Teechur

I did the denial thing too, but it was because I'd never had a headache so bad and had never heard that "the worst headache of your life" can be the sign of a stroke. I actually sat through a movie, went home and tried to take a nap, and all the while I was completely in so much pain that every beam of light and every sound made me want to vomit. Looking back it made no sense to NOT be alarmed. If I hadn't posted on Facebook "I have the worst headache of my life, is this what a migraine feels like?" Thank God among the suggestions to take Excedrin and drink coffee were people in the medical field saying "Go to the hospital! Go now!" and one of them started texting me furiously. 

So I finally did, six hours later. So thankful I did. No telling what the outcome might have been. 

I find it interesting that studies show that most people have a good outcome. I've always wondered what that means? To me a good outcome is no deficits or impact on their lives. I know my neurosurgeon thinks I had a good outcome but she has no idea that three years later I'm on medication (I never was on a single thing before) for chronic daily headaches. I don't consider that a good outcome. She hasn't bothered to follow up. It seems from here and the people I know personally, that there are a lot of not great outcomes. Not necessarily HORRIBLE outcomes, but not "good" outcomes. 

Yay! We had ours around the same time and I have always been SO happy for you and inspired by you. 

Oh my goodness this is so accurate. Thank you for putting a smile on my face on what is not a very good day!

Oh Sue just give it time. This all just sucks at times, but there are blessings that will reveal themselves. Just let yourself feel how you feel. Don't put on a happy face when you don't feel it, but don't wallow in self pity because that can be a dark and ugly place. Ask questions whenever you have them because this is such an odd and funky thing to go through on your own. Don't feel alone because you're not!!

It's been 2.5 years for me and I am actually a lot calmer than I used to be because anger and stress feel like such a waste of precious time and emotion. I do still have daily headaches and am in treatment for them. Fortunately not everyone gets those, although I know of three people who were and are extremely active (like me) and deal with them too. I have minor memory issues. Fatigue, for me, does not come from overdoing it physically, but on a bad head day just having to think and work as a teacher can exhaust me.