Jcmatson

Holly, Hi and welcome to BTG. I had a very similar SAH to you. I spent 6 days in ICU but have no lingering motor, speech nor mental (as far as I know) impact. However, I have experienced bouts of anxiety that were never there before. My Non-aneurysm SAH was in March of this year and I am back to full physical exercise as before - but there is an emotional component to my recovery that is still in process. I was given all clear by my neurosurgeon after 30 days. The anxiety attacks came later and have begun to diminish over time. This forum gave me support and info that I never found anywhere else. Good luck on your recovery. John

Update after visit to neurosurgeon...two and 1/2 weeks after being discharged from the ICU I was able to get a follow-up office visit with the neurosurgeon who oversaw my treatment. I had an NASAH on March 8. He showed me the CT Scan from the Mar 8 comapred to a Mar 30 CT Scan. The news was good - all blood has been re-absorbed and there is no residual impact from the NASAH. He said the technical term for my diagnosis was perimesencephalic-nonaneurysmal-subarachnoid-hemorrhage and that I was a very lucky man. He immediately stopped all decadron, keppra, nimotop and any other drugs and told me that I have no restrictions going forward. Any activity that I was comfortable doing prior to March 8 should be available to me in the future. To say that I am relieved is an understatement. I have shared here that I had to go to the ER a few times due to blood pressure fluctuations - he said that those problems were in no way associated with the NASAH recovery. They were unfortunate interactions with the pain meds that were proscribed in addition to the steroid and other drugs. I am happy to leave all of those pain and other meds behind. I look forward to my stamina returning as I begin to resume normal daily activities and work. Thanks to all at BTG for the support and forum to share and learn. Feeling very blessed, john

Clare, Sorry to hear your ache and am right there with you...I had a tough day yesterday after several good days strung together. My NASAH was a little less than four weeks ago and yesterday I had to get quickly to the ER when I suddenly began feeling woozy and light headed. It was an odd sensation I had not felt in the past 3 weeks. At first I was embarrassed and wanted to sit home and "ride it out", but my wife was insistent that I should go to the hospital and get them to see me. It turned out that my blood pressure did suddenly drop due to a overlap in pain meds that only occur when I put on a new pain patch. I did not have any headache so I was not worried about another SAH, but I was unsteady. I now understand better when many of you have described the recovery process as "lumpy". I sometimes simplify the fact that my brain is healing to be similar to a sprained ankle healing - each day it should get a little bit better. But instead I am experiencing a string of pretty calm days interrupted by a new or different recovery sensation. One good thing that came from my ER visit was they were forced to take a CT Scan which I had been trying to get them to schedule for a week. The CT Scan results came back encouraging - showing that the NASAH is healing. I go see my neurosurgeon tomorrow to finally hear his prognosis and recommended longer term drug/recovery plan. Hope today is good day... john

Misskdk, Welcome to BTG. I have enjoyed reading your posts. I had my SAH March 8, 2015 and am still trying to understand the transition from event to recovery. For me it still seems like an event - but one like I have never experienced before. My brain decided it was time to shut down my body for a while...and now the re-boot of the system is in progress. I have been spending a lot of time looking back over my life the past five years and the stress seemed to continue to build until finally something broke. I was fortunate in that what seems to have broke is my acceptance that life had to bring with it stress. What I have found here in this forum is an encouragement and reinforcement that stress is not an absolute part of my life and that I can make positive choices each day that avoid, reduce and eliminate stress. Thanks Winb143 for the singing encouragement....and reduce the stress... john

Debbie, Welcome....I am a new member as well, experiencing a SAH a few weeks ago on March 8. I have been very encouraged by the outreach and compassion shared by the BTG. I was born in Portland, Oregon and now live in Los Angeles...what a beautiful part of the country you get to enjoy. Keep us posted on your progress. john

Welcome Roy, John here from Los Angeles...there are not many yanks in the BTG membership so I will endeavor to provide an across the pond perspective. You are about 6 weeks ahead of me in your recovery as my SAH occurred on March 8, 2015. I am still processing the events and impacts. I am struck by the random experiences that each BTG member describes of their own event that through this forum weaves into a rich picture of life post SAH. Look forward to hearing more... john

Thanks for the song Win. Carolyn - we seem to have travelled the same paths years apart. I had friends from Niles while at Purdue and went from Purdue to La Jolla and spent many years surfing from Mission Bay up through Pacific Beach, Tourmaline and up to Blacks and Del Mar. I finally got some movement on insurance today and I will get my next scan done Monday, March 30 with a visit with my neurologist on Thursday April 2nd to read the results. So I have another week of taking it easy. I have been spending my days re-connecting with friends who have drifted away over the past several years and am enjoying content-filled conversations that have been too long about the weather. I think that I shared that I am also a Scoutmaster for our local Boy Scout Troop. I found out that one of my Scouts had an emergency appendectomy yesterday at the same hospital where i was in ICU two weeks ago. I was able to go by today and visit the Scout and then also stopped by the ICU and said a very big thank you to the ICU nursing staff that took care of me for the oddest week of my life. They were very grateful to see an SAH patient walking, talking and smiling back amongst their midst. They were able to also fill in some time gaps during my stay that will help me in assimilating this whole surreal experience. Thanks to all at BTG...it is comforting to know that as I type these words into the void - there are those out there who understand. Enjoying each day.... john

Carolyn, Thanks for the followup. I know Champagne-Urbana as I went to college down the road at Purdue in West Lafayette Indiana and we took a road trip to the school in 1981(?). I live in what is called the "south bay" of los angeles - Palos Verdes (green hills) to e exact. The hospital that treated me is Torrance Memorial - a very well developed complex, however it does not support neurosurgery. So when I went to the Torrance Emergency Room and was in the process of being diagnosed, they were scrambling behind the scenes to determine what neurosurgery center they could transfer me should I need a coiling. It turned out that I did not need coiling so the admitted me to the Torrance Memorial ICU and began the medicated "watch and see" program. "Feel and see" is more of the program I am currently following. I have continued to have problems getting timely CT scans approved and scheduled by insurance. I try not to let that bother me too much, as the real progress is occurring naturally as the blood naturally reabsorbs. The Scans are simply time markers of progress - but I have not had a scan update in almost two weeks. Now that things seem to have stabilized, new questions are beginning to emerge. I still have no "reason" nor source. I have no clue about future vulnerability and I need to do some research around re-occurance for NASAH patients over what time horizon. Which reminds me of some google searching I should go do. It is midnight here in LA - so good web night owl surf time! Regards, john

I had two very odd experiences today. For reference, I had my NASAH on March 8 - so I have 17 days of recovery. I am still in the process of first round doctor follow-ups. I have a neurologist assigned since to date they have found no source for the bleed. I also have a neurosurgeon in case a source appears. So today I went to see my neurologist for my first follow-up. Now mind you, he saw me twice in the ICU over 6 days and completed an EEG and one other test. He walks in the room and looks at me with a completely blank face and asks what is my reason for the office visit today? He did not recognize me, he had not read my chart or tests and thought I was a new patient walking in off the street. Eventually he recovered, read the tests and began to play out the patter of expected recovery paths. The second doctor visit was very different. Separate from the SAH, about 6 weeks ago I suffered a rupture of my left ear drum. Since the SAH required numerous scans, the test results provided great details on opacified mastoid cells in my ear. So I was referred to an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist to address. While the ENT nurse was inducting me and taking my medical history, she got quiet and left the room. A short while later she returned, somewhat subdued and obviously upset. She was very timid and wondered if I would mind sharing with her any information about the SAH I had experienced. She shared that over 20 years ago, her Mother was suddenly struck by SAH and she passed within a few hours on the way to treatment. She had never met any other person in 20 years who had experienced a similar condition and she wondered if I would answer her questions. She was clearly still struggling with the sudden loss of her mother 20 years on and as a professional working in the medical community. When wanted to understand things about pain, did she suffer and why was it so devastating. I could only share my experience and also point her to this excellent support group that seems to provide an emphasis on recovery rather than clinical facts. It was such an odd contrast between human interaction within the span of a few hours that it really brought home to me the frailty of life and an appreciation of what you here at BTG have accomplished. My recovery continues....and the sky was a little more blue today... Regards, john

Iola, Thanks for sharing your fears, actions and outcome...I am just beginning to realize that I may have a few fears stuck in an old closet that may need to see the light of day as a result of my recent SAH. Glad to hear that the prognosis is good. john

Thank you all for your comments and words of support. Being that I am in Los Angeles, it is interesting that many of you seem to be in the United Kingdom. I was looking forward to waking up and seeing if anyone posted back and I was not disappointed! Thank you for the support. In response to the specific question Clare - no, I did not have any drains installed. And yes, I am in the process of learning my stamina tolerance all over again. My main focus is on trying to string together more hours of sleep. I am able to do 2-3 hours but then wake up. I assume I may be able to increase the pain medication to possibly mask, but being an engineer I do not want to give up that level of control. To date my neurologists are advising "wait and see" until they do the next scan and see how fast/slow the blood is breaking down and being reabsorbed. That is an odd sentence to type - but it is comforting to know that this audience actually understands it.

I experienced a non-aneurysm SAH on the evening of March 8, 2015. At first I thought it was simply a stiff neck or pinched nerve that caused a huge headache. I went to the local hospital emergency room and waited for a few hours until an ER doctor called me in. They did an immediate CT Scan and the next thing I knew I was in the ICU, saline drip hooked up and several nurses hovering closely. In those two weeks I have tried to do online research and have found most the topics are clinical descriptions. What struck me when I found "behind the grey" was a resource that finally began to describe recovery and what is next. It is still early days for me, but I am thankful for finding BTG and look forward to sharing this new journey with new friends.