Macca

Hi Claudette, If they work for you then fine, but I would suggest talking it over with your doctors and be careful that none of the things you take interfere with any physician prescribed medications. Best wishes, Macca

Onwards and Upwards Clare, Well done and good luck in your new job! Great stuff from your husband too, who has been at your side throughout your ordeal - and no doubt experienced one of his own too!!! Macca

What an example and inspiration you are to us all Super Mario!!! Long may it continue! Macca

Great story Kerry and welcome to BTG. Everybody's story is slightly different but similar in many respects! You are indeed very lucky to make such a good recovery so soon after the event. Many others are not. You are right to pick up on the effect on your nearest and dearest. They are sometimes overlooked but the impact on them can be very profound and long lasting. Thank you for highlighting them and their importance and value in your recovery. Good luck for the future and please keep posting to let us know how you are getting on! Macca

Barrington, hi. In answer to your question, yes in most cases it does get easier, but it takes time. You have to adjust not only physically but mentally to what you can and cannot do. You need to do it in stages and don't be tempted to do too much too soon. If you are going to try something new, rehearse it privately first so you don't embarrass yourself in public. If it proves too much then change it until you become comfortable with it. If you lecture, are there different ways in which you can do it, ie if you normally stand, can you sit instead? Can you produce a video lecture students can watch (taking the physical burden off you) and then be on hand to answer questions. Think carefully about changing things, you will be surprised at what you can come up with! When you go back to work, discuss a phased return and don't go too fast too soon! Yes a lot of us have experienced dizziness. Rest when you need to, break things up into manageable chunks that you can handle. Use a walking stick if you need to, or anything else you may need. Go at your own pace, not your works pace. You are the important thing here, after all, if they won't agree to what you need to do then they may lose the expertise you provide altogether and what a waste that would be! Look at what you can do and move forwards -one step at a time! Good luck, and let us know how you get on! Macca

Hi Neil, Well done - you won your first and biggest battle by surviving! Your next quest is to adapt to your changed circumstances. Over time you will recover some functions to varying degrees but you will need to change some things in order to cope. For instance, you are self employed - can you adjust your working pattern to suit yourself more. Can you travel less? Can you Skype more? Can you delegate? Can you take on less? Money is nice, but it isn't everything. The last thing you want to do is to try to do too much too soon or you will set yourself back. If you always do what you always do you will always get what you always got! So change. Take stock and re-evaluate. This is a golden opportunity for you to radically change life for the better. Value your family, value yourself. They are better with you in it, you are better with them in it. Yes, you want your life back but we all have to change, for instance as we get older we slow down and adapt. Change has been brought on you rather abruptly, but it does give you the chance to change things. Change in life is inevitable. Embrace it and move forwards or look back and fall flat! I had a very responsible job that involved lots of budgets, staff and travel, meetings, risk assessments, consultancy and the like. I adjusted, and when I did I wondered why I hadn't done it before. It was because I didn't make the time to do it and believed I was indestructible. How wrong could I have been? I didn't look for the change. It found me and made me pay for not paying heed to the signals, increasing workload, increasing age, increasing responsibility, increasing travel, increasing time away from home and the rest! Think about it Neil, think about what is truly important in life, we're only here once and you have been given a second opportunity. Take it. Life is not a rehearsal. I am happier now than I have ever been - I don't have as much money - or pressure, or commuting and everything else. The quality of my life is much better. I'm not saying give up work altogether - just break it down into more manageable chunks! Best wishes, Macca

Hi Andy, Welcome to BTG. Sudden change is difficult to adapt to. Everything with a SAH takes time in recovery. Nothing is ever quick as you are no doubt discovering. Keep talking to your wife and giving her plenty of reassurance. She is in the best place to assist her recovery. The treatment she receives and the support family and friends provide give her the best chance of recovery. Often life will never be quite the same but you can adapt and it is how you adapt that enables you to eventually put this behind you and move on. Don't become impatient with the slowness of recovery - that is natural for a brain injury! Give the space and time for recovery to happen in its own time and make sure you look after yourself too. You can only give the best support from a position of strength. Look after your lady - she's precious! Keep us posted about her recovery and if you need help just ask - or have a look around this site, there are answers to a lot of the questions you'll be asking yourself. We can't answer medical questions though because we are not qualified - ask your doctors for those. Keep your chin up. A problem shared is a problem halved as they say. Macca

Hi Gilly, Don't feel like a time waster or be embarrassed - they're there to help you, that's what they get paid for. Go and see your doctors and tell them your fears. Why don't you write out your questions on paper so you don't forget anything and write down their answers. If you don't fancy face to face then write them a letter and ask them to reply within a time frame - say 28 days, but ask rather than making it a demand. If you get no response, then you can complain. Macca

Interesting to note that this may have been down to something other than SAH. Sometimes it seems we are looking for something to blame when in fact it isn't the SAH, but is something else. That's why it is important to keep things in perspective and be rational and deal with issues we have with an open mind. We shouldn't be drawing conclusions too quickly. Doctors are professionals, we are not. They aren't always infallible and are human and can make mistakes just like the rest of us, but it is best to take their opinions into account, in my opinion. Macca

The advice to appeal is very good as is the advice to record the session. The scoring is done on a points basis and the criteria have recently been tightened up I believe. Nevertheless, the assessments are done by doctors or nurses working to a script. A letter from your own doctor detailing your inability to work will be a help - make sure you keep a copy of it for yourself. The doctors and nurses will not likely be experts in mental health but they will say they are merely asking you the questions DWP wants answering and it is DWP who will make the decisions about whether they will find you fit for work. Demand a copy of the assessment when DWP have made their decision using Data Protection law as the reason you are entitled to it. They should then release it to you if they haven't already. These decisions are made by Decision Makers who are not medically qualified either which is why it is advisable to appeal and let a tribunal decide. However, if you now appeal, they 'review' their decision before they let you before a tribunal, to see if any actions or decisions require changing. Time limits are strict and you should make sure your appeal reaches them within time limits - send by 'recorded delivery.' If you are tempted to ring them up, don't. Insist on everything in writing, tribunals love documents. If you do call, record the telephone conversation if you can and the date, time and who you spoke to. Demand to know what legislation they are using so it can be checked to see if they have applied them correctly - you'd be amazed at how many times they get it wrong and at how many times they can't retrieve phone calls or deny the calls actually took place. Many of the questions are contradictory, especially about lifting and bending. If the doctor wants you to change seats be careful, it isn't out of pleasantness, it's to check your mobility and ability to transfer on your own. All of this will take time I'm afraid, and there is no guarantee you will win, but to have a chance you must be meticulous in presenting your case if the decision goes against you. You only have to keep your eyes on the press to see some of the horrendous decisions they have made. On the positive side they were losing over 60% of cases, so there is hope and they weren't even turning up to some. It's not about your welfare or your ability to work, it is about cutting the benefit bill to the state. Medical opinion from your doctor is advised as 'professional medical opinion' is a useful tool from a person of equal or superior qualification to combat their side's opinion. Good luck Macca

Hi Gilly, Welcome to BTG. I've had a lumbar puncture. I'm five years out from my SAH. My pituitary gland was damaged when they coiled me. I would talk this over with your doctor. We can't give medical advice because we are not doctors. As I understand it, an infundibulum is a conical shaped tube that comes down from the base or lobe of the pituitary gland. As it is tiny,it may be that this has the appearance of an aneurysm but isn't one, which sounds like what they have said to you ie normal. Like I said, I'm no doctor and I can't say I'm right. I only know the term because it was mentioned to me when I was undergoing treatment. So, you're asking the wrong people here. I think it is something that is natural and is in everyone but just as we all look different on the outside, so our bits look different on the inside. Don't sit there fretting. Go back to your doctor and talk it over with him/her. Don't let your imagination run away with you because that is what will cause panic to set in. Like Tina says above, go and get it checked. The sooner you meet it head on the sooner you will set your mind at rest. Best wishes Macca

Anything that benefits you, Myra, is great news. Keep it up and let us know how you get on. It's not always about the injury itself, but how you deal with it and tackle it. Hopefully you will gain in confidence, meet new people and you will help and support each other to progress further than you could do on your own. Congratulations!!! Macca

Hi Gemma, I have fatigue issues. This is my experience. When I was coiled, my pituitary gland was damaged. On checking its function through the 'diabetes and endocrine' clinic at the hospital, I was found to be short of growth hormone because the pituitary gland had stopped producing it. I'm not saying this has happened in your case but if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone. I now take daily injections of growth hormone for life. You might want to ask your doctors to check whether yours works and see if you are deficient in anything. It has worked wonders for me. Don't get your hopes up I am only saying it is a possibility, I am not medically qualified and it might not apply in your case, or anyone else's for that matter. I suffered balance problems and talked 'broken biscuits' when I was tired. I am much, much better now. My balance returned but I am not sure if that's down to the hormone replacement or just the passage of time. I am now 5 years out from my SAH. Good luck whatever you decide to do. Macca

Blimey Sarah, That's some list! Congratulations on battling through it all and reaching this day! Enjoy it! I worry too Sarah as I have two boys (men now) who have two parents who have had SAH's but we're all still here! Good luck with all that you face, Macca

Hi Sharon, Welcome to BTG. I don't know what you do work-wise but there are Health and Safety issues to consider. Does what you do affect the health and well-being of others as well as yourself? The H&S at Work Act 1974 and and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Sex Discrimination Act 1975, spring to mind, and so forth. Only you can answer those things. If you are in a Union, you are usually entitled to legal help through them so contact your rep straight away and outline your case so they can advise you properly. On here, we can all give you if's but's and maybe's but they can give you proper advice and represent you if need be. Also, if your employer were to start actions to dismiss or demote you then you need to take prompt action as the time limits for taking action are less than they used to be and are very strict. Try and arrange a phased return - going straight back to 12 hour shifts is impracticable and usually impossible after a SAH. Get a letter from your doctor to show your employer and keep several copies - you may need them! I would also recommend that you print off emails and keep communications from your employer and your responses and also keep a diary so that you can use that documentation if needed. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it! I hope everything works out for you the way you want it to, but as they say forewarned is forearmed! Find out your entitlements early not after the event ie fix the roof when it is sunny not when it is raining! Good luck! Macca

Louise - just another thought. When I think of family who have left us, I like to think about how much they brought to my life and I to theirs. I feel privileged for the time I was allowed to spend with them. Although they are no longer with us, I like to think I added value to their lives and that they enriched mine. Their legacy is that they helped to shape the person I am now. For people who are ill - take the time out to tell them how much you love them - that is something I once regret not doing when I had the chance and it will haunt me forever. You are a big source of support for the people on here Louise - do it for your family too - and for yourself. Macca

Louise - congratulations on reaching 16 years! Sometimes we forget that other people have problems of their own too and it kind of keeps our feet on the ground and sets things in context. Life goes on, whether we like it or not, and we have to fight our own battles, whatever they are and wherever they appear. All we can do is get on with it and support each other so that we may all overcome them and make the most of the gift of life without ever taking it for granted! Well done for reaching your notable milestone! I'm nine behind you!! Macca

Don't apologise for being you, even if you area bit different than before. People have to accept you as you are now, not as you were. Although they can't see the injury, your behaviours mark you out as not quite the same as you once were. So explain it to them and keep on explaining so they don't forget and then let them get on with it. It is then their problem. You have enough to contend with, without them adding to your problems. Keep chillin' by the river Frank! Iola, nice to hear from you again - keep your chin up! Macca

Hi Paul, Please try and stop worrying about it so much. Go out and live your life, make your own luck. You are not weak, look at what has been thrown at you and you have dealt with it all. All you seem to be lacking is self belief and a 'go get it' attitude. Go and do things that make you think and test your abilities, be active and that will distract you from dwelling on the negative. Easy for me to say Paul, I know, but I've been where you are with my way of thinking in the early days but there is a way forward. However, it won't just come to you, you have to go out and grab it - with both hands, it's there for the taking if only you want it. Good luck - I wish you well. Macca

Hi Davie, Welcome to BTG! We're blokes and we're not supposed to cry are we? Wrong! I cried a lot in the early stages too. It's natural and it's a bit like a cleansing process - you need to do it so do it when the need takes you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing it and it's a part of the healing process. I went back to work after six months off - and it was way too early really. If and when you do go back do it on a phased basis and take all the time you need to. You may find you need to do other duties, or the same duties but in a less strenuous manner or with less quantity. You will find your own way, but don't attempt to do what you can't handle! Do what you can but in your own time, your health and well-being are much too important to play around with. Fatigue is common after SAH. As for short term memory, that's a common problem also, so try writing things down and keep repeating them over a few days so that you commit them to your long term memory. It may work or it may not but at least you can try - it works to some extent for me. Good luck Macca

Claudette and Patricia, I would suggest you start to keep a diary. When you read it again in 6months/12 months time, you will be amazed at the progress you have made. Welcome, both of you to BTG, and Patricia, it is wonderful to see that you have joined to provide your support to your sister. Take care, Macca

Kris, Well said - it is important to remember that even those of us further down the line also still need support from time to time. Recovery can still be a roller coaster even after years of learning to live with this experience and after helping others. Although further down the road, we are not at the end of it yet by any means. Sammy Anne - Lonely as a cloud - I love this poem, such a shame it was maligned by the old Heineken beer advert which slightly corrupts the memory of its brilliance for me. However, your sentiment is well meant and well said. Macca

Hi Claudette, Welcome to BTG! You've dealt with an awful lot already. What you say about your emotions is perfectly normal after SAH. I'm five years post SAH now. When it happened, I was in what I considered to be a desperate place emotionally and physically. All the usual things about 'Why me?', 'Why now?' What about all the bad people, why didn't it happen to them instead?' 'How long till I get over it?' 'When can I go back to work?' All of that and more. Please don't beat yourself up about it. It's just life doing its unpredictable things. I see things more rationally now but I was all over the place to start with! You may go and buy something new, get it home and realise there's something wrong with it -you go and exchange it or get a new part. That's what's happened to you. Something went wrong and you went into hospital to fix it - hey presto -a brand new you! It is the sudden, unexpected, change that has floored you. if it happened over time you would deal with it in your stride Yes you are lucky - as we all are on this site! You won the lottery of life just as ticket buyers win money in the National Lottery. Enjoy your win! Keep talking to your doctors about any problems, keep hydrated and keep talking to us too. Don't be isolated, that's why we are here. Understanding is half the battle. It's the not knowing that stirs fear. So if we talk about it we can deal with it! A problem shared is a problem halved as they say. It's a pleasure to have you on here! Best wishes, Macca

I drink - but much more moderately than I used to. Only beer though, no spirits. I don't handle it as well as I used to, but on the bright side it benefits my bank balance! Never received advice either way from the hospital - and I'm still here! Macca