JellyB

Thanks for the good wishes. Hope you are doing well. Bye Jellyb

Hi. Its been a while since I last visited BTG and I just saw your post. I'm sports active and had a NASAH June 2011 so I'm a way down the road now. I've done alot of endurance sport over the years - six times Ironman Tri finisher. The docs told me the NASAH had nothing to do with sports activity. It was just a random event and who knows why it happened. Since then I've quized them a few times but the answer is always the same. They say I can go back to doing what I did before and the chances of recurrence are really really low, low enough not to worry about it. So I'm taking their word for it and am now back training It took a while and headaches troubled me for a long time - especially if I was tired or slept badly. I still do have a bit of trouble with noise but its improved. I find I cant cope with background noise. In busy environments I can sometimes reach a threshold and i just have to get out and away. I am planning on doing another ironman by the way so I hope this might provide you some encouragement. I'm pretty much able to do what I've done before. I swim regularly and did a 100 mile bike last Oct. Take care because NASAH isn't a simple sports injury. Take some time out and let your body fix itself. Theres no rush. Enjoy the simple things in life for a while. You might find family and friends are worrying about you more than you think. Thats what I found when I didn't even realise it and it took me by surprise. They were worrying more than I was. So think of them. Based on my experience (we are all different) it's too soon for training by quite a few months. I got some sports yoga dvds and did that for a while at home. Flexibility was something i could work on. Best of luck

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it.

Hi Karen - I think you already know the answer! I think keep well clear of them. Gyms use these to attract customers. When it comes to diet and fitness it's often the case that if somethings not natural it's probably not a great idea, and getting shaken to bits doesn't really happen much in nature.. I have heard of people loosing tooth filings with these (true). So I can't imagine it being great for SAH recovery. I think Bagpuss offers sound advice. Definitely check with neuro. Bye

Hi Teechur Please do yourself a favour and take it easy. Look after yourself - thats all you need to do. I understand you need to run etc again. But right now it doesn't matter. Really. I have a lifetime in sports like you do. My SAH was two weeks after finishing my sixth Ironman. SAH doesn't care if you are fit or not. 9 months later I can swim, bike and run again though I am still making sure to take it easy and I won't race this year - well maybe in November as I have an idea.. Be careful and give yourself the best chance for a great recovery. You'll get there. Good luck. Bye Jellyb

Hi all - compared to most in this thread I think I got lucky. Am I the only one finding it impossible to identify medical staff these days? When first admitted to the assessment unit in Portsmouth it was a case of who the heck works here?? I mistook the first consultant doc for an employee of Snow and Rock. Either that or he was sponsored by "The North Face" judging by his outfit. He looked like he had just completed Ben Nevis and was calling in for lunch. Not that I have a problem with uniforms or anything, but it would be handy to know who the docs are v who the patients are. What happened to shirts, ties and stethoscopes?? Anyway, he was great. His fellow doc completed a lumbar puncture first time which seems to be a record on this thread. OK - he did fire the sciatic nerve in the process (yikes) but thats the least of it really as no harm done. After formal admission to hospital the staff were indeed wearing uniforms and it was nice to know I wasn't being treated by someone elses visitor. So thats good. I never did understand the theory of casual dress for docs. Is it so as not to frighten children?? So, I'm now in the Wessex. I'll say right now that I didn't have many of the complications that some of you unfortunately experienced so I was an easy customer to please. To this day I think they were brilliant. I found the nurses top notch and to me they sort of radiated healing. Nothing at all like the people I usually interact with on a working basis where its pressure, pressure, pressure all the time just to get the job done on time and to cost. So I'm giving the Wessex the thumbs up. But I can guess how hard their jobs can sometimes be. Keep well Bye

Hi Annie I am expert at doing everything and anything either back to front or upside down. My SAH sounds quite similar to yours and bizarely I never really stopped working, so yes I was working within 3 months of SAH. But only because I was a remote worker able to distribute workload over some strange hours. It was tough and I did a bad job. Unfortunately I had no help or support from the company and just struggled on with it. I stuck at it because I am a contractor and I needed to reach the end of the contract while it was there. If they'd known about my problems I think they would have let me go and just hired someone else. I recommend taking as much time as you can to recover. It's lucky if you have an understanding employer that will help you. Post SAH I'm not good in busy meetings or working to deadlines and I'm sensitive to noise. Net result is that I'm having to reinvent myself a bit. To strangers I must seem completely normal but I'm not quite how I was. And for that reason I am looking for a new direction. Apart from that I'm doing great. p.s. I got a break after completing the contract but could have done with it when I really needed it. Good luck and take it easy Bye

Hi Sandi Myofascial Release has been around for a long time and does work well. Its often used to resolve sports over use injuries and thats where I know it from. It also is very successful with RSI type problems (for example sore shoulders, neck etc from hours spent at a PC). A type of soft tissue known as fascia surrounds muscle. Muscle strain causes local inflammation which eventually causes the fascia to thicken so setting off a vicious circle as this thickening causes reflexes in the muscle that lead to more inflammation and on it goes. This cycle has the unfortunate effect of reducing blood flow to the affected area and without that healing is very slow. Again leading to further inflammation. In this state muscles act as if they are shortened and this can put the skeleton out of whack leading to aches and pains and maybe eventually pressing on nerves. Myofascial Release is a technique used to break the cycle and restore healing and normal function. If you are interested in learning more I can recommend this ebook to you. I bought it some time ago. Its called "Treat Yourself to Pain Free Living" http://www.julstro.com/ Good luck with it Bye

Hello - thanks all for your thoughts and thanks Lynne for the detail. And MaryB - thats painful paying so much in health insurence. Our NHS has its problems but if you are an emergency they will fix you up. Our private system here in UK doesn't deal with emergencies. Anyway, I'm not sure what conclusion to draw. Sounds like a roll of the dice depending on the people. I've worked for 3 multi-national corporations each of which had the HR depts you might expect. These are great places to work if you get struck down with illness / injury. But they started going a bit bonkers sometime around the early 2000's. For example outsourcing HR to Hungary which isn't a huge amount of use when you are in UK and you could use a bit of help from occupational therapy. Not that it mattered much really as all the UK jobs soon followed and were off-shored to various countries / cities you've never heard of let alone can pronounce (eg. Székesfehérvár). And so the decline of the west continues....... Remember cheap goods and services now means no jobs soon .... Next I joined a privately owned company of approx 100 souls. And nothing. No benefits. No sick. Only the absolute bare minimum to comply with UK law. And they did that begrudgingly. If you work for these types of companies its likely to be a struggle after SAH I think because they really don't care about people only money and productivity (even though, strangely they were hopelessly inefficient). Then I went contracting and thats even trickier. They pay well but of course its all up to you. No nothing there either. They only want a job doing. If you cant do it then they'll get someone else who can. It's just as simple as that. I think I'm going to conclude that gut feeling might be best when it comes to declaring SAH history. If you can find work with a great environment then treasure it. Bye

I have read quite a few accounts on BTG of peoples return to work following SAH on this site. Seems usually where the employers are large corporations with HR depts that will actually try and take care and offer a nice phased level of activity. But what I'm wondering is whether anyone has any thoughts or experiences of revealing their SAH history to new employers or even just to acquaintances known to be influential in your own particular industry (concern being that word gets around etc)? Instinct tells me just to keep quiet but on the other hand I think that, depending on the role and the person, there is some mileage in being upfront. It's just one of those things where once said you can't back track. Do people think SAH is a real negative on the job front? Thanks Bye

Hi there.. I had a similar thing with pain in the pelvic area due to the blood in the spinal fluid. This pain dimished gradually over a period of 3 or 4 weeks before disappearing altogether. Hope this puts your mind at rest. Bye

Morning all, I was NASAH with no cause for the bleeding ever found. So far as angiogram negative goes .....this was the category I fell into. This confused me slightly aswell but they explained that all it really means is that the angiogram results were normal (i.e. no aneuryisms or other abnormalities were found). This is 'Good News'. In my case the bleeding was assumed to be via a vein (rather than an artery). Our bodies heal veins all the time from cuts etc. And this, I think, is why we have such a low chance of re-bleeding. It's because, hopefully, the body has done its magic and successfully repaired the damaged vein so it shouldn't be a problem again. Hope this simple explanation helps. Bye

I'm guessing most of you don't need reminding to take it easy?? But in case you're border line here's a reminder ...... The prospect of an old friends birthday bash with live band seemed like a great idea. Especially as I'd not seen him for 10 years or so. I'm now 7 months post SAH but still prone to headaches and sensitive to noise, so hatched a plan to call in for an hour or so. I thought my head would get away with that. Unfortunately I forgot the exit strategy - mostly becuase it would have impacted others. Several days later I've still got the headache and my hearing just hurts. Thats my stupid fault. So all I wanted to say is please look after yourselves. When you start feeling better take care and do whats best for you. It can be tempting to do just that bit too much sometimes. Remember to take it easy.

Hi VTXrider Ref the biking: my advice is don't have any targets for now. Think only about how you are feeling and if it's a good idea for your on going recovery? I'm thinking you might seem just a bit too keen to get back on two wheels??!! I can tell you for sure that I wouldn't / couldn't have done it at your stage of recovery. And I got away lightly compared to your story. So really take care. My advice, for what it's worth, is that it's too soon to even think about biking. You need to recover first. You seem to be only 7 weeks post SAH and thats not much. For me it was more like 18 weeks until starting a bit of easy biking. But we are all different. My tip would be that it's a definite plus to start off indoors. You can get off when you want and whats the point of freezing anyway? I'm not trying to put you off or anything but take it easy for a while ..... I know there are some really interesting studies around at the moment ref diet and type 2. Probably you already research this area? But if not its worth checking the latest. Bye JellyB

Hi VTXrider You will get back to the bike. Just give it time. Right now you've got to focus on recovery. You cannot train if the body is already fully occupied with that recovery process. You know that. So just help it with that healing process. I did an Ironman triathlon in May. Had NASAH in June. And now I'm back doing some biking. OK - not much compared to what I was doing but thats because I'm making sure to stay within a zone where the biking is a positive rather than a negative. It will come back and I know it. So I'm not stressing about it. Lynne - it was interesting to read your update. I watched the Berlin Marathon on the TV. I know sport can sometimes be a bit me, me , me. But it doesn't have to be. I've got a whole lot more philosophical with age and you can help many people through sport and in so many ways. One of my training partners is 73 (sounds crazy but he's better than alot of 40 somethings I know) and he's just come back from doing the New York marathon. His focus is entirely on maximising life and well being and he still works as a personal trainer. How fantastic is that? The youngsters love him because they want to be like him one day. But I must admit the SAH has changed my out look on the world too. Like many here, I am now more inclined to help others than maybe I was before. And I'm very aware that you cannot tell a persons physical / mental state simply by looking at them. I'm even going to volunteer some time soon. I've gained some wisdom from the whole experience. And I hope, with time, that you can too. For now just listen to your healing body, help others maybe if you can, and make the most of what ever comes your way. Bye JellyB

Hi Rachel - I was a NASAH in June. Just thought I would chip in that the headaches will go eventually with luck. They were constant but cleared somewhere between 16 and 20 weeks for me. Now only occasional and something has to kick it off - usual noise or lack of sleep for me. Noise still bothers me and I avoid noisy places but thats easy to work around. The body is brilliant because it can often fix itself. Machines never can do that. So I think be grateful you have nothing for the docs to fix. It should mean a great outlook for you. Just imagine that you have fixed yourself without surgical intervention and thank your body. Its the best you can hope for. Bye JellyB

Thanks all for your comments. Yep will definitely be OK. I just found it a strange feeling really and surprised about that. Anyway, no major thing. We are v lucky down here as the Wessex team stay available to help with any concerns etc. I am still amazed by them there. Maybe will come along in November. Good luck all. Bye

A weird thing this week which has taken me a bit by surprise. I've always thought I've been lucky and done well with this SAH thing. Well, I have really. OK there have been a few ups and downs but nothing dramatic. Sunday night I slept badly. That always sets me back and I've felt sea sick since. I'm 16 weeks now and had a follow up at the hospital this week. I'm signed off which should be great. Yet now I feel bizarrely cut off. Even though I have had no reason to contact the hospital since the early days. How weird is that? I suppose the reason is being signed off as OK yet actually not feeling quite right either. And I hadn't expected that to catch me out. But it has slightly. Even though I know it's a bit irrational. I am beginning to wonder when I will feel 100%? Next week? Maybe next year? Who knows? I am guessing others have experienced this? And I hope maybe it will help others to hear this tale?

Hi Mags - sounds like you will be fine soon. I had a NASAH June 3 and now I am 13 weeks and feeling much better. Though still with a background headache. Its early days for you though. I found suddenly at 12 weeks I felt a noticeable improvement. I would definitely fit the active category. Like you I do alot of road cycling. So I will tell you what I have been able to do. Zero for 4 weeks. Weeks 4 to 8 was 2 or 3 short sessions of yoga a week (25 mins a go). Week 9 tried a 15 min run - bad idea. Swam in the sea anyway just to see the sun and the clouds. Week 10 - 4 sessions of Yoga and 3 swims (very easy). Week 11 - 3 swims easy and, wait for it, a 60 min easy bike road which was great. Just nice to be out. Now I am doing the yoga (srtetching really), and am still swimming and feeling much better. And 90 mins road bike easy yesterday. I'm a long way off what I was doing but thats OK. You need to take it easy for a while. Note the word easy. Listen to your body. It will tell you whats right. If anything feels worse stop. I have some way to go but I am getting back. By the sounds of things so will you. But its probably too early right now based on my experience anyway. For some reason I had alot of trouble, first10 weeks, with wind on my head really giving me a headache. If I did too much my headache would get worse and I would feel a bit sick. So I could tell quite easily when to rest up. I was NASAH at the Wessex just like you. My first angiogram was negative for aneurism - same as you. They did a second angiogram 2 weeks later that again was negative. They told me they always do 2 when the first is negative just to be certain they didn't miss anything that might need fixing. If you only had one angiogram maybe you should call Lesley the neurovascular specialist nurse at the Wessex and just double check with her. I think we both got away lightly. I'm guessing no burst aneurism means less blood means less damage. And no surgery means no extra trauma to recover from. We are the lucky ones. I think you will fix soon. But Lesley told me recovery is from 3 months outwards. I've found she gave extremely good advice. Its almost like shes seen it all before ............. Good luck. Bye

Hello everyone. My name is James. This is a great site. Just looking at the stats for submissions on the various forums it’s easy to see that non-aneurysm SAH’s are a minority so I thought it a good idea to join up and chip in. I hope my experience of NASAH can help others in some way. My SAH was Friday June 3rd. Two weeks earlier I had completed Ironman Lanzarote for the fifth time and that day was my first time back in the pool after two weeks of complete rest. We swim early mornings and at 06:00 I was feeling great. Perfect actually. I had never felt so good after an Ironman. But 15 minutes later at 06:15 I suffered an instantaneous super severe headache. This was unexpected to say the least. I couldn’t understand it. We were only warming up and swimming easy drills. I got out of the pool and vomited a couple of times in the changing rooms. Now feeling very bad. Unstable. Still, I toughed it out cause I’m stupid. Eventually getting myself to the car and crashed out on the back seat. After a lifetime in sport I can tell you that I have known pain. But that day I didn’t recognise the danger. It was just more pain … and I can deal with that can’t I? My wife drove me home. Of course I couldn’t work that day. But being a remote worker I could log in and, so far as the world knew, I was working. No problem as it would all be over in the morning, wouldn’t it? I’d catch up on the work later. Despite my wife’s insistence I refused to call the docs. It would be OK soon, wouldn’t it? Monday came and the headache had subsided enough for me to Google my symptoms. And that’s when I realised it could be big trouble. So off to hospital via the GP and a CT and LP later I was heading over to the Wessex Neurological Unit in Southampton by ambulance to join the other inmates at what I can only say is the most fantastic place ever. I am so impressed by the people there. NASAH was confirmed via angiogram. Two weeks later this was reconfirmed by a second angiogram. So, I am lucky. I am now 12 weeks post SAH. Still with headaches but they are resolving slowly. Again, I am lucky. It’s been good for me. Now I see the world differently. I don’t take things for granted anymore. Not that I ever did but sometimes it can be so easy to get side tracked by our own daily problems, pressures and distractions. I have struggled with work. Concentration has been a problem. And it’s finally cost me a contract renewal. Bang goes the job. But things will work out. They always do. Although I completely understand now that sometimes for some people they don’t. I have learnt a lot about life and priorities these past 12 weeks. I remain truly shocked at how I could ignore such a potentially devastating condition. The realisation that sport has taught me somehow to mask, ignore and control pain is worrying because on that day I ignored the danger signs. But I was lucky. I’ve never considered sport as painful but yet perhaps, for all the things it’s given me, I need to be more careful in the future. Being at the minor end of the scale for SAH has thankfully meant a good outlook for a full recovery. The doctors say this couldn’t have been predicted and the fact it happened in the pool was completely coincidental. Many I know blame it on Ironman and yet the doctors say no. Some people wonder why I would carry on with it now (I will by the way - but no rush) and to them I simply say it’s for the emotion. It’s about swimming in the ocean at dawn. It’s the morning dew against your skin. It’s being at one with the elements. For some of us it’s been a channel into yoga, meditation and into just being. Zen if you like. We call it living. And some of us use sport as a vehicle for that. No longer do I get stressed. And I have more consideration for others than perhaps I did before. I understand now that although people might look OK from the outside, it’s entirely possible that inside they are not. But here we are - alive and kicking. And that’s the most we ever can ask for. Bye for now.