DeniseV Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Hi, I am very pleased to read the posts on here. Very helpful. I had nasah august 2022. Started with some headache, then really bad headache and spasm in the neck and back muscles. Was lucky to have had an ambulance come out pretty much straight away. I was feeling very sick and lost consciousness whilst on my way to hospital. Was diagnosed in 2 days and spent two weeks in hospital. My main problems were light sensitivity ( unable to look at phones tvs and could not read or focus with my eyes) and was really bothered by noise. Pain was horrendous (head and back). Slowly slowly recovered from most symptoms and felt well enough to start work this January( phased return- complex job). First I was coping well, but a month down the line it's starting to take an effect on me - headaches are back ( need meds) and so tired unable to do anything - just wanting to sleep. I guess my question is 5 month after the incident has anybody felt like their progress went backwards and after starting work again has anybody requested sick leave again. Also, I forgot I started to get brain fog again. Sometimes mid-sentence, I am unsure of what I was talking about. Which causes frustration and sometimes makes me emotional. Hope you all have a good day. with love, Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClareM Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Hi Denise, welcome to BTG. Glad you found us and are finding some of the posts useful. I coming up for 8 years post bleed and have had a lot of changes since the event, mainly with work. Are you back to working your full time hours already? I phased back over several months building up really gradually as I could manage. I have never been able to go back to full time hours, I reduced to 4 days (2, day off then 2) and now am only working 3 days a week. You say your job is complex, it may be that you need to cut hours if that's possible, and give yourself more rest time. I still take it easy on my days off, I know about it if I don't. I think returning to work is often problematic and unless handled well can make you feel like your progress is stalling. Do you have the opportunity to reduce hours at all? Your brain has been injured and may not be able to cope with the complexity of your job for sustained periods of time. I could manage my old job but not the fatigue. Re the brain fog, this still happens to me now if I am tired, it's usually a good indicator that I need to take a break. I do feel for you as you are still fairly early in your recovery and learning your new limitations. I hope you manage to find some ways to make things a bit better. Take good care, Clare xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeniseV Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Thank you Claire for your feedback. Yes, I started phased return. At the moment on 2 and a half days. Fatigue is the biggest issue and then comes the fuzzy brain. It’s just I feel sometimes people judge and they say oh you look well like that means I am well when I am not. And I feel like there are expectations to fullfill as a mother, a wife and obviously at work. I feel like a failure at the moment, especially as my recovery went well up until now. This why it is so good to read some of the feedbacks here and feel like I am not on my own. Although my family and work is supportive I sense that they don’t quite understand the everyday struggles. I will try and see if I can manage, but felt a bit down today as I worked on wed and since Thursd. , Friday and even today can hardly do anything and suffer with headache which obviously affects my family and my ability to spend time with my son. And then also don’t want to sound like a drama queen. Even some doctors question me - oh you have headaches ? Still? Which makes me doubt myself even more. Sorry for the rant. Much love to you all xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Hi Denise Don't doubt yourself. Go easy on yourself. No-one else can fully understand unless they have been through it, or are very close to someone who has been through it. It is very common to have a setback when returning to work - all that extra stimulation has an impact on your brain and you will feel symptoms resurface. Talk to your HR and see if you can reduce or reorganize your hours. Don't add on any more hours until you feel comfortable with what you are doing. My bleed was 7 years ago now but I still remember how hard it was returning to work - the noise and bright lights in an open plan office left me exhausted and fuzzy headed. I had originally been given a phased return plan to be back to full time hours by the end of 4 weeks. I knew this was not achievable and asked to see occupational health who advised I go back with an open ended plan to increase hours as I felt able. My HR person was not happy with this - they said they would go along with it but it was important that I make progress every week. The first week I did 4 hours each on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The second week I upped it to 5 hours a day for the 3 days and the third week upped it to 6 hours a day for the 3 days. I felt absolutely dreadful after 3 weeks of working. I had a meeting with HR every Monday to review how things were going and on that fourth week told them I thought I had gone too quickly and needed to reduce back down to 5 hours a day for a while. I had also been asking from the beginning to move my desk to a quieter darker space but nothing had been done about it. HR seemed exasperated with me and even commented that maybe I'd never be able to do my job. It was ridiculous and all so stressful - I just ended up taking sick leave for another 6 weeks. When I returned I made sure that I stuck to what was comfortable for me. Luckily they backed off and just let me get on with it. I still work successfully for the same company but I never got back to full time hours. I hope your workplace do support you. Make sure you talk to them if you are struggling. Don't just try to soldier on. Take care. X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swishy Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 Hi DeniseV...Welcome to BTG..I think it is nearly impossible for others to understand what a recovering brain feels like...While we all recover differently those of us here know the struggle in one fashion or another which is why reading what others have written is so helpful to us. I am 5 years out and went back to work, probably too early. I worried if I was performing up to my old self, it was stressful. I worked three 8 hour shifts but they were overnights which I think made it all worse. That being said, go slowly, listen to your brain...I think our brain tells us when we over do it and need to sleep or rest or just slow the pace. I am sorry you have some doctors question you in a way that makes you feel badly. You are not a drama queen, just a lady trying to heal and live life My thoughts are with you. xx Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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