Stuart

Thanks for your well wishes. I will definitely keep you all updated with what's going on and how I'm doing.

Hello, My name is Stuart and this is a great site I have just found. I suffered with a Non-Aneurysm SAH on 14th August, 2010. I had a headache come out of nowhere, it felt like a metal clamp being tightened on my head and was straight after sex. It was certainly the worst headache I've ever had but nowhere near as bad as some of what I've read on here ! All I wanted to do was lie down but I didn't have any other symptoms. I went to sleep for the night and the headache was much better the next day but still quite bad all the same. I'd never suffered from headaches before so thought it was odd. On Monday the headache was much reduced so I went to work but I still didn't feel right. I felt a bit spaced out had slight vertigo and it felt like my scalp was a bit tight. I saw my doctor on the Tuesday because a bit of googling had shown up possibility of SAH (which I'd never heard of before). He played it safe (bless him) and contacted Worthing hospital with the same concern although all the tests he did were ok. I was at work the next day when my Dr phoned and said that the hospital wanted me in straight away, so off I went. They were expecting me so I went straight to the Acute Medical Unit. They did basic tests and then I had a CT scan that evening which was apparantly clear. I then had a lumber puncture at about 1am and was re-awoken at about 5ish to say that the results of that were abnormal. Later on I was told that Hurstwood Park (my most local Neurological Centre) were clearing a bed for me and I would be blue lighted up there, which I was later in the day. On arrival I was surrounded by Dr's. I remember one of them saying that in 25% of these cases that they see there is no explanation for a bleed. Anyway 1 x CTA scan, 2 x Angiograms and 2 x MRI scans later it was confirmed that I have a DAVF (Dural Arterio Venous Fistula) spotted on the first angiogram, investigated further on the 2nd and not an Aneurism. This is relatively good news apparantly as the fistula vein is in the dural membrane on the outside of the brain and is an AVF not an AVM. Hat's off to Hurstwood Park for being so painstaking. My type of fistula can't be left alone due to the risk of future major problems, so will need surgery to be clipped. Embolization unfortunately isn't possible due to where it is and the high blood flow through it. I'm going in for a pre-op appointment next Monday when I will find out more about when the op will be. I'm on my second week back at work (working from home as I'm in IT) and I feel 99%. I do get slight headaches if I overdo the computer and get a bit more tired than before. Although I'm dreading the operation I also can't wait to get it over with and start recovering. I am also counting myself extremely lucky that my SAH appears to have been minor and has not massively affected me although I was really tired for the first month or so after. It would have been so easy not to have followed up this headache and be unaware right now. I am trying to work out what the recovery from the Op will be like and what to expect given I'm relatively ok now. That turned into a bit of a long post, but my be useful to someone one day ! All the best Stu