Helenm

Ah, very interesting - I will use your link and print this info off to take into the docs. Maybe this is all the problem is and can be easily fixed. Thanks.

sorry, meant to add that I am terrified of coming off the meds at the moment. I cannot face the thought of having another major seizure. My medical neuro consultant said she would consider withdrawing the meds in about a year - so that would be around Nov/Dec. I have only just got my driving licence back, and got back to work (only 3 days, but it's something) - so only just beginning to feel like I am getting my life back. It's never going to be like it was, I'm OK with that, but would be devasted if it all starts unravelling again. So glad we have somewhere like this to connect with people who understand and know how we feel. xxx

Thank you Karen - that's very helpful. I don't have an SAH nurse and as my recent MRIs have been better and better the consultant doesn't want another one for about a year. I have to go and see a new GP on Friday as my lovely old one retired in June. I will probably have to start right at the beginning with her, but at least now I have 'spoken' to you I have a place to start. You are all a brilliant source of support and advice - as always - thank you x;-)

OK - now you've got me wondering!! I was put on phenytoin to start with - told is was a kind of 'catch-all' drug, but long term effects were not nice (esp for women), so I then had a change-over to Lamotrigine which took about 8 weeks - now take 100mg twice a day. Benefits of this are that I don't feel as much like a zombie as I did on the phenytoin. I was told that I would be on the lamotrigine for at least a year, but it was more as a precaution. I have not had any seizures (excepting these, if that's what they are) since the event itself. - and they only happen at night (as far as we can tell!) However, I have not had a blood test, to check levels - or anything else for that matter - since leaving hospital 9 months ago!!! Do they check for how much or how little there is in your bloodstream then? I am booked to see the GP on Friday - guess this is one of the things I will ask her to arrange for me.

Hi all, not been on here for quite a while - hope everyone is doing OK. I had an SAH in August, and had three bad seizures at that time. I did not need surgery and have so far made a very good recovery. Since changing my meds to Lamotrigine my hubby has noticed that if I am very tired or stressed that I shake/tremor several times during the night. It doesn't wake me up and I have no recollection in the morning, but it does wake him. He says it is like I am having a mini seizure. Can anyone throw any light on this? I know you can get post SAH epilepsy, but I have not heard of anything like this that only happens at night. :confused:

Hi all Pre SAH I was Senior Administrative Secretary at a private girls' school. I worked 9am - 2.30pm during term time only. My consultant has finally agreed to support my return to work in the new year, but she will only allow 2 days per week for at least the first two months and then see how I cope with that before adding more days. With this timescale it could be the end of the school year in July before I am back up to full speed (fingers x'd I get that far). I have been very lucky and received my full pay for the last four months whilst on sick leave & they have employed a temp to cover my duties. Now I will hopefully be going back two days a week, spaced out to try and avoid over-tiredness. What I would like to know is where I stand from a financial point of view - are they only going to pay me for the two days I can work now or what? Does anyone know what the legal standpoint here is? My contract doesn't mention this eventuality and all the sites I been on trying to find out give vague and sometimes conflicting info.:confused:

Hi Karen I sleep better now than before, but that maybe the meds - I am on Phenytoin, & soon to be changed to something else ( but can't remember what the consultant said yesterday - lol!) - I don't seem to dream much at all; certainly have no recollection/bits of remembered drreams on waking like before - again could be the meds. I do find I am better during the day if I keep to a regular sleep pattern, ie going to bed and waking the same times each day. I don't have naps in the day now, although sometimes I would probably benefit from doing so. If I have been out and dealt with a lot of people say - ie going over to a friends for supper & the kids are all being kids and there is lots of chat etc - I do find I need to come home and be very quiet, in the dark and left alone for quite a while to get over it. It's like there is only some much info my brain is prepared to process before it shuts down. Hope this is of some help, Helen. x

Thank you all so much for your support and lovely words of encouragement. It is really scary when you behave in a way you don't recognise as 'you' - but it is good to know that you have all experienced similar outbursts and to know that if ( or more likely when) it happens again I just need to go with the flow and not get too worried about it. Love to you all Helen xx

Hi all, I haven't been on here in a while but I would appreciate some support from friends on here that are maybe a bit further down the recovery road than me. As you are all familiar with, we get good days and bad ones, right? OK, I'm used to that and Tuesday this week was a 'bad day' - I was very tired and did very little all day in the hope that I would feel better by the following day. When my husband came home from work that evening he happened to say a couple of things that I took the wrong way (definitely me being over sensitive - my hubby has been a tower of strength and support) and that started me off crying - the trouble was I couldn't stop; really couldn't stop - complete meltdown. I cried for the best part of 4 hours and I was so so ANGRY!!!! I ranted and raved about how unfair it all was etc etc. The thing that frightened me the most was that I am not given to outbursts of self-pity and I hate that kind of negative emotion. I know anger is not right, I should be grateful - I am grateful & thank God every day for the life I have been given back - so where had all this anger come from? It came completely out of the blue. It left me completely emotionally drained, a bit embarassed and totally freaked out. I don't behave like this. It felt like I had been invaded by another person - one that I didn't know and didn't recognise. I am hoping that someone on here will recognise this as 'normal' and reassure me that I am not going mad....................

My non-anuerysm SAH was on 22nd August 2009,

Thanks Ann xx

Hi all I don't feel anything like able to drive right now but I am interested to read everyones comments, especially about the insurance aspect. I had non-aneurysm SAH and I was told by one of the consultants that I had to surrender my licence - which has been done. However, I'm now a bit confused, it seems that maybe I didn't have to - although I had three seizures when it happened, so would this be the reason I had to surrender it?

Hi Thanks to all of the above for your very warm welcome. I was directed to your site by my best friend, who happens to be an Occupational Health Practitioner - so she knew all about you and suggested I might find good advice and support here - she was absolutely right. I look forward to more discussions as time goes on. xx

Hi everybody, Recently sent details of what happened to me to Chris and he suggested I introduced myself to you all. I am 45 and I live in Oxfordshire, in a very pretty village, with my husband, my nine year old daughter and 18 yr old son. I also have an older daughter who is now living and working in London. I work as a Senior Administrator in the admin office of a private girls' school. My SAH happened very recently, on the 22nd August 2009. There was hardly any warning at all and I didn't suffer many of the symptoms other people have described. The day started normally, I felt absolutely fine. I took my youngest daughter into town in the morning to get new school uniform and we had a very nice girly time. We went for lunch and then made our way home. We had been invited to a BBQ later that afternoon and when I got back my husband asked whether I had remembered to get him some gluten-free burgers and sausages. I had forgotten, so we decided that I would nip to Sainsburys whilst he showered. Still felt fine and had no indication of what was about to happen. On the way driving back to the village the ends of three of my fingers on my left hand went numb. I thought it was a bit odd, but because it only lasted a few seconds I didn't think any more about it. As I pulled onto the drive about 10 minutes later my whole hand went numb and I had pins and needles spreading up my left arm, with an incredible amount of heat, together with a lot of excessive saliva in my mouth. I realised something was very wrong and managed to get indoors and call my husband. By then the sensations had gone again. He told me to sit down for a while and he would make a cup of tea and call the doctor. However, as he came back in from the kitchen, the horrible sensations had come back and he could see the left side of my face had dropped and I was slurring my speech. He called an ambulance and ran to get our neighbour. In the minute or so that it took for them to get back I had become unconcious and was slumped in the chair. They pulled me onto the rug and put me in the recovery position. It was whilst they were waiting for the ambulance that I had my first seizure. I had a second seizure on the way to the local hospital and a third seizure whilst I was in A&E. The local hospital decided to induce 'coma' and put me on life-support and I was then transferred to the regional unit at the John Radcliffe. I spent time in ICU and then another 18 days on a neuro ward. When I woke up in ICU I had no speech problems, no headaches, no weakness etc.I had a whole range of tests, CT,MRI, bloods and an angiogram (how grim are they!). They confirmed a bleed but they all came back negative for any cause. It is odd that nothing was found and I am finding it really difficult to come to terms with what happened. I am left with very few problems, short term memory is a bit patchy, I have the concentration span of a goldfish and my left arm gets shaky if I have overdone things. I get very tired and have to sleep most afternoons, but overall not too much to worry about - it could have been so much worse. I have good days and bad days and often get emotional and cry for no real reason. I know I am one of the lucky ones and I thank God for that every day. This is a fantastic site & I would love to hear from any of the members and particularly those who have had similar experiences - ie a bleed with no proven cause - to compare notes. Are you finding it all as confusing as me? :confused: