ClareM

Hi William Glad you found BTG, lots of friendly people here with lots of advice. Tell us more about yourself and your experience. Clare xx

I hope that it does come back today too! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. It's lovely that first day if feeling almost normal. Just remember it's a new normal and take it slow. Too much effort not enough fluids can force a backward step so ...., Rest water rest water. Keep us posted! Clare xx

Congratulations on your anniversary Daff sorry I missed the day too. You are an inspiration to everyone on BTG and have certainly offered me many helpful words since I came here. Hope you enjoyed the day with your family. Clare xx

Hi Nat It probably doesn't help but I often feel the same way. I am 12 months on and the headaches are getting more frequent rather than less. Probably because I do too much and don't drink enough water. I have found that exercise helps as it takes my mind off things and as I don't have to use my brain much to do it I usually feel pretty good afterwards. The other thing is pain relief. I was told on leaving hospital that I may always be more prone to headaches now and to not be a martyr to them. Take the paracetamol, pain relief is there to help. What type of bleed did you have and any surgery? I agree with SM and Karen about contacting your GP for some help, especially as it worries you so much. Re-bleed I was told is about as likely to happen as it it likely for anyone to have a SAH, so rare. Keep positive and try and find things to take your mind off your worries. Remember you are a survivor! Clare xx

Headaches are, I think, a lasting hangover from SAH. I never had headaches before my bleed but now am more aware when I do have one. Strangely on my 1st anniversary I experienced a really bad headache which I managed to control with Paracetamol and Ibuprofen. My husband suggested that it was psychosomatic as I knew it was my anniversary, maybe it was, but it sure enough felt real to me. As Sami says, drink lots of water and don't worry about that angiogram, you'll be fine! Clare xx

Thanks everyone. Yes Subs the running is back in my life in a big way! Funny, last year I was taken up Portsdown Hill in an ambulance (to the hospital). Last night I RAN up it. I have made so many friends in the running club, most of whom I would never have met had I not had my SAH. That has to be a positive! Clare xx

Well here I am, 1 year down the line and glad to be here. I often wonder if I had not gone running that night if I would have had my NASAH, something I will never know. What I do know is that this event in my life has had enormous consequences for me, some good, some bad but mostly positive. When I parked up that night I could never have imagined that I would not get behind a steering wheel again for 9 months, that I would not work again for 3 months and that the following day I would undergo a lifesaving operation. All a little hard to believe now but true all the same and I am eternally grateful to the people who saved my life. From the running group leader who suggested an ambulance, the sweet ambulance girl who was so understanding to the Surgeon at Wessex Neuro who I don't actually remember! Through all of this year my family have been fantastic and we have all become closer. Strange how events such as this bring everyone closer together. You find out who is really there for you and sadly who is not. I am about to embark in a new phase of my life with a new job in the near future. I will find out if my rearranged brain can cope with learning new things. I am sure I will forget peoples names and where the toilet is but luckily I have my son working with me so will have to rely on his help! I know I am lucky to be alive and celebrate that fact today and everyday. I also know I am lucky to have found Behind the Grey and all the wonderful people within it. My husband bought me flowers and wrote me a poem today. So sweet and caring, he knows what a big day this is for me! Clare xx

Does anyone else have a problem with this terrible wind at the moment? I am not actually in pain but have been feeling pressure in my temple region all day. I relieved it earlier with a couple of Paracetamol but it's back again now. Does anyone know if it is to do with SAH even though mine was non-aneurysmal ? I could imagine that if I had coils or a clip that weather pressure may affect you but what if you don't have them, is it all in my mind? Be interested if anyone else with a NASAH has the same problem. Clare xx

Congratulations on 12 years! I love your motto and hope to follow it too. Keep travelling and enjoying life you are a fantastic flag bearer for us all. SAH changes us and you have found ways to make those changes work to your benefit, you are a good example to everyone as someone who's has made good of a challenging situation. Hope you feel well enough soon to take a trip to celebrate - you deserve it! Clare xx

Greg and Gemma I feel such an affinity with you both! Noise! Tell me about it, I too can't stand loud noises including my washing machine. I have to time when I do jobs upstairs so they coincide with the final spin cycle! I too have difficulty having conversations when there is a lot of noise going on around me and can't stand loud 'wild' music. (I used to love a bit of Techno-rave, but not now! lol!) With regard to you work returns I have found having a day off midweek to be a saviour. I work Monday,Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Wednesday being my rest day. I love it, potter about the house, go to the gym, dog walk and generally have a 'quiet' day. It really works for me and luckily I have managed to negotiate the same type of hours at my new job. On the occasions when I have had to work the Wednesday due to staff shortages I have really felt it by the end of the week so maybe that is something you could think about. Be a year for me this time next week, how time flies and how life changes. Good luck to you both Clare xx

Congratulations Gemma on surviving the first year!! I like your comment on focusing on what you have gained and not what you have lost. We have all lost through SAH, be it faculties, abilities or friends. But the bottom line is we have survived to become better people for our experience. I am sure you are a marvellous teacher and I wish you well on your continued phased return. It sounds like you have a fantastic medical team behind you so hopefully the issues with your adhesions can be helped by the spinal team. You are one very brave lady - a non driving lady nonetheless compliments of the DVLA - and I wish you all the very best in the coming months. Be proud! Clare xx

Welcome Kerry, good to hear you are doing so well and are so positive. Sounds like you were lucky your husband was there and had some knowledge of what might be happening. My husband would have had no idea, he didn't get to me until I had had the CT scan when it had been confirmed. Like yours my husband worries about me now, especially when I say I have a headache! Life does go on and it does get better, embrace the new normal! Clare xx

Hi Ruth Glad you found BTG, certainly been a help to me so hopefully will be likewise for you. Sounds like your episode was very similar to mine, no aneurysm and hydrocephalus. I too had an EVD, 2 angiograms, numerous CT's and MRI. Nothing showed up despite it being a big bleed. I take it you live in the UK? If that is so I am afraid you will definitely not be driving for at least 6 months. Having and EVD is an automatic minimum 6 month revocation, in fact I didn't get mine back until late November which was 9 months. DVLA are notoriously slow so reapply at around the 3 month mark (which I did) and hopefully it won't be delayed too long. There are lots of threads on this subject on this site, so take a look! I think Chris lives in the USA where the rules are different. Sounds like you are doing well, keep up the gallons and rest. I am coming up for a year and although I know I am not the same, I am beginning to like the new normal. A life changing event which we should all be glad to have survived. Look forward to hearing more from you Clare xx

Hi Chris I think your plans to start running after your 4 month check are sensible. Hopefully your doctor will give you the all clear as mine did. I know how you feel about your daughters. My sister was with me when I had mine, in fact I had only started running with her to help her get over the deaths of 2 of her partners (9 months apart and one very tragic). When I asked at the hospital if I was going to die, I remember her screaming 'I can't lose another one'. She was hastily removed! Thankfully I survived and she has been a rock to me. It has made us closer and she understands better than most of how I feel. We may have got off 'lightly' as you say, but a bleed is a bleed and we are all survivors. Be positive- you will run again just a little more slowly to begin with. Keep me posted on your progress. Clare xx

Hi Welcome to BTG. Your story sounds copybook to mine. Running whilst it happened and having Hydrocephalus and an EVD. I am coming up to my first anniversary (10th February) and am running again. I started slowly joining a Couch to 5k group and a couple of weeks ago ran 10k . I have also just returned from a sking trip, the last time I went was a month before my SAH. During that trip I took a couple of tumbles and am not sure if one of these caused it. I did bang my head but was wearing a helmet. I will never know and am not worried by it as I have been told like you, that my chances of having another SAH are extremely rare. I started running about 3-4 months after my bleed, it took me that long to dare! Plus I was so tired it didn't seem possible. The hospital positively approved of any physical exercise and told me it could only do me good. It's the mental exercise that got me and still gets me now. My memory is haphazard and I am waiting for a Neuro psychology consult to determine what my deficits are. You are early days but be positive. You will run again just take it slowly. Drink plenty of water and keep coming back here. It's the one place that has been such a help to me. Feel free to ask any more questions. Good luck Clare xx

Hi Gemma So sorry to hear about your spine, must feel like a real setback. Only time will tell by the sounds of it which must be daunting, not knowing what the future holds. Glad your first teaching session went well, what age do you teach? I used to work in a primary school with Year 6 - I loved it! I hope somebody here has some advice for you, in the meantime continue being as strong as you have been. You have been so sympathetic and supportive to me and I will be rooting for you! Take care Clare xx

Hi Neil Good to hear your story, so glad you joined BTG and am sure it will help in your recovery. Your bleed sounds very similar to mine except I had hydrocephalus and an EVD. I can read so many similarities in our recoveries from your intro. I too was fairly fit, in fact mine happened while running, and I have got back to the physical activity. I am 11 months post bleed and never imagined that I would feel like I do so long after the event. Overall I am well but still get head and neck aches and find my concentration is poor. I too find it hard not to think about what happened, I wonder if that will ever stop. I used to say I want my life back but now feel that this is my life and I am learning to accept it. Normal is now the new normal. You sound like you are doing well. Take things slowly and as everyone else says drink water and plenty of it! Look forward to hearing more from you. Clare xx

Daff, Greg. Gemma and all reading in Very eloquent and thought provoking.I think we have all been on a journey, some of us having travelled more difficult terrain than others. The one thing that links us all is understanding, understanding of the event that has befallen us all, but not beaten us. We are survivors and should be thankful for that fact even though sometimes we aren't. We all ask - 'why me? why now? and what if?. But no one can answer those questions. I am not the same person I was and am not sure if that is good or bad, But as someone said in another post today, family are key to our recovery and I am eternally grateful for mine. Clare xx

Hi Andy Can't add much that hasn't been said by fellow BTGers. So sad for you and your family, I hope your wife makes progress when in rehab and that her sight returns. Remember we are all here for you, so use us to help lighten your load. My thoughts will be with you this New Year. Clare xx

Congratulations Wendy, another Wessex survivor. We all struggle to get back to the old 'me', something that isn't always possible. Accepting the new normal is another step in our recovery, I'm slightly behind you but have found as much support in BTG as you. Merry Christmas and a Happy 'New You' Year. Clare xx

Hi Debbie Start a thread on Introduce yourself, look forward to hearing your story. We are here to help you and if you are struggling Behind the Grey can help. Certainly helped me, it's a lonely experience. Message me if you are stuck! Clare xx

So true Kris, so true ................ Clare xx

I hope so too Gemma. Strange driving again, I keep forgetting I can use the car! However being car less for 9 months has made me more aware of other modes of transport and I am hoping to make more use of them in the future - especially my bike! Keeping my fingers crossed for you Clare xxx

Hi Irene Welcome to BTG, hopefully you fill find a lot of help here as I have done. Sorry I like Win have not heard of cerebral peduncle, hopefully you will the all clear after the MRI. I had my NASAH in February and have JUST got my licence back. Mind you I had an automatic 6 month ban due to the EVD (for the hydrocephalus). The DVLA are notoriously slow so you will need to keep on at them. All the symptoms you describe sound fairly normal post SAH. I still have days when I can't cope very well and just need to be on my own and quiet. Life is slightly different for me now but I think that is something we all have to accept to some degree. I flew approx 12 weeks after my bleed, no problems at all, just very tiring. Hope you can manage to get that holiday booked soon. Keep coming here, look forward to hearing more from you. Clare xx

HOORAY!!!!! I got my licence back today! Very odd as when I rang the DVLA last Wednesday, a very sympathetic lady told me the Doctors were currently dealing with cases sent them in August and that mine had not been sent until October. I had resigned myself to another 2 month wait so was astounded today to receive it today, Interestingly the letter is dated 26 November, day after my phone call, maybe the sympathetic lady felt sorry for me! Couldn't be better timing, my daughter who has been using my car, is off to France on Thursday so won't be any arguments over who is driving it! Just got to see if I can remember how to drive! Watch out Portsmouth road users! Clare xx