Chelle C

Tina, so sorry I missed your 16th Anni-versary post, big congratulations to you lovely lady.

Thank you so much for all of your support over the years, always there with kind words and empathy for all who need it, both new and old.

I send you love and continued health and many many more Anni-versaries to come.

Lots of love

Michelle xxx

Hi Iola,

Congratulations on your 10 year Anni-versary, I am so pleased to read your post and to hear that slowly but surely you have found yourself much improved, I know how scared I was at the outset of my SAH recovery journey, it's such a bumpy road that we all travel.

As you say, we have to have hope, the belief that things will get better and for most of us, they do.

This fantastic group is definitely where I got all of my support and positivity from, not sure where I would have been without it to be honest.

10 years is a wonderful milestone, I wish you well and send you a huge hug lovely lady.

Love

Michelle xx

Happy 19th Anni-versary Super Mario,  so sorry that you have had such a sad year with losing your wonderful husband.

Hopefully this year will bring new adventures and some wonderful travelling for you.

You are an inspiration to us all and I personally would like to thank you for all of the support you have given me over the last 8 years.

Looking forward to hearing all about your new adventures.

Take care

Love & hugs

Michelle. Xxx

Exactly the same with me, I have suffered with dizziness since 2014, some days worse than others but it's a constant companion now, I can't say I have got used to it, I haven't, I am learning to live with it, I to have been back and forward to doctors with it, they said possible vertigo, Labrynthitis or Meniere's but they didn't know for certain.

I can manage on days when it's not to bad but other days I have to use my crutches, you know how normally you might close your eyes in the shower ( well I used to anyway )  well I can't stand up and close my eyes, I would just fall over, when I am brushing my teeth, I have to stand with my feet apart and planted firmly on the floor.  It can be very unnerving at times, the fear of falling is just awful. Xxx

Thank you Super Mario,

Andrea did say she was planning to seek advice from a solicitor, her sister who is at present her appointed person for her PIP.  Andrea seems to be struggling to get her to realise that she has improved to a point where she is now able to look after her own finances with the help of her 20 year old daughter, her sister is a bit reluctant to hand responsibility back to her.

As for the POA she has told Andrea that she has total control over everything to do with her,  she also will not hand PIP paperwork over to Andrea, when Andrea rang PIP they wouldn't speak to her because her sister was her appointed person, she was really just wanting some information on how she can change that, they would not entertain speaking to her.

Bless her, she has been in a terrible state.

Thanks for the information Super, I really appreciate it and will pass it on to Andrea today.

Evening Everyone,

I have had Andrea on the phone this evening she has asked me to put this question out there, so here goes.

Andrea's sister has told her that she has power of attorney over Andrea. Andrea is wondering, can that be done without her consent, if it has been done, does anyone know how Andrea would go about having power of attorney removed.

Congratulations Andrea on your 7th Anni-versary, I hope you have a lovely celebration of how far you have come and all you have achieved in that time.

As Karen said, thank goodness for those who provide this service, they are heroes.

Hope you have a celebration later.

I love reading your posts and love seeing the photos that you upload.

Here's to many, many more years

Love

Michelle xx 

Well folks, here I am celebrating my 8 year Anni-versary, I don't know where that time has gone.

I have to admit, my anxiety levels still rise in the week leading up to this day, after all this time you would think it should get easier to cope with, for me it hasn't at all, I still find it a very difficult day.

This last year hasn't been very kind to me, I had to cut my time short at my caravan last year due to the quick deteriation in my dad's health, obviously he was more important. Never could I have imagined that by January I would be losing him, that just rocked me to the core and I am still struggling to come to terms with his death.

As usual I got very little or no support from Verdun, I won't go into how I feel about that as you have heard it all before. Let's just say some of the things he did, were totally unforgivable and I will never get over how he acted in the week leading up to my dad passing away. I won't dwell on that though, Karma is a wonderful thing.

I know I haven't been around for a while, I have explained the reasons behind that in the GR a little while ago, that's not to say I haven't thought of you all, I have and do so most days.

On a brighter note, I have in the last month spent some time at home, it was lovely taking some ME time, I got my garden landscaped with the help of my lovely niece and her partner, I felt so much better in myself after doing it, it nearly finished me off physically, I forgot how much heavy work was involved when revamping a garden lol, but it did wonders for my mental health.

I also got a lot of pleasure out of being asked to nominate a charity last October, I had to choose BTG because it has been my life line since 2015, I wouldn't be where I am today without the help and support I have had from my BTG family, so it was lovely to be able to give something back, it really did lift my heart.

My plan for the rest of this year is to take more time for myself, doing things that I want to do, the one big thing for me is learning to drive, I am determined to do that, I have been testing my memory with a Theory Test Book.

I have really surprised myself with how much I have remembered, so I feel more confident about learning to drive, my short term memory was the one thing I thought would let me down, up to now, it hasn't, so fingers crossed I reckon I can do this. Just got to send off for my provisional license now, then I can crack on and get it done.

I really want to say a huge THANK YOU once again to our lovely Karen for having the forsight to set up this wonderful support group, I can honestly say it has saved my life, literally, having somewhere to come and off load, where we all know how each other are feeling and have great empathy and respect for one another, always makes me feel like I have had a giant hug when I am feeling low.

I would just like to thank each and every one of you for all of your support and kindness over these 8 years, you are all amazing.

Anyway, I have gone on longer than I intended to, so I will say, Thanks everyone for always being there for me, I would be lost without you in my life.

Here's to the future and whatever it may bring, 

Take care 

Love

Michelle xx 

Win, you are never more than a thought away, still can't believe it is 2 years since you gained your Heavenly wings.

Miss you so much lovely lady.

Sending love & hugs to you in heaven.

Michelle. Xx😘😘🙏💔

Congratulations Super Mario on your 18th Anni-versary, you are such a great support to so many at BTG and an inspiration to us all, proving that you can do whatever you aspire to, I to hope you can get back to completing your bucket list very soon.

Sorry for the belated wishes.

Lots of love & hugs.

Michelle xx

Sending you prayers & strength for your surgery and recovery Ann, 

Take care lovely lady, you are in my thoughts & prayers.

Love

Michelle xx

Well here I am posting a day late, yesterday was my 7th Anni-versary and I had a really good day. My day started with a lovely phone call from Jan, as always it was lovely to hear from her, i had tried to call her on Monday as it was her 6th Anni-versary but didn't get to speak to her, so we had a lovely catch up yesterday and made plans for her and John to come to see us at some point, we missed out on that last year because of Covid, so it will be nice to get together again.

I had a really nice day, i had a lovely walk around a little village called Cartmel, not far from our holiday park, in 8 years of coming to The Lake District I have never been there, i was in the company of my lovely friend Mary and my little Molly.

There is a beautiful Priory in the village and I had a lovely walk around inside of it, i did sit in quiet contemplation for a little while and said a very big Thank You to whoever was watching over me on the 8th June 2014, I am truly grateful that they were, i then lit a candle in gratitude for my life and in memory of my mam, which was a little emotional.  Then we had a lovely walk around the shops, had a nice cold drink in the village Square, then we headed home.

It was just lovely.

The last year has been a bit strange, what with Covid going on and everything.

The worst parts of the last 12 months were losing 2 very special people who both helped me so much when I first joined BTG.

Both Win & Macca were in my thoughts yesterday as I sat quietly in that church, then of course my dad being diagnosed with prostate cancer, that came as a big shock, he is however doing quite well at the moment, although i worry about him, I am not stressing to much.

As for me, well i have started walking to try and get myself a little fitter, over the winter lockdown I have to admit i was struggling a bit, i think the dark days made it worse, i only walk for 1 hour every night, it has had a massive impact on the way i feel, both mentally and physically, my blood pressure has come down considerably from 157/75 to 120/ 65 which is about where my GP wanted it, so i am over the moon with that.

I have also taken more control of things in my relationship with Verdun, some of you are aware of things that have gone on in that area of my life, well I have stepped up and I seem to be making good progress in not allowing myself to be bullied and abused anymore, still a little bit to do yet, but i feel more able to stand up for myself, i am determined to get things back on a level ground and for the first time in a long time, I feel I am getting my confidence back and some self respect along with it, which can only be a goid thing.

I know i haven't visited BTG much in the last couple of months, i have made the decision that if I am going to moan, I won't visit, I feel like i have done a lot of that in the last year, so i thought it would be good to give you all a rest from me.

I have been looking in, just not posting much.

The one big thing I do want to say is this,

Thank you Karen, i know I say this every year but I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for this wonderful safe haven you created for us all to come to, i found this site at a time when I still felt like i was not going to make it, with the support and help that I received when I joined, I am where I am today, I will be forever eternally grateful to you and every member of this group, for every bit of advice, for every note of concern and for the empathy, love and support that we all have for each other.

I love my BTG family, I have gained 2 very special relationships from this forum, Jan and I are especially very close, love that lady to bits, Andrea has become a very close friend too, i am blessed to have them both in my life, just as I feel blessed to have you all in my life, my world would be a much sadder place without you all.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for always being there, you have all helped me through so much, i will be forever grateful to you all.

Here's looking forward to the next 12 months, let's see what it brings, hopefully everything good.

Love

Michelle. Xx😘😘😘🙏❤

Hi Cindy,

Welcome to BTG as we call it, it sounds like you have been having an awful time over the last 8 years.

You have come to a great place for help, support and advice, we can't give medical advice as we are not medically trained, what we can do is tell you of our own experiences.

I'm sure you will find some very helpful advice by reading through some of the threads on here.

It must have been a very difficult time for you, but it sounds like on the medical side of things, they have been very thorough.

I'm sure lots of members will be along to welcome you to the site and maybe give some advice.

What I will say is, drinking lots of fluids can really help to relieve headaches, i think most of us here were given that advice after our bleed, plenty of rest also.

You can also join in the banter in the Green Room, if you want to of course.

Take care

Love

Michelle xx

Hi again,

I forgot to mention that last year I had a severe bout of dizziness, a lot worse than my normal dizziness, so much so I had to go back to using my crutches because I was so afraid of falling over.

My GP ran blood tests and they came back with nothing, he did say it could be one of 3 things, Labrynthitis, Meniere's disease or Vertigo, but couldn't be certain, i didn't have the nausea feeling that you have had, but yes the dizziness was quite debilitating and quite scary, never during either of my consultations did he mention to me that these conditions could be linked to the onset of another stroke, mind you i am pleased that he didn't, i would have worried myself sick at the thought that maybe that was about to happen to me again.

My partner reminded me about this event last year, my memory was affected by my bleed, so please forgive me for that.

I really hope that your symptoms improve very soon and that you come through this without anything such as a TIA or Stroke occurring.

Keep in touch and let us know how you and your Mum are doing.

As Jess has said  an appointment for a scan & to see your Neurologist would probably be a good idea.

Take care & wishing you well 

Love

Michelle xx 

Hi,

I suffered SAH in June 2014, spent 11 days in hospital.

Fast forward to December 2014, I got out of bed with an awful dull pain behind my eye, i was still suffering with a lot of dizziness, so i wouldn't really have known if it was Vertigo or not, i would imagine not as I wasn't suffering with any nausea.

I took pain killers for the pain behind my eye and thought that would cure it.

My partner and I went out and about looking for a new car and I was aware that this pain was not subsiding, if anything it seemed to be getting worse. We arrived home and shortly after i had this overwhelming feeling of nausea, probably about an hour later, i had numbness in the right side of my face, my right arm and leg.

I was taken by ambulance to hospital, i was diagnosed later that day with a TIA and released from hospital, just over 1 week later I finally got to see the stroke team, although my face, arm and leg had got the feeling back, i was left with numbness on the inside of my right foot, because of this, they told me that I had infact had a stroke, not a TIA as was originally diagnosed. 

I have to say there is no family history of strokes or vertigo.

If you are very worried about this, i would say, speak to your GP, i would imagine at of people suffer with Vertigo but don't necessarily go on to have a TIA or stroke.

When I had my SAH, I wanted to know everything about what had happened to me, i was using the Internet, i was given some very good advice from some wonderful members on this forum.

That advice was not to use Dr Google, although it can be informative, it can scare the life out of you, the information given on Google is always the worst case scenario, although you may have symptoms or be suffering with Vertigo, it doesn't necessarily mean that it will lead you to have a stroke.

We are not medically trained so we can not give medical advice, what i would say is please speak to your doctor, if you are worried about this, they will be able to give you the medical advice needed and probably put your mind at ease.

I'm not sure that this post will have been helpful to you, i hope it has helped a little.

Take care

Love

Michelle xx

In Loving Memory of our wonderful Winnie,

Can't quite believe that 1 year has passed so very quickly Win, still find it hard to believe that you are not with us anymore, still come to BTG expecting to see you here.

I miss you so much lovely lady, you have left a huge void here at BTG.

Hope you are singing with your Angels.

Sending lots of love to you in heaven Win,  rest peacefully. 😪💔

Forever in my heart.

Love

Michelle xx 

Thinking of Al & Sarah today, sending gentle hugs to you both. Xx❤

Hi Daniel,

Welcome to BTG as we call it, so sorry to hear that you suffered SAH with no cause. I can imagine it being very frustrating, not knowing why or what caused your event to happen. I think it will come under the title of NASAH, which means it wasn't due to a ruptured aneurysm, if i am wrong, i am sure someone will correct me.

You have come to a great place for advice and support, i had SAH due to ruptured aneurysm in June 2014, this group has been my saviour,  i am sure you will find it will be yours too.

It's very early days in your recovery, try not to push yourself to hard, make sure you rest when you need to and drink lots of fluids, staying hydrated really is important, it will help with headaches.

You brain and your body have suffered trauma, try to listen to them both, they will both let you know if you are pushing them to hard, they need time to heal and recover, be kind to them and yourself.

I'm sure there will be many questions that you will have, don't be afraid to ask them, we have all been where you are now and we understand the fears and anxiety that go with early recovery.

I would just like to wish you well as you set out on your recovery journey, the recovery road can be a bit bumpy at times, we are here for you, please don't ever feel like you are alone.

Best wishes

Michelle xx 

Hi Jean,

Congratulations on your 4th anni-versary,

You certainly have come a long way since your early days, you have a great outlook on life and you are determined to fill your life with good things.

It is lovely that you have a new Grandson on the way and a lovely wedding to plan, all things that make life so worthwhile.

I love reading your posts and thank you for being such a kind and caring lady.

I hope you had a lovely day celebrating with your family.

Love & hugs

Michelle xx 

Welcome to BTG,

You will as you have discovered find a wealth of information here, lots of people who have gone through and are going through, what you are experiencing.

There is always someone here who can answer any questions you may have, although we can't give medical advice as non of us are qualified to do so.

Try to make sure that you stay well hydrated and rest when you need to, it all helps to alleviate any headaches and helps with the fatigue.

I wish you well as you continue on your recovery journey, be kind to yourself.

Love

Michelle. Xx

Karen, your post has brought tears to me, 

I can only echo what Sami has said, 

Macca was a kind, caring, gentle person, with a heart to match.

What a wonderful gesture from his family. Xx

Hi Janeece,

Congratulations on your 1st anni-versary, the first year is always the toughest, things do get better with time.  I think the anxiety and panic attacks are quite normal at this point in your recovery as it is still quite early days in recovery terms.

I know what you mean too about head massage, it is as Sami said, a good way to describe it.

Try to make sure you are staying hydrated, it really does help with the headaches, i am 6 years down the recovery road and if I don't drink enough, it really does affect my head.

Well done and reaching this first milestone and good luck as you continue on your recovery journey.

Love

Michelle xx 

Daffodil, I also liked your advice using STOP, i will be putting that to good use in future. Thank you. Xx

Sarah, beautiful fitting words for your wonderful mum, brought tears to my eyes.

She was a very special lady, who touched so many people lives. 

When I think of Win, it's always with a smile on my face and a song, she was just a very special person. Xx

Karen I did the same, pan & wooden spoon and lots of tears too, I really hope our lovely Win heard us..... love & hugs to everyone. Xx

Sarah I just can't find the words to say how shocked and totally devastated I am to hear that your wonderful mum, our wonderful Win has passed away so suddenly.

Win was a beautiful person both inside and out, she was always so upbeat and full of fun, she always managed to make me smile no matter what sort of day I was having, I sing all the time now ( Winnie's orders ) she was right, it does make you happy.

I used to get wrong off her because when I had baked a cake and mentioned that I had, she always wanted a piece, I would have loved to have made her a cake.

Win was loved so much by us all at BTG, this is really going to take some time to come to terms with.

Sending love and gentle hugs to you all at this very sad time.

Love

Michelle xx 

Hi Sally,

So sorry to hear that you have had another episode of aura after not having it happen for 6 months.

It is quite scary when it happens after such a long break from them.  It happened to me again just before Christmas, it just came on after I had been bent down cleaning out a cupboard.  Like you, I felt like my brain was being squeezed and that is the first time I have had that happen.

This last one also gave me a strange tingling in my forehead which I've never had happen before. As this was during the day I just sat myself down and let it take its course. Sitting with my head back and my eyes closed seemed to help me relax.

I have never up to now been woken up by one.

I hope things have settled down again for you now.

Love

Michelle xx