Fatigue post SAH

[sue]

Hi Karen,

in answer to the question about fatigue post SAH.

I think I have done pretty well but find that when I do overdo things a bit I am just wiped out and have to have a rest.

Also when I am stressed or anxious, I was in bed by 8pm a couple of nights ago because I felt that I just couldn't function right unless I slept.

As you know we as a family are going through a very sad and anxious time right now because of Johns health and for a long time the after effects of the SAH have been put on the back burner so to speak. So it is so good to read all these posts and find that its quite normal to feel the way I do anyway.

Love to all,

Suexx

[Lauren D]

I found post SAH that the best thing for me was a little swim as I just felt better afterwards. I gradually stepped up the exercise until I could play tennis normally again and then took up the running and built my stamina up following a regular programme but no more than I could manage. I would encourage little and often. Also I slept better if physically tired and it helped with the terrible anxiety it left me with. Also the food I ate seemed to become much more important. Lauren

[charty]

Fatigue is really bugging me! I sleep well at night but not during the day, I only have the energy to do basic jobs and no motivation for anything else. Has anyone tried herbal remedies? would be good to know if they help?

Thanks

Caroline

[MUTTI]

HI CAROLINE

BEST THING I FOUND FOR FATIGUE IS CHIROPRACTOR IT JUST GETS SO EXPENSIVE.

I WILL SAY HEALTHY EATING AND LIVING HELPS ME WITH ENERGY, BUT LACK OF INTEREST KEEPS ME FROM DOING THINGS NOW

LOVE AND HUGS EVELYN

[RB-R]

Hiya everyone, im new to the site.I had my SAH on 15th JUne 2010 but also suffered with a PE (blood clot on the lungs ) on the 1st July2010. Fatigue is the hardest part for me , i have four children ages 11,10,6,and 5. I'm in bed from 4pm onwards, i feel guilty as i cant do things with the children. i get so tired that sometimes my body shakes. From reading all your posts i'm now hopefull that this will improve. I was so active before, i worked and looked after the children did boxersize 3times a week, its such a big change which is hard to get your head around.

Also now my husband is suffering with fatigue, with the stress, full time job, coping with the children and looking after me. We moved to Australia from the UK on the 11th Jan 2010, then six months later a had a SAH . So been very stressful. Thank God for a site like this Any advice would be great. I also suffer with numbness in the face , headaches most days , dizzy and feeling sick most days, does this improve ????

Thanks Rhiann x

[tracy]

Hi

Im 4 months since SAH in June 2010. My fatigue seems to come and go, not my body tired but my head. I tend to stare and shut off, then I know I need to sleep. If I dont i get the dizzy disorientated feeling which reall makes me feel ill.

Tracy S xxx

[Gill C]

I am almost 5 months post clipping & thought I was gettign mcuh better as far as fatigue went but I still ave a limit of 4 hours after which I grind to a halt. This can be 4 hours on the beach or like last week 4 hours at Paultons Park when I jsut have to rest, my brain turns to sludge & i cna't process any more infomation (brain crash!). It has got better but I'm certainly still very tired a lot of the time & I had a coversation with a work colleague last night & she said ' you're still tired even now?' . I think it's something other people really can't understand, fatigue like this is hard to explain!

[Erin]

i am 5 months post sah, am still in rehab hospital for another few weeks, but am suffering terribly with fatigue. since ive started to walk again and come home at weekends, do more etc, its much much worse but i guess that stands to reason.

saw my neurosurgeon on tues who said it'll be like this for up to two years following sah/craniotomy but i think it's something that we all have to learn to live with and adapt to.

it gets me down as i'd love to do more, walk further etc but my low energy just does not permit it. i'm really hoping it will improve though.

[Leo]

Am nearly 3 years on and I still suffer from fatigue.

I am still learning how to pace myself which has led to frustrating self-imposed restrictions on my social life. For example, I limit my activities on Sunday's so that I can actually make it into work on Monday's.

But some days are better than others. Sometimes I can recover with just a nap or taking it easy, but at other times when I have really been over doing it, it's like I have hit a brick wall and I can barely function my head is so foggy. I think my overall 'improvement' stalled about 12 months ago.

Pacing oneself is easier said than done sometimes ...

[kelvz48]

Hi all, I am just 3 months into my sah so I know it is really early days. Like so many of you I find that I push myself and overdo things on the good days which I then pay for later on. Friday started as a good day so I carried on as if nothing has happened (very long walk, few jobs around the house etc) but paid for it in the evening. I had been laying on the sofa watching telly and at about 9:30 started to feel really tired so started to get ready for bed. While standing at the toilet I actually passed out, fell, hit my face and broke my glasses. The whole episode only lasted a couple of seconds but was really scarey. I have appointment with GP on monday so will see what he says.

We have to learn to slow down which is the hardest part for a lot of us.

Edited November 14, 2010 by kelvz48

[sonia]

Hi Kelvin,

Glad you are going to see your doctor, in the morning. I have an appointment also in the morning, just to fill my GP in on how things are going. Hope your family is ok.

I always wake up early, so really I am ready for bed at 10pm, most nights, I f I don't I can get over tired.

Just wondering why so many folks are still suffering from fatigue after so many years. What do their doctors say could be the causes of this tiredness lasting for so long.

I am off back to dear old Frenchay on Thurs afternoon, just might have time for a quick cuppa in the cafe, where I spent some of my recovery time, if not that, walks along the miles back to ward 2!!!!

Take care mate.

Love Sonia xxxx

[KelBel]

I am 11 months post-sah and do get knocked out with fatigue at times but nothing like it was during the first months.

I went back to work on a phased return and had to have at least an hours sleep when I got in after work. I've been back to work full-time since June and no longer need the hour when I get in 'most' of the time. There are still days where I could fall asleep at my desk in the afternoon and may need a nap when I get in, but mostly I am okay now. Just have to accept that I push myself too much at times then need to rest up

Kel x

[JayKay]

I'm now nine months on from my SAH and craniotomy and the fatigue got a lot worse after the first 3 months because I started doing more! The pacing was a mystery to me until recently, when I had my Fatigue Management session and had an epiphany lol! I think I posted it somewhere else, but maybe the mods can put a link in the help section. My OT explained to me that, although the papers she gave me were based on MS sufferers, the actual theory is the same for all of us. I came home and googled it and found this, which is exactly what she gave me. HERE

It was such a revelation to me to chunk down tasks. I would do an hour or two full tilt and then have to sleep for the rest of the day, or the next day. Now, I break things down into small chunks and rest between them and I had a brilliant week. Ok, so I was shattered yesterday, but it's a huge improvement from being shattered every day!

ETA: PDF of "living with fatigue" can be found here. Just ignore the references to MS - it all applies to us!

Edited November 14, 2010 by JayKay

[Louise]

Erin, the low energy does improve slowly...

I was like you in rehab & home at weekends I was so impatient but slowly bit by bit it has improved....

You have to know where you limit is which isnt easy.....

[RB-R]

Hi all,

Just thought i'd update on my Fatigue 10 months on. The last time i posted i was exhasted everyday to get out of bed was a struggle. Now 10months on i'm back to work or two days aweek, and most days looking after the household and 4 kids. But then it hits me out of the blue no warning like somone pulls the power pack out of my back, and i go down like a ton of bricks:crazy: But it now does'nt take me as long to get back on my feet, a few days of being exhasted i feel like im slowly coming back someone put he power pack back in. So hopfully with more time this will improve.

Take care all Rhiann x

[Skippy]

Hi Rhiann

Thats great news. Its a great feeling too isn't it? I remember when the fatigue finally started to lift and it didn't take as along to recover from things.

I'm working 30hrs a week and then helping my hubby run the family business so its a full on full time job, plus the household. Just the fact that I can cope with it all again is uplifting?

Really really pleased for you hun and heres to it getting easier and the fatigue disappearing for good.

[Happydawn]

It would be interesting to know how many of you have suffered from fatigue since having the SAH. You can just say a couple of words, like "I do or I don't" and say what stage you are at post SAH. It can be as brief as you want it to be or you can say how much of an impact that the fatigue has had on your day to day life...... Thank you, Karen x

I do suffer fatigue,but has got better with time. 5 years post SAH

[Mollynjosie]

Dear karen I had my sah last year 010 I got double blow with the sah I also suffered a stroke while in I.c.u as I'm only young 37 yrs I was an active person could go all day doing things on the farm but now after doing any thing I feel like I've been run over by a truck I feel so darn tired that most of the time I have to have a sleep in the afternoon

And if I go out shopping I'm now having to use a wheelie walker ( the frame with 4 wheels ) the elderly use as the shopping centers don't have seats when you need one and it's not great collapsing in a shopping centre with crowds of people looking at you

I have also noticed that I seem to faigue out like the brain turns off and I lose time or concentration I also get little headaches I've had MRI on head waiting for report on it ( fingers cross) they worry me as when i had the sah I had 5 angiograms over days which the doctor wrecked 4 of 5 veins leading to brain so I've only got one vein to brain which is a big worry for me let alone the depression, anger & more anger that I have since the sah My life has changed

Since the sah/ stroke