FionaH

Well done Win! You really are a force of nature all on your own

I am so sorry it has come to this Zoe. I ave read your past posts and can see how long and hard you have fought to keep your relationship going. You have to look after your children and yourself as well as Richard and as others have said no one has the right to judge you until they have walked a mile in your shoes. x

Good luck I was scanned 4 weeks post clip when I was readmitted with severe pain (a little water on the brain it turned out). I am being scanned again in November and then at 5 years. It seems that the attitude is clipping carries more risk at the time but is seen as needing no monitoring to speak of afterwards unlike coiling?

Hello and welcome to BTG I am so sorry you were treated so badly by the hospital. My husband put a complaint in because when I was taken in to A&E I was left alone for 3 hours unable to stand light, vomitting and crying in constant pain. As soon as the doctor saw me he realised it was something serious and got me scanned and we went from there. Anyway I'm telling you because putting an official complaint in took a couple of months to get a response but when they did the Chief Exec wrote a long letter and apologised and told me all the changes they were making as a result. If you feel up to it talk to your local patients liaison panel so they can help you. I am sorry people are also being so unsympathetic. I am nearly 6 months post SAH now and just finally starting to get my life back, it is hard for others to understand and some don't try x

Phew! Great news Win x

Karen I am in a very confused place right now but everything you wrote rang very true with me. Thank you x

Hello and welcome to BTG I am sure you will find lots of support and understanding here :redface: I had my SAH earlier this year, I'm 31 and felt a little of what you describe. Although I can't imagine a much more physical job than working on a farm I was someone who walked miles and miles every week, it was my bit of 'me time' in a hectic life and right now I don't even have that. Everyone seems to experience and deal with their SAH in different ways but you aren't alone here x

I know sometimes these weights can't be avoided while tests are checked and double checked but it doesn't do much for our blood pressure or stress levels does it? It is one conversation of many they have in a day for them and a big deal to us! It sounds to me like they have wanted to be extra cautious and go over your results very carefully and are happy now that all is OK?

Headway sent me a booklet called 'My Mum Bakes The Best Cakes'. There is a 'My Dad...' one too but I can't remember what it's called. Anyway they seem very helpful for explaining the longer term effects of a brain injury to younger children. They might be worth a look? x

Most of my friends have been amazing. They have looked after me, looked out for me, took me places, made me laugh and told me I can carry off no hair and a huge scar no problem. A couple have been equally phenomenal in their self centredness, they have managed to make it all about them. One spent my first get together with friends after I got out of hospital in a different room telling a another friend for 4 hours how stressful she found it all. It was the first time I'd seen her. Another told my 3 year old that if she didn't stop making so much noise I'd wish I had died to get away from her. She is 3, did I mention that? 3! I wonder if he's figured out why I haven't spoken to him again.... Still I have found that in the grand scheme of things that the relationships that really matter to me are much stronger now and as for the rest, stuff 'em. Life is really too short! I love the idea of leaflets, any written information to take home from hospital would be fabulous. It is really hard to explain what we have gone through to others as it is, even harder when we leave hospital not fully understanding it ourselves!

Whilst trying to have a positive outlook is always a good attitude Win it's not always possible sadly. Minan it sounds like you've had a lot of difficult relationship stuff to deal with that would be difficult even without an SAH. Caregiver burnout is a very real thing. I have felt it myself when looking after others in the past and can see too the strain it is for my husband sometimes looking after me. I don't know if there has been much discussion on the topic before but hope others will feel able to give their experiences.

Hi Minan:-D Welcome to BTG. Looking forward to chatting

Welcome to BTG I am amazed you were back at work so quickly. I'm 17 weeks of so post SAH (I was clipped too) and in no state to return yet, I didn't come out of HDU for 2 weeks! You sound incredibly strong and motivated

Hi Kate Welcome to BTG. I had my SAH 3 weeks after you It sounds like you had a tough time of it getting a diagnosis We're all different and experience different after effects and recovery times I think but we all understand you:-D

I am actually finding I am much less emotional post SAH. I have got tearful a handful of times since coming out of February and if anything feel a little detached from my feelings right now. I'm not depressed at all although it is very difficult at times and I am dealing with an ongoing medical problem I've had since birth too. I wonder if my reaction is a way of protecting myself and I am dealing with all that's happened one step at a time. I guess our brains all worked differently before our SAH's, our SAH's were in different places and so affect us in different ways. There is no right or wrong:-D

Pleased to meet you Kelly

Hi and welcome to BTG

I am surprised I had so much shaved off compared to everyone else. I do know mine was in a very awkward position so maybe that was why. Still I am cultivating quite a nice Mohawk now so its not all bad. For a few weeks I couldn't open my mouth very wide so eating could be a challenge, though I developed an addiction to chewing liquorice which seemed to help it heal (that's my story and I am sticking to it!) I also couldn't lay on that side for a while. The only other thing I have noticed is that the area of my scar is still swollen a little, esp at the top of my jaw. It is a major op and a big deal but it is one you can recover from slowly and surely x

Hi I had my SAH clipped in Feb this year. They shaved off maybe a third of my hair. I then had the rest shaved off as it looked silly. I felt pretty sore for 4 weeks but I was still having the post SAH constant headache too. I don't know if recovery might be a little easier because it's planned surgery. The scar runs from the front of my hairline and curves round the top of my head and stops down the front of my ear. I hope that makes sense - it is hard to describe. In some ways I was almost glad for my scar because it did make it easier for people to understand just how ill I was. Good luck x

Stopping apologising is something I am going to do from today Lin. I haven't admitted to anyone I can't remember when my brothers birthday is, I just know its next week. I got a bit of snipping from a friend for trying to organise a girls day out and not remembering it is the day before her birthday (hey it wasn't on her birthday right?) and I felt really awful and spent all weekend beating myself up. I am always sorry I am tired, sorry I can't go out/go to the cinema/to a bar. But you are right I have got a brain injury and I don't function the same way anymore. I find it really interesting what you said about not feeling the excitement. I haven't cried since my SAH, a couple of times there has been a few tears but I haven't properly cried at all. Has anyone else experienced this.

I keep writing as I sometimes work out how I feel doing that but I struggle too. I try to keep a sense of perspective but it is hard to answer honestly when people say 'how are you?' without feeling like a moaner. The flip side of that is many people think I am 'fixed' or 'fine' because I keep trying to get on with it! And anyway it is just hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced an SAH what it's like anyway. I am finding I am having more low days at the moment. I am nearly 4 months post SAH and I guess a lot of stuffs just sinking in now. All told I may choose not to be totally honest with other people about how I feel but I am always honest with myself.

Hi What a determined attitude Great to 'meet' you

Hello and welcome to BTG Thank god you were eventually diagnosed correctly but what a nightmare for you to be in pain all that time:frown: Look forward to 'chatting' with you

My consultant told me at the time and again yesterday in no uncertain terms not to smoke and that to do so would increase my risks of developing further annies. I smoked from being 18 - 24 and quit when I got pregnant with Rosie. I had slipped up again in the last couple of years but wasn't smoking daily and would often go a week or more and he still said this was enough to have increased my risk factors. I haven't smoked since my SAH and don't intend o ever again. All my friends would physically remove the fag if I tried!

That's really inspiring to read Sandi, I hope I'm doing as well as you at 6 months xxx