Karen

Desy, you can sometimes get muscle twitches from other medical problems and it doesn't mean to say that you have gone on to develop epilepsy. I did have seizures during and after my SAH and still experience some muscle twitching ... restless legs etc, but haven't developed epilepsy and have been off anti seizure meds for 7 years. There can be plenty of other causes, so please don't worry. I'm sure that the medics will carry out the correct tests for you. Wishing you well. xx

Hi, You really need to go and get yourself checked out/talk with your GP. I believe that there can be problems with the ears that might cause you to have tinnitus and nausea/sickness ... so the two may be linked....if what you have been prescribed isn't working for you, then never feel worried about questioning it. I also experience tinnitus/change of frequency in ears, but no sickness. xxx

Hi Tricia, It sounds as though the hospital just want to get him back/establish a natural night time sleep rhythm and then I would imagine that they would stop the sedation? Perhaps you need to ask the hospital as to whether they just want to administer a sedative in the short term? Quite a few of us on here experienced not being able to sleep at night time post SAH. I could often still be awake at 5am in the morning and it was so frustrating, as you knew that you would be absolutely tired out when the rest of the family were getting up and then having to nap through the day. I didn't take sleeping tablets, but I know that some BTG members have just to establish a routine sleep pattern. My sleep was all over the place for a long time, but it did and has improved greatly. Good luck xx

Hi Daff, Sometimes in the UK the traffic is completely awful...You did really well..xx It's going to be a first for me in September. We're driving (Eric driving, as he does long journeys with work within the UK and Europe) to the Loire Valley in France for a weeks holiday, via the Channel Tunnel in Folkstone. We'll be heading towards the Channel tunnel the day before and having an overnight stop before we catch the train in the morning, as it's about a 3 hour journey from where we live and a 5 hour journey to the Loire Valley in France. Watch this space ... l'm 8 years on and have quite a bit of difficulty visually (plus being a horrendous back seat driver, which doesn't help, as my foot is often on the brake!) just makes me feel completely whacked .... I sometimes sit in the back seat for a while, rather than the front .... as it does help. There's less visual stuff for the brain to have to interpret and basically, I can't see where he's going! Worth a try if any of you find it difficult with travelling distances... I also have problems with ear pressure even with the most gentlest of hills in Dorset and have to keep popping my ears ... not nice...some days it's worse than others and I don't have a shunt. I'll let you know how it goes. xx

Congratulations Kris and I truly believe that the first 2 years are the hardest, so well done! xx

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Lin, I totally agree with all that you've said in your post and if you have to manage long term fatigue, it really is the best way to handle it, in order that you can mentally stay on top of it. At 8 years on, it's become part of my "normal" life and I factor it in, especially if I'm having a busy week ... not that it always rears up at the point, as I can experience it when life is quiet, so there's often no rhyme nor reason as to why it happens. xx

Bless you Wem! You're doing really well though and just try to write off the rubbish days that you're experiencing at the minute ... don't dwell on them, as they will pass. At 8 years on, I really hate the "fatigue" word ... and now just use "tired" ... normally with an expletive or two added into the mix... The really hot weather knocked me for six and ended up with having a day in bed and just slept on and off, felt completely rotten ... none of this stuff helps any of us, but felt better for doing it! Keep your chin up. xx

Liz, I was also another person allowed by the DVLA to drive with one eye being patched to correct the double vision. xx

Hi Tricia, Could you please add more detail as to why you're asking this question?

Third nerve palsy here too ... eye still slightly out of alignment, slight double vision left and noticeable when tired and a bit of nerve pain on occasions, which does hurt! I think that my vision has definitely been one of the worse problems to deal with.

Kerry, I must admit that I found the leg and back pain worse than the headache, which was bad enough .... I was on morphine for it in hospital and it only took the edge off it, but it did improve and went away. It's horrid, totally feel for you.... go see your GP if it's really bad, as they might be able to prescribe a decent painkiller for it. xx

Hi Kerry and welcome! I had severe pain down my legs as well. I was told that it was the blood from the SAH draining/dissapating down the spinal cord and affecting/irritating the nerve endings. The pain did go, thankfully. Did you ask your Consultant/GP about it? Good luck and take it easy for a while. xx

Wow, that seems like a lot of exercise! I experience a pulsing sensation around my aneurysm area when I've physically overdone it and I also experience it in an anxiety/stress situation, so I know that it's a sign to calm things right down and get my blood pressure back to normal. Once I do get back to normal, the pulsing stops. I still have an untreated neck on this aneurysm, so I'm pretty careful with it. Any exercise/stress will obviously raise blood pressure and your body/arteries will have to work harder, so it may be the case that you're physically pushing yourself far too hard and need to re-think your exercise program. Obviously, we can't and don't offer medical advice on BTG, as it would be totally irresponsible to do so. Contact your GP and get yourself checked out for some peace of mind, as that's what I did with this situation. Good luck. xx

Tracey, Gill is correct re: insurance premium. You could try giving the DVLA a ring in a fortnight rather than 4 weeks time if you're desperate, as sometimes a decision is made before the 4 weeks - mine was, so it might be worth giving it a try. I was told I was okay to drive over the phone and a letter arrived in the post to confirm. Good luck!

Often on this forum, we talk/concentrate on issues that are mainly negative and don't tend to celebrate what we've achieved since leaving hospital, so I'm looking for a few positive replies with this thread ... no matter how small or insignificant that you may feel them to be, please post them up. I personally had quite a few years post SAH, where my life really wasn't good physically. I can also remember writing on my calendar when I had "a good day" It was a bad mistake .... I didn't have "a good day" for the next 3 months, so I swore that I would never write it down again. I had expected too much of myself, considering how ill I'd been and continued to compare myself to life pre-SAH. However, I failed to notice all of the little things that I became able to do ... walk without a wheelchair, pour a bowl of cornflakes, go to a restaurant, drive for the first time, walk the dog around the block, cook a meal, use the phone, write a letter, stop using the walking stick, read etc.. all of the small stuff that you take for granted that you could do before the SAH, but good achievements none the less and ones that should be truly celebrated and be proud of. So, what have you done today, that perhaps you couldn't have managed a few days/weeks/months/years ago?

Hi Lesley, I would contact your GP and make an appointment. On discharge from hospital, they would have transferred/copied your hospital notes, medication list etc to your GP so that your care can be continued - blood pressure is something that is normally monitored for a while post SAH. If you're on anti-seizure meds, you may need to have blood tests at certain intervals to ensure that you have the correct level of medication in your system. If you're still unsure, contact your Neuro's Secretary at the hospital and explain the situation to them. xx

Welcome to BTG Desy! Tiling advice has been moved to Green Room and can be found on the following link: http://www.behindthegray.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?8863-Tiling&p=93408#post93408

Hi Sarah, We've all gone through the same as you and not wanting to be left alone ... it's so scary right at the beginning. You're not being irrational at all and it's going to take some time to re-build your confidence that nothing bad is going to happen to you again. My husband works away quite a lot (abroad quite a bit) ... both of my kids have now left home and yes it sometimes feels as though my comfort blanket has been whipped away, especially if I'm not feeling so good. I always have a phone next to me and in the early days when Eric was away or out for the evening, he would give me a quick call to make sure I was okay. I've also written a note about my medical condition and I keep it handy when I'm on my own (had it for ages now) - it states what meds I'm on and who to call in an emergency (next of kin) if I have to be taken into hospital. Never had to use it yet, but it helps! I also use ICE (in case of emergency) on my mobile phone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_case_of_emergency it kind of helps with peace of mind when I am on my own. I does take a lot of time to feel confident again. Hope you're okay. xx

Thanks Mary! xx

Thanks Mary for your update and "encouraging" David to get to hospital, that was really good of you, bless you! Please send him my well wishes if you're in contact again. xx

Hi David, I'm really hoping that you've heeded the advice and that you're now heading towards the hospital ..... you really need to go and I don't want to see you on here until you've got yourself checked out... take care David and wishing you well. xx

Hi David, You really need to go and get yourself checked out, so please go and make the phone call. xx

Sending hugs and love Tulip ....so very sorry for your loss...xxx

Hi Molly, It's worth a trip to the GP to get something to help with the pain. I was put on anti inflammatory's for a while, as just couldn't sleep and like you, also felt the pain when my arm was hanging down or jarred it. Couldn't even shut the car door with it, just too painful! I know that we often put a lot of our aches and pains down to the SAH, but they often can be something fairly common and not associated with the bleed at all. One of my friends is a Physiotherapist and as soon as I told her my symptoms, she knew what it was and advised me to keep the affected arm moving as much as possible (which was hard when it was so painful!) .... she'd also had a frozen shoulder and had a couple of steroid injections which helped immensely otherwise she wouldn't have been able to carry out her work. It seems to be a fairly common ailment amongst quite a few people that I know ... not sure whether it's an age thing either with joints etc, but I do know that it's excruciatingly painful! Good luck and hope that you're in less pain soon..xx