jamesyreid

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a little update on my experiences with dealing with the DVLA. As mentioned previously, I tried contacting them a few times, only to find they hadn't even started progressing my case yet. It was only when I told them I really needed to drive for my work, and that my GP was reluctant to declare me fit to drive, that they got my case underway and contacted my consultant at the hospital. I was told that my case would be treated as high priority. I received a letter from the DVLA dated May 25th, which said they had contacted my consultant at the hospital where I was treated, and were waiting for a response. For context, I suffered my NASAH on Feb 25 and submitted my medical form to DVLA in early March, not long after being released from hospital. I chased the DVLA again on Friday of last week (July 1st), and was told that only the previous day had they received the requested information from my consultant at the hospital. They said they would need to process his response, and I would be informed of the decision in due course. Then just this morning, I received a letter from the DVLA informing me that I "satisfy the medical standards for safe driving" 😊 So in summary, from my experience the moral of the story is that unless you get the DVLA to treat your case as high priority, it will take a LONG time before you hear anything back. I am fairly sure that unless I had done this, my case would not have been progressed at all, and would still be languishing in their huge backlog.

Hi Elmlou, and sorry to bother you again, however I've just been reading from your link about what the DVLA say about assessing fitness to drive following a NASAH. I've taken the following from that document: Does this mean that I need to go for a follow up scan before my GP can declare me fit to drive? You didn't mention this in your last post, so I'm assuming you weren't required to do this. I was wondering if perhaps this was a recent addition to the document, as I can see it says "May 2022" on the front page. This really would be just my luck if the DVLA legislation around NASAH has changed very recently 😭

Thanks for that update. I'm glad to hear you have now fully recovered. It's now been just over three months since my NASAH and I'm still not 100% better. I still get tired, and my head has this horrible heavy/cloudy/fuzzy feeling which is difficult to describe exactly. I have however started back work on a phased basis, doing only light duties for now. Like yourself, after hearing nothing from the DVLA I tried calling them for an update, and when I finally got through (after many attempts) I was told there had been zero progress with my case. However, the person I spoke to said he would see what he could do about it, and maybe a week later I received a letter from the DVLA saying they had contacted my consultant at the hospital, and they would let me know when they heard back from him. So at least my case is under way, however like you say it is likely to take several more months before I hear anything further. The guy I spoke to at the DVLA also confirmed what you said about them being happy enough for me to resume driving once my GP gives the go ahead. Unfortunately I don't feel quite well enough for that just yet, but hopefully soon. Can I just check - was it a verbal "go ahead" you were given from your GP to resume driving, or were you given something in writing which you had to them forward to the DVLA? Thanks, James PS One more question. Can you remember roughly how long it took before you felt you were back to normal following your NASAH?

Thanks Alan. Some great information there. I might have another go at getting through to the DVLA once I (hopefully) start to feel a bit better. Can I ask if you contacted your GP and asked them to issue you with a letter, stating it is safe for you to drive again?

Thanks for the replies so far. Clare - I should have said that I was given three medications on prescription by a doctor for the sinusitis symptoms I was experiencing, two of which were antibiotics. However, this was before another doctor viewed my scans from the hospital and said my sinuses were clear, and the sensations I was experiencing were more likely related to my SAH than sinusitis. I've tried calling the DVLA several times, but it seems to be impossible to speak to anyone. They simply end the call by saying "nobody is available to take your call" rather than placing you in a queue. Very frustrating. The form I sent to the DVLA contains the contact details of my doctor and my consultant at the hospital, so presumably the DVLA will contact them, and they will advise when it is safe for me to drive again. I'm guessing that due to COVID they will have a backlog of cases to process, but it would be nice to have a ballpark date of when I might be allowed to drive again. I'm guessing 6 months sounds about right. Finally, I don't think my short hospital stay had anything to to with COVID. As soon as my DSA confirmed there was no aneurysm, I was sent on my way. Thanks

Hi Alan, I live in Lanarkshire and was treated at my local hospital first of all, before being transferred to the Queen Elizabeth in Glasgow for the DSA. I'd posted this yesterday, which gives a summary of my experience: https://web.behindthegray.net/topic/10712-progress-seems-to-have-stopped-when-can-i-drive-again/ So like me, it sounds like you were discharged from hospital after only a fairly short stay, with little or no information about recovery or what to expect next. Have you to go back for any sort of check up at any point? And have you managed to speak to anyone about SAH since being released? I've tried contacting the Headway charity but haven't had a response yet. Final question! Did you contact the DVLA to inform them of your SAH, and if so have you heard anything back from them yet? Thanks

Hi Alan. I hope you are doing well. My story sounds very similar to yours. I am a similar age and also come from Scotland. Can I ask where in Scotland you are from, and the names of the hospital(s) you were treated in?

Hi there, I stumbled across these forums completely by accident this morning, and already I've found a lot of useful information. I'm going to provide a brief summary of my experience, which I am hoping others can relate to. I'm also hoping that some of the posters here can offer me some advice with regards to my recovery, which already is proving extremely frustrating. Ok, here goes. I am a 46-year-old male who lives in the UK. I don't smoke, rarely drink alcohol, and am definitely not overweight. I had always considered myself fit and healthy, and would walk at least a couple of miles every day. On 25th February I got up to get ready for work and felt fine. It was just like any other day. 10 mins later, I had a "thunderclap" headache which came from nowhere, and felt dizzy and nauseous. I get a lot of headaches, but this one was completely different to anything I had experienced before. I knew immediately that something was wrong. I called my GP, who immediately sent me up to hospital. A CT scan didn't reveal anything untoward, but a lumber puncture indicated that there had been a bleed. I was then sent for another CT scan, this time with the "contrast" dye, which again didn't show anything, but as a precaution was then transferred to a specialist neurological unit for an angiogram, which didn't reveal an aneurysm. So I was diagnosed with a non aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage, and after only 4 days in hospital was sent home again, with absolutely no information about recovery or what to expect next (from browsing the posts here, this seems to be a common theme). There are no follow up appointments, and I haven't to go back to the hospital again. Since being discharged from hospital, I have been suffering from the following: 1 - Extreme tiredness. From reading up about SAH online, I know this is probably the no 1 issue that will affect people who are recovering. 2 - Headaches/facial pain. For a week or two immediately after the haemorrhage, the headaches were very frequent, but could be managed by paracetamol/ibuprofen. The issue I have now is a "facial pain", which feels very much like sinusitis. The bridge across my nose is painful, as is the surrounding area (forehead, cheekbones). I contacted my GP, who said that based on the scans they took in hospital, my sinuses are clear, and three separate medicines I have taken for sinusitis have made no difference. Has anyone else experienced sinusitis-like symptoms during recovery? 3 - Lightheartedness/dizziness. Basically, I don't feel too steady on my feet, although this is fairly mild. 4 - For a while, I had back pain, although this has eased off now. However, ever since the SAH my neck makes a horrible grinding/crunching noise whenever I turn my head. This definitely didn't happen before the SAH. I asked the GP about it, and their reply was it is nothing to worry about. It certainly isn't painful, but the noise is absolutely dreadful. 5 - Anxiety. I'm not sure if this is common after experiencing a major medical issue like SAH, but I am now worried that I am about to have another health emergency that appears without any warning. For example, I have a very slight pain in my chest bone, and I'm convinced that I am experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. I'm also worried about how long I am going to be off work for, as given the way I'm currently feeling there is no way I could even think about returning to work just yet. Possibly worst of all is that I'm now concerned my progress has halted, or is even going backwards. One week ago I could have gone out for a fairly long walk, but this past week the tiredness has meant I've barely been able to make it out of bed. I know good days and bad days are to be expected, but that's now a bad WEEK I have experienced. So in summary, I guess I'm wondering if the issues I am experiencing are to be expected. I know everyone is different and will recover at different rates, but I'd always thought of myself as being fit/healthy and a quick healer, and I'm getting more and more frustrated that after around 5 weeks I'm not making as much progress as I would have liked, or even that the progress seems to have stalled. One final thing (bearing in mind I am from the UK). I was informed upon leaving hospital that I wouldn't be able to drive, and would have to contact the DVLA. I completed the medical form a few days after being discharged and sent it off to the DVLA, but since then I have heard nothing. Does anyone know when I am likely to hear anything back from the DVLA (I'm assuming they have a post-COVID backlog), and how long I am not going to be able to drive for following my NASAH? It's not an issue at the moment as I don't feel anywhere near well enough to drive, but I wouldn't mind knowing how long it is going to be for. Is it likely the DVLA will send me for some sort of medical examination, to ensure I am fit enough to drive again? Thanks!!!