Skippy

Hi I think its disgusting that just because we have nothing physical to fix ie broken leg, arm etc that we're treated liked there's nothing wrong with us. It shouldn't be a case of finding you a slot - it should be a case of making you an appointment asap. I can imagine that the whooziness and dizziness is driving you mad besides the fear factor. I guess the consolation is that at least you know that there is something being done for you despite how long its taking. Had a fairly good night with Paul being at work. Siobhan and I cuddled in mine and Paul's bed and she read her school book to me for half an hour as she has to every night and then we snuggled down and fell asleep for ten o clock. I looked out of the window at five this morning and Paul's car wasn't there!! Rang him at work and he was still there working - made him come home and get a couple of hours sleep. He sometimes works through the night to make sure a job's done but I don't like him doing it. He had a heart attack five years ago in September through working too hard and it terrifies me that it might happen again if he does this, but I know he'll be fine. Just means that we can both get an early night tonight. Any word from Andy P??? Take care Love to all Sami xxx

Hya You are in there somewhere and you still meet deadlines - dinner is on the table when the kids get home, uniforms are ironed on time etc - so don't be too hard on yourself. Yeah my confidence was knoked by being taken back into hospital with really bad headaches but after going into townon Saturday night I think I'll be Ok whilst he's at work. You are in there Karen - don't give up on that. You seem like a very strong and determined woman to me and to be honest its a privelege to 'know' you. Knowing my luck I'll have the remote to myself and there'll be absolutely nothing interesting on Anyway am going to prepare to go home now so I'll catch you all tomorrow Lots of love Sami xxx

Hey Karen Don't you go getting too excited now - you're supposed to be taking it easy Yeah we run a graphic design agency - major clients include Boots and 3M (in England, France, Poland, Spain). Its mainly artwork placement into key liines for production of products for 3M but for the likes of Boots it mock ups for photo shoots - so the next time you're leafing through a glossy mag and see the No7 collection advertised we would have prepared those mock ups for the photo shoot, or Ted Baker, No 17, Botanics etc most of the stuff that Boots advertise we would have done the mock up for - helps Boots being a Nottingham company. We're small but efficient I suppose. Cos we're small we can keep our costs down which we pass on to the client. It can be interesting but at times like this when we're given a deadline and other people still haven't gotten artwork over to us it can get really frustrating and the last thing I want at the moment is a stress headache!!!! Paul has to work late tonight so it'll be my first night alone with Siobhan since coming out of hospital. Two weeks ago I would have been terrified now I'm just relishing the thought of having the sofa and the remote to myself Anyway make sure you rest after putting the shopping away - I know how tiring that can be if you're like us and do a huge shop at once. Catch you later Love Sami xxx

Hello Did I hear my name mentioned? Hi Keith I had my SAH on the 25th August whilst on holiday in Devon (I live in Notitngham). It was my first summer holiday in 6 years too - just goes to show what slowing down did for me!! I was taken to Barnstaple and then transferred to Plymouth where they did a sterling job of coiling and post op care. A week after getting home I was backin hospital in Nottingham at QMC where the care was terrible. Like you, I have no physical after affects and have been back at work since September 12th. I get tired and the headaches are a pain in the bum. I found taking 2 parcetamol before bed and doing what Karen said about propping up a bit more in bed helps with the heads and sleeping. I've probably suffered more emotionally than physically but the last week has been good and I feel that I have finally turne a corner now and can start to look forward. Anyway nice to meet you Sami xxx

Good afeternoon ladies Glad that pastry was a large one Karen, I had a Pains au Chocolat with my coffee this morning so feel less guilty knowing I'm not the only one indulging. The accounts are all finished and up to date thank you Just waiting for people to pay me what they owe me now. Thats been the worse thing through all of this for me is not being able to keep on top of the accounts. Its hard being ill and running your own company when you try to keep costs down by doing as much as you can. Paul is the graphic designer and cardboard engineer and I'm the accounts, proof reading and admin department!!! My best friend was on Anti-Deps for 13 years after a nervous breakdown left her suicidal. They told her it was a chemical imbalance in the brain. She was slowly weened off them. She's fine now and can completely sympathise with me when I'm feeling low - sometimes feels like I have my very own personal counsellor Anyway ladies - duty calls - I have some adverts to cut and paste into a book for a client. Catch you later Sami xxxx

Hya Enjoy that pastry - hoping for you that its a nice big sticky Danish variety. Have read Rosie Meadows Regrets - fab book. Love Jill Mansell and Chris Manby too (Girl Meets Ape), Marian Keyes is cool - loved Watermelon. Freya North writes about sisters Pip, Fen and can't remember the other one but they're very good books. Fiona Walker's quit good too - more of a glamourous chick lit tho. Yeah I alway hated maths at school and I always seem to end up doing a job where maths is concerned somewhere. I worked ata private school in Notts and ended up helping the accounts dept, worked for credit ref agency before that and had to deal with calculating commission and expenses for account managers and reps!!! Anyway gotta crack on - doing the remittances now - prefer people paying me than me paying them!!! Have a nice time and kick back and relax - you deserve it. Catch you later Love Sami xx

Hi Karen Anti-snoring jars indeed!!! And yes, probably the same place I'd want to shove them. We tried everything from spraying stuff in the throat to rings on the nose and none of them worked. The mouth guard has to a certain extent but there are nights when I can still hear him through the ear plugs - now I just elbow him in the ribs and tell him to turn over though! I didn't sleep very well last night - thik like you was overtired by the time I got to bed. But I don't feel too bad this morning. Am at work and catching up on the accounts, once I've done that think I'll catch up on the sleep I love chick lit - Freya North, Erica James, Jenny Colgan are all really good and can recommend them especially Freya North. Am having another good day today - that makes eight in a row so I'm getting to the point where the more ggood days I have the less likely I feel I am to have a bad day which puts me in a more positive mood before I've even woken up! Hope you managed to get a more restful nights sleep and feel more revived today. And by the way, the kind words were honest feelings - if the SAH has taught me one thing it is to tell people what I think about them as I might not get another chance Catch you later Take care Sami xx

Hi Karen Have a nice relaxing bath and use some lavender drops on your pillow if you have some. Personally I don't the smell but its brilliant when I need to get to sleep. Make sure you do get your rest cos otherwise you're not going to know if the tablets are working. I've had another really good day and feel that I can remain positive now and beat the depression when it raises its ugly head because the good days are outweighing the bad now. So long as I remember that I have good days then the bad days will get less and less and so long as I don't punish myself for having a bad day I'll cope easier. My daughter and I have decided that every night when she goes to bed we're going to have a 15 minute cuddle to settle her down - normally she goes upstairs and falls asleep reading or watching a dvd - so that will relax me ready for my bed a couple of hours later too. Take very good care of yourself Karen because you are an inspiring, amazing woman. Speak tomorrow Love Sami xxx

Hi Karen Yeah I always thought the separate bedrooms thing was a bit drastic when I was younger too but we ended up like that about five years ago cos Pauls' snoring was so bad. I wear ear plugs and he wears the mouoth guard that he got from the dentist but he puffs and blows too. he was snoozing on the sofa on Saturday afternoon and me and his mum, who had popped round to see how I was, looked at each other and laughed. I should imagine the lack of sleep has a lot to do with your dizziness - that could also have something to do with thyroid activity. My best friend has an over active one and she was losing weight at an alarming rate, having dizzy spells and her hair was falling out but since they've given her medication she's ok. Surely the housework can wait woman - you tell me off for not resting and listening to my body and I do recall you saying that you really should take your own advice!! So do it. The housework will still be there in the morning and the world will not stop turning if you don't do it today!! My house is always the same after the weekend but I just tell my daughter that if she doesn't a) pick her things up from the front room and tidy her room then I'll go in with a big black bin liner and chuck the whole lot away. Its amazing how quickly things get put away. Get some resst before you even think of doing any house work!!! Catch you later Take care of yourself - you are more important than a tidy house Lots of love Sami xxx

Hi I sometimes get that - I'm laying there just dozing off and my legs will suddenly jump of their own accord and I sometimes feel a heavy pressure in my knees - I had all of this before the SAH - but its still annoying. Paul and I decided to swap sides of the bed as i keep slinging my right leg out of the bed and hitting the wooden frame so I have bruises up the back of one leg. I don't like sleeping nearest the door and thats what swapping sides meant - but you know? I had lovely nights sleep and even had a normal dream for once!!! Paul said he had a really good nights sleep too without the mouthpiece he has to wear for snoring too - and he didn't wake me up once!!! I know where I'm sleeping tonight!! Have a nice lazy day today sweetie. Catch you later when you've returned from nod Sami xxx

Hi Karen Well, I watched The Wild on Friday night (animated thing about a lion!) and we had pizza and ice cream (not together!!). It was lovely and I even resisted having a couple of drinks cos I didn't really feel like it. This weekend has been the best since I was discharged from hospital after be re-admitted in Nottingham. I woke up Saturday morning and felt completely different to how I had done the previous weekends. So far so good today - slight headache at the back, but the water/fluid drinking really is helping. I went out into the city centre on Saturday night with a couple of friends, my step-daughters and their friends to celebrate my step-daughter's 19th and managed to stay out until 12.30 when Paul came to pick us up. Sunday I felt headachey but no more than normal after a night out. Sunday we went to watch the second half of a football match that the team Paul manage's were playing and then into the pub for a couple of drinks. I went to bed for a couple of hours in the afternoon and had a bath and a massage before bed. So all in all the best weekend yet. Today I feel fine so this will be a week without a really bad day. Perhaps I can finally accept what has happened, accept that I can't change it and deal with the ups and downs a bit more. I feel that I'm lucky in so much as I haven't lost anything to the SAH. Physically I'm recovered and the only side affects are headaches and tiredness, I have gained though - I'm now closer to my dad than I have ever been (always been close to my mum), I have fallen in love with my husband all over and vice versa, I have realised how much I really do mean to my friends and I have learnt that my daughter is a very strong, independent, individual, amazing young lady at the age of nine. Speak later Sami xxx

Hi Karen I didn't have any seizures during or since and it is one of the things that terrifies me too. I feel the same about the anti-deps - its a last resort. When I'm having days like I have had this week then I doubt I'll ever need them but then on the days that I feel so low and down theres no way out I'd be prepared to take anything to feel better. I'm all for the counselling first too though. I'd rather vent my spleen on someone qualified to handle it and advise me what to do about it. Grey rainy days like today don't really help matters though when you're trying to keep yourself upbeat. As I haven't suffered any physical side affects apart from headaches, its hard for me to understand why I get depressed and anxious some days to the point where all I want to do is cry, scream and lash out. Paul is thinking of getting me a punch bag to put in the garage for when I have days like that so I can get rid of the frustration and anger. I can see why people turn to alcohol and drugs to cope with situations they can't get help with too. I know I feel more relaxed and less anxious when I've had a couple of drinks . Glad the Doc has made you feel better though, set you up for a good weekend. I'm determined that I am not going to let this weekend be ruled by depression so I'm trying my upmost to stay upbeat and just tell myself that yes, I had an operation and the headaches are a side affect and will wear off soon. Having a DVD and Pizza night with my daughter and step daughter tonight so lord only knows what I'm going to end up watching!!! Have a good weekend everyone, I'll try and pop in over the course but I don't normally get the chance. Love to one and all Sami xxxxx

Hi Karen Glad to know that your Doc has helped and has gone someway to easing your conscience. Was it the anti-deps that caused your seizures last time? I'm determined not to have to go down the anti-dep route as I don't want to rely on anything but me to get me better and then I've heard so many things about side effects and things. My burning question is did we all suffer from head aches before the SAH? On the day of mine I woke with a headache and it lasted all day - I put it down to lack of coffee as I got headaches if I didn't have a coffee in the morning. Anyway turned out to be wrong didn't it !!!!! Take care Sami xxx

Hi All Sorry to hear that the headaches have gotten bad again Andy, hope you can get them sorted soon. As far as ironing is concerned - my husband does it cos I can't stand it. I do the house work (ie hoovering, polishing, tidying, washing, drying) and Paul does the ironing and the cooking. I'm having a good day today and I do believe that it has a lot to do with the amounts of water I'm drinking as well as waking up thinking about something other than how I'm gonna feel today!!! Hope everyone's day improves. You at the Docs today Karen? If so, let us know how it went. Speak later Sami xxx

Hi Annie Glad you are feeling better. I've found that the 2 to 3 litres of water a day thing helps a lot not only with my headaches but my general mood. I've had four good days on the bounce now and don't feel anxious about the weekend like I normally do. All the love right back at ya baby!!! Sami xxxx

Hya Yeah somethig to do with the lack of wasps is the reason for the daddylong legs plague. Still so far so good today - have had the odd stabbing pain but nothing like I normally do. I drink the Isotonic drinks too - Tesco do a lovely version but yeah water is certainly cheaper when you're having to drink 2 litres a day of non caffeine liquid - if it was coffee I had to drink I'd be laughing. I've cut down to about two or three cups a day whereas before I'd be having about 5 or 6 a day. Anyway am going for a well earned rest as I've not had one yet today and don't want to tempt fate!! Catch you later - have fun with the hoover!!! Take care Sami xxx

Hya What's happened to our lives indeed!! Still head free and drinking plenty of water - the down side being that I am literally up every five minutes on the loo - so keeping the headaches at bay and keeping fit too!!! Have fun with that hoover - and you go steady now - don't want you getting too excited at the prospect of housework!!! Take care and speak soon Sami xxcx

Hi I know what you mean about how you feel when you wake tends to set the rest of your day but I try not to wake thinking about how i feel more about how much longer I have in bed and what the weather is like today. So far so good today - infact with the absence of a headache still, I feel normal. Paul has just said that the vibe he's getting from me is a good one as I feel positive and am glowing at the moment. I recevied a few self help books/leaflets through the post today so am going to have a read through those in a little while. I'm gearing myself up for the weekend and hoping that I can hold onto the positive feelings that I have now. I'm supposed to be going out for a couple of hours with friends on Saturday night to celebrate my step daughters 18th birthday - it'll give me something to aim for and look forward to. Glad that Andy is OK and hopefully will feel well enough to be back chatting soon. And a tip for the ironing - let the kids that are old enough iron their own!!! Take care and don't do too much Sami xxxx

Morning, I've been told that they'll scan me to check the coils but I have no idea as I've not heard anything. Not sure I want an Angio to check them - I'm pretty sure they said they'd check via a scan. They said 6 months, 12 months and then 18 months. Make sure you get plenty of rest today if you're feeling tired Karen. I had a lovely relaxing bath again last night and Lavender oil burning in the bedroom for about half an hour before bedtime. I had a very goods night sleep last night and woke up feeling pretty 'normal' - only a slight cotton wool feeling around the ears - no headache as yet but I'm sure it will come. I've got to make sure I drink at least two litres of water again today which I did yesterday and it helped loads. Catch you later if you're feeling up to it Karen. Hya to everyone else on here - you OK Andy P? Love Sami xxxx

Hi All Just thought I'd let you know that I have an appointment with a Nurse Practitioner in Mental Health on Wednesday 4th October at 3pm. This appointment has come through quicker than my follow up appointment from the hospital. How long did you guys have to wait before you got your first follow up out patient appointments? I know that I am to have 3 more scans in the next 18 months to make sure that the coils haven't settled too much but I have no ida when or where!!! Hope everyone is OK - not heard from you for a while Andy P since you sent me all that fab information. Anyway am off now so I'll catch up soon Take care Love Sami xxxx

Hi Annie Its nice to have yet another friend through this wonderful site. Hope the rest of your holiday is fantastic. Sami xxxx

Hi David I had my SAH whilst on holiday this year. Ironically enough we very nearly went to Italy but ended up in Devon as we needed to ensure that we were only a fairly short journey from our business. I'm only five weeks into my recovery and also had the coiling. I've been lucky (and I use that word lightly) enough not to have suffered any lastin physical side effects. Although I know that I am doing remarkably well I'm also finding the fatigue and headaches frustrating at this point so I can only imagine how you're feeling a year on - though I can't imagine the tribunal and effort that has taken can't have helped much. To be able to have ran a marathon tho is amazing - at the mo I just about have the energy to run the bath As I've been told many a time by the fantastic guys on here - listen to your body and rest when you can. I sometimes see that glint at the end of the tunnel too and so long as I keep seeing it, it doesn't matter how many days of back to basics there are, just knowing that the glint of normality exists is enough to keep me going and determined that I will get better emotionally and that I can pace myself enough for the fatigue not to be so harsh. Hang in there with us all and you'll be fine Sami xxxx

Hi Annie Nice to meet you. I only know from what I've read is that although we are safe to fly, the pressure from the air thinness might affect blood pressure and if you suffer from headaches when flying they could be worse. I have no idea whether its a threat. My Doc told me I was safe to fly after three months. Sorry I can't be of any further help - maybe some one out there knows

Hi Karen Thanks for understanding. I think sometimes I do expect too much of myself at this stage because physically I'm OK. Just gonna take it easy tonight and appreciate the finer things in life - ie get home feed the ducks, feed us and then bath He is lovely and I tell him so frequently but I think he finds it hard to believe when I feel low. He's been my rock throughout all of this. Anyway I'm off home now (as I do this from work during the week) I've not done too much before you and Andy tell me off!! If you're there Andy, hope all is OK with you and we'll speak soon. I'll pick your message up tomorrow Karen so no rush from your side. Have a good evening and don't let Eastenders get yow down too much!!! Love Sami xxxxx

Hi Karen Not too bad today just heady and tired. Think yesterday was the result of doing too much on Sunday without a rest. Will be struggling to make tonight to be honest but we must arrange another night when we're all feeling up to it. I'd feel tonnes better if I didn't wake with the headache every time - I've tried to lay off the paracetamol today to see if they're partly to blame like the codeine was - am going to have a nice radox mood enhancing bath and a head massage courtesy of my husband later. Just a quick question - a bit nosey but would help - how did your hubby cope with your SAH? My hubby feels that he's not qualified to help/doing enough etc I've told him that he's doing his best and it helps when he hugs me etc but I know he finds it as stressful as I do depressing some days. Take care Sami xxx