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Hi Sean and welcome to Behind the Gray. I've been a regular member on here for a few years now and this is the first time I can recall a new member joining us and posting whilst still in hospital! That is quite impressive and like Lynne said, a good sign. Getting no information etc is an all too common theme amongst us sahers, which is why this site provides such an invaluable source of helpful advice and friendship. There is no better way than getting advice from personal experiences. If you are not going to getting an outpatient appointment, it may be worth seeing if there is at least a phone number that the hospital can supply which you can use to speak to someone if you have any concerns when you are back home. The brain and spine foundation website provide a phone number which is a helpline run by neuro nurses or I believe you can email them with any questions too. Take it easy, rest as much as possible and then hopefully you will be able to build up slowly to previous activities as and when you feel able to. The passage of time will be your best friend, anxieties, fears and many other post-sah symptoms improve over time. I certainly don't feel anywhere near as scared as I did in the beginning - and although I live daily knowing I have another aneurysm, life goes on, albeit it a little differently. Wishing you all the best, Sarah

Hi Kathryn and welcome to the site - the fact that you feel you know some on here by visiting regularly is rather nice. It is rather like a large, friendly family who help one another. You appear to have been doing well. Getting that 'activity' balance right is really quite tricky. Mine was a Basilar tip aneurysm too. Whilst I haven't experienced any of the symptoms you describe I did have one scary experience of double vision, it was approximately 18 months after the rupture and lasted at least 12 hours. I was sent to hospital for a ct scan but nothing untoward was found and it was put down to being an acephalgic migraine. Touch wood, I have never experienced double vision since. It is disconcerting when these things happen, so I do hope you get some answers when you see the neurologist. Good luck with everything, Sarah

Hi Julie, A warm welcome to Behind the Gray. I'm glad you have found this site which is such a good source of support and advice. It is especially helpful at a time when this unforseen event suddenly happens, taking us by surprise and throwing us and those around us into a whole new world of confusion and worry etc. This all happened very recently for you and it is very normal for you and your family to feel the way you describe, but I hope I can reassure you that it will improve over time. I was with my daughter at the time I had mine too - about 6 weeks before her 14th birthday - and it must have been quite an ordeal for her when I suddenly asked her to ring 999. My two sons were 7 and 15 at the time so I can appreciate how you are all managing to cope at the moment. Probably my best advice would be to take one day at a time. There may be a mix of good days, not so good or even bad days but these are normal - so any help they can give with day to day things will hopefully enable you to get some rest which is an important, but not always easy, aid in recovery. Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Jo, welcome to BTG. I hope that now you have found this site, it will give you some reassurance that you are a)not alone in this and that your symptoms and feelings are quite common following a bleed on the brain. It is so much more difficult trying to recover and look after yourself when you have the needs of children to consider too. So, if at all possible, any help/support you can muster is certainly recommended. An appointment with your gp would also be a good idea, if you haven't already done so. Explain your fears and worries with him/her. I remember making an appointment with mine a week after coming out of hospital just because I was getting in a muddle with all the tablets I'd been given! I doubt you had the best of birthdays this year, but on a positive side, they always say with recovery from any injury, the younger you are, the speedier the body will repair. I remember all the fears you are experiencing all too well, but it does and will improve over time, although sometimes it can be a little too slowly for our liking. With best wishes, Sarah

Hi Debbie and a warm welcome to BTG. Recovering from a sah can certainly be slow and frustrating. One of the biggest errors of judgement that many of us on here who have suffered a sah make, is the time that we expect it to take to be back to our old selves again. This is not helped by the fact that on leaving hospital, we are not given any guidance on how long it might be take and that is quite possibly because no-one really knows. We are all individuals whose recovery varies, but I doubt there are many who could honestly say they were fully recovered in 3 months. I was never one for resting prior to my sah and wasn't great at it afterwards, but was often forced to take sleep during the day just to get through the day. I now believe that the extra sleep was needed to help repair my brain and whilst I really resented daytime naps (as it seemed never ending at the time), I am convinced it must have done me good as I very rarely have daytime rest now and finally, over the past few months, feel as if I have my pre-sah energy levels back. I am approaching my 5 year mark in November and I often think it would have been useful if we were pre-warned that recovery from a brain injury can, but does not always, take many months or even years, if only to avoid disappointment and frustration along the way. Wishing you all the best for your own recovery, Sarah

Hi Juliette, this sounds very familiar to me, albeit it was a while ago now. I had to go for annual MRI's following my bleed in 2008 and I remember at the first one, I was told I would get the results in 10 days - well I actually got them in 46 days (etched on my memory). I had another MRI on 17th July 2012 and like you had to chase the results again and again. I didn't get 'the secretary has just retired', but I did get 'the secretary has just gone on maternity leave'! In addition I also got 'your consultant is now on annual leave' plus I even got on one occasion 'I'm glad you've rung because your results had got lost in the system'!! As you will appreciate, none of this delayed waiting helps us when all we want to know if our brains are ok. Following my July scan last year I finally had a meeting with the results in October! Despite the very long and anxious wait, I was basically told I didn't need another MRI until August 2015. So try not to worry too much, because that's what I did and in my case at least, it proved a little unneccessary. I hope you're not waiting too much longer and that your results are reassuring when you do get them. Take care, Sarah

Well done Iola, another great step achieved:-D Working after a brain bleed certainly takes a lot of extra energy and can be hard going at times, but the fact that you have taken that first step is something to be proud of. Take care, Sarah

Hi Anne, As you may remember I too have an unruptured annie that is being monitored. My sah will be 5 years ago in November yet a year after it happened I had to have more coils put in. This was obviously done under general anaesthetic and there was certainly no mention about any increased risk of any complications after surgery - you would have thought if anyone was aware of any risk, then it would be the neuro team who treated me and would have advised me accordingly. I didn't have any problems at all. In my opinion, I think it is just them covering themselves and inadvertently scaring us to death in the process! Best wishes with your decision, Sarah

Well Desy, bonkers or not, you sound amazingly upbeat and cheerful considering you have been through such a traumatic event! It’s great to hear you’re doing so well and long may it continue. I’m impressed that you are playing football again so soon – do take care. As I have two football mad sons, I understand the desire and passion for the game. In fact I was in Belfast a couple of years ago with my youngest son who was playing in a few friendly games there. Continue with the singing and as Mary says, Win is the singer on here – I can see a duet forming;-) Finally and coincidentally I am choosing tiles today for my bathroom – any tips?!! Best wishes, Sarah

Best wishes David, hope you're feeling ok and are able to take time off work to convalesce properly. Sarah

I'm really sorry to hear about your beloved Dad Tulip, I'm sure you'll have lots of happy memories to reflect back on now and in the future. Thinking of you, Sarah

Hi Mick and welcome to BTG. This site is certainly a great comfort for anyone who has the misfortune to suffer a sah. From what you say, the lack of information on leaving hospital doesn't appear to have improved at all since I had mine 4 1/2 years ago:roll: I think most of us have learnt more from this site which is a godsend - it's good to hear it has made you feel less anxious. I, like you, knew nothing about sah/aneurysms at the time, but having had one rupture and another unruptured one, which is being monitored, I think it's going to be in my vocabulary for some time! It is very early days for you in terms on recovery and although it can take varying times to see/feel improvements, it does get easier as time goes on. Water and rest seem to be the two key aids in recovering from this trauma. Wishing you all the best, Sarah

Hi Ikim and a warm welcome to BTG:-D I'm glad you found this site so early into your recovery - I'm sure as you work you way through the threads, you will find that the way you feel is very common following a bleed on the brain. The other thing you will learn on here that recovery can take some considerable time - always better to prepared as many of have been disappointed when we are not feeling a 100% a few weeks in. It took me 3 and half years to get to a stage where I didn't need a day time nap every other day! I'm 51 too:-D Good luck with your upcoming appointments and scan, Take care, Sarah

Hi Anna, I was just on my way to bed, had a quick read on here and thought I'd pop in as your post pulled at my heart strings -I just wish I could do something to help you feel a little better tonight. I'm sure I would have plenty of these moments if I were in your shoes and it is only natural to miss someone so close to you. It can still upset me just thinking how my own children would have coped if I had not survived my sah. I remember how brave you were coming on here when your Mum was struck by this awful thing. Grieving is a personal thing and should be done in your own time and in your own way - if you find the help and support of BTG members comforting, then we are all here with a shoulder to cry on. I'm guessing this time of year at uni can be a bit stressful, making it a little more difficult than usual without Mum being around. I know my son's girlfriend has been a bit stressed at uni of late. Last weekend my son decided to treat her to a weekend at a hotel to include spa/ treatment on Sunday. It was also her birthday and her mum was in hospital, so what should have been a relaxing weekend just didn't happen - at the time when they were due to have their massages/treatment, the hotel decided to have a fire drill and all the guests had to assemble in the car park:roll: Perhaps you could persuade your boyfriend that you need a bit of pampering;-) (but I wouldn't recommend that hotel!) Lots of hugs to you, Sarah

Hi, Karen is right - I am one of those who has an unruptured aneurysm that is being monitored and I drive. I guess that whilst ever the neuro experts decide it is safe to leave an aneurysm untreated, then the DVLA can't really argue about it being unsafe to drive. There must be hundreds of people driving on the roads who have aneurysms, but are not aware they have them. I did mention it to my insurance company at the time, but it didn't alter the premium. Having said that, I usually shop around for cheaper car insurance at renewal and I'm not sure whether I informed my current company:oops: - another thing to add to my 'to do' list:roll: Sarah

Hi Melody, I'm sure you will find comfort and support from this site. In fact I thought what a lovely response that was from Tulip24 who is in a similar situation (Hi tulip - sorry I missed your introduction). It is always hard for sons and daughters seeing a loved one going through this. I know my own children were pretty shook up when I had mine although I was never in a coma and came out of it pretty much unscathed. You are obviously both caring people who your Dads would be proud of. Recovery can be a slow, bumpy road, but hang on in there and hopefully, before long, you will see some improvements. Take care, Sarah

Hi Rachel, I, too, am very sorry that you have lost your Mum through this awful thing. It takes courage to come on here and share your story. I know that we are the lucky ones in that we survived a sah, but there are unfortunately many who do not make it which is so upsetting. I hope in time you will gain comfort knowing that your Mum has helped others through the kindness of donating her organs. Take care, Sarah

Hi Daff, think you should be shouting this news from the roof tops! Congratulations and safe driving:-D Sarah

Dawn, I too can relate to having these incidents whereby I have no recollection. I suppose it's absent mindedness, but it is worrying all the same. Last week, whilst in the house, I couldn't find my handbag, yet I knew I had had it in the kitchen just half an hour before. I had not been out of the house and eventually convinced myself someone must have opened the back door and grabbed it. I did however find it a bit later, in the utility room in a basket of ironing:roll:, yet I had no recollection of even going in that room. Similarly when hubs told me the other day that someone he used to work for had died, I said, I knew of the bloke, but had never met him. He said that I had met him, twice in fact and on one occasion he had given me a load of eggs - I know we can't remember everything we do in life, but I have no recollection of that whatsoever - I don't even like eggs, so I would have expected to remember being given some:confused: What I have found more disconcerting and worrying is that on occasions I have tried to recall/remember an event and there has been a total, absolute blank - I've just not been able to 'search' my memory at all:shock: Thankfully that has only happened a few times, but quite alarming at the time. At one point I thought my memory had improved over the almost 4.5 years since my sah - at times now, I am not so sure, particularly as my family (hubs and kids) have obviously noticed and it's now a bit of a standing joke - they have come out with comments over recent days like "Don't ask her because if it happened more than 10 seconds ago, she won't remember" and "why is it when you go to the shop, you take a list with only 3 things on it and you come back with only two of them" I think a lot of it is with doing too much although I have wondered if the area of infarct that I have, could, over time, become larger - this thought only came into my head when I dropped an apple the other week and saw the area that became bad spread/grow over the next couple of days- can't imagine my brain being quite like an apple though!! On second thoughts........... Sarah

So pleased to read your latest post Scarlett - wishing you all the best, Sarah

Hi Jimmy and a warm welcome to BTG. Sounds like you are doing reasonably well after such a traumatic event. Glad you picked up on the word 'slowly' - not the easiest to follow, but well worth it! Having experienced 3 labours and 1 sah, I'm now having a well earned rest! Wishing you both all the best for your new arrival:-D Sarah

Aw, Andy, that brought a tear to my eye! Hope you are doing ok and look forward to hearing about your journey. Keep smiling, Sarah

Hi Sarah, A warm welcome to BTG. It seems we have a few things in common, in that I have two aneurysms and I was also treated/coiled in Sheffield - my sah was not picked up at first either and we even share the same name! In terms of recovery, you are still in the early stages and it can take some considerable time before full normality returns. I'm sure you will find lots to read on here of other people's experiences which gives a good insight as to what can be expected as you continue to recover - although no two peoples recoveries are identical. The extreme tiredness and headaches are very common though. Wishing you all the best Sarah

I hope you get a favourable decision on the funding today Scarlett - good luck! Sarah

Aw, Kel, what a time you had last week:frown: I do hope you don't get anything like that again - I would imagine it was quite a scary experience for you. Migraines are a bit of a mystery to me - I can't really comprehend what actually happens in your head to make you so sick etc. As you know I have a lot of the aura of migraine but, touch wood, never anything else - even those are a bit of a mystery to me and are annoying. Anyway, I hope you're feeling ok now and you don't get a repeat of it. Take care, Sarah