Constant unrelenting pain after sah

[Jackie]

Hello everyone, I am new to this great site and am  just wondering if anyone has experienced constant unrelenting pain after an SaH?

 

My brother who is 56 went to bed last Sunday night and felt an explosion in his head. He had a significant bleed but didn't pass out and the scans and initial angiogram haven't detected a cause as yet. However despite a variety of pain medication over the past few days he is in total agony and finds it very difficult to sleep.

 

He was amazed when his consultant said he was very happy with his progress and that things seemed normal! My brother wonders how this  can be normal with the continuous worst pain he had ever experienced in his life? Has anyone else experienced such unrelenting pain in the first week after an SaH?

 

This has been such a shock to all the family and we are so worried about Bob's constant pain. Even morphine didn't touch it!! Any comments or advice which I could pass on to Bob would be so welcome. Thank you

[kempse]

Hi Jackie,

Welcome to BTG.  So sorry your brother is in so much pain and that the painkillers are not being effective.

 

It's the blood from the bleed that is irritating the brain and therefore causing the pain and this takes time to disperse - several weeks unfortunately.  Hopefully your brother's pain will lessen over this time. My pain was controlled, more or less by the medication, but I did take them regularly for a  couple of months at least. I know some people continue with pain for many months after the event, but not as bad as those first few weeks.

 

I'm sure you've probably read on this site that drinking plenty of water also helps with the head pain, so make sure your brother is doing this.

 

Sorry I can't offer any other advice, but I do hope it improves soon as it's not nice being in so much pain and not being able to sleep. 

I wish you both all the best,

Sarah

[royhughes33]

Hi completely normal after a SAH will lessen over the first few weeks medication is the only help , I found standing under a hot shower when it became too much really helped ,but it will get better eventually,good luck ...

[Winb143]

I wish your Brother all the best Jackie, I remember nothing after my op, as had Sepsis and Ventriculitis.

 

See Doc and ask his opinion, it cannot hurt.

 

Good luck to Brother xx

 

Win

[ClareM]

Hi the pain will lessen after time. The pain relief needs to be constant, I know I was constantly being fed drugs whilst in hospital. I don't remember much about my first 2 weeks post bleed but do remember pain and a lot of vomiting. My bleed had no cause either. 

 

I presume your brother is still in hospital, if so make sure you talk to the nursing staff and doctors about the amount of pain your brother is in. 

Hope things improve soon.

 

Clare xx

[Jackie]

Aww thank you so much everyone for your replies!  It is so good to hear about the experiences of others as it will give Bob some hope that the pain will lessen eventually.  He is due to have another lumbar puncture before his next angiogram so hopefully the doctors will know a little bit more after these procedures.

 

I am hoping Bob will join the forum as I'm sure communicating with you all will be so good for him.  He has a busy household with 1 son, 3 daughters and a granddaughter all living at home so he is coming to say with us for a while to convalesce as we have a big quiet spare room, and all the family can visit whenever they want.

 

I will certainly pass on your messages to Bob, he will be amazed and delighted that this forum even exists!

 

Many, many thanks everyone.

All the best to you all

Jackie (and Bob!)

xx

[Jimble]

After my SAH the pain was quite bad for 3 months or so - pain relief didn't remove all pain but dulled it - codeine didn't work - paracetamol unsure but ibuprofen did - and you can take ibuprofen and paracetamol together - after 3 months I went through periods where I had headaches with pain free periods the pain free periods increased in frequency.

 

hope your brother makes good progress 

[Winb143]

 

Hope brother will get better with every day that passes.

 

Good job he has you xx

 

My family sang to me so I am told and I awoke singing Irish songs lol  xx  I'll take you home again Kathleen and Sweet Rosie O Grady lol.

 

Shh don't tell brother I might break into song or he wont come on here xx,   This site has helped me and my Daughter as she got advice while I was out of it and then I realised it wasn't the end for me  and there is a life after an SAH xxxx

Wishing you Both Well

 

Win xxxxxx

[Jackie]

The lovely comments and support I have received so far have been wonderful and very reassuring for my brother and the family! I'm sure Bob will benefit greatly from communicating with you lovely friendly people! Thanks for being there everyone at such a strange and shocking point in our lives.  Sending love to all.  Jackie & Bob xxx

[Gemma B-B]

I also had a bleed with no known cause and it was a large one. I don't remember anything for around 3 weeks afterwards and also got hydrocephalus, so had to have a VP shunt fitted. Some of my earliest memories are from when I came out of hospital and experienced excruciated back pain as the blood drained off my brain and irritated my back.

 

Like others on here I was on pain killers for all of this time - morphine in the hospital, which I was also discharged with, and then later codeine and paracetamol (I cannot take a lot of other drugs, due to a heart condition I also have). It took me around 5 months to come off the pain relief completely.

 

As others have said on here I think the pain is quite normal immediately post-SAH. Over time it does get better - although I still get pain now which is haemorrhage related such as headaches etc. this tends to be when I have overdone things and I take steps to avoid this.

 

I wish your brother a good recovery - ensure he rests up lots, drinks plenty of fluids and takes pain relief as needed.

 

Gemma xx

[Irene]

Hi Jackie,

I hope Bob is feeling more reassured, of course with any worries he can call his surgery and maybe his doctor will phone back in free time.  I called my surgery 2 weeks post my haemorrhage as I had pains from my head and at the past of my spine.  The doctor was not able to give too much information, in fact she asked me more questions about my signs and symptoms when the bleed happened.  At least I felt I spoken to someone and it would be recorded on my records.

 

The headaches eventually subsided over a few months, coming back whenever I was anxious, tired or just listen to my body telling me to go for a rest, which I needed every afternoon.  Often I was found sat on the couch fast asleep!  It is now over a year since my perimesencephalic haemorrhage, (one with no know cause), I still have moments where I am completely at a loss.

 

My brain processes things fine but it did take time, and even today when I was trying to deal with a computer banking problem I got to a point where I had to hand over to my husband.  Too many questions, too many things they were asking me to do all within a set time was too much.  I had a melt down, but those days are months apart now.  I look back and see progress and although may never reach 100% I am at least nearly there.  

 

As others have said the best thing is to continue painkillers, sleep can be disturbed badly so being able to be pain free will help with grabbing sleep during the day.  Drinking lots of water does help, having a small bottle at his side will encourage him to drink it.  Little niggles of pain behind an ear, sounds in the ears like an electricity hum or the "sound of the sea" in a shell are common.  Odd tweaks of pain, nipping in the head or neck may also happen.  These symptoms seem to be what most of us have.  

 

I hope Bob will take advantage of just popping in to this forum.  It has helped me immensely to know I was not alone, especially in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep.  I hope he take things slowly and even if  he begins to feel well always take things slowly and go at his own pace.

 

We will all be looking forward to hearing how Bob gets on throughout the coming months.  He will be grateful for the help of the family.

 

Irene