good step and we are all here to help and support you in your own time. You will find many of us have felt the same during our recovery. I hope you will join us again when you feel up to it, Take care, Sarah.