poppy

I have replied to,your message. Please dont despair it will get easier in time. Its only natural for,you to feel the way you do right now. My husband is not the same person as he was prior to the SAH but he is alive and has a good quality of life. There were and are times when I could quite literally have strangled him and he does not always behave as I would like but i just go out for a few hours for my own sanity and to teach him a lesson which it does eventually. It might sound harsh but it keeps me sane. Good luck to you. If you need any more help let me know Poppy

Hi Donna Have just taken out a weeks insurance for D and myself it was £67 for a week in Greece which I thought was pretty good as d has a two page list of medical conditions the company is Columbus direct http://www.columbusdirect.com/ Pre-existing medical conditions tab on the left hand side at the bottom. Poppy

Glad you found it useful Lin I know D gets a lot out of it. poppy

Hi Lin I can only tell you about D as the only times I attend Headway is for functions. D has found it extremely helpful and likes to chat to others in the same situation as himself. He mixes with other people he would not normally do and has found people there with similar interests to himself which has been good. They have lots of social occasions and outings. From my point of view it gives me a break and for him a break from me Hope this helps but you could give it a try and see how you feel. I know D was very very nervous the first few times he went but he persevered. In fact tomorrow is the Christmas dinner function which I am going to, last years was great. Poppy T

Hi Sonia We use a company called Columbus direct and they are very reasonable as D has several medical conditions apart from the SAH. I think we were quoted from some companies £1500 for trip to the US and they did it for £270 so a big difference. Just make sure you declare everything even if you think it is not necessary better be safe than sorry. Have a good time at the wedding poppy

Hi Zoe. I thought I was reading about my own situation when I read your post. It could have been me who had written it. If I can help as being in a similar situation to yourself please feel free to pm me. I know what it is like being on the receiving end and it is not nice. poppy xx

If it's any help I am 50 and it was no problem:-D poppy

Although not had SAH (partner has) I have had the mirena in for around 3 years now. For me it was for the dreaded menopause and all that comes with it. I had it done in my Docs surgery and although uncomfortable having it done I would not hesitate to have it in again if I needed. Hopefully in two years I will not longer be in need After the initial first few months havent looked back no more PMS or periods (Sorry gents) poppy x

Hello Sonia Glad you found this site they are a lovely bunch of people. I have not suffered a SAH myself but my partner has. I look forward to reading your story. poppy

Hi all I am so pleased you have found it useful. I had previously trawled the internet for travel insurance last year and it is a minefield out there and some would not even cover pre-existing conditions and some wanted stupid money. I am so glad I found this company it has given us peace of mind and saved us loads. poppy x

Thought I would share this information with you all as some may find it useful. As most of you know D has several other pre-existing medical conditions as well as the SAH. Whilst looking last year for travel insurance came across a company called Columbus direct. We had quotes to go to Florida for 9 weeks from other companies ranging from £1000 to £1600 far too much for us to afford. The columbus company covered all pre-existing medical conditions for the 9 weeks for £270. I just got our insurance for France from them for 6 weeks including all pre-existing conditions for both of us plus winter sports cover and also covered 3 outher sporting activities plus no excess for £180. I thought this was a great price and also considering other companies including our bank would not insure him at all let alone the ones that wanted over £1000. There website details are http://www.columbusdirect.com/ Hope this might be useful poppy x

Di............... Welcome Welcome Welcome poppy x

Sally...............Welcome Welcome Welcome poppy x

Caroline send you a PM Congrats on grandma to be wonderful news. poppy & D

Great news so pleased for you both.......... onwards and upwards poppy x

CONGRATS CAZ!!! poppy x

Hi waterball D had his SAH sept 2008. Yes he is a changed man............ Yes we have had problems....... and yes it can be a real pain in the rear!! But we hung on in there and still dealing with things but getting there. I know what you are saying and where you are coming from. If I can be of any help privately please let me know and I will pm you my email address. Hang on in there if you can, it is a very long journey that might not end but you can do it together. It is really really tough I know. love poppy x

You are a very brave person and my heart went out to you as I read your story. It must have been very hard to share. poppy x

Hi John, My hubby d also lost time in hospital as you do and things are sketchy after that. He as you have asked myself and other people who visited him in hospital at the time to find out how he was and what he was like whilst he was there. From what I can gather it is pretty much the same for everyone as regards to memory but I could be wrong I am sure others who follow will be able to help you there. D's memory is still poor and he also has cognitive and assorted other problems but he says he is thankful he is here but wished it didnt happen to him. D had to wait over a year to see a psychologist but it was well worth the weight. Anything else we can help you with let us know. poppy & D

Hi Kel Can only give you d's experience from last mondays mra, we thought he would have dye injected but they said no. The mra in his case gives a much more detailed picture than an mri. None of this made any sense to us what so ever but you are always in the medics hands. Although this was confirmed by d's neuro-psychologist. Hope this helps. poppy x

Good luck with your mra Karen we will be thinking of you. Dee had an mra last Monday which was a trail for him as he has panic attacks in enclosed areas but he did manage it eventually. They came and got me to talk to him as they thought he wasnt going to go through with it. to date no results. love poppy & d

I found this information on the headway web site. Kings college London have been commsioned by the goverment to carry out a study in the UK. Here is the link if anyone is interested. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/medicine/depts/palliative/arp/eval/carers.html Our chance to make ourselves heard poppy

Hi Paul, Dee my hubby has had dealings with headway, he found them very helpful as did i. He attends a weekly goup when we are home and he was reluctant to go at first but now really enjoys it. He tells me they do all kinds of things there from memory games etc, but the thing he liked the most was talking to others in the same boat as himself. Take care now and hope headway goes well for you Poppy

I know exactly how you feel and how scared you must feel now your husband is home with you. I also felt the same when mine came home from hospital it is very scary and frightening especially when our husbands are still suffering. For me as time when on the scared feelings lessened, and i no longer used to wake up during the night to see if he was still breathing. My husband is almost a year on and still has headaches and all of the other physical symptoms that others talk about here. There is still a lot of things he still cant do that i have to, we don't know if he will be able to deal/cope/do the things he was able to do before. I found it difficult taking over the things he was unable to do and at times it got on my nerves but it lessened as time went on, there are still days when i get irritated with him and i am sure that will continue, but it isnt his fault he just cant help it. One thing i learnt is you also need ME TIME or you will go totally mad, even if it means asking a friend or family member to come and sit with him whilst you go out for a few hours. It took me a long time to come to terms with what had happened to him and to us, our lives as partners/carers change as well as the person who has had the SAH. I find for the most part people and family members think because he looks ok he is, that makes it difficult for me as they dont chip in and help but hey thats life as the saying goes. I know it is hard but it will get easier in time for you and i know how scary it is. My GP gave me sick certificates for as long as i wanted and i think in total i had around 3 months or so sick time from work. If you wish to pm me then please do. Poppy

Well done Rod for bringing confabulation into discussion, it looks as if it might be an active topic for a while, and if it helps others on the way it is a job well done. Poppy