Feeling a little weird!

[Mandymoo0]

I collapsed in Lapland whilst on holiday back in February, (5th), previous to this I had been suffering from sinusitis (I thought) and my go had given me antibiotics as it had lasted a good month! The first thing I felt was a sudden excruciating pain in my head, the next thing I was aware of was an ambulance! I was taken to a medical centre and given ibuprofen ( or suchlike), flew home two days later. Headache was still there ( but dull) so went to the gp who in turn sent me to a neurologist. Neurologist did a few tests and said he thought it was migraine but he'd send me for MRI which I had 6 weeks later. To cut a long story short I had results 6 weeks after ( neurologist not overly concerned, slight changes) another MRI ordered with contrast....6 weeks...MRI had......5 weeks....phoned for results and I was told I had a 7mm aneurysm on left posterior communicating artery that had ruptured and I was referred to a neurosurgeon as a matter of urgency. 1st August I under went the coiling procedure, had a TIA afterwards and put on meds for a short while, am now just on aspirin. Now waiting for my follow up.

Now to the weird part, I get dizzy in the supermarket or similar shops, ( didnt before coiling)I get tired but not the usual it's more all of a sudden and I think I need to go to sleep and I need to go to sleep now! If I get a headache I start to analyse exactly where my headache is coming from.

Can anyone tell me is this normal? Sorry to have been so long winded in getting to my question xx

[cat3]

Hi Mandy. I had a SAH in Dec 2011 and, from my own experiences and others on this forum, I'd say your symptoms are normal in the circumstances. The extra stimuli in supermarkets can be so challenging for our convalescing brains, with so many objects and colours, and the tannoy announcements ; not to mention having to locate what we need from amongst thousands of other items.

In the early days I would sometimes just drop everything and go home empty-handed ; a sort of panic - no choice in the matter situation !

And fatigue will follow you around wherever you go m'dear ; It's probably the biggest/baddest after-effect of any brain injury. You might try pushing through the tiredness to a certain point, but push TOO far and you'll risk meltdown (as you've probably already discovered !)

I see you had a long wait for a diagnosis but your actual coiling was pretty recent, so give yourself as long as needed to get the hang of the changes in your energy levels, emotional state, cognitive abilities etc.,

And if you feel uncertain about something, don't hesitate to come back here to compare notes & get reassurance.

All best wishes, Cat x

[cat3 in reply to cat3]

Sorry I forgot to mention that after any type of acquired brain injury it's natural to feel pretty vulnerable for a while. The Why ? & How ? feelings can make you question the headaches as something worrying, but I was warned to expect severe headaches for several months after the coiling and told to maintain a strict regime of pain killers as they also aid healing.

My headaches became less frequent after around 6 months and now they're more like normal (for me, every couple of weeks and an occasional migraine). x

[razyheath43 in reply to cat3]

I like that convalesing brains!

[cat3 in reply to razyheath43]

x

[Mandymoo0]

Thanks Cat!I guess I just expect to just bounce back but I also think I have suffered a little PTS as I was running around from here to there as normal before the diagnosis and completely unprepared for the result the 2nd MRI showed.

Mandy x