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A warm welcome, Angela - I'm sorry to read that your partner was one of the unfortunate ones, like most of us on here, to have suffered a sah and that you have had to deal with the trauma too. It is a very scary experience for everyone involved, but it is nice to know that he is doing so well this early on - I am sure he will continue to make good progress over the coming weeks. I wish you both well for the future, but if you have any queries in the meantime, then there is always someone here willing to help. Sarah

I am sorry to hear about your husband. Please try not to worry too much, although I know that's easier said than done. It is such early days for you both. Your husband is in the best place, where he will be closely monitored. I was a sufferer of a sah, but I would imagine it is almost worse to be the partner of someone who has gone through it. I know every minute probably seems like an hour at the moment, but I think being patient is really the only thing to be at the moment. Just try and take each day as it comes - our minds have a habit of thinking further on than perhaps we should. If you can possibly concentrate on the present time and just be there for him when you can. The recovery process varies with each individual and timescales also vary so much- I think as long as you are aware that it may take some time, then you will be better prepared . My only other suggestion would be for you to make sure you get plenty of rest yourself and accept any help/support from friends/family - it won't be an easy time for you, but do not hesitate to ask any questions on here - as there is usually someone able to give some good advice. Best Wishes, Sarah

So glad you had a good weekend Jo. Hope this is the new beginning that you so deserve. Best wishes, Sarah

Sorry I don't know your name, but I think you have been very courageous telling your story on here. It is not an easy thing to do, even for those of us who were lucky enough to survive a sah, so well done and I'm sure writing it will have helped you in the grieving process. I am not surprised the tears flowed, you were so young when this happened - I hope you can reflect on the good memories of your Dad before he was so sadly taken away from you. Don't forget there is always someone on here willing to listen or have a chat if you should so wish. Sending you a big hug, Sarah

Hi Saffy, I know waiting to hear from hospitals is never very quick - I don't think they can realise how anxious we all get while waiting. It is a roller coaster ride with emotions - not helped by the fact that you are struggling with sleep too. Unfortunately I don't have any idea how much it would be to go private, so can't help on that one - although I used to type up reports in a medico-legal practice and I think the staff used to just ring a hospital to find out the cost of operations etc, so it might be worth enquiring when you ring the hospital on Wednesday or at least they may be able to put you in the right direction. Take Care Sarah

Hi Paula, It's nice to hear from you again. I'm so pleased to hear your son's are such a help to you, that will undoubtedly make life a bit easier for you. I can't personally help you with what type of help is available out there, but maybe someone on here can. Have you spoken to Citizens Advice, they are usually very helpful. I hope you continue well in your recovery and have more good days and less bad days. Sarah

Hi Missy, A warm welcome to you. Like you say, not a nice Valentine's Day pressie, but it is encouraging to hear you have no side effects. It is very early days for you and I remember my head feeling most peculiar for some time afterwards. I too was very tired, I think a lot was caused by the fact I never got a full nights sleep whilst I was taking the tablets that I was given when I left hospital - I had to set my phone alarm to wake me up at 2am then 6 am to fit them all in!! I was also on antibiotics to add to the list, as I got an infection in my hand where the cannula had been. Rest and plenty of fluids like Louise said, is advice worth taking. I think if it is worrying you, it may be worth a visit to the Docs if only for peace of mind - I went quite a few times in the early days as no-one had explained how I might be or feel afterwards, so every twinge etc was a worry. Coincidentally, you are the same age as me. All the best, Sarah

Hi there, I can only really repeat what others have said before me. Unfortunately, anyone who has the misfortune to have suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage is more than likely to change in some way from the person they once were -whether this be a slight change or something more profound. I personally did not think I had changed at all, but I think it is often the case, that the sufferer is unaware that they are different and sometimes it takes someone on the outside to notice, especially someone as close as you are. My daughter likewise was the only one present, when I had my haemorrhage and although I didn’t have a fit, I very nearly passed out. She also overheard my conversation when I phoned 999, so I think it must be a very scary thing for a family member to witness. I didn’t however, suffer any of the problems that your Mum did, which must have been difficult for you all. My daughter was a bit younger than you were at the time, (13) and is the only one in the family that comments that I am different now to what I was. I don’t think I can have changed radically like maybe your Mum has, but I am more short-tempered than before, I worry about things a lot more now, which in turn makes me become more anxious. I am frequently getting told by my family members to either “calm down” or “stop worrying”. In fact my daughter, who is now 15 said to me the other day “me and you are supposed to be friends, but how can I be friends with someone who is as mad and weird as you are” – not one for mincing her words!! I tried to convince myself that she had said this because of the fact that she is a teenager rather than me actually being how she perceived me to be, but who knows! As hard as it may be, I think you will just have to accept your “new” Mum the way she is. Try not to blame her, as it probably through no fault of her own, but that of the bleed affecting the part of her brain that operates personality. I know it must be difficult for you, but may be counselling would help you on this one. You are obviously a very caring person and are dealing with a tricky situation, but hopefully things can and will improve for you both. Could you persuade your Mum to join this website, if she has never really talked about it she may find it easier to talk to people in a similar situation? Maybe she hasn’t wanted to burden her family with how she feels. I have been very emotional – in tears over the smallest of things in the 16 months since my sah, but I would say that since joining this site (at the beginning of this year) and having talked to others, I seem to have improved, tears are a lot less frequent and in myself I feel a lot happier and more relaxed – I think just writing your story and getting it off your chest can actually help. According to my daughter I talk about it too much – whilst I believe it helps me to talk, she would prefer not to listen and has recently told me to “build myself a bridge and get over it” and despite this sounding harsh, a friend of mine has told me she is probably scared stiff it might happen again having witnessed it once. Therefore it’s as if she does not want to acknowledge that it ever happened – probably preferring the “old” me to the “new” me, so you can’t always win either by talking or by not talking! Not sure if any of this will have helped, but I wish you all the best for the future. Sarah,

A warm welcome, Graham. I’m sure you will find this website useful, it seems most topics relating to the after effects of sah are discussed on here, and there is usually someone who has suffered with similar problems. You could always start a thread if you have a specific query that you would like advice on. I read somewhere on here that someone had started yoga which helped their mood – don’t know if it’s macho enough for you to try, but it may be worth considering – might help with sleeping problems – not sure if last night was a one off for you, or a regular occurrence, but lack of sleep will no doubt be a factor in how you feel, especially if you are working too. Take Care, Sarah

Hello Saffy, Glad to hear you saw a nice person who explained everything today. I know you will be worrying about it, but it doesn't seem to be too far away. If you had chosen not to have the coiling, I feel you would have been worrying for a lot longer, so that's one positive way of looking at it. I can only speak from my own experience and although I have had a coiling operation twice, the second one would be more like yours as it was without the heamorrhage. Following this coiling, my head felt absolutely fine, I do not know how long the procedue took, but apart from being a bit tired from the aneathetic I felt perfectly ok and normal. I don't recall any discomfort at all, but others may have a different story to tell. I had it done on a Wednesday and was out on the Friday. I think it is a good idea to rest afterwards as and when you feel the need to. Best to drink plenty of fluids too, (they will make you do this after the op anyway). In the weeks leading up to the op I was very scared, so I think it is pretty normal how you are feeling, but when you have had it done, you will feel so much relief, I'm sure. You will get looked after very well in hospital and there is always someone around to ask any questions. I even had another patient consoling me the night before the op, as I was in floods of tears! I was also offered something to calm me down on the morning of the op, so I took it without hesitation! Don't forget you can come on here and ask as many questions as you like - I really do understand how anxious it can make you feel. Best wishes, Sarah.

All the best for tomorrow evening, Saffy, I hope you manage to have a peaceful nights sleep tonight. Will be thinking of you, Sarah

Morning Laanka, I see you might be online, so just wanted to say "well done", I am so pleased to hear you have had it done and presume you are pleased that it is out of the way. I trust you are a bit more relaxed now. Hope you are feeling ok and all the best for the future. Sarah

Hi Diane, It does appear to vary with the timescale with DVLA. In my case, DVLA wrote for a report from my consultant last October, who then sat on it until he saw me in January. My Consultant then sent his report to DVLA ,who then wanted me to have a visual field eye test, this took a couple of days to arrange - I think it took place on 4th Feb and today, 27th Feb I have received a letter from DVLA saying I can keep my licence. So a total of 4 months in my case, but I had never actually surrended my licence in the first place (as I was unaware I even had to advise DVLA following SAH and only told them 11 months later, most of this time I had been driving anyway), so whilst I think the intention is there from DVLA to let you know as quickly as poss, it does take time for things to go through the system and I presume it will also depend on the individuals circumstances. If might be worth giving them a ring in due course to see if you can find out any more - they have always seemed to be very friendly and helpful whenever I rang. Best wishes, Sarah

Karen, Firstly, I would like to wish you well for your forthcoming MRA scan. I coincidentally received some correspondence yesterday in connection with a trial that I had taken part in, but it appears it is not the same study as you participated in. The title of my research study trial was @neurIST:Intergrated biomedical informatics for the management of cerebral aneurysms, which in plain English is a study into the causes, natural history and therapies of intracranial anerusyms, trying to discover which genes are involved etc. I must have a look at the website sometime to see how the study is progressing. Anyway, I hope you manage to find the answers you are looking for. Best wishes, Sarah

Saffy, I can sympathise with you with the predicament you are faced with. It will be a worrying time for you, discovering that you have an aneurysm, but the fact that it has been discovered before it has had the possible chance of rupturing is, I believe, a fortunate thing, although it probably doesn’t feel this way to you at the present time. Many of us on here only discovered we had aneurysms after they had ruptured which obviously can be very serious. I too was faced with a similar dilemma – having to decide whether to have an aneurysm re-coiled. I remember how distraught I was about having to make that decision. It is not an easy decision that you are having to make, but you are going to see the experts next week, so I would suggest that you make a list beforehand of all your concerns and queries, to take with you, no matter how many that might be, and hopefully when you have the answers to them, the decision should hopefully become a little easier. Also, it’s a good idea to take a family member with you, it always helps for remembering things! I do myself have another un-ruptured aneurysm, (4mm) so I may have to make the same decision in the future. Although I was very hesitant and worried about making the decision last time, I have had a haemorrhage and can honestly say that now, having so much more knowledge than I did then, I would not hesitate to have my second aneurysm coiled if it was deemed necessary by my consultant. That of course would be my choice and I am not faced with this at the moment like you are. I do wish you well with whatever decision you make – there are many of us on here who have experienced coiling, so you must not feel you are alone on this one and can always raise any concerns with us. All the best, Sarah

Aakki, Hello and welcome, Whilst I had an aneurysm that bled, something we all seem to have in common, is the feeling of how scary it all was and how thankful we are to still be here! I think it is very worthwhile slowing down and resting where you can, during the initial recovery and would suggest you ask your Doctor/Consultant at your next appointment as to when you can resume sport etc. Others on this site have had a non aneurysm bleed, so may be able to help more than I can. I thought it was cold here (minus 3) until I read what you are experiencing in Finland! I hope you manage to keep warm and wish you well for the future. Sarah. (I have just seen that you posted just before me this morning!)

Hi Karen, If you are still collecting data, mine is as follows: Age at SAH - 46 Ruptured annie - Basilar artery and coiled - 2nd unruptured/untreated annie, but no idea where that one is -out of sight, out of mind (If only). Female. Sarah

Morning Luisa, Yes I am short sighted and have been since the age of 7 or 8. The sah did not particularly affect my sight. I had to go to the optician last week to have my field (peripheral) vision checked because the Driving Licence Authority wanted it checked out to see if it had been affected and see whether I am fit to drive (because of the Aura). This was fine, in fact the Optician said she thought the DVLA would think we had cheated because it was so good! So that was a relief. The Optician also checked my normal vision and this has got slightly worse but not enough to buy a new pair of glasses. I wore contact lenses most of my life but find it more comfortable to wear glasses these days. Luckily I don't have a problem with double vision but I do find lights so much brighter than before the sah. I do not like driving at night because other car headlights cause me more of a problem than before - I even turned the brightness down on my computer last night, as that even seemed too bright! I am sorry you still have this problems when you move your eyes up and down, but hopefully it might improve over time. Have you sought advice from an optician/opthamologist as if might be an idea if you haven't. I know it must be such a nuisance for you, the aura I get seems to happen too often for my liking and often lasts up to half an hour. During this time it virtually stops me from doing anything which is inconvenient to say the least! Take care, Sarah

Hi Laanka, Sorry I haven’t posted on your thread before, but I hadn’t discovered this website when you first posted back in November so I thought I would do so now. I fully understand how you must be feeling, having made the difficult decision in the first place your anxiety etc will not be helped by the fact that your procedure is being delayed, especially as you had probably got yourself all psyched up for it. A similar thing happened to me - I was due to go in for recoiling last July having had to make that awful decision, like you had to - what a dilemma that is. Then, at 10 am on the morning I was due to go in, I was told they hadn’t got a bed for me and they would ring me back later in case one became available. I had my bag packed and had spent the previous 6 months worrying about it all, so I found it a very tense and stressful time waiting those extra long hours for them to ring me back. (I swear there is a grove in the kitchen floor where I paced up and down) At about 2pm they still couldn’t find me a bed, so it was all abandoned. I then had to wait another long 3 months before I eventually got in to have the procedure, although even on that occasion they again said they hadn’t got a bed at 10am when I rang. They rang me back, but not until 5pm, at which point I quite thought I wouldn’t be going in, so had calmed down a little - only to be told to make my way in. Likewise my mood was all over the place, not helped by the fact that actually having fallen asleep in hospital at 11pm I was woken by a Doctor an hour and half later, to be checked over and prepared for the op, who then proceeded to ask me if I knew I had a heart murmur! No, I didn’t know and did not want to know at this particular time either! Not only had I faulty brain which was to be operated on the next morning which was worrying me to death, but suddenly a faulty heart as well - that really helped me relax and get back to sleep!! Not sure at times, if anyone appreciates that we have any feelings - I was fast becoming a nervous wreck! Whilst I appreciate they probably had more urgent cases to deal with than me, I thought it was totally unfair putting me through all the delays etc, especially as I was so fearful about going in for the op in the first place. Do I gather you had actually got as far as hospital before postponement? In my own experience, despite getting reassurance from friends and family, it did not get rid of the fear and apprehension that I felt, but having “done it” I feel quite proud of myself and now, three months on, I do wonder why I got myself in such a state. I wish you well for next week and hope that you will soon be writing on here telling us all about it. I’m sure the sheer relief of it being over will make you feel so much better – I know it did with me! Sarah.

Hello Luisa Firstly, your English does not appear rusty at all, in fact it is very good! Like so many of us on here, you were late being diagnosed which seems to happen all too often. Unfortunately it can and does take quite some time to recover from all this and can be frustrating at times, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Most of us do not appear to have been given much information regarding recovery, or had much indication as to what to expect when leaving hospital, so it becomes difficult when we are not recovering as quickly as we would wish. I suffered from depression long before my sah and was on medication. Although it took many months for it to lift, it did eventually so I hope it will for you too. I can’t help you with the problem with your eye having not suffered from this myself, but I am sure someone on this site will be able to give you some advice on this. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Mike, Nice to meet you. Well not the best way to spend Christmas, but it is quite amazing that you have returned to work so soon after the event. I thought I was young at 46 when I had my sah but being only 26, well there is no wonder you are asking yourself all sorts of questions - it is only natural. The reaction of others never ceases to amaze me either–which is why I think talking to others on this site, who have actually experienced the same thing and therefore understand, is of great help. Wishing you all the best for your long distance walk. Sarah.

As I wrote my post late last night, I thought you would be snuggled up in bed, not at A&E! - poor you. Just what you don't need. Rest up and take it even easier now - presume you are not back at your own place yet and can get a bit of pampering from family - sounds like you might need it! Hope everything gets sorted very soon, take care, Sarah

Hi Kelley, I certainly wouldn't be considering going back to work yet if I was you. I would say I came out of sah land very much the same as you and although I was perhaps physically ok to go back to work within a few weeks, emotionally was a different kettle of fish. I was actually off 5months and when I went back it was more tiring than I had imagined it would be, so don't feel guilty about it and make sure you only return when you feel ready. I don't know what your job is, but don't forget most work involves brain activity and our brains ain't quite what they used to be!! Being tearful appears to be part of the course too, I know I've filled a few buckets over the past year! Don't worry even if you feel you need another sick note after this one has expired - just look after number one. Take Care Sarah.

Lol, I think it's good to be able to see the funny side of things - perhaps someone ought to start a thread for the such incidents. I for one could add one, although it amuses me now, it was more embarrassing at the time. Keep smiling, Sarahx

Hi momo It's lovely to see you have found the courage to tell your story. I too was nervous about posting mine at the time, but now that it's done I feel at least people can read it and relate to it in some way. It does bring it all flooding back but I think you have been brave in doing this and hopefully now will be able to join in the forums and get the help and support that so many members are willing to give. I think this website plays an important role in lifting people's spirits so do make use of it. I often got very low during my first year after sah and feel sure if I had been a member during that time, it would have helped me a lot. Take care and hope to hear from you again soon. Sarah