Super Mario

julianc, thank you very much from the forum and all of its members for your complimentary words. We all need to thank Karen for instigating this forum in the first place.

Andrea, welcome to the forum. Don't worry about not posting anything earlier. We have many members who register and just read and never post anything.

The reason that Spain is excluded from the first zone for insurance purposes is because they will not accept the European Health card even though they are in the EU. If you want Spain included it incurs a higher premium. This has only happened in the last 2 or 3 years to the best of my knowledge. Seems very unfair as we treat their nationals for emergency treatment under our NHS.

I managed to get insurance 12 months after my SAH. When you need it try Staysure or even the Post Office. Take my advice and ring the companies rather than doing it online as I have found you get a more favourable answer.

Welcome to the site. Unfortunately I don't think you will find an insurance company that will cover you so soon after your SAH without paying mega bucks. Another obstacle to insurance is that you are still to undergo tests. Sorry for being so negative.

It is recommended that drinking lots, and I mean lots, of water to help reduce the headaches. If you are doing such a high stress job are you really drinking enough? In that position it is so easy to neglect yourself. There is the possibility that the stress is adding to the incidence and severity of the headaches. Many of us have found that we have to slow down, even to the extent of cutting hours. We are no longer able to cope with the same life we had pre SAH. In a word, we have to rethink our lives. Stress gives people who haven't had a SAH headaches, a well known fact.

That, we all wanted to do and I think we all learned the hard way that recovery takes a very long time in most cases. It is difficult to train yourself to do this when you have always been fit and active but eventually realisation comes. Drinking lots of water really does help, believe it or not. Possibly not your preferred beverage but .....

Kate, please post the link, it may be of help to some members.

Good that you contacted Headway, they understand and can give you a lot of support. To be able to pick up the phone and have someone to talk to will really help. I believe they offer counselling as well as other services. If you are able it may be worth attending.

Only a medical person can tell you that and I suggest you seek medical advice as soon as possible. In hindsight I did have indications of an aneurysm that I put down to nothing prior to my SAH. Just wish I had gone to the doctor about them although I may have been told that they were nothing to worry about.

This is one question that none of us can answer, we are not medically trained, just survivors. You need to ask it of your medical practitioner although I suspect one will favour one method whilst another will favour the opposite. If you do manage to find the answer I am sure our members would be interested.

Hope there is a positive outcome to your complaint that may help others in the same situation.

I had a grade 4/5 SAH 10 years ago and my family were told to expect the worse. I am still here and enjoying life to the best of my ability in spite of being left with balance and memory problems. There is always hope and the doctors don't know how strong the fighting spirit of your mum is. My son and daughter were given the opportunity to be checked as my surgeon believes that aneurysms can be hereditary. Luckily both were found to be clear. As others have said your sister could be reacting to the shock of first you then your mum having an SAH. On saying that my sister laughed at me and said she was pleased it was me and not her. Yes it hurts but the most important person in this is your mum.

Could be from your back, mine is, nothing to do with SAH. You need to seek medical advice.

Click your name, top right of the screen, page changes to your profile. Top right of the profile page there is a black band that says "Edit my Profile" Click that band and it will take you to the page where you can change things. Once you have changed what you need to scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes" in the back box. Mission completed

To be honest I am like you all of the time and my SAH is just over 10 years old. I have learnt coping strategies to deal with it. Trying to turn my head very slowly helps me but instinct sometimes makes me look round rapidly and then everything spins, or to focus on one point helps, just like ice skaters when they do those rapid turns. It makes me look like a drunkard when I try to walk. In fact I have been accused of being drunk in the past. It may or may not get better, only time will tell.

It was PALS but now you contact the hospital's own complaints department, contact details for which can be found on the hospitals website.

No, in my opinion, you are not over reacting. You are trying to do the best for your wife and if that means fighting the system and complaining then so be it. I wish you the best of luck for the forward journey.

Your GP could do that as well as the consultant you are seeing. Please be aware that if your Pain Clinic is anything like ours there is quite a long wait for an appointment. As I have said some are good and others not so good. They may not be able to help in the long run but will be able to try out different drugs and therapies hopefully with a positive result.

Why don't you ask for him to be referred to a pain clinic? Although I might say some are very good and some are not so good but possibly worth a try.

We can't answer that question as each person is different. Ask the doctor on Friday who will be able to give you a definite answer.

We do know how it feels as we have all been through the same that is why we are here, to listen and give you as much support as possible. To the layman we look fine so there is no way anyone else will understand our fears and any of the other residual affects that are not visible. The common consensus is that you look OK so you are OK.

Fear of re-occurrence is something I think that we have all experienced, a natural reaction after such a serious event in our lives. If you want to cry, then cry. I know I cried buckets for months afterwards. In hindsight I now know that it was depression but luckily I managed to haul myself out of it. A visit to your doctors may be prudent as there is help out there if you ask. Many members have found counselling to be advantageous or a low dose of an anti-depressant over a short period of time may be of help to you. Don't suffer in silence, get that help. More than likely in time you will be able to get back to doing what you love. Along the way you may take two steps forward and one back quite a few times but you will get there by taking baby steps. The worst thing you can do is to push yourself too hard, you have to let nature take its course as recovery can be a very long slow process.

Hi Sandra, I was coiled and to be honest I can't remember having any weird feelings but then again my memory is shot so I may have had them. I am now 10 years on and I don't get anything at all. As the others have said, for peace of mind check it out with your doctor. As for getting paranoid, that is a natural reaction when you have been through anything serious.

iannuages , welcome to BTG. What a story of Mary's SAH. I am sure that this will help many survivors of an SAH. I agree there is very little support for us in the medical world. As you say, once we have been "fixed" hands are washed of us and we are left to recover the best we can on our own just with the support of our families. We are here and will support you to the best of our ability. Please don't hesitate to post again, if only to get things off your chest.