I’m so pleased to have landed on this group and to be able to read about similar experiences. I suffered a non aneurysmal perimesencephalic subarachnoid haemorrhage three weeks ago - massive sudden onset of headache and neck spasm - radiating from base of skull at the back round to temples.
Went to local small emergency unit who referred to bigger A and E dept. CT scan showed no bleeds (apparently) and since I was fine other than neck pain and rushing pulsing headache, I was given diazepam and told I could choose to go home (after 9 hrs in A&E waiting room or wait there overnight for a lumbar puncture as a double check but there were no beds anyway).
Went home. Headaches continued and on getting up had strange aches in lower back and down tops of back of legs. Back to A&E for another 12 hrs in the waiting room until finally got admitted onto a ward.
Lumbar puncture next day. Results the following day indicated bleed. Given Nimodipine and ambulanced to neurosurgery at St George’s South London.
Review of the original CT scan was determined to have shown small bleed so confirmed with CT angiography. I was pretty well throughout except for stiff neck and headaches, and weird feeling at the base of my spine on getting up to walk which was always simultaneous with rush and ‘swimmyness’ at back of head that then settled after a minute or two. I’ve always suffered with bad neck though for last 15 yrs.
I’m ‘ok’ three weeks on but what’s worrying me is that although the neurosurgeon and reports I’ve read say this NAPSAH doesn’t recurr, I actually had three instances of that exact same phenomenonal headache, like being hit across the back of the head and then rushing and radiating round, prior to this recent one.
I didn’t seek medical attention previously because I thought it was neck spasm and it did go after an hour or two with anti-inflammatory painkillers.
All 4 occasions were during same kind of intimacy and they weren’t consecutive but all within last 6 months. Neurosurgeons say the former three were most likely unrelated to a bleed.
I wondered if anyone else has suspected that they’d had more than one episode?
And also around the time of the earlier episodes I also developed a constant buzzing tinnitus.
Wow. I do sound like such a moaner, especially as others have obviously suffered more lasting effects, but it’s all been a bit scary recently.