I am Stephen from Glasgow

[stephen]

Hi Everyone

I am a 42 year old happily married man from Clydebank near Glasgow. I work for a homeless charity in Glasgow. I have two sons and two dogs.

I went to work on the 1/11/07 to do a sleepover and at 2020hrs i had the most horrendous headache i had ever had. I managed to contact my wife and a friend who worked close by. I was taken to hospital in Glasgow and i was sick and had the world falling out my trousers. After a scan i was told i had a ruptured sah and i needed surgery soon as. I was transfered to the wonderful Southern General Hospital in Glasgow the next morning and i had the surgery done that afternoon. I had a 4mm sah on the left handside of my head and it was coiled. In high dependancy for a day, ten days on my back then home fifteen days after the initial headache.

I mentioned in the other forum that i am mixed up when speaking at times and quite forgetful and find many people talking so difficult.

I have told you how i got here and i am a forward thinking realistic person and i do wish to say the support i have had during the last few weeks from my wife and family has been tremendous and i do love them more than ever.

I hope to talk to many people because i do believe when you have done it you should share it.

[Holly]

Hi Stephen,

Your story sounds so much like mine and many others on here. I hope you are taking things easy.

I too was like you, I found people, when they were all around me, their chattering too much, and I seemed to be aware of sounds more clearly if that makes any sense? I also wanted to hide away from folks, and believe me that is so unlike me.

At first my SAH, changed me as a person. But not now. Now, I feel completely back to normal going out and about alone. But, it took me a couple of months to do that. I'm now going back to work in January. I must say I am really looking forward to it.

Welcome to the forum. You will find the bunch of people on here very kind and understanding. They are fab.

Take care,

H xx

[Skippy]

Hey Stephen

Nice to meet you - just under rather unfortunate circumstances :?

If it's any consolation the mixed up when speaking and not being able to cope with a lot of people talking at once is perfectly normal following an SAH.

I'm 15 and a half months in now and my memory is slowly but surely improving and I feel I'm probably 85% back to how I was before in that respect.

The only advice really is what we all tell each other - listen to your body and when it tells you to slow down or rest then do. Your emotions may be all over the place for a while too - again this is natural. I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome which caused the depression and the feeling that I was going slightly mad (a few people have said that I can't blame the madness on the SAH!! ) Above all else, stay positive and keep hold of the sense of humour.

It's a long road to recovery, but remember, you're allowed as many pit stops as it takes to complete the journey.

We're all here each other and if you have any questions, then feel free to fire away.

Take care and speak soon

Sami xxx (crikey I almost feel like a veteran now!!)

[Louise]

Hi Stephen

Good to hear your story, I think I replied to your post in Brain & spine foundation!

I had my SAH on 1/11/99,

look forward to hearing more from you

Louise.

[Karen]

Hi Stephen,

You are at the very early stages of recovery ..... believe me, it will and does get better .... we're all testament that with the right support and just talking about things, that you can get through this. If you have loving support from your partner, family and friends, it helps see you through.

I could barely string a sentence together at your stage and couldn't hit the message boards until I was at probably at 6 months post SAH......so, you're doing good ....

My best advice at the minute, would be, take each day as it comes .... if it's a lousy one then try to forget about it, don't dwell on it. but celebrate the good ones ... listen to your body and whatever you do, don't overdo it, as the brain has a knack of kicking in and telling you to slow down. Most of us, learn the hard way... I'm 2.5 years in and still experiencing recovery .... there isn't a timescale and I know that in the early stages you tend to expect one .......

Take plenty of rest, even though you might not feel that you need it and tell your partner how you're feeling .... a good relationship is paramount.

[Janet]

Hi Stephen and Welcome

Its nice to hear that you are getting plenty of support from your family and friends it certainly helps when trying to come to terms with the after effects of an SAH.

As the others have already said just remeber to listen to your body drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest.

Take care

Janet x

[Slim]

Hi Stephen

Welcome to Behind the Gray, Sorry to hear about your SAH

There is a Fantastic bunch of folk here to help you through it.

Don't worry about your memory etc. It is exceptionally early days. I had SAH 31/10/06. Last Christmas I was quite Doolally.

Whilst I still see a slight deficit in my Memory on my Neuro psy test my memory Average plus!

I did have a (Misdiagnosed) SAH (Head explosion etc) in the previous Sept and was able to return to work within 6 weeks. (Although I really don't recommend this)!

The Fatigue / Emotions are the biggest Killers, Take time, listen to your Body and you will get through this. Its amazing what a difference I have seen in myself and the rest of the gang over this last year.

Working with vunerable people and doing sleep overs are extremely stressing on the body at the best of times. On the plus side we really appreciate how lucky we are with our loved ones.

Good to hear from you. Take it easy.

Aine