Mike2023

Hi again all. I have an update.. so having gone back to the GP again he suggested going back to basics with an X-ray of my back and right arm. Also a referral to CMATS. (Muscularskeletal) Turns out I have a wedge fracture to T6 of my spine! No idea how it happened as I have no recollection of any fall either before or during hospital stay. So now it's another MRI and blood tests to rule out other nasties. Apart from that I continue to improve, albeit slowly.

Thank you both. Clare, That's pretty much what one of the Consultants said about my NASAH, though I didn't get into the concussion history with them it didn't feel right to take up their time.

Hi all, I have become very interested in finding out the reason for my NASAH. Probably a vain hope I know but previous concussions affected my life significantly and after the NASAH I find myself wanting answers more than ever so I just have to try. My query is this: While I was in the Neuro ward in hospital I chatted with other patients. I mentioned that I have had two quite serious concussions in my life, the last around 8yrs ago. Three of the four men I chatted to had also had concussions previously. A very narrow poll I know but nevertheless... I wondered if any others here have suffered this sequence of events and would like to contribute to my very unscientific query? Many thanks Mike

Hi all, I'm Mike. I've already posted on another thread so my apologies for the late introduction, the brain isn't quite what it was lol. I suffered my NASAH on the 17th June 2023. I remember very little of exactly what happened over the next month but this experience has highlighted to me exactly how lucky I am and that a very fortunate sequence of events saved my life. My account here is based mostly on what my family have told me. At maybe 10pm at night I was facetiming my partner and had a blinding flash of pain in my head - I told her I had to hang up and lay down. I subsequently went into the garden to lay down. I can remember throwing up and wondering if I should call my daughter who was upstairs in the house. She subsequently found me hypothermic at around 11pm. I'm told that the cold may have saved my life I'd had a spliff (I am a very infrequent user) but was reluctant to tell my daughter so instead I said that I must have food poisoning as we'd had a meal out earlier that evening. I apparently spent the next two days wrapped up in bed refusing to go to the GP and self medicating basically anything I could find (Paracetamol, Naproxen, even Flucloxacillin) Both my adult Daughter and eldest Son deferred to my choice as I am a strong character. They hid my meds lol. I can laugh about my ridiculous behaviour now. On the third day my Partner who lives a fair distance away drove down and between them all they forced me to go to the GP. (I'd hidden the seriousness of how I felt sticking to the food poisoning line) Two hours later I was on a saline drip in triage - sodium levels critically low, admitted immediately to the only Neuro Ward in Wales (7 beds) An Angiogram followed which determined no Aneurism and therefore no explanation for the (massive) bleed. I then suffered the complication of Hydrocephalus so needed a lumbar puncture flowed by lumbar drain. Fortunately the drain worked though I remember very little of the first two weeks there. The good news was that an extensive MRI and second Angiogram revealed nothing sinister and I was discharged after around three weeks. A slow recovery with many symptoms has ensued but I can finally say I am getting somewhere near to normal. One thing this experience has taught me is to be more open with my family, and I have had conversations with my two eldest children, both young adults that in the future if they suspect any serious illness in anyone to take control of the situation and ignore any stubborn folk in their lives. I also set up a Whatsapp group with family members simply called "Emergency" It is only to be used for exactly that and any post, even a single letter will bring family running. Also when I'm home alone at night I take the keys out of the doors (just in case) My daughter made me aware of this site but until now I have been reluctant to research fearing what I may find. That has now subsided and I am now very interested in trying to find out what may have caused my NASAH, though I am aware that most have no scientifically known explanation. So I intend to start a thread in that vein - hope that is okay. Hoping that my shared experience can help others and that you all recover as I am Mike

Hi both, thank you so much for your replies. SuperMario, Tina, I did have a follow up phone consultation with the specialist Neuro Nurse from the ward who told me that they categorically cannot associate my back/arm pain with the bleed so I should go to my GP and hope to get maybe x-rays. I've also had a phone consultation with the Community brain team regarding follow up support and that is ongoing It's this (adamant) difference in diagnosis which mystifies me as my Consultant in hospital original said that the pain was likely the blood moving down my body with gravity and that I could get pain as low as my thighs for months. I think they did every blood test known to man as well as two Angiograms and over an hour MRI scan of head and spine. So It's this difference in diagnosis which has prompted my query here really I just wondered I guess if someone else had experienced upper back symptoms. Nevertheless I really can't thank the whole team enough they are all amazing and probably saved my life more than once I'd also had a perforated eardrum very soon after the bleed on the right side and could hear nothing out of that ear for maybe two months - that is almost fully healed , not sure if this is of any relevance. So after speaking with the Nurse I immediately went to the GP who examined me thoroughly and could find no cause either. This was maybe a month ago. I've also had comprehensive eye tests - none of these have revealed anything untoward thankfully. My follow up appointment with the Neurologist isn't until January but I have the Community brain team coming to my house Monday. They have suggested Physio may be an option. In terms of my recovery the back/arm pain has actually starting to improve significantly in recent weeks/ days - so coincidental with the rash. I will definitely take photos and visit GP again if it returns. Hopefully sharing my experience can also help others. Thank you both so much again for your help. Mike .

Hi all, my name is Mike. Having read your very informative discussion I am posting here in the hope that someone can help me better understand my condition. In June I experienced a NASAH. and was in a high dependency ward for around 3 weeks. I also had compications with Hydrosephalus so needed a Lumbar puncture and Lumbar drain. I was in bed without being able to sit upright for maybe 10 days. I was on Morphine for much of the time but around two weeks into the stay I started to notice back pain. It is very different to the accounts above in that it was (and still is) in the centre of my back, my shoulders, and my right upper arm. Nothing low down as described by others. Having had a few I would describe it as feeling like a rib injury. Pain when lying down, coughing, sneezing etc. My back has also been very itchy in recent weeks. The more I have tried to do the more it hurts. Initially I could not lift a cup of coffee without supporting my right elbow with my other hand. I am a fit 58yr old Builder and have trained in martial arts for some years so not being able to so much as lift a hammer never mind hit a nail in is incredibly frustrating. Initially in hospital my consultant suggested blood re absorption, though this has subsequently been dismissed by my post hospital care nurse. My GP has checked me over and suggested possible atrophy and/or that I may have injured myself while I was out of it in hospital. Believing this to be muscular I will confess to having tried to do some work around the house and it Is clear to me I have pushed myself too far some days and paid the price for the next few - so I guess I may just have myself to blame Finally, over the last week my partner noticed what she thought was a red rash all over my upper chest and back, also under my armpit. I intended to go to the GP but this has vanished as quickly as it appeared. I have wondered if this may be a sign of blood re absorption but until now I have stayed away from any research into my condition so that is a shot in the dark. So after around three and a half months since my haemorrhage I still have back pain and struggle to use my right arm As this is different to those highlighted above I wondered if anyone else could shed some light on it. Many thanks for any help in advance, Mike