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Hello I am Fiona


FionaH

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Hi everyone

I had my SAH 3 weeks ago tomorrow and the operation on February 22nd.

I had been out ofHDU for nearly week.

Mostly I feel OKish not counting the constant headache and tiredness. I am really glad I found this site, the nurses were lovely but I was discharged with tablets and little information. I have 2 daughters, 5 and 3 so I am doing my best to rest as much as I can and getting a lot of help from my husband and family and friends.

I look forward to getting to know you all and hopefully being able to read comfortably for longer than 10 minutes at a time.

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wow fiona, well done on finding us & even more so at being able to post at 3 weeks!

rest & fluids are the most important things to aid you recovery, don't' try to slot back into 'normal' life & rest when you need to. Make sure people know that you need to rest including your children (I ahve an active almost 5 year old who can't grasp this still). Accept help wherever it comes from & if you need to ask anything come on here & share. It might also be good to contact Headway for the future as they can help with rehab sessions but it's very very early days for you.

take care hon & welcome to the BTG family xxx

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Welcome to BTG Fiona, you will learn plenty of things from here..

Were you in the Royal Hallamshire and under Mr Patel?

There are already 3 of us, as far as I know, on here who were, and each of us were given little or no information.

You are very early on in your recovery, just take one step at a time and very slowly. Recovery can take a long time.

Drink plenty of water, it actually does help with the headaches.

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3 week is very early, as the others say get lots of rest and don't expect too much yet. The brain needs lots of time to recover. All those connections in our brains need to be restored and that takes lots of rest and time. Too much stimulation is exhausting: TV, lights, too many people talking, loud noises. Do what you can to rest and let your family help you.

Sandi K. Xox

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Hi Fiona

Welcome to the site and welcome to the family.

Three weeks is very early on so firstly, very well done for being able to find us, join and post. The headaches and tiredness are perfectly normal at this stage, like the others have said, at this stage plenty of rest and fluids are paramount. Don't be afraif to let family and friends know that you're no where near full fitness just because you may look well from the outside.

Most importantly don't feel guilty - I know a lot of SAHers recovering go through the guilt and anger stage - mine was overwhelming. The best bit of advice is it's a long road to recovery but you're allowed to make as many pit stops along the way as you need to - having a good sense of humour helps too:lol:

We're all here for you in any way that you need us so feel free to ask questions, cry, laugh and moan - we all have the tee-shirts :wink:

Looking forward to getting to know you more

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Welcome Fiona

You really are doing very well to be posting so soon after your discharge from hospital. I also was treated at Sheffield so I fully understand when you say you received excellent nursing care whilst in the hospital but little or no information as to what to expect during your rehab at home. Everyone on here knows how you are feeling at the moment so don't feel alone. I wish you well in your continued recovery.

Trish x

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Hi Fiona,

A warm welcome to BTG which I'm sure you will find an invaluable place to get advice and understanding.

This all happened very recently for you, so you are doing well to have found us and posted already - the 10 min reading span will improve in due course.

I live just outside Sheffield and assume you were in the Hallamshire too.

I'm glad you have family and friends to help out - I found that invaluable in the early days - in fact I could do with a bit now - over 2 years on!!

Take care and hope to hear from you again in due course,

Sarah

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Hello and welcome! Gosh, at 3 weeks I was still in hospital.... :) You are doing very well to come on here and join us but don't overdo it - and I'm the Queen of "overdoing it" so I know what I'm talking about lol.

When I was so early on in my recovery I found it very interesting to read about other people's stories, who had gone through the same thing. I hope we can comfort you in the same way! However, you MUST remember to drink your 3 litres of water a day (I use a lot of sugar-free squash) and REST whenever you can. Your brain is still very fragile and by overdoing it you will just delay recovery.

Did you get the Brain and Spine Foundation booklet on SAH? I found it very interesting and made my family read it too. You can download it from their website or look at it online. There are also lots of interesting fact sheets on the Stroke Association website about life after stroke (an SAH is a haemorrhagic stroke). And if you are interested, I charted my recovery on my blog - all the posts relevant to my SAH are here.

Take care!

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Hi Fiona,

Welcome! I have only just discovered BTG myself, and I am so glad I did!

The fluids and rest-thing that has been mentioned by all the others seems to be the most important.

BTG and the fact that all people on here KNOW what it's like is comforting, a knowledge-database and increases my understanding of myself.

Hope it brings the same for you!

Good luck, and talk to you soon!

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Wow thank you for all the replies!

Yes I was in Nuro HDU at The Hallamshire under Mr Patel. He was was excellent (although I didn't really need to know the fact I had a 50/50 chance before surgery to be honest!) I am from Sheffield so I didn't have to travel very far at least.

I have read the SAH booklet and found it very helpful:-D

I am currently coming towards the end of my counselling diploma so this couldn't have come at a worse time time really, but then when is is a good time to have a SAH?! I didn't know it was a type of stroke, that is very interesting.

I am a bit addicted to the internet so I search it for info on everything but I am finding it hard to concentrate for any length of time.

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Hello Fiona and welcome :-D

A good book to read once your able to is ..... A Dented Image by Alison Wertheimer

(you can get it off Amazon) it is full of personal journeys of recovery from Subarachnoid Haemorrhage.

Be kind to yourself over the coming months and remember 'baby steps' all the way. Good luck and looking forward to geting to know you more x

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Hi Fiona

Welcome to BTG and a big welcome to the family x x 3 weeks in and you are posting that is fantastic x Headaches and fatigue are very normal at your stage x I have a 4 year old (1 1/2 at the time I had my bleed) and it is VERY hard work trying to look after yourself and little ones x x rest when you can x x its fantastic that you have family and friend support x x

look forward to hearing more from you in the future x

love

donna

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Hi Fiona,

Welcome to the site, this is great that you have found the site early on. I found it about fours months down the line. Having young children and being ill is no easy feat!! I have four , so i know how hard this can be for you to get rest and quiet. But you need this to recover. Get as much help as you can . This is a long road, it took me along time to get that, but once you do it becomes abit easier. Take care and rest and drink plenty of water as this helps with the headaches. I found seeing my gp every week for the 1st few months helped alot.

Take care Rhiann xxxxx

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Hi Fiona

"Welcome to the big BTG family!"

This site is a god-send for all of us, thanks to Karen and her team.

You can ask anything you like, and if you are unsure about posting directly on the main forums you can always use the private message to send a query to one of us.

Ditto what the others have said re.early days, baby steps, 3 litres of water, resting as much as you can, and getting help from friends & family to allow periods of rest.

I look forward to learning more about you, take care

Kel x

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Hi am about 5 ish miles away from you and my brother also lives in sheffield, like you i was under Mr Patel (mmm 50/50 chances was the same for me, massive bleed apparently) and Stuart Coley (he was lovely and very kind).

Brilliant how soon you got on the internet WOW it took me a long time to be able to concentrate well done you...just dont overdo it:-D.

I have two children a very hyperactive 6 year old boy and a very laid back 13years old which helps sometimes and a gorgeous wire fox terrier who know when its time to rest and boy does he tell me hes brilliant....not forgetting my hubby:lol:.

Take care and rest up

Love luck and laughter

Michelle C

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Hello Fiona! A big and warm welcome to BTG!!! Good for you for being able to find us so quickly - well done :biggrin:

Ditto on what all the others have said regarding recovery. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Sending you hugs and healing energy from across the pond (US),

Carolyn

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Welcome Fiona and well done for posting so soon. Having little information on discharge seems to be the norm but I have just received an invitation to a "road to recovery" course which is being run by the BH support group. It's on for 4 weeks and the neuro surgeon, psychologist and welfare officer are all taking part. I don't know whether there will be anything like this in your area - I will ask tomorrow night and let you know. Take care - Jan x

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