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A Very Lucky Person


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Hi All

I refer to an article in todays Daily Mail regarding Alana Campbell's experience of a ruptured brain aneurysm.

From what I have read of other peoples experience on this site she is one lucky person as she states, "feels brilliant and completely back to my old self" after 3 years. During the three years she has also had extra coiling after 18 months.

I wish her all the best for the future and I accept that we are all very lucky to be here but it does give me further hope after reading this article as I have not read of anybody else feeling brilliant and back to their old selves after such a trauma, are there anymore out there as this has really cheered me up or am I reading newspaper sensationalism.

A belated Happy New Year to everyone and continue recovering.

Cheers

John

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Hi John

Happy New Year to you too.

I certainly hope its not Newspaper senationalism - it'd give us all hope.

As you know I'm sixteen months in now and if I'm honest I can say that I am 90% back to my old self. I don't want to be exactly the same as I was before the SAH though - I've come to quite like who I've become. But physically I'm about 90% there - the occasional headache now and some tiredness - brought on by having too many late nights :roll: and my memory is slowly but surely improving. Once the headaches go completely and the vice like sensation at the back of the head disappears for good then I'll be there.

Never give up hope - we're all different.

Hope you're feeling well - not heard from you for a while

Sami xxx

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Well i have just read the article and i was delighted with the explanation offered by the surgeon.

I am pleased that Alana feels as good as before, i hope that one day i might feel in some way close to my old self. I do agree with Karen and it is an individuals basis that the sah impacts on each of us.

It does feel like i am reading about a lottery winner and very well done Alana but i don,t think we will meet to many lottery winners in our life.

I do hope the above message makes sense.

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The surgeons would thread a tube through an artery to my brain, and use it to deploy tiny coils of titanium into the aneurysm. This would cause the blood to clot inside it which would prevent another bleed.
We simply plug the aneurysm with titanium coils fed through arteries from the groin - a procedure found to be 25 per cent safer than open surgery.
In effect, what we're doing with these coils is making a tightly meshed ball of platinum. This stops blood flowing so it clots, permanently sealing it.

The article is contradictory. the coils are platinum. not titanium. Good article though.

Regards

The Doc

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Guest yasmin

It was great to read the article thanks for pointing it out, I would say that I was 75% my old self but my Annie was only a year ago so there is hope for me after all!!!

I'm going to buy the paper now

yasmin : :D

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Hi all,

I was 26 too when I had my ruptured aneurysm and was coiled. I felt on the up for a year but now have took a big leap backwards and am not at work at all at the minute and haven't been for 12 weeks ish. I wish her all the best and just wish I could feel the same. I am desperate to get back to work as a primary school teacher!

Laura

xx

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Hi Just to clarify my earlier point.

I do feel like a lottery winner i am only 8-9 weeks since my sah.

I think that the ladies recouperation sounds fabulous as does several people on this site.

I know it is early days in my development but i don't feel at this moment that i will return to the quick thoughts and planning in my head almost instantly during conversations at work etc.

It may be the lack of confidence that i seem to have that makes me feel that she is a euro millions lottery winner.

I do hope this message makes sense i am feeling a bit confused about what i have written.

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Hi,

I think that we all have to realise that the severity of our bleed, our age, where the bleed was and how quickly it was diagnosed, treated, should be considerations that we should all take into account. No two of us are the same and the brain damage is individual to each of us .... as are our physical limitations....

It's great to see the success stories and that's what keeps us positive ...... some of us have a slower rate of recovery, but that doesn't mean to say that we're not a success, as we're still here to tell the tale.

However, I would really hate to think that many SAH'ers would look at this story and wonder why they're not achieving the same sort of recovery .... it's obviously possible, but for what percentage rate?

Some of us encounter depression, anxiety and a lack of confidence post SAH .... this is also hard to deal with. We were all probably very different before the SAH hit and I would imagine that continues also with our recovery ....

I think that there are many factors after a SAH, that come into play ..... but I don't think that any of us should judge ourselves on somebody elses experience and expect the same. If you're feeling better, than you did 3 months or 6 months ago, then you're doing more than okay.....

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As Karen says the site and severity of the bleed will dictate the outcome and recovery, age also plays a part but not as much as the first two. It's like comparing a broken metarsal with a broken neck, both bone breaks but radically differing effects. All of us have suffered a major illness and one that many do not survive at all. I consider myself back to 75% four years on but I know that I will never be the person I was pre SAH, although that doesn't mean that I begrudge others their recovery.

It does bug me though that we are still hearing horror stories of Doctors not even sure of whether a SAH is a stroke or not. Insurance companies whether like mine where a claims clerk decided that I couldn't of had a brain haemorrhage because I wouldn't be alive to claim or the other extreme where they don't pay out on critical illness cover!

I've been lucky with all the stages of my SAH story, from being diagnosed straight away and sent to a specialist Neuro centre where I received excellent care. To my GP who was honest enough to say I was his first post SAH patient but that we would learn what to do together. The aftercare from my local NHS trust included Headway and a raft of specialist Neuro care profesionals. I know that many of you haven't been so lucky, but it really shouldn't come down to "luck" in the 21st century.

Scott

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Scott, I totally agree with you and it also bugs me, when I hear the horror stories ..... Unfortunately, I'm sure that it will continue, which saddens me.... hence, the need for forums like these...

It seems to be a lottery on many issues post SAH and Insurance Companies are the pits for paying out anything, if they think that you won't challenge them ..... whether it's your health or just your car taking a prang ..... they'll do their very best to wriggle out of a claim. That's how they make their money .... so, I would advise anybody to seek advice, before cancelling their policy. The Citizens Advice Bureau should be your first port of call ..... their services are free ..... so, it's worth a try.....

I'm on my 2nd GP since the SAH and he's been great ..... he's willing to go that extra mile and he holds my hand at the end of our session and tells me that I'm doing okay, which often brings a tear to my eye .... he listens to me and I don't feel quite so crazy! :lol: He also looked after my friends husband (he was 40) when he was terminally ill with cancer and still visited her, after her husband had passed away..... that's probably why I went to him ....

You're right though, it shouldn't be down to chance, when it comes to receiving the care that we need .... especially when we're at our most vulnerable....

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Some of us encounter depression, anxiety and a lack of confidence post SAH .... this is also hard to deal with. We were all probably very different before the SAH hit and I would imagine that continues also with our recovery ....

I am with karen on this physically i am 99% recovered but how i wish i didn't have the days where i am so depressed and the anxiety and panic attacks are terrible so mentally i would say about 40% recovered and i am 5yrs on, so it does depend on age where it is even the kind of person you were before

everything has to be took into account. Jess

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Jess,

I often think that the mental side, such as anxiety, panic attacks and depression are a lot worse than the physical stuff to deal with ...... many of us have these things to deal with since the SAH, so you're not alone ..... why some of us suffer this and others don't, I really don't know ..... but we do and at times, these attacks can be totally overwhelming ..... they can also come out of the blue and totally unexpected ...... I wish that I had the answer on how to deal with them, but I don't ..... I can only take comfort from the fact that others experience the same ...xx

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Or just how badly the Brain Haemorrhage damaged you.

Mines was also followed a couple of months later by viral meningitis and that took its toll in some ways worse than the SAH itself.

I know that I'm never going to be even 90% recovered.

L.x

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Hi everyone. What a fab tale, nice to see something positive in the news for once.

I feel a bit like Sami - in that I like new me, and most of the time I like new me more than the old me.

I've been very lucky, good diagnosis, good recovery - but even so, I think it can be quite damaging to compare too much. I find it more beneficial to focus on the small positive steps forward - not for everyone, I know, but it works for me ;)

Blondie

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