Welcome Ruminata. My SAH was 6 years ago and I imagine I've reached the limitations of recovery by now. But I remember the uncertainty of the early days and the frustration of suddenly struggling with routine activities.
Your dizziness and other symptoms are all par for the brain injury course I'm afraid and, with time, I hope you'll get the hang of all these new issues and start to allow for certain deficits in past abilities. I used to work with wood a great deal but, since the SAH, I have neither the patience nor the dexterity to do intricate stuff ............so the tools lie idle unfortunately.
The fatigue seems to be a universal problem after any type of brain injury and, at the 4 month point, you'll be feeling pretty debilitated. Try to be forgiving and accepting of your condition, and avoid looking back with regret. If you can accept who you are now, any improvements will be a welcome bonus. And I'm sure you'll see some m'dear, albeit slowly/gradually.
Rest as much as you can ; rest/sleep & good diet are the best therapy for brain rehab. Hope to see more of you here on the forum. Cat x
Nice to meet you. I'm a brain damage veteran and though I haven't suffered a SAH, I obviously share many of your symptoms and feel your pain. This is certainly the place for you to share your story and find the help and advice you need. Feel free to ask anything you like and somebody will be along to chat
Havel you had any contact with the community neuro rehab team? I hadn't even heard of them, but my sister insisted there must be something..... And once referred they were fairly fast in responding and very very helpful. Give them a call tomorrow...
Otherwise take care of yourself and be kind to yourself. Don't try to rush things. 4vmonths is a long time to you now, but your brain is healing in it's own time.
Hello Ruminata nice to meet you. I can only agree with all of the above always wise words from our members. 2 years on from my own injury every day is a recovery. I found that improvements in my brain activities were quite quick from my initial illness and then slowed to a kind of plateau. This was over a period of 12 - 18 months. What I have discovered is that I am more prone to stress and my cognitive abilities are very much affected by my levels of stress. The lesson I have learned from this is to not be too hard on myself and to keep my expectations to an acceptable and manageable level. I would like to think that I am moving forward but in truth it is only time that is a true measurement of this. I did not understand this idea in my early days of recovery, which did lead to some uncomfortable and negative feelings. But hey this is all part of the process and journey.
If I am really honest I still have not come to terms with my newly acquired brain functioning disabilities and in part this is a good thing. Why? Because I have not given up. I am finding that I am having to hone the creative art of patience. Will I ever make a full recovery? It is very doubtful that I will but it doesn't stop me from hoping or at the very least hoping for further improvement.
Your being lost to the system, gets you into our club as it's such a common experience, welcome!
I'm reassured that your GP is trying to get you assessed, however in many areas the waiting time for Neurological Service can be very long.
In the meantime I'd suggest going to your local Headway group as you'll meet people who've gone through the assessment process and you'll also be able to talk with people with similar symptoms.
In my experience reasonable adjustments can make the difference between success or failure when returning to work.
Also if you decline to take up this right it could be detrimental and reduce the chance of success at an Employment Tribunal in the worst case scenario.
Your employer is trying to ensure they comply with the Equality Act 2010.
You can find information for employees and employers on the Equality and Human Right Commission website. They also offer fantastic advice on their telephone advice service.
Perhaps the most important thing is are you fit to work it's only been 4 months and it's generally accepted that it takes a minimum of 12 months for plasticity to repair the damage caused by a TBI.
Neurological Service are best placed to advise on this matter, returning to work too early can be a recipe for disaster.
I think you have made the right decision for now. OH may be able to help, but if you’re not quite ready to go into the office just yet, you probably don’t need return to work / fitness for work assessments to worry about . As already suggested - contact Headway and try to access your community neuro team care if there’s one in your area
I'd accept any offers of help at this stage. You can always decline later.
My main sources of support were Community neuro rehab team ( who then suggested psychologist - who I met a few times but then kicked into touch ) and Headway ( who sent someone out to see me at home for several visits) .
I would think most of us were emotional wrecks at your stage of recovery - part of the territory I'm afraid.
I think it's important to forget failure in the context of your pre TBI self.
It's essential that you make your family and friends understand you are having symptoms that sometimes go against common sense.
This is one of the biggest mistakes a TBI can make, being too positive, otherwise others may think you should be coping better and they won't make the appropriate allowances.
Another word of warning my employer engaged a Work Based Psychologist to assess if I had any symptoms and my fitness to do my work, their report and recommendations were totally wrong
Welcome you’ve come to the right place . People here understand and its a great source of information and company when you suffer from a hidden illness. Good luck with your pursuit of follow up care.
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