melbury

Thanks Caz, he is now trying gluten and wheat free diet to see if that helps, has already tried lactose free, but that didn't make any difference. The problem wasn't caused by any medication because he wasn't given any after he left hospital (he had a non-aneurysmal bleed). Glad to hear you are getting on well. All the best, Mel x

Welcome to the site Zoe, sorry to hear your news. You are definitely in the right place here; wonderful people who give terrific support and keep you sane. When my husband suffered his SAH, it was such a relief to come on here and be able to communicate with people who really new what was happening.

Caz, That is wonderful news - all the best!

Hello to you all, I haven't been posting for a while but do pop onto the site now and then to keep an eye on everyone! My OH is still not back at work, he is no better, if anything his memory is deteriorating - he just can't remember words and names. Is this normal? Also he still gets very dizzy and nearly falls over if he puts his head at certain angles. It is all very frustrating, I just want him back the way he was:frown: He also has this terrible problem with his gut/digestive system that they can't seem to sort out and this has come about since the SAH. Sorry to moan so much, it just all gets me down sometimes.

My husband has had dizzy/balance problems since his SAH last July and if anything it is getting worse. It is especially bad when he tries to get out of bed. He gets to a sitting position and then usually falls backwards and when he manages to get stand up always sways about quite a bit. Certainly cannot leap out of bed anymore! The doctor has tried him on a couple of different tablets, but they don't seem to help at all. As mentioned on another thread, I am so worried about him going back to work because he does quite heavy manual work that involves going up ladders, using electric saws, etc, etc and I know he just couldn't cope with it.

Does anyone else suffer from being very emotional post SAH? My husband's personality has changed so much since the SAH - he is very emotional and gets upset at the drop of a hat, even crying sometimes. Also he has no patience doing silly little things, for example like trying to open a packet of biscuits. Even nearly six months down the line he is still very dizzy and has no energy, yet is going to have return to work quite soon. It all seems very unfair to me, anyone who has suffered something as traumatic as a brain haemorrhage should be allowed at least a year off and get some kind of special sick pay. As many people on here have said, just because someone looks OK doesn't mean that they are back to normal.

I am hoping that I can pick your brains! My husband saw the doctor on 23rd December and he has been signed off for a further two months. Does anyone know what the situation is with sick pay?? He is currently on half pay from work, but this will stop shortly and then presumably he will get SSP for a while, but my understanding is that this is only for a maximum of 28 weeks from when he was first ill. He will actually be over the 28 week limit by the time this sick note runs out. I don't know what we are supposed to do then:frown: Would be grateful for any advice from those of you who are in/or have been in a similar situation. Many thanks, Mel

That is brilliant news, all the best.

My husband suffered a non-aneurysmal SAH on 27th July 2009 and I think that I am more scared of it happening again than he is.:redface: Neither of us had every heard of a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage before.

I have just come on here for a rant:mad1: I phoned the doctors surgery this morning and explained that my husband's sick note runs out today and could he please have another one and told the receptionist what the problem was etc. She said she would get one of the doctors to write him a new note and I could collect it this afternoon. However, when I went to pick it up this afternoon I was told that the doctor she had asked was not prepared to write a note because he didn't know anything about my husband - even though it was this bl****y doctor who initially referred him to a specialist about his bad shoulder! So the upshot is that we have to wait until next Monday when the other doctor gets back from holiday and then arrange to see him. I mean don't they actually read the letters that are scanned onto your personal file from consultants? We have a doctors practice where you don't actually have a specific doctor, you just basically see anybody and I don't really like any of them. I am just so MAD, what is wrong with the world when shirkers and wastrels can get written off for next to nothing and many even live very comfortably on state benefits and yet people who are genuinely unwell get the third degree and are made to feel like they are trying to con the system. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!! Out of interest, what can you do if a doctor just refuses to give you a new certificate? Do people have any rights at all in this situation? Sorry to rant so much, I just want my husband to be better. It has been bad enough for the past two years that he can't speak, never mind all of this grief:cryin:

My husband's sick note runs out again this Wednesday, so will undoubtedly be made to feel like a criminal asking for another one.

Totally agree with this. My OH never suffered from dizziness before his SAH, but now nearly four months on he is still very dizzy. As mentioned in my earlier post, the neurologist just brushed it aside and said it had nothing to do with the SAH:confused: These experts just don't have to live with these things themselves. I think it is totally wrong that people are made to feel like shirkers.

Welcome Ali, This site is wonderful, everyone on here helped me so much when I just felt so alone and terrified. I know it is so frightening being the partner of the person who suffers the SAH because you just feel so helpless. All the best and hope everything is OK. Mel x

Got the result of my husband's MRI scan today and it was all clear, thank goodness. The neurologist didn't even mention seeing him again, just said the scan was normal, so obvioulsy that is that:confused: My husband was telling me that he had been quite worried that he may have Alzheimers because he keeps forgetting words and why he has gone to a certain cupboard, room, etc. I told hiim that from what I have read on this site, those symptoms of being forgetful are quite usual. They are aren't they? He is now three months on from the SAH, but still not nearly well enough to return to work. I worry because his job is manual and involves so much heavy work and lifting and there is no way he could do it. He still gets so dizzy and tires very easily. Had to go back to the doctors again this week because one side of his face swelled up tremendously from his ear down to his neck. He could barely open his mouth and couldn't eat for a couple of days. Thank goodness the antibiotics seem to have reduced the swelling, but he says it still hurts. Just seems to be one thing after another. Sorry to moan, but I know you all understand. Mel x P.S. I have my gastroscopy end of next week - absolutely terrified, but I am a coward!!!!!

This is nothing compared to an SAH, but I haven't been feeling well since my husband had his haemorrhage. Went to see a gastroenterologist today because every single night I wake up feeling very sick and sometimes just can't get back sleep. He says I have to have a gastroscopy because he thinks it could be an ulcer:shock: Just too much stress!!! It never rains but it pours eh?

Just to wish you all the best John. I haven't suffered an SAH myself, it was my husband, but I usually drop in here every day or so because everyone is so kind and reassuring and ironically I think it is me that needs that more than my husband:redface:

Had a copy of the letter the consultant sent to GP yesterday and he clearly states that in his opinion the dizzy problem is due inner ear and nothing at all to do with the SAH, just sheeer coincidence. Took OH for his MRI scan this afternoon so will have to wait and see if that shows anything - hopefully not. Does anybody know, what is the difference between a CT scan and an MRI scan? Is one better than the other?

We sent off the form to notify DVLA about my husband's non-aneurysm SAH about a month ago, but haven't heard a word from them. I tried to phone today but couldn't get through, just a message saying they are snowed under with calls and having problems with their computer system. The whole thing seems a bit hit and miss to me:biggrin: especially as you are allowed to continue driving until they get back to you.

We had the long awaited appointment with the neurologist yesterday - we had such high hopes, but came away feeling very despondent. We were really hoping for some answers to the various health issues that have arisen since the SAH, but the consultant just didn't seem to listen, it was so frustrating, I felt that I knew more about it all than he did. He tried to tell us that my husband's extreme dizziness is nothing to do with the SAH, more likely some form of vertigo and the fact that it only started since the SAH is just a coincidence:shocked: I think that is total rubbish, just about everything I have read mentions dizziness as a problem post-SAH As for the other things, he just brushed them aside saying that in his experience he had never heard of an SAH causing these symptoms. I really felt like saying to him that as he had never actually experienced an SAH himself only via text books, how could he know what it feels like? It just made me so mad and it was such a disappointment. We had been anxiously awaiting this to try and get some positive answers, but came away no wiser. My husband said he almost felt that it was being implied he was a shirker! Sorry to moan so much, but just feel really let down.

We didn't find out that my husband had suffered an SAH until 10 days after the event. Turns out that he had the SAH early in the early morning and then went into hospital that afternoon for an operation on his shoulder, which he refused to cancel:crazy: Just kept getting worse following the op and ended up back in hospital at the end of the next week, absolute shock. I find that now I cry at the drop of a hat, I just feel so emotional about everything. It is bad enough that he hasn't been able to speak for over two years following an op to remove burst appendix (obviously something happened when they anaesthetised him), but I never expected this.

My husband was just the same, blood pressure not really an issue before the SAH and then BANG something went pop in his head and that was it. Ever since the SAH his blood pressure is remaining consistently good on the low side, it is almost as if something had been building up, went pop, and now blood pressure is OK. He is still not back to anything like normal though. Cannot get out of bed without falling back dizzy and has no energy at all even though we are 10 weeks on. I get really upset because people can't understand why he isn't going back to work yet, but he just isn't well enough. His continual burping problem is driving us both nuts, it is totally involuntary and goes on for ages - absolutely awful! Seeing neurologist this week and hope to get some answers on how long recovery will be and why he is getting some strange things happening. It seems that the recovery is just as long whether or not you need surgery, the fact that you have had a bleed seems to cause the same amount of damage - am I right?

So sorry Bessie, please try and keep having positive thoughts. All the best, Mel x

That sounds very positive, so fingers crossed. All the best to you both. Mel x

I just wondered if any of you have heard if this, or indeed suffered from it yourselves: Since my husband's SAH, every single day he has the most terrible episodes of burping - I mean really uncontrollable and from deep down, not just the type of burp when you have finished a meal. This can go on for half an hour or more and leaves him feeling quite sick. We just cannot understand why he should have what is basically a digestive type problem following the brain haemorrhage. He gets really embarrassed about it and of course when out in the garden it sounds absolutely awful. Any ideas? Many thanks.

I suppose we all know deep down that smoking is not good for us. However, having said that, I can honestly say that I have never felt so unwell in my life as I have since quitting two years ago. I think it is very sensible to never start smoking, but having been a long-term smoker (36 years) can't really say that I feel any benefit at all from giving up. I came very very close to starting again when my husband had his SAH 7 weeks ago, but managed to resist. My husband stopped smoking 18 years ago and yet didn't mind me still smoking. I only quit to prove to him and my son that I could actually do it - no gum, patches, drugs or anything like that - just cold turkey! Also of course I had promised myself that one day I would stop, it is just incredible how fast the years go by and that promise gets harder to keep:biggrin: