Ann

I do but it is in Spanish as I was on holiday when it happened!

Hi there Do you have a CD with the original images on them from your first CT scan? If so I suggest that you get a neuro radiologist to review it and give their opinion. The distribution of blood in perimesencephalic SAH is quite distinctive and if you had a CT done soon after it should show that pattern and will therefore give you a diagnosis. Having a CT now will not tell you what the distribution was soon after your SAH but obviously could show an aneurysm that was originally missed although I was told this is highly unlikely. Good luck in your follow up, do not be too worried until you have some facts.

It is ages since I have been on the site, I have gone from being an almost daily visitor to not visiting for months. I have only just noticed that I have not been on the site and the obvious reason is I FEEL BETTER. I had not even noticed that I had improved so much over the past year or so until I reflected on it recently and realised I was back to living a full life. I felt I should post these positive feelings because it is was helpful to me to read about full recovery (or nearly full!) when I thought that would never happen to me. When doctors told me it may take two years to recover I thought they were mad, it would only take me a few weeks or so I thought. Mmmmm, they were totally correct. After about 18 months I decided that the way I was at that stage would be the new me but since then I have carried on improving and now I am as I was pre SAH except for a sore/stiff neck when I get tired. A recent holiday with lots of walking made me realise that I no longer had a problem with activity, very different from the past few holidays. Doing some temp work at the moment which has gone on for much longer than I expected and I can cope, unlike the previous year. Having to drive up and down the motorway to elderly mum, last year it exhausted me and I took weeks to recover, now it is not a problem. Even simply doing the Christmas shopping, writing cards or walking round London, couldn't do it last two years, no problem this year. Browsing the net for long periods, fine now. Housework, don't know, try not to do too much!! All very simplistic and ordinary things but things that I could not do for the first two years but now I can. Hope this helps some of you in some small way. Ann

Before getting in a panic it may be worth checking if it is a catheter angiogram or an MRA, magnetic imaging angio. I was terrified of having another angiogram when I got a letter for one, I called the consultants secretary who seemed baffled that I was in a state about it. It turned out after further discussion that it was an MRA which is not in the least scary!I felt a bit of a fool for being stroppy and in a panic! Either way, good luck with both the procedure and the outcome. Ann

Hi Di and welcome. Recovery from SAH with no aneurysm is very similar in all respects to with an aneurysm so take care and take each day as it comes, keep on the reduced hours and dont beat yourself up if you have bad days when you feel you cant cope. Keep up with the positive recovery and enjoy life! Ann

Hi again I had a CT, MRI, MRA and catheter angiogram and still no aneurysm was found. I took longer to recover than Jodee, well done Jodee, I suffered from pain behind my eye for many months and got very bad neck ache too whenever I got overtired which was frequently as I was determined to get back to normal as soon as possible so pushed myself too far. Although I could work for a few hours a day after a few months it was a year before I could do a full day and even then I could not do a full week but as I said, we are all different.. If I could go back in time I would be more patient and let my body dictate the speed of recovery rather than try to rush things. I know now that the eye pain and neck ache meant I should rest straight away rather than carry on and end up in bed for a few days feeling dreadful! Just take your time and you willl recover better.

Hi Aaki and welcome. I had non aneurysm SAH too and you will see my posts on here if you click on my profile. Mine was two years ago and I now feel I am probably as mended as I will ever be if that makes sense! It took much longer to recover than I anticipated and you will have to be patient and perhaps return to previous lifestyle in a very controlled, slow way. Tiredness and neck ache were my main problems for many months but we are all different and recover at different ways. I understand how diificult it is to find information about our type of SAH. Any questions you have just ask. All the best with your recovery Ann

Welcome to BTG, glad you now have peace of mind re finances and can concentrate on getting better instead. Your GP sounds like he/she has your best interests covered and is being realistic and sensible. Everyone here knows what you are experiencing and it can be a great source of comfort Ann

I have been reading your posts waiting for good news!! So glad that the tables have turned and things are looking up for you both, long may it continue. X

Hi Caz I had acupuncture from physio. I was a complete sceptic, thought it was a load of rubbish but went along with it. It was the best thing I ever did in the long run. Made me feel terrible for a couple of days afterwards, as she said it would, but then relief from neck pain for months. She put a needle in my hand which she sid was the pain point for my neck and I sobbed and sobbed for ages as the pain in my hand was so bad, all my emotions came pouring out. It was so odd and so unexpected, I felt really silly at the time. Ann

Hi Jod Dee.Welcome to the site. A great first posting re the use of grey, thoughtful and showing insight.Do not think my grey matter was functioning quite so well just one month after SAH,or even at any time since, you must be doing well! Patience is something that I too have in short supply but it is a useful virtue to have post SAH so try to see if you can find some from somewhere. Look forward to hearing more from you.Any questions just ask. Ann

Hi Susie B . I have pm'd you Ann

Hi Diane and welcome Sounds like a SAH with no aneurysm maybe? Two weeks lying slightly tilted was what they did to me too, also repeated angio, no aneurysm found. As others have said, you will need to be patient and be there for your husband as it is a rocky road to recovery (as I am sure you know as a nurse)and emotions can run high at times for both sufferer and carer. Good luck with everything, there is always support here for everyone. Ann

I agree with everyone re compensation culture. Diagnosing many conditions is a minefield and so many people present at doctors with various symptoms, some of them exaggerated, that it must be almost impossible for doctors to always get it right. Having lived in the USA I totally agree with Karen re private health, the NHS is an amazing facility. The lady concerned still has the ability to lead a reasonably good life, unlike so many others post SAH, including people on here, who get no compensation or little help from anywhere. Quality care, treatment and after care should be available to all equally.

Yes, some people on here, like Merill, seem to suffer similarly.What I found fascinating was that she was a sudoku addict. I understand that this relies on associative memory, the same type of memory used for facial recognition etc. The brain must work in such strange ways to be so very selective in the way it is damaged by SAH. It is all so complex it is no wonder medics don't know what to make of us all!!

Just wondering if anyone has seen or read about the huge payout to Cristina Malcolm who was left with serious short term memory problems after misdiagnosis of SAH 7 years ago. Hope it helps her in some way. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/280584 Here is one article on the story although there are many others and she was on TV on Monday morning. Ann

Hi Sam and welcome to a great source of practical information I am 21 months post non aneurysm SAH, if you look through my posts you can follow what I have said in the past about lack of info etc on this type of SAH, I know just how you feel. As others have said, it is all too easy for medics to tell us we are lucky and to go home and get on with things, the reality is not usually that simple!Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Ann

Hi all, mine was non aneurysm too. Ann

Hi Helen Welcome from another non aneurysm SAH person! Yes we are the lucky ones as recovery tends to be total eventually but as you say, we are left with lots of unanswered questions too. Glad you are doing so well and that your friend pointed you in the direction of this web site. Ann

Yes it probably would be the seizures as you do not have to surrender it for non aneurysm SAH Ann

Welcome to BTG. I too had no aneurysm, no surgery etc, there are a few of us on here and Janet has put the relevant section near the top of the forum page. Just message me if you have any queries. Ann

Hi Melbury I too had an SAH with no aneurysm found, like your husband. DVLA states that one can resume driving as soon as recovery has taken place, that is so vague, I waited till my consultant said I could drive, I then wrote to DVLA telling them that I had not driven for X weeks due to SAH and that I was now recovered and had resumed driving, they then sent me a from to complete and later sent me a letter to say I could continue driving with no restrictions. I then forwarded this to my insurers as proof that I was not driving without the consent of medical practitioner.Seemed to be the best and safest policy to follow. As you say, SAH with no aneurysm found has mixed blessings, good that no aneurysm found but then you worry if they missed something and constantly ask yourself why it happened. There are no answers unfortunately. Also we are discharged quickly with no follow up and left floundering and wondering why we are taking so long to recover when we have not even had any surgery, I felt a fraud at times! I now know that recovery can be long and days can be good or bad. It is months rather than weeks before we feel anything like "better".I thought I could be superwoman and get better in a few weeks but that was not to be and I wish now I had just gone with the flow and listened to my body (as everyone on here kept saying!) instead of pushing myself to the limit to try and prove I could do it. The good thing is that we are told we are at no greater risk in the future of it happening again than anyone else in the general population, this means health insurance premiums etc must not be affected. I hope hubby starts to make some progress soon but you will both have to be VERY patient and that will be hard at times, especially when you want to have a nice day out and hubby then takes three days to recover or something like that. It will happen but be prepared for a long haul and lots of TLC and rest along the way. PM me if you want to chat any time. Glad you have found this site for support anyway. Best wishes Ann

Hi Carol Welcome again, glad you found the right section. Good to hear that the process of writing your story has been therapeutic and I am not surprised after what you have been through. To have the SAH is traumatic enough but then to go through the coils not holding and having to return for clipping all adds to the stress and trauma. It sounds as though you are doing amazingly well too. Considering a return to work after 8 weeks was rather optimistic as you now know! Just being able to concentrate enough to write your story at this stage is quite an achievement. Another sign of that superwoman in you finding its way out!Just don't get tangled up in the cloak in your hurry to recover too quickly! It must be difficult for friends and family to understand any of what we go through post SAH and they have their own issues to deal with from having to watch us go through it, as can be confirmed from reading the Carers pages on the forum. I know we all feel at times that because we look OK we should feel OK but it does not work like that unfortunately. As to who you are now, you are "Carol after her SAH" whatever that may mean now and in the future, it will change lots over the coming months I am sure and whether any of us are ever totally the same post SAH is debatable. Coming to terms with the new "us" seems to be one of the most difficult things to cope with for many.I know I get upset at times saying I am no longer Me but I am now trying to accept that I am a new Me, different but no less valuable, than the old Me. Although the Superwoman outfit does not fit very well any longer but hey ho! Anyway, welcome once again, hope you find friendship and answers here. Ann

Yes Laura, great colleagues are one of the reasons I love working there. Having been a teacher too most of my life I decided to leave teaching after a very serious illness a few years ago, the best thing I ever did as I have said before. After volunteering at the Hospice for few years I was asked to do holiday and sickness cover in a number of different admin roles and have always loved working there. i have been offered permanent roles there but prefer to be flexible.The staff are fabulous to work with and have been supportive since SAH. They had made me promise before this latest stint of work that I would only do what I felt able to do but of course, as a perfectionist, I felt I had to do every part of the full time job but in part time hours! Stupid really, but felt so pleased that I was able to prove to myself that I was still super efficient!!!! Mmmm, that one backfired somewhat. I was part time so as not to get too tired but then worked doubly hard to complete everything that I would have done if I was doing full time hours, great logic of mine. Anyway, thanks for all your support. Going in for just two hours tomorrow to train someone in part of the job so looking forward to that as it is the only hours I will do this week.Better get to bed or I will be too tired to do that.X

Thanks guys, I knew I could rely on you to make me feel all is well!Like you say Karen it is possible to work and do nothing else which is what I had been doing for the first few weeks, it was as soon as I tried to have a life as well. Anyway, I have learnt my lesson and will not overstretch myself to that extent again.You seem to have the balance right now Janet. As for the toy boy idea, I have a very young looking husband who could easily pass for that role the way I am looking (old and haggard!)at the moment! Working in a medical environment colleagues were very concerned, physio passed my desk and said she could tell I needed to stop and made me go home. Others were upset they had not actually noticed the weeks go by and that they had allowed me to overdo it.