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Hi Vanessa, I don't usually get nausea unless I am very fatigued. Of course headaches can cause it also. I have always been afraid what would happen if I did truly get sick cause like am I gonna have another SAH? I think Penny is right. Prilosec or giner ale or ginger products work for me. Good luck. David

Hi all: Week 3 of 40 hours went ok. Still upright. Def better than last week. i guess any progress is good progress.Had some weird double vision looking at computer last night but guess thats normal. Am considering playing golf this weekend but don't know if I'm up for it. Five hours of exercise and an hour of driving tends to wear an SAH'er out. We'll see. Dawn- You should be focusing on your recovery not what these other nimwits are doing to you. Similar things happened to me as well. Stick up for yourself. I know you will. Sandy- Indeed does feel like the end of a marathon but unfortunately I get a short rest and have to start another one. It is joy and anguish all at once! I'm not going anywhere on this thread and hope to maybe help others in the future as those before me have helped me. Guess what? Planning a big trip to Cali or Vegas for March. My wife and I deserve it. Hopefilly be better by then. Have to start living again right? Skippy- Pillow is in car! Took big naps Monday and Tuesday at lunch. Would have done it sooner but this summer was so hot. No fun in car at 95 degrees. Even with air. Worked great now though. Have appt with Neurlogist No. 3 on Monday to come up with new recovery plan! Any ideas kids? Be well, David

Hello all: Second week of 40 hours. Not been easy. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I woke up and said "what the heck am I doing going to work" I'm sick. I went in anyway. I don't want to show weakness in first two weeks back. It's not that i can't it's just that I won't. I'm not sure rest would have made a difference anyway. Today was exhausted. For those that have done or are doing phased returns, it seems the first two weeks are the toughest. Then it gets better. Today I drove home for lunch. I work 15 minutes away. I get a 45 minute lunch. I drove 30 minutes (both ways) to get 15 minutes rest. I had to set my head down on a pillow it hurt so bad. I didn't know this next level of exhaustion was possible. But I made it and I'll rest this weekend. My goal was to work 40 hours again and I am there. Whether I can sustain it is yet to be seen. I know there are others who have done it before me and doing it now. It is possible right? Carl- You're working circles around those guys. You are strong mentally and will not be defeated. Thankfully soon you won't have to answer to anyone. Captain of your own ship. Captain Carl. Sandi- Sounds like you are making productive use of your time. It is amazing all that you do when you could be floating Dawn- You're doing great. Write stuff down. You have time to recover. You must stick up for yourself cause at work no one else will. I have had to do it many times. Office bullies. They back down when you call them out. Trust me. Mary- I know you are with me in many ways. Dont know how you do those long days. You know what its like to go home and have to hit the pillow at lunch. SL- If you're watching, my soul is with you. We can overcome this together. Nothing good ever came easy. GG- You are great support as always. And the earplugs. OMG I have to get some. Need strong ones! Then maybe I can go to dinner. Will I be able to hear my wife so we can chat? Sorry to anyone I've missed but the kettle is on. The kettle is my head ready to steam and boil over. Gnite all, David

Hi Vanessa, Welcome to the site. I have been on for a year and have learned so much and made many friends. Nice to have a doc on board. Us SAH'ers often times have a hard time getting doctors to believe our symptoms so maybe they'll listen to you! Take it slow, lots of water. It hydrates the brain. When people say everybody recovers different, it is so true. At first, I thought well all doctors say that but is 100% truth. As far as work goes, don't rush back. I went back at 2 months and was too soon. Take your time. 8 hours days are hard for me let alone 12. You know your body best. Welcome to our group. David

Hello, No Lisa you are right on. Since SAH I have no patience for selfishness, laziness, fake people or complainers. It is because life is short and I don't have time for people who don't get it. As Mary says, I don't have the spoons to waste on people who suck my energy. No negativity either. Fortunately my brain to mouth filter still works well. Although there are times I have to stop and bite my tongue when someone really * me off. Bill- welcome back hope you are well, you were very helpfult to me in my early days. David

Hi Kris, I think you handled it well. You explained your situation nicely and if she doesn't get it then tough. With an SAH, we've learned life is short right? I don't have time for people who don't care or understand. I will tell them nicely at first and then I'm done. There's a saying called "keep it movin". Anyone heard it? It means if you don't have something positive to say, then get out of my space. Nice and simple. You did fine Kris. David

Hello, I cry if the wind blows. I cry if I spill milk. I cry at a sad story on TV. I cry if I see someone handicapped at my Pain Clinic. Yep, I'm a big fat baby. But I imagine crying is your body and brain's way of releasing emotion at appropriate or inappropriate times. But lately, I do know that I have to be careful what situations in. Hard crying takes alot out of me. So I don't thing visiting my mom's grave is a good idea right now. Or going to a sad movie. Sometimes I cry from exhaustion. I wish I could do something about the fatigue, but I can't. So I'm crying on to the next day if it comes. David

Hi Sandi, Thanks so much for providing the updates. I will be following your progress. It sounds as if this medication is helping some. I talked to my brother and he is taking the same thing. He had a brain cyst 18 years ago. I spoke to my psychologist last week and asked him about it. He asked if I was sensitive to caffeine and I said yes. He said he didnt think it was for me. I am going to wait and see and also ask my new neuro that I see on Oct 2nd. I have a very slow metabolism and I think that any speed type drug might be a rather shock to my system. I know they use a small dose. I think our legs get tired when we are fatigued. Could be swollen blood vessels. So whats the cure? They say when you are tired the first thing to go is the legs. For example, a boxer if his legs get tired, he will drop his guard and get hit. Do you think Sandy that this medication will help you in any return to work or maybe too early to tell? Thanks, David

Hello my good friends: Time for an informal survey. Too stupid to do a real one on the other section:(.I think we all suffer from fatigue and would be interested to know what some of our major triggers are. Hope this is not repeating other threads but I'm curious how similar and also how different our triggers for fatigue are. I am going to list my 5 major causes for fatigue, there are of course many but these are the biggest. Work- Ok, obvious one here, but using my brain8 hours a day and getting to and fro just wears me out. An obvious issue, but I wonder if I didn't work how much better would I be. Maybe I'd be better, maybe I wouldn't. I will find out in 15 years when I can retire. Heat- Another obvious one but heat just sucks the life out of me. We had 30 days of 90 degrees or more this summer and I had to stay inside. I wonder if I could handle a vacation in a warm climate. But my office is hot all the time! So inside is an issue too. Inside too hot and I get a headache and fatigue sets in. I could drink an ocean of water and it doesn't help. Grocery store- A common theme here. Why does it kill us? I go once every two weeks and it is just so tiring. Usually ok when I'm there but by the time I get home and lift the heavy groceries out of car and put them away I'm just exhausted and have to sit down. Wife helps but there are certain things that I like to get myself. Nightmares- I dont have any problems with sleep. I come home and collapse. But once every 2 weeks I have terrible nightmares. And they just suck any energy I had. I wake up exhausted. There have been a few days that I have had to call in sick because of nightmare because I felt like a 1 or 2 and just could not function. Unexpected life events- I know we can all relate to this. Anything out of the ordinary that screws up our day seems tough to recover from. Floods, theft, car,, dr appts, house issues. It seems we have no margin for error. My wife got sick In November and I still havent recovered. Was 75% then and 50-60% now. Nobody seems to believe me. Would be interested to see the similarities or differences in our triggers. All I know is there is a small margin for error each day and spoons can used in fell swoop. Thoughts? David

Hello all: Thanks Win, I shall have some orange mandarin tea perhaps. It's funny if you asked me before SAH I would have said health and happiness for my friends. Now I would say health but also money. It is just so hard to work with SAH that money would solve that issue. I would give most of it away as some have said thru random acts of kindness. I actaully do that even now, when I go downtown I will occasionally give a few bucks to a homeless person. I don't care if they're spending it on booze, they need two dollars more than I do. And I could could just as easily be homeless someday too. Mary, I wonder if I am on the close or distant friend list. I can promise you if I win the lotto I would give money to each and one of my friends here at BTG so they wouldnt have to struggle like we all do to make it. We should create a pool like the factories do if someone wins. Safety in numbers. What are you thinking Sandy?? Regards, David

Hi Carl, I think the only thing I want is health. Without that, not much else I can do. My father once told me without your health you are no good to your wife, family, or employer. I feel that with better health the rest of my life would fall in to place and I could become a better husband, friend, brother, uncle and worker. Right now, I'm only good at accomplishing one thing: Work. David

Cath- I just have to say if they want you to do 22 hours, do it. If they want you to slow down, that means they care. I worked 22 hours for the first two months of my return. 10-4 four days a week. It was great. But then I had to go to 28 then 35 and now 40. So take your time if you are able to. Glad you are with us. David

Hello, Thanks for sharing Sandi! I am right with you. I am 13 months and didn't want to try anny amphetamine like products as I am hoping to heal naturally. We'll see. But I am about ready to try something. Maybe Adderall, Ritalin, Dexderine anything. My brother takes some kind of stimulant and he had a brain cyst. He said it works. My doc said Wellbutrin which is anti-d with so called "pep". I thought I was the only one with hoarse voice. Thanks for sharing. At least your doc recognizes your physical symptoms. Mine and others have not. So frustrating. Please let us know how it's going. I find it very interesting that we may be pioneers of future SAH treatment or health and while I know Karen we are not supposed to reccomend meds there are no studies or not much treatment history for SAH that American doctors seem to know of. David

Hello all: Eh hem, been busy working . Yesterday about broke me, but I'll get to that in a minute. Carl- Hope meter reading is going well. 300 a day? Will these be harder than what you were doing before/ I imagine it's alot of walking. Kudos to you, I couldn't do it in my current state. Macca- How are you getting on? You seem to be well. Did you read my SAH paradox thread? Wrote it just for you Cath- Take as much time as they allow you. The money will come eventually. I am just getting back to full time. took me 9 months. Mary- New schedule any better? it is not unusual to get worse. I got worse in December and havent recovered yet. Sandi- Didnt mean to rush you back to work . Hope you are benefitting from your time off. SL- How is extra hour going? You do like 9-6 now? Still walking crazy girl? Ok so yesterday several co-workers called in sick. Did 3 people's jobs. Took 60 calls, ran reports, balanced balance sheets, handled incoming and outgoing checks, and ran payrolls. By noon I was ready to quit. You can put my sorry a$$ on disability and kiss it goodbye. My brain was absolute mush. Took a break at lunch. tooks some meds that didnt work. Needless to say I finished the day. Barely. I never toot my own horn but I deserved a filet mignon or a beer. Too tired for beer. Maybe Friday. But I guess I made it. For those of you that work full time and don't complain, you're a better person than me. Full time 40 hours start next week. Meeting on Thursday about it. Just need to know I have an out of some sorts. Feel like 82 years old today right Sandy? Ok maybe 62. Can I retire now. Anyone want to go live on the beach in California? Mary? Winter? Slap my face and call me Charlie (that means wake up) David

Macca- Thanks for the suggestion. I remeber reading on the internet about that somewhere about growth and pituary. Is it a blood test? Cause I've had many of those just last week. I am willing to try anything. My fatigue is a 10 most days as I'm sure it is for others. My brother had a cyst on his brain (different than SAH) with similar issue and he takes some kind of crazy stimulant drug. Cant remember the name of it but basically a stimulant. He says it helps. Perhaps that is what we need to even things out. Mary- I thought you had told me your last doc told you that you had CFS. That may be my next go. Dont know what meds they give you for CFS. My friend has it, but he said he doesnt think much helps. And as far as the stimulants. I am the CHICKEN on that one Mary. I took one many years ago and my heart raced so bad and wouldnt stop for like 3 hours. Never took one again. Doc says maybe Wellbutrin might work which is an anti-d with supposed stimulant qualities. I'll try anything. Rocket fuel if it helps. Light a fire under my a$$ whatever. David

Well Mary, I agree with you as we are sort of in the same boat with working and feeling exhausted. However, work takes every ounce of energy I have and doesnt leave much time for fighting with doctors or having fun. I get to use my days off to fight with doctors. Of the 6 or more that I have seen, none of them seem to acknowledge that fatigue is a part of an SAH life. Somehow, I ain't seein the light at the end ofthe tunnel. I think some of us will recover better than others and it is an indvidual thing. If you know of a magic potion or magic "pill" that will make us all feel better, please share as I'm sure many of us could use it. If we have CFS, won't that pill fix us? Davey

Thanks all, No, my appt is for October 2nd. They were so GENEROUS to try and get me in on Sep 25th at 2PM but I cant afford to break up my work day for these snots. So my appt is Oct 2nd at 4:30pm. Let's hope i don't die before then I'm not sure what kind of training these nurses go through? We do have brain injuries no? I will be speaking to the nurse when I go to the appt. I will look her in the eye and ask her why would she say such a thing to a patient at a medical office? Not gonna yell, scream or fight but it will be priceless to see the look on her face. Bullies tend to back down when you confront them directly. She will prolly apologize or if not then she will show her true ignorance. But you all at BTG should be happy to know that we are "cured" from our SAH after the event is over. And to Mary and all I wonder if we are "chasing ghosts" by trying to figure out why we are exhausted and have headaches every day. It would nice nice to accept it, except for the severity of the symptoms we suffer. David

Hello all: Did the catchy title get ya? Well, I spent my Monday holiday on the phone with doctors becasue thats what us SAH'ers do on our day off isnt it? Would like to share my fun: The Good- All my tests came back good, blood and brain. I've lost 7 lbs in the last month (no cake Win) and 24lbs since last year. Doc gave me Inderal in case I have a BP attack again. My GP was nice and helpful. The Bad- Had appt with GP on Tuesday. Thinks my BP rise was isolated and doesnt think I need BP meds. I mentioned SAH and he said "that is in the past" meaning SAH. Then he said, "no worries, the SAH is over with now". Well slap my back and call me Charlie! Thats it, once the SAH is over we have no other worries about our health. We're cured! Didnt you guys at BTG know that? I didnt bother to tell him about my headaches fatigue as that is just "in my head". He is a good guy but obviously knows not much about the SAH. The Ugly- Called my neurosurgeon to see if they could get me in to try again a NEW NEUROLOGIST #3 sooner as worried about BP, health, working myself to death, those little things. Called Neurologist back and spoke to a nurse/receptionist. She said yes other doctor called and they could get me in Sept 25 th instead of Oct 1st. Gee thanks, a whole week sooner. I asked if I could get in sooner and she said "We're already getting you in sooner, whats the problem?". I said the problem is my BP just rose last week to near death levels and I'd like to get in sooner. Ready for this: She said "Well, we all could die in a month too". I just lost it and hung up on her. I walked outside and took a few deep breaths. 20 minutes later, I called back and asked to speak to the nurse supervisor and asked if this is how they talk to their patients. She said no and apologized. I got the nurses name. I got an appt for Oct 2nd Yay! The only reason why I'm going to this DR is they are two minutes from my work and she is supposed to be good. I can make appts at lunch or after work. I will be speaking to the nurse when I come in to my appointment and ask her if she died this month casue she said she could have. I will also ask her if she has a brain injury. Bottom line: I'm not giving up but the neuros in the US are unreal and some are just in it for the money. Is there no aftercare whatsoever for SAH er's ????????????? David

Hi Jus, I had a friend sya the same thing to me when I was out. He said "enjoy your vacation". yes it ticked me off but I chalked it up to ignorance. Print a brochure about SAH and have our friends, family, co-workers read it. If they dont take the time to read it, then they're not your friend. Plain and simple. Regards, David

Hi all: Thanks for replying and you ALL make sense. Sami- Funny you mention it, I was just on a "toilet break" when you wrote. Off work in 30 more min. My toilet break was useful and I took a little rest. Then my feet fell asleep. But if you mean toilet breaks as in go to the bathroom at work occasionally and sit there head on hands (yoga pose Mary) and take a 5 minute nap then I am guilty as charged! Michelle- you're right as usual. I'll translate for you. I'm a dumb a$$ who is working too much with poor health and nearly killing himself. Although I directly asked two doctors if I was doing too much and they said no. Bet they want me to pay the bill! Sandi- Yes I am cynical and wonder about doctors who if they don;t know the answer feel the need to make it up. Deep breaths Sami, deep breaths. I will try. David

Hello: I called my GP and he said as long as the BP dropped back to normal that I was ok. It did. He said no reason to go to ER. Who knows? I will see him next week. I dont normally have high BP so this was weird. But I forgot my headache meds at work that day so I think that caused it. As I said I had a 9 headache that day. But 240/170 is supposed to be dead or stroke according to what you read. I was laying in bed watching baseball game at the time. Totally at rest. My heart raced and then literally felt like it was going to explode in my stomach. Scary. Used up one of my nine lives apparently. David Downer sigining out

Hello, has anyone had a burning sensation in the brain. It is in my lower skull above the neck on both sides. I know many have said they have tingling and thats normal and i have that also. I had an acute blood pressure attack on Tuesday of 240/170 and had to call medics. I didn't go to hosp as I felt better and sick of waiting in ER for them to tell me nothing. Probably just a stroke, I'll be fine. rather sick of this. Supposed to go 3 hours away for a wedding tomorrow. Great timing. Anyone ever had burning? David

Hi Kris, Sorry I'm late to the party. But happy anniversary and hope you are well. Yours and mine are so close. Mine was on 7-30-11. You seem to be doing much better. Hang with us and maybe see you at the Ann Arbor Group someday. Your poem was awesome and moving. So I will write a short one for you on your anniversary. Sorry but mine have to rhyme:) Friends from the same state Friends who met the same fate So much on our plate But not to lose site of that date Thankful to be here to carry on to others our very good cheer It happened for a reason for that we don't know for we are as unique as each flake of snow That date that changed us in many a way so we wouldn't waste not even one day Live each day Kris and stay with us. Regards, David

Hello all: Love the hat Carl, it suits you well. Been a while since I've been on this particular thread as the heat in the upper US has really taken its toll on me and my limited spoons. two months of 90 degrees every day. Not good for a brain patient. I have kept my journal since I started (july 1st) and just give myself a number for each day. It may help in the future as it will be 4 weeks until I must go from 35 to 40 hours. While 1 hour a day more may not seem like much, for those of us with an SAH, it is quite a battle.Right now I work 4 full days and then a half day on Friday but come September 7th that will be no longer. A little scary having to go back to the 8 to 5 grind. I have no idea if I can do it, but my hunch says I will make it. Not much other choice. I know others here have done it before and I won't be the first or last. Just dont want to be a zombie that stumbles to work every day and comes home and sleeps. I hope everyone is doing well in their back to work battles and would love to hear how everyone else is doing. You're so close Carl, don't give up. I wish you good health and fortune. I have to pine away another 15 years before I get to that magic "retirement". Macca- Hope you are well and hanging in there. I know not easy for you. SLou- You know I'm with you and lean on me, I will be strong enough to carry us both Sarah K- You are superwoman- you do all this an kids, give you so much credit Sandy- do you go back anytime soon? Mary- I hope your new schedule is better. I still cant figure it out. Tell me your work days so I know when not to bother you Cath- How are you getting on lass? The incomparable GG- Can't wait to hear your response, it is usually wise Love to all, David

Hello good friends: This ought to be Chapter 8 in the SAH guidebook for any survivor. The SAH Paradox. I'll include the definition at the bottom. But why is it just when you start to feel good, you feel like rubbish. Why is it when you think you've reached the end and you can't go through another day of fatigue, you have have a good day. Is this some cruel trick the SAH gods are playing on us? Why is it so up and down. It defies logic. Therefore it is a paradox. And circular. (Hows that Macca?) Specifically, Tuesday I felt like I could run a marathon. 90%. Yesterday, I felt extremely tired but got through. Last nite I had shooting pains and tingling in my head that were a 9. Today woke up tired and exhausted, felt like I should be in a hospital. All of this in 24-48 hours? Now I know if I have a good day, that I'm not cured. But if I have a good day, do I want to feel like I'm making progress? Darn Skippy I do, yes! If I have a bad day, it's NOT the end of the world but to have a 3 day after a 9 defies logic. Some may say just roll with the punches, I do. But if I have a good day, I think well what did I do right? Eat, sleep etc. Lets fix this, yeah. Same for bad day. My conclusion: Most of us are just well enough to get on with some aspects of our daily life. But we are not well enough to do things we want to do when we want to. Or any guarantee of feeling well doing them. Or knowing how I'm going to feel tomorrow. Or in some cases at 6pm tonight. Well, maybe after 1 year and 3 days we have Acceptance. def: A paradox is a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which (if true) defies logic or reason, similar to circular reasoning. Any thoughts from my friends? Kind regards, David