New member - JustMandy

[momo]

Welcome to BTG Mandy any questions just ask and someone will reply.

 

You're still quite early in your recovery so take things slowly and rest as much as you need.

 

Pacing yourself is key and it took me a long time to learn that.

Take care.

[Mandy Wright]

Time has been one of the oddest things since my SAH. I would have sworn that I was in hospital for at least two weeks, at the time I left, but it was only just over a week. I had thought that 3-6 months to return to work would drag terribly, but it's 12 weeks on Tuesday since my SAH. The time has gone so quickly. Oddly, while the weekends have continued to fly by, as they did before I was off sick, the weeks have also passed quickly which was a relief in the early days as I missed the company of my other half.

The occupational health advisor for work has come up with a plan for the phased return, starting the week after next. I'm a little scared, although everyone has been good about saying I can take things at my own pace. The thing is though, I have an incentive to complete the return by early June to ensure I keep my full salary. Currently each step on the phased return lasts for a week and that completes in early May so I have a month of leeway if any of the steps proves tricky and I need to stretch it out a bit.

My other half and others continue to say how well I look and and seem to be. I'm keen to prove to every one that I'm "okay" but of course, I have had a SAH and there are still some issues. I want people to understand and not expect too much of me, but I want them to treat me as they did before, too! Oh well, at least I can blame my contrariness on being female!

I had some good news last week. I finally saw an orthoptist privately about the double vision. She was able to confirm that in the 6 weeks since I saw my optician, my divergence had reduced from 35 to 20 degrees. This had a bigger effect on my other half than it did me. I had always had confidence that the problem would resolve with time but he had thought this may have been my lasting legacy following the SAH and that it may never improve. He was smiling like a Cheshire Cat for days!

I did check with my GP about taking Ibuprofen, given the warning about strokes on the data sheet. She was finally able to find the information that stated it was due to the slight increase in risk of clotting, and was happy to state that, provide I stayed on a low dose (less than 600mg) per day there wouldn't be any problems for me. I had previously resisted taking this while in hospital as I'd previously had them cause me a big attack of gastritis, for which I endd up taking Ibuprofen on an empty stomach, thinking it was a flare up of IBS! Bad idea. I've since taken a couple of doses of long acting Ibuprofen with main evening meal which seems to have helped a lot with the night time back pain.

Learning to pace myself is going to be the biggest challenge. I was always an all or nothing sort before my SAH but this simply doesn't work any more. There will be no more intense weekends working in the garden and collapsing in a heap on a Sunday night.... But for now, I have some seedlings that need potting on.. Where are my spoons?!

[Sharlua]

Great to hear the good news about your sight and understand your concerns about returning to work, a decision that I'm sure I will be thinking about soon. My GP has indicated she thinks it is too soon as had my SAH on 12/01/15 and wants me to have at least month or two. I agree weeks seem to be flying by although due to struggling with sleep and headaches some nights seem very long! I hope your phased return goes well and that you do pace yourself.

[Mandy Wright]

Thanks Sharlua. I will begin a very slow phased return the 13th week after the SAH and it will take at least a couple of months. Hopefully I'll be back at work full time by 6 months. You take it easy - I hope the headaches improve soon. Mx

[Mandy Wright]

I had my 12 week review this week - where did that time go?! I was fascinated to finally see the images that highlighted my SAH, the aneurysm and coiling. Managed to take some snaps of these with my phone and uploaded them to Facebook. I thought that the bleed would have looked worse on the first CT scan but there was just some quite faint fuzzy white stuff near the middle of my skull to show the cause of my crushing headache, stiff neck, vision problems and sickness. A 3 mm aneurysm coiled with 3x 8cm platinum coils, apparently.

The consultant has been in touch with the DVLA to confirm that he is happy with me neurologically - I gave them a call once I had confirmed this and the lady said I should hear 6 weeks after they received his report. She also said that, providing my consultant is happy with me, then it would be legal for me to drive, but I'm going to err on the side of caution her and wait to get something in writing in the next 4 weeks. I still have some double vision but the impact of this has been dramatically reduced following the application of a fresnel lens on my glasses.

I've noticed one very minor deficit following the SAH and that is that I no longer seem to be able to solve anagrams. I've become hooked on the daytime TV programme Pointless and that's the one category that I really have problems with. I guess it's tied into the language centre issues and speech going when I'm tired.

Two days left at home this week and then I start the slow process of returning to work next week. It's a little daunting but exciting too, although I do wish I'd managed to achieve more during my extended sick leave. Although to be fair, if I was able to achieve as much as I had hoped to then I probably should have returned to work sooner! I think my biggest challenge over the coming weeks and months is going to be getting better at planning. I haven't really needed to plan much while being at home, but will need to do more of this if I'm going to give myself the best chance of getting back to the best possible "new normal" in the future.

[Mandy Wright]

I know I'm more emotional currently than I am usually but I was particularly saddened to hear of the death of Terry Pratchett this afternoon. Dementia is a horrible disease and took my mum far too early (mid sixties) so this possibly explains the effect the news had on me, at least in part. But I also loved his books and found him to be the only author who made me laugh out loud. I'm glad he as able to live a fulfilling life for as long as he could, despite the diagnosis.

[subzero]

Hi Mandy

 

It`s good to see you are going back on a phased return- please please tread carefully and don`t spoil your chances of recovery by forcing your body to get back to normal working duties too soon.

 

Having been there with my wife`s SAH- how is your partner coping 3 months on?

[Tina]

Hi Mandy

 

Great news your 12 week review went well and  hopefully you will soon have the all clear to drive again

 

Wishing you well for your return to work, exciting & daunting, but as Subzero has already said please please take it very slowly. I completely understand your need to get back to the 'new normal' but it is still very early days in your recovery. Hopefully you will have lots of help, support and understanding. Good luck with the planning

 

Please let us know how you are doing.

Take care 

Love Tina xx

[Mandy Wright]

Tina, I need to reawaken my list-making skills which have slipped a bit since the bleed.

Subzero, thanks for asking about my other half, who is often neglected when people ask how I'm doing. He has had the fright of his life, or at least the second one having lost a young son a few years ago. He is slowly getting back to normal, starting to shout at politicians on the TV again (he's a vocal Scot) and relaxing a bit more where I'm concerned. I know he's a bit anxious about my return to work, but also pleased for me that I'm starting to return to normal. I need to learn to ask him for more help, rather than going with my default response of saying I'm fine and can manage everything. But I like being independent and capable.

Mx

[Mandy Wright]

I'm a bit anxious today as it's my first official day back at work since the SAH on 16th December. I'm only doing 2 hours, without any real work, twice this week. Getting a fairly expensive(£25) taxi there and a lift home but for once I'm actually glad I'm not driving as its one less thing to worry about. On the plus side it's a sign of progress and a move in the right direction.

[Karen]

Good luck Mandy, it's one of the first milestones and you're bound to feel jittery, it's only natural. Sending some hugs  xx

[Mandy Wright]

Thanks Karen! I keep reminding myself to breathe....

[Super Mario]

Good luck Mandy.

Re taxi fares, contact the disability advisor at you local job centre. There is a scheme called access to work that could possibly help out with fares.

https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

[ClareM]

Good Luck Mandy, hope it goes well just remember to have a rest when you get home! xx

[Tina]

Good luck from me too Mandy hope all goes well and not too exhausting for you. xx 

[Macca]

Good luck Mandy,

 

Bet you sleep when you get home!

 

Macca

[Mandy Wright]

No nap for me when I got home as I had a council meeting to attend. I could have skipped it but the next meeting is the AGM and I told myself I could always leave early... I didn't though. I may regret it tomorrow, but maybe not.

On the Access To Work scheme, I did look into this on advice from my occupational health advisor but found that my employer would have to pay the first £1k of taxi fares and this just doesn't sit well with me given that they have been paying me to sit at home doing very little for the past three months. It's well worth looking into for smaller employers though, thanks Super Mario!

It was good to get an idea of what my boss hopes I'll be able to achieve over the coming weeks and months, and good to catch up with some more of my colleagues. My mouth ran out of steam at times but the other half as chuffed to bits to see me waiting for him in my work suit when he got home. I'm glad he's starting to relax a bit more and not worrying about me so much.

Mx

[ClareM]

Hi Mandy

That all sounds great, glad it went ok. What type of hours are you phasing back on, will be interested to know so I know what I can suggest to my boss when the time arrives.

On a personal level I managed a walk with my dog yesterday - followed by a nap- so hopefully am making progress.

 

Take care

Clare

[Mandy Wright]

Hi Clare,

Well done for taking the dog for a walk! It's a beautiful day again today although a little breezier and a real incentive to get outside. I'm really stiff and sore today, probably because I spent a lot of time on my feet yesterday, and have walked further than I have in months over the last couple of days. Must work on that.

Regarding the phased return, the programme was put together by the occupational health advisor usd by my employer and is as follows:

Week 1. 2 x 2 hour sessions, tues and Thursday, purely socialisation and catching up with colleagues. This is mor tiring than one might imagine after 3 months off! I also had a one hour meeting with my boss, partly catching up on what I've missed and partly planning my workload.

Week 2. 2 4 hour sessions of work, again Tuesday and Thursday to allow a long weekend to recover.

Week 3. 3 4 hour sessions of work, Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Week 4. 4 4 hour sessions, of work, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Week 5. 5 4 hour sessions, Monday to Friday

Week 6. 5 5 hour sessions, one hour shorter on Friday

Week 7. 5 6 hour sessions, one hour shorter on Friday

Week 8. 5 7 hour sessions, one hour shorter on Friday.

Week 9. Back to normal hours

The occupational health lady did say that some employers can get a bit frustrated if the return takes this many weeks, but that it gave the best chance of success, ie not needing to go sick again, especially as some employers can reduce sick pay if this happens.

Leslie at Wessex neuro advised that at some stages I may need to extend a step for an extra week to give me time to adjust. Headaches are likely to be the big clue that I'm overdoing it. Also, it was generally agreed that I should avoid travelling in rush hour as far as possible to reduce stress.

If you would like to see the full report then drop me a line via the messaging system and I can forward it by email.

I hope this helps you.

[subzero]

Hi Mandy

 

Thanks for sharing your work rota details-

 

The desire to get back to work and normality is common for everyone who has a health set-back and it is good to see that your return is phased.

 

You will be the first one to know how it is working and you must listen carefully to what your body is telling you. The difficulty is knowing when to stand back and take stock if you begin to struggle. It`s difficult to accept this when you have in your mind a race against an employer who may place financial timescales on your return. Don`t risk your long term health and recovery to satisfy the Powers that Be!

 

Don`t step on to the next increased hours phase if you reach a point where you know you should stick for a while! Not easy to do.

 

Has your OH fixed an interim appointment to review your progress- earlier rather than later in your 9 week phased return?

 

Whatever you do-take care and best wishes as you get back to work-

[Daffodil]

Mandy , just to add I agree with sub on this point, there is a tendency to stick rigidly to a return to work plan but get agreement now if you can for maximum flexibility in how you achieve your goal as it will help in the longer term. I had a couple of steps backs when I hit a wall and had to reduce hours to be able to build them back up again but overall this has allowed me to make good progress.

 

It has taken a long while for me and having consolidation for a few weeks after every increase of hours is the ideal if you can otherwise you don't have time to adjust to the extra effort before you up it again and that can prove tricky in my experience. It is tiring and remember it's also about balancing it with everything else, home etc, no point getting the effort into work and being fit For nothing else .

I think if I am being completely honest that this is a pretty accelerated back to work plan and I've seen a few in my role but that's not to say it's not achievable and if you are comfortable I wish you the very best with it but do speak up if you start to notice I'll effects and possibly make the suggestion of a different pace to achieve goals. I appreciate your employer is being patient but if they have Occ Health provision then they probably have insurance and would probably agree it is far better to work at a steady pace and get a better long term result of a fit employee.

One last thing. In my early days back at work I would work 30 minutes then take 5 minutes of just quiet and silence and drink water. Didn't neceesarily go anywhere, just put my ear plugs in and it meant the elapsed time was longer to achieve my working goal but it allowed my brain breathing space .I still do that now and my colleagues know I will occassionally step out to go and sit quietly , or we all take a quick break so I can then resume and join in without overloading so it's created some good habits in all of us.

[Mandy Wright]

Hi Daffodil and Subzero,

Thank you both so much for your advice and concern shown regarding the return to work plan. I'm very grateful for the time you both took to add some words of caution. I think I will be okay, in as much as everyone is saying I should take things at my own pace. I will need to learn to do this though as I've never really been very good at saying NO and am much more likely to take on more than I can handle.

 

I'm currently waiting for my GP to do the return to work fit note as the last one expire on Monday. She was more than happy to put down whatever I needed and I passed across the starter plan as written up by the occupational health lady. This plan does emphasise that it will proceed at my pace and that this was to ensure the best result. I do have regular reviews scheduled with her over the coming months.

I had my second official day back in the office today and actually took my laptop in with me in order to look at a small issue. It feels very odd and my vision needs further tweaking (I think this is a good sign, that the double vision has reduced further since I had the fresnel lens added to my glasses a couple of weeks ago) but I am hopeful. Two hours flies by! I've got an appointment with my optician tomorrow to review my prescription and see if I need a lower powered fresnel lens.

Mandy x

[ClareM]

Hi Mandy

Well done for your first 2 days back at work. Did you enjoy it? Your back to work plan was very interesting, I think I will have to work a similar pattern and need to see if we even have an Occupational Health person! Luckily my boss is one of my best friends and was with me when I had my SAH, she has said no way am I to go back until I am ready.

Been walking the last 3 days with the dog trying to build stamina up. Still absolutely dead each morning though but spoke to the hospital who seems to think everything is normal.

Clare

[subzero]

Hi Mandy-

 

My wife managed to get a much larger PC screen for her work desk-and this really helped `til her vision recovered.

 

Also I insured that she had plenty rest when she came home from work-and plenty sleep too.

 

We are all interested as you progress your return to work-and your updates will be most helpful for others-

 

Thanks

[Mandy Wright]

Just a quick one for now to say that I'm hoping to make it to the Wessex Support meeting in Southampton tomorrow morning. If anyone spots me there please do say hello.

Mandy x