Jump to content

Super Mario

Super Moderators
  • Posts

    21,416
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1,810

Everything posted by Super Mario

  1. Funny you should say that. Before my SAH I couldn't drink red wine or sherry, just one sip gave me the most blinding headache. Now I can drink red wine, as much as I want and sherry although I don't particularly like sherry and never get a headache from it. Something has certainly changed for me.
  2. I had very few headaches prior to my SAH. On the 2 days leading up to it I had a constant very unpleasant headache which would not go away. Unpleasant as it was it did not stop me going to work though. I now suffer with regular severe headaches.
  3. My rupture was in the left posterior communicating artery in 2004 when I was 54. Apart from the dreadful fatigue I have very little sense of balance and have to use a three wheel walker all the time. Memory is very iffy and can only remember things if they have been gone over time and time again. Headaches have diminished in number but boy when I get one, I get a mother and father of one. I do not know whether the balance problem was caused by the bleed or by the ensuing hydrocephalus that sent me into a coma and I had to go for emergency surgery to put a drain in. I don't think the docs really know either. I have just remembered that I also lost my sight totally in my left eye. A brilliant eye surgeon actually gave me it back by operating. I was told that the blood tried to find a way out via my optic nerve and eye due to the pressure. The loss of sight was due to debris being left at the back of the eye when the blood cleared. I also have another aneurism on the right side in the same place, like a twin. This has never been checked since it was discovered. I am going to ask about it at my next neuro appointment which is on Monday.
  4. Much as I hate to admit it I am disabled. My sense of balance is so poor that I have to use a three wheel walker all of the time. My memory is iffy as well, but that can have its advantages.
  5. Mine was the same as Janets. I have severe balance problems and permanent dizziness and have to walk with a frame. I do not know if it was the bleed that caused these problems or the ensuing hydrocephalus though.
  6. I was confused mega so my family tell me. I had gone back to my Radiographer training days when I was 18 and was saying I was being looked after well because I was staff. I also said that the nurses were trying to poison me and then offered a cake to my grandson. Of course I remember nothing of this and have been told about it at a later date. I dread to think what else I was saying.
  7. I have a shunt but I am sorry I can't answer your question as I can't remember anything about it at all. I would have thought that if a shunt needed to settle then your wife would not have been discharged until that had happened. What did make me very sick though were the painkillers I was sent home with.
  8. I have a shunt (drain) at the base of my skull on the left hand side that goes to my abdomen. Is the pain where the shunt is or in your abdomen? Sometimes my shunt, well not the shunt itself, but the area where it is hurts like hell but I have never queried it and just presumed it happens if I have been laid on it and bruised the area as the shunt is quite hard, or because it is a "foreign body". The pain lasts for a few hours and then eases. I am 5 years on from my SAH and it has not diminished with time. If I think on I will mention it to my neuro at my next appointment.
  9. Very interesting article. I still get flashbacks of that evening 5 years ago even now, but only the horrendous pain in my head and up to the paramedics arriving, I did have one clear moment when I must have been in A+E of someone saying "are we transferring her tonight or in the morning". I then have no memories at all for about 8 weeks. I have always looked on them as seeing how lucky I was to survive. They are not as frequent as they used to be though. I went through the sleepiness and depression too and have been left with memory problems and a very poor sense of balance. I used to sit and cry regularly for no apparent reason. Luckily one day I sat there and had severe words with myself, telling myself I was lucky to be alive and to start a life for myself again. This I did, although I admit it was hard, especially as I had been left less able, and now I enjoy my life as much as possible. I have actually made a new life for myself and am doing everything I want to do within my capabilities. The things I can't do I just put out of my head, no use in wishing, it uses up too much energy. I don't have a "wish I had list" anymore as you can't turn the clock back, I have a "I have done list" instead. The SAH made me realise that you don't know what tomorrow will bring, so live life and enjoy it. I love to travel abroad, so another motto of mine is "have walking frame will travel" That walking frame has covered thousands of miles in plane holds, can I give it an award?
  10. I, for one, have flown dozens of times since I had my shunt fitted. I have had no effect whatsoever, even security does not alarm or anything. Mine is a programmable one and I was assured by my neuro that all would be OK, and it is.
  11. I also have numbness that comes and goes in a small one side area of my chin just under my lip. Also have numb toes and outside of my lower leg on the same side as my face. This appeared 18 months after my SAH and ensuing shunt. The docs say it is nothing to do with my SAH and a MRI scan on my lumber sacral spine only showed a slight narrowing of my spinal canal, but say that could possibly be the cause as certain movements will make it more pronounced. I have given up worrying about it and carry on as normal.
  12. The best thing to do is to try and find a Welfare Rights Officer, they will be able to do a benefits check and help you fill in any forms for any claims you need to make, and are impartial. Sometimes your local council employ them. DWP helpline is OK but only give you info about what you ask, they do not impart any other information. To find an adviser in your area check the Community Legal Advice website. To find an adviser it is near the bottom of the left hand side of the home page. If you ring them you need to be eligable for legal aid before they will help but it is free online.
  13. The last MRI I had I just blanked my mind and nodded off, so it seemed to be over in no time. I can't stand to hear any sort of noise so I told them not to put the music on, the scan noise was preferable to having that blurting down my ears. The hassle was waiting to have my shunt reset as the scan had moved it. I had to wait ages, over an hour until a doctor was free to do it.
  14. I always use Fortis. Their criteria is not quite as strict as some. I always ring the medical line to get clearance though, mainly because I have other conditions as well. You can only purchase it through brokers, just google Fortis and you can find your nearest broker through their website. I think the Post Office insurance is underwritten by Fortis. It is reasonable as well, especially if you buy a years policy depending on how many times you intend to use it.
  15. Thank you for the warm welcomes. I lurk alot but don't post unless I have something positive to say.
  16. Hi Mandy You can get free prescriptions if, because of a permanent disability, you cannot leave your home without help or if your income falls below a certain level. See this link. http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069022/. Another alternative is to buy a prepayment certificate, the 12 month ones you can buy on monthly direct debit. See link. http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx Hope this helps.
  17. I go to water aerobics with my local stroke support group. It is geared up to people who have had all types of strokes. I find I can do just about all of the exercises because the water will hold me up and my balance on dry land is so bad that I fall over regularly. Something like this you may be able to do.
  18. I also have balance problems and walk as though I am drunk, even worse when I am tired. I have had lots of falls and now joke that I "bounce well". I also go very dizzy when trying to look left and right, ie moving my head quickly from side to side, so you can imagine, crossing roads is a nightmare, virtually impossible if it is busy. This is what has led to me being not allowed to drive anymore. I find that dizziness also happens when looking up or bending down. I have to focus on a set point to try to stabilise myself and it does help a little. It is difficult for me to carry anything like food or drinks as they invariably end up on the floor and I am unable to do my own housework. (I don't know whether that is a bad thing or not, at least it has given me the excuse to have a cleaner ). I use a triwalker or a mobility scooter when out and about on my own or a stick and hubby when I am with him, a stick and furniture in the house and I have to have a chair in the shower and have been told by an OT that I should have a stairlift for safety. I don't know if the bleed or the ensuing hydrocephalus caused these problems but I am way past wondering now. I just live life the best I can within my limitations. At least I now know that I am not on my own in having these problems.
  19. I also cry very easily, I never used too. I also get very angry very quickly. I don't know if that is frustration at not being able to do the things I used to before or a result of the SAH. All I know is that I never used to be like this, I was quite a placid sort of person.
  20. As well as dropping things my balance is atrocious and because of dizziness when I move my head from left to right, I find it almost impossible to cross roads, especially busy ones, I use a three wheel walker all the time. My coordination is also very poor, I often miss my mug when pouring water into it, I have burnt my hand so many times that I now keep it well away, and as for concentration and memory, it is very poor and I am unable to multitask. I keep post it notes in business. Cooking I now do is very basic and I can only do that with the help of timers. I have been known to half peel potatoes, go and do something else because I have just thought about it, and ages later find them still in the sink.
  21. I asked my neuro if I could go through airport security safely with my coils. He said it was fine and would not set off security. I have since flown at least 20 times over the last 4 years and have never had a problem with the flight or anything, likewise with my shunt. I always carry details of my aneurysms, coils and my shunt type and settings with me as well as info about my heart stents. Just seems to be a wise thing to do.
  22. I had my two angios in my right leg 5 years ago and prior to that have had two heart angios in the same leg. I suppose I am lucky as I do not have any problems at all with the site even though there must be scarring on the artery.
  23. These things happen to me. My hand just seems to let go involuntary and whatever lands on the floor.
  24. I was also left with Terson's Syndrome. My GP had never heard of it either and had to do her research. Apparently it is debris from blood that collected at the back of the eye when the blood was forced down the optic nerve owing to the pressure caused by the bleed. It was trying to find a "way out" When the blood clears it leaves debris. Luckily I also had an op that cleared it but have been left with a few floaters that can be annoying at times, but at least I can see.
×
×
  • Create New...