Hi, my name is Suzie (Suzanne) and I am a 32 year old woman from a suburb of Chicago. I'm married and the mom to a 3 year old little boy amd 6-month old baby girl. I am very active, workout 5-6times a week, work full-time as the Director of Marketing for a nationwide healthcare staffing company and overall am very healthy. I don't drink or smoke, I'm not overweight and don't have high blood pressure.
I was sitting at my desk at work on 3/24/11 when I felt a headache coming on. Seeing as I have suffered from migraines in the past I assumed that was what I was having until the pain started radiating from the front of my head to the back, then I had shooting pains in my neck and spine followed by extreme nausea. My co-worker took me to the ER where a CT scan was performed and my bleed was found. I was transported by ambulance to the #1 facility for neurosurgery in Chicago and the state of Illinois. Upon arrival I was admitted to the ICU and within an hour had a CTA scan, which came back inconclusive. I had an angiogram on Friday morning, which led to my final diagnosis of a benign SAH. I was moved from the ICU to a step-down floor on Saturday and then after daily TCDs and a repeat CTA scan on Wednesday 3/30 I was released from the hospital.
I have suffered from almost daily headaches...some days are worse than others. My first week home was probably the worst seeing as I wanted to be back to normal and care for my kids, but wasn't really able too. I was on Nimodipene for 21 days along with steroids the first 5 days as well as Fioricet for my headache pain. I started going for short walks about 2 weeks after my SAH and have slowly increased my activity level. I had my follow-up with my neurosurgeon last Monday and was told I was doing great and could return to "normal". I had a repeat CTA scan last Thursday to determine that the blood had cleared and no aneurysm was present. I was cleared to return to work as soon as I was feeling up to it.
Due to the fact that I carry my family's health insurance and limited income from my STD through work I made the decision to return to work on Monday of this week. So far, so good. I am definitely tired by the end of the day and notice that my thought process is slower than before. I have also noticed that sometimes I have a hard time finding the words to answer questions, but eventually they come. I am hoping this improves over time. I am so happy I visited this site to understand more about SAH, my long-term prognosis and just share my story.
My neurosurgeon is one of the best in the U.S. and I do like him, but I am interested to know if all of you got second opinions? I have followed-up with my primary doctor and even after meeting with my neurosurgeon and being told my chance of reoccurrence is 1%/year but no additional testing is needed. While I am thrilled with that, I am also a little concerned as to whether that's right. I would have thought that I would need additional CT scans on a long-term basis.
I am grateful to be alive and to be this fortunate considering what happened. For now I am living life one day at a time. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories.
