Sharlua

Welcome Nicola, pleased you are doing well physically, it is definitely an emotional roller coaster after such an event. I felt exactly the same and I know many members share that experience. It does get better and anxiety does ease but I don't think ever leaves. I guess it is a small price to pay. As everyone has said take it easy don't try and push things as it does take time. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions as people are happy to share experience and support. Good Luck for continued recovery and look forward to hearing how you get on Sharon x

Welcome Sherry and pleased you have found this site it has been an enormous help to me and the friendship of people who understand is good. Whilst my SAH was from aneurysm I had terrible trouble sleeping for months afterwards, so appreciate how difficult that is especially with children. As everyone has said it is very early days and your body and brain are in a process of recovery which is very individual. You will be frightened that is normal I was frightened for a long time still have some anxiety that could occur again but I don't think about it daily now just when feeling ill or very stressed. It is an emotional roller coaster as your health which we often take for granted can take you by surprise - it does get better but gradually don't be frightened to ask for help or give yourself forgiveness at times for how you feel. Good luck in your recovery and they are all helpful on this site so don't hesitate to post and get support. Regards Sharon x

So pleased for you and family here's to a speedy recovery x

Hope your big day went as planned Michelle, my husband is the same his viewpoint is you don't celebrate a day when you were really ill. Mind he is not one for celebrating anything - unless of course football! You are a great support to us all and I understand your need to celebrate that day as it is a great milestone x

Hope your first anniversary went well and an excellent milestone to reach x

Good luck hope all goes well x

Excellent to hear from you Gail, must have been a shock all round particularly as you sound like you were very fit and active. Glad you are along the road to recovery, hope phased return goes well and you don't get too tired. I found it quite hard going at first so just go at your pace. Take Care and keep in touch on how you get on at work Regards Sharon

Great that you have reached that two year mark and all the comments show how much support and encouragement you have given others. I wish you well for the future and know your positivity will help others coming through this journey x

Welcome to the site Julie and thank you for sharing your story sounds like you have had quite a time. I wish you lots of luck for your clipping luckily I only had one aneurysm which was coiled successfully in Jan 2015. I know other members have had to have subsequent treatment and I am sure your good sense of humour will help you get through together with your family. Keep us updated and keep singing that tune! Take Care Sharon

Hi Jan Pleased you have been able to share your story, I too had a thunderclap and bleed from aneurysm luckily mine did not burst. Was coiled in January 2015. Luckily they did not discover anymore. It is a slow journey with good days and bad but gradually things do improve. My sister had thunderclap headache prior to me so kind of guessed what was happening, she does have aneurysms 4 small ones but none have burst or bled they believe she had vasospasm. She has been monitored for last two years and at last appointment they agreed not to monitor they said they are small and none had grown. Her specialist told her that she has the same odds as anyone of an aneurysm bursting, so hopefully your other one will just remain the same, they would I guess treat if they felt it was a risk. I found after my SAH my emotions were all over the place and did get very down for a while my GP said it was post traumatic shock after such a scary thing, I'm so much better now though and can see it all more positively. Some great people on this site who have been a tremendous support on my journey, so just shout if you need any help or just a shoulder or two to share things with. Everyone's journey different but there are many similarities. Good luck in your recovery Sharon x

Excellent fundraising and a great way to support those charities. Sure you have been great support to Mrs. Subs and advice has been invaluable. Wishing the next five years goes well for you both x

I have very similar memory problems, can be embarrassing at times and also very frustrating. I came home one day really upset after my manager queried the fact that I keep saying "that thing" and wondered if things were too much for me as I was less organised and wasted time when I forgot things in meetings. I also worried I had Alzheimer's, My mum has this so that played heavily on my mind. I had myself noticed my short term memory was awful cannot tell how many times I go out my office to ask someone something and forget within seconds what I am going to ask. I have noticed it is worse when I'm tired, stressed or overwhelmed by others talking. I was told by one of the specialist that if part of brain is damaged or has died that it tries to find new pathways to get messages through this can take longer and errors can occur! I still also get bad heads but they have lessened this year. I have not checked out if I have Alzheimer's I could not face that at the moment could not trust how I would react, particularly as I live this daily with my mum. I am learning to build in better planning time for meetings, be honest and ask people to repeat things, laugh when I say the wrong word and tell people why. I believe I have nothing to be ashamed of! You have been amazing to go back to work within that time frame and to such a fast paced job, I hope it improves or helps that many of us still share the same issue. Regards Sharon x

1. Went into shower feeling ill - had been suffering flu/cough 2. Felt sick and began to vomit as I came out of shower 3. The most excruciating pain came as I was being sick, thought someone had hit me and fell to floor - thunderclap headache 4. Felt popping in head and had sense that I was dying - weird experience 5. Managed to get up lay on bed feeling awful, gradually pain lessened was still bad but nothing like earlier. 6. Drove to doctors - stupid I know! - continued to vomit 7. GP told me to get to Hospital - ha think she should have ordered ambulance 8. In hospital felt quite disassociated with my surroundings and extremely tired 9. CT scan showed large aneurysm which they believed had bled - luckily not very heavily Coiled aneurysm

Hi Clare Even though I am not doing a new job I have had a similar experience in doing some new tasks, where I have been totally wiped out at the end, got quite panicky doubting my ability. I do think in starting a new job you should have an induction period and whilst I think it will be challenging and you may experience headaches in the early days, hopefully as it becomes more familiar they will lessen. I think what SarahLou has said is excellent advice, I hope it goes really well, remember the reasons you are changing jobs and I hope it goes well x

An amazing journey and I am sure the support of your family, friends and your determination have been what has led you to the person you are today. Very big thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given to members over the years. It is great for people to see that from a very bad SAH there is a life that can be achieved x

A warm welcome and so pleased Irene is doing well, sounds like a really scary time for you both. I hope the friendship and support from the site will be helpful to you both. It sounds like those medics have done a good job and pleased that plans are in place now you have returned home. Being chief bottle washer and cook is such a good job I certainly could use one, seriously your support will be invaluable to your wife Take care Sharon

Well done Claire you have made an amazing recovery and it is lovely your husband bought those flowers, I know your determination and strength have been inspiring to many on BTG. I think the next twelve months will be another adventure with your new job and wish you lots of luck in that. Take Care Sharon x

Fantastic inspiration and can almost picture some of those wonderful holidays. Great to have taken a positive from your illness and here's wishing you more exciting journeys Sharon x

Hi Tricia It is very brave for you to share your worries, whilst it maybe very difficult for you to get husband to admit his drinking is causing problems, perhaps you could seek support from such organisations as Al-Anon who can support you and your children. It can be very damaging for children to witness any form of domestic abuse even if it is only when Dad has a drink, so I appreciate your worries. Like other people have stated are you able to talk to him when he is sober, it does sound like you have tried that in some ways. Many people who have addiction problem are often in denial and you may have to make some tough decisions about putting yours and the children's wellbeing first as difficult as that may be. As everyone is an individual he may need to try different types of counselling as he may just find one that helps him as having a SAH is traumatic and life changing. I am not sure if your husband is back to work, he could just miss this and try to recreate some sense of normality by going to pub, if that was his working life. Could you explore other activities? I hope you seek some support with this as it is a lot for one person to carry. I hope you do find a way through this, remember all on this site are happy to lend a shoulder to cry on. Take Care Sharon x

What can I say that has not been said, you have climbed a mountain in many ways, I wish you well on your continued recovery Your positive attitude I am sure, has helped and will aid new people who come to this site. Those pupils are very lucky to have you. Hopefully your new medical appointments will assist you in getting to the route of your SAH and in helping aid your progress. I wish you all the best in that journey Sharon x

Welcome Kerry your story very similar to mine, hope you continue with your excellent progress. My headaches were awful at first, I still suffer a year later but they are less frequent. As Win another member would tell me be sure to drink plenty of water! Take care and I wish you well for the future Sharon x

Thanks for sharing and I hope that your determination and mind set help you in your slow return to work. I think reflection is healthy if it helps us in moving forward and take on the positives that you learn about yourself and others from some of the bad things that do happen. I hope this year does see you regain some of your energy and sounds like you have a good support network to help you get there. Regards Sharon

Warm welcome Ruth and thank you for sharing your story, pleased you are starting to make progress on your recovery journey. It must have been a huge shock for you all, I also had a thunderclap headache and thought I'd been hit over head with something, initially thinking someone had attacked me. My sister had previously experienced such a headache which once I got over initially shock I realised it could be serious. I did have aneurysm which was coiled last year, I have been very lucky left with slight issues. It is good to have somewhere to share with people who have had some shared experiences, whilst everyone is different there is such a wide range of people on here, who will I'm sure will offer support. Take care to pace yourself and take as much help as is on offer. I hope they quickly sort out whether you receive angiogram so you at least know what is going to happen. Do let us know how you get on. Take Care Sharon x

Hi Subs sister had aneurysms (4) but they had not burst, she had thunderclap headache which is how they discovered her aneurysms but don't think any have bled but that her veins had twisted which is what caused her headache. They are monitoring them currently - fingers crossed they never go x

Well a year ago today I was probably sitting in the GP's. I had stupidly drove myself there after experiencing the most horrific pain in my head whilst showering. I thought someone had assaulted me over the back of the head with a baseball bat which knocked me to the floor. I now know that an aneurysm I had, had probably bled. This year has been a tough one, whilst I know from this site how lucky I have been coming away with some mild memory and physically problems it has still been a hard journey. I have looked today at texts sent on that day and can still feel how fearful I was. My aneurysm which was large was successful coiled later that week by a marvellous team whose care was second to none. I remember the angiogram and lying on that what I can only describe as an "ironing" board - not great but knowing that that amazing technology would be what could either save or end my life. I have to say I was thankful when they did the coiling I would be sedated. What a lot I have learned both about me, my family and friends. Seeing my son fly from Akron to be with me was excellent as I worried I may never see him again if coiling went wrong, my daughter came with me to the emergency ward after I was sent there by GP. They were terrific support, my husband and sister were amazing and bless they really have had the most to deal with as have been the brunt of my roller coaster of emotions. This site has helped enormously offering an understanding ear, a safe place to share feelings and of course some fab singing and small insight into other people lives. Today I am going to enjoy that I am alive x