Blood vessels that bleed

[Cal]

We were told that Jim might have had a blood vessel that burst causing his SAH without an anyuersum.

Jim wanted me to ask if anyone has heard from their Doctor's or from any type of other information what happens to the damaged vessel.

Does it dissolve or repair itself?

As always,

Thanks for your responses.

Cal

XXX

[sue]

Hi Cal,

I had a non aneurism SAH like Jim, as far as I know, the blood vessel repairs itself, I have to have a CT Angiogram soon so i'll ask! Don't have a date just yet though. Hope you're both ok

love Suexx

[andyp]

Hi Cal-yes it has repaired itself.

They put mine down to a congenital weakness.

I think as we mentioned before that having had no treatment you are left feeling uncertain about things as there is nothing to show for it as it were!

Don't worry though-it is the best possible outcome.

Best wishes

Andy P

[Guest Debbie1969]

Hi - I had a SAH which was not caused by anuryism and the doc put it down to a burst blood vessel. I had mine on the 23rd Dec last year and am recovering really well at home and due to go back to work soon. I had my follow up MRI scan at the weekend but will probably get more info at my outpatients appointment.

Its hard when you aren't sure why it happened, We like to have a reason and answers for everything, but I pestered my GP a lot for answers and trawled the internet to try to find out more.

The consultant who performed my angiogram told me I was very lucky and it really was the best possible outcome. So please take some heart from that, although I know it is really difficult!

Good luck

Debbie

[Cal]

Thanks Debbie,

That was good to hear. You sometimes wonder if it is going to happen again and we were also told JIm was lucky and that Jim was one of the 10% that did not have an anyuerism.

How many angiograms did you have?

Thanks and stay well!

Cal

XXX

[Guest Debbie1969]

Hi Cal

Good to hear back from you and am really glad Jim is all ok.

I had a CT Scan when I was first diagnosed (23rd Dec 07), and then the following day had the angiogram. I only had the 1. I had a follow up MRI scan last Saturday. They told me they like to leave it a couple of months for the bleed to settle down before MRI'ing just in case they missed anything, and also to confirm the diagnosis. Although the Consultant who performed the angiogram seemed pretty confident of the diagnosis at the time.

I have my follow up in mid April where I will get the results. So fingers crossed they didn't miss anything and that all is ok. But on the whole am pretty much back to my normal self again. Its been a long old journey though and I still get quite tearful from time to time. Im convinced I am still in shock that it actually happened and feel so lucky that I am still here to tell the tale. It also affected my voice a little bit, but on the whole I am feeling pretty good.

I couldnt have got through it without the support of my partner Jed though. He has been fantastic. He even took me away for a few days about a month after it happened to try and get me off the sofa and get some of the routine back into my day as my sleeping patterns were all over the place , and it was the best thing he could have done for me. We didnt go too far away and took it at my pace and it was great to get some fresh winter air and feel normal again.

Its hard on the carer to and its easy to forget that sometimes. But hang on in there! You are doing a great job.

Good to hear from you and remember to take some time for yourself!

Debbie x

[Guest ellen]

Hello everyone and thanks to all of you kind people for taking the time to post. I had a SAH December 1st 2007 while biking. The doctors could not find an aneurysm so they determined that it was due to a blood vessel that leaked. I was getting better and then all of a sudden took a turn for the worse. We were on vacation in March and I danced on the deck of the ship, not good. Then a week later I was walking up the stairs in a parking garage and thought I would die right there alone in there. Since that time I can't walk fast, lift anything, or do much of anything without having a lot of neck stiffness and pain. We went on a picnic in the foothills Sunday and drove up maybe 1000 feet in elevation (can you tell I'm in the USA?) and felt like my head was going to explode I am wondering if there is a leak somewhere... Is there anybody out there who has had a similar experience? I am trying not to stress out over all of this by meditating and keeping myself calm. This is the only forum I have found where there are some similar posts. How does it look for those of you who are a few years down the road?? Love this site.

Ellen

[Louise]

Hi Ellen

And a warm welcome to the site.....

Its not really all that long since you had your SAH, things take a long time to settle down, but if your worried go back to you GP/consultant no point in getting stressed up dosnt help.

Nice to hear from you

Take care

Louise.xx

[Cal]

Hi Ellen,

Welcome to the site.

Jim had an SAH the same day as you did and was also told it was because they thought it was a blood vessel that bled. I noticed you live in the USA. We do also. Where did you receive your medical attention? We live near Boston and were lucky to have the hospitals that we have.

How many angiograms did they give you to ensure you did not have an anyuersum? Jim had 2.

You are only a few months into recovering and you must take it easy. Jim just went back to work a couple of weeks ago and had to take today off because he is still really tired.

Take is slow, your body is telling you to.

Any questions you have please let me know.

Cal

XXXX

[Skippy]

Hey Ellen

Welcome to the family hun. I had an aneurysmic bleed so can't really help on the blood vessel bleeding side, but I imagine the after effects are very much the same.

Speak more soon

love Sami xx

[Guest ellen]

Thanks for responding Cal and Sami,

Its wonderful to talk with people who really know what this is like. I am in Greenville SC. I think I am going to ask my doctor when I see him Friday if he will refer me to Duke. Perhaps they have better imaging there. I just wonder if I had another slight bleed because I feel so awful. Work has been too much for me. I may have to ask for time off, its hard for me to take it slow (I teach) and being around the kids and all the noise and craziness can get a bit overstimulating! How is Jim feeling now? Would love to find out more. Thanks for writing! You all are a lifeline for me.

Ellen

[tennissmithy]

Ellen,

Welcome to btg- a fab website.

I'm in the same boat as you- I teach too. I had my SAH 19 months ago and went back after 2 months, I lasted about 9 months and then have just had a 5 month spell off because I felt so bad and they thought it was another bleed. I have been back to school 3 weeks on part time hours and have now been advised by my doctor, consultant and occupational health to come out of teaching because it is too stressful. My doctor says my brain doesn't have time to relax before starting again in a profession like teaching so I am in the process of trying to find something else. If you want to pm me for a chat, then please do.

Hope your school are sympathetic

Laura

xx

[Cal]

Hi Ellen,

I am so glad you found the site. It truly is a lifeline.

You did not say what type of tests and how many you had. You sound like you are very physical. The most important thing to do is slow down and take it easy.

Jim is only working part time now. A few hours each day. He had to take a day off this week because he still gets very tired easy. He still has pressure in his head but nothing that he cannot handle.

Take time off, your job sounds very hectic. This will not help with your recovery.

Remember YOU are the one that needs to rest and get better.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Andy was kind enough to send me very detailed information on SAH. I do not know if you received anything but Jim did not and was more or less discharged not knowing what to expect. This is one of the many reasons this site has been so helpful. I thank Karen so much for starting this.

If you would like me to copy the information and send it to you I would be very happy to do so.

Take care,

Cal

XXXX

[Cal]

Hi Ellen,

It is me again. I came home today to find that Jim had given the copy of the information I had to one of his friends to read and now they are not sure where they put it.

They will look for it however and I do hope they find it.

Take care and stay well,

Cal

XXXX

[sue]

Hi Ellen,

a very warm welcome to this wonderful site, I too had a non aneurysm SAH. Mine was on 31st January 2006 so I am 16 months on now, I have generally made a good recovery but still suffer from fatigue, memory problems sometimes dizziness etc. I think recovery is much the same fro most of us.

I recently had to have a CT angiogram because of a couple of severe headaches but don't have to see my neurosurgeon for the results untill May 30th, i'll let you know what he says.

My advice to you would be to take it a day at a time, listen to your body, if you need to rest, then rest!!!

It can be hard adjusting to the fact that you can't do quite as much as before but hey!! We get there in the end!

Take care,

God Bless,

love Suexx

[Guest ellen]

Thanks for posting Sue. Did they ever find the source of the bleed, like the exact location of the vein? I wonder if there isn't a way to close it up if it doesn't heal. Did you get your hemorrhage while exercising or straining? I was on a 30 mile bike ride and straining to get up a hill (in the wrong gear I might add...). Anyway, I finished the ride, rode again the next day but felt really weird and very weird (loopy, forgetful, foggy, and severe pain in the back of the neck and head) the whole week. The followoing Saturday I rode again but this time about 2 miles in and climbing up a hill it really burst and practically knocked me off my bike. It was then then I realized that 50 year old women need to stay home one the couch (just kidding). Every time I see a bike I want to cry...

Ellen

[sue]

Hi Ellen,

couldn't really say I was excersising at the time but had been doing some flagging in church, mind you, it is pretty strenuous and I haven't done the big flags since as they put a strain on your neck!!! So maybe.......Anyway, not long after that my head felt like it had been hit really hard and to cut a long story short, I ended up on the floor in the foyer of the church unable to lift my head!! Was taken to local A & E where it was thought I had a migraine/stress type headache! (could not stand!!) Advised to wait and see a doctor but told it was a 5 hour wait.....couldn't stand the noise there so my husband took me home and called a doctor out.......he diagnosed migraine....all in all I saw 4 doctors over the next few days all with the same diagnosis, by now I had lost about a stone in weight couldn't walk properly still cos I was so dizzy and weak and couldn't swallow anything cos it came straight back up!! Couldn't stand it any more so my husband called an ambulance which took me straight into A & E....was CT scanned and immediately transferred to our nearest Neurosurgery hospital.....was told I would be coiled or clipped, depending on the results of the angiogram....results came back....there I was all ready for theatre and my neurosurgeon came to me and told me I should be rejoicing....no aneurysm!!!! My bleed was mid brain, I had to have total bed rest and take anti stroke drugs for a while, I still get scared sometimes in case it happens again because of the "no known cause!" but have been reassured that it is the best outcome.....will let you know when I get my results.....have to pick up my grandaughter from school now.....hey.....50 year old women don't belong on the couch!!!! I just went 58 last week and just love to party.....I celebrate my life!!!!

Speak to you soon,

Love Suexxx

[Guest tekemeee]

Hi Ellen,

I'm from the USA also - I live in Georgia. I had an SAH with unknown cause - they never said it was a damaged blood vessel - they could never find the cause of the bleed - so they think that was what it was. I was one of the lucky ones when I got to the hospital the blood actually showed up on the CT scan - they said for the blood to show in the CT scan it has to be within the 1st 24 hour period - after that - you either have find it by lumbar puncture or MRI. I have posted this before - but I was in the hospital in Macon, Georgia for 23 days in the NICU unit. I had 3 angiograms while I was in the unit, numerous MRI's, MRA's, CT scans and everything else you can think of. I had vasospasms the entire time I was in the hospital. This seems to be one big difference in me and most people. The doctors kept telling me how dangerous the vasospasms were - but nothing that they did seemed to stop them. I was awake the entire time so we discussed the doppler numbers where they were measuring the vasospasms. I have yet to understand why the vasospasms didn't do damage to me. To tell you the truth I don't even know what vasospams are.