How have people gotten back their energy? I am now about 17 months into recovery from brain haemhorrage, coiling of aneurysms, hydrocephalus, and subsequent clipping of unruptured aneurysm 5 months ago.
I was very lucky to only have subtle deficits after the initial haemhorrage, and I have made progress in all areas, but I still require more sleep than usual, I puff and pant after even quite simple tasks and even when "physically awake" I am not always "mentally awake" for several hours in a day, e.g. not alert enough to drive a car, or maintain a conversation.
I force myself to do some physical exercise everyday - gym, pool, bike, etc. My thinking was "energy begets energy" and that physical activity is also good for mental stamina. But 6 months later I have no noticeable improvement in fitness, strength or energy level.
Talk with your Doctor Julie and maybe they can recommend something for you...I do see this with so many of us...that sleep and being tired is one of the effects that doesn't seem to go away...It is our body still healing...not to mention I found working around it...when I feel less tired early in the day ...I do my errands, cleaning, etc., as the day goes and the tired comes on...I do my sitting tasks...~ wishing you better days ahead ~ Colleen
Yes I too have become expert at organising my day/activities around my "good hours" and completely avoiding all situations that involve any stress or anxiety. How long has it been for you?
I am still very early in my recovery, but I too never seem to have any energy. How much I sleep seems to have no direct correlation to how I feel. If I do have a 'good, more productive' time of day I would have to say morning. I try to plan anything I have any hope of accomplishing for then. OT was helpful in helping me relearn how to plan and execute even simple tasks. And although my fatigue follows me daily like the plague, it is recovering the working of my brain that I worry about most. "mental fog" is an excellent description. Try making lists, using post it notes, a memory book, visualization to help. Chatting on here helps a lot too as no one else can imagine what we face everyday. Good luck and God bless.
Hi Julie,
I’m still very early on in the recovery process, but I’m amazed at how quickly get tired. I’ve also noticed that when something is hard to handle mentally (bills piling up, unexpected tax issue, etc.), it makes my fatigue worse and I just want to go to bed. I’m not back to work yet and I’m doubting my ability to do that type of work due to heavy data analysis, stressful client meetings, etc, and my level of fatigue. My Dad suffered a rupture in the 70’s, and napped every day for the rest of his life. I want to fight the fatigue so bad, but part of me wants to give in and accept it as a “new normal”, I waiver back and forth. I’m sorry you are still struggling so far into your recovery.
Hi Sarge, I agree, I know just what you mean - is this my new normal? If it is, ok I'll accept it, rearrange my life and make the most of it. If this is not, then I'll keep fighting, striving, pushing, etc. Trouble is, I don't know which is the case and it seems nobody can tell me. What others say makes me think that they have all reorganised their lives and routines to compensate, to pace themselves, to lower expectations, avoid stress etc. Nobody has said - it took 3 years or 8 years or whatever and now I have as much energy as I used to.
Hi Debbie, yes I too have learned to pre-plan everything to pace myself and not overload. Plus I know what you mean by "mental fog", I have changed or avoid some activities because I get overwhelmed or can't concentrate long or closely enough to cope. I also find I don't function at all well if stressed and my emotions and impulse control are out of control. But I have gradually created an almost stress-free life - it is the unexpected that is the challenge. I have yet to hear from anyone who says they eventually had no fatigue, it seems we all learn to adapt.
I think no one has said how long it took them to get over that fatigue because we are all so different in terms of recovery. I'm probably one of the few who who experienced a bad hemorrhage, yet had fully recovered and returned to work full-time as an RN only 9 weeks later. Reading, research and 'listening' the the stories here tell me that I am far outside the "norm" as far as recovery. I have absolutely no explanation for why my recovery was so rapid, other than a kind and loving God and a lot of prayers. I'm probably back to 99% of my 'old' self and just celebrated 1 year since my annie ruptured. Maybe you try to do a little of both-pushing and reorganizing, to lessen the frustration?
I slept 9 or more hours a night (I used to sleep about 7) the first 6 weeks home from the hospital after my coiling for a ruptured brain aneurysm. After that, I started needing less sleep, and developing insomnia. I've had issues with tiredness, mostly on days after I have lost sleep, but sometimes other days as well. At this point (nearly a year after the coiling), I do still feel somewhat tired, but more so I feel emotionally drained and lethargic, like I have to push myself to do things that I used to enjoy doing without any prompting. I've had issues with "brainfog" - not being able to concentrate well - even sometimes after sleeping fairly well the previous night. That may be what you are describing as not being "physically awake"? That particular symptom has improved quite a bit and is fairly rare (maybe 1 or 2 days a week) now a year after my coiling.
Hi Julie. I’m 10 weeks past my aneurysm. I had it in my mind that I was going to hit rehab as hard as I could, “and get my life back.” I was able to return to work 8 weeks after my unfortunate incident and last week I resumed to regular travel at work. Like you I slept 9-10 hours a night, when I typically slept 6-7 before. Last week while at a customers site, by Wednesday morning, I couldn’t make it without an extra hour and a half nap after getting up early. From other replies here I can see I’m a lot like others…but, it really irritates me that life is forever changed… I think I’ll go take a nap, now…
Lucky...you are so "normal" compared to so many of us...as a recipient of the minimally invasive coiling and/or stents...By the way...do you know if any stents were implanted?
Prayers you do get all the rest you need to assist your recovery...Rest well...this is my second comment to you w/in minutes...
Hi, I’m 13 months post rupture and still find myself getting exhausted easily I still seem to need a nap each day and have been trying to figure out if this is normal or if I’ve just gotten lazy but my docs don’t seem to know. I find I’m still dealing with headaches nearly every day some are severe others are mild but I can’t seem to get away from them does anyone else have this problem?
I don’t have a lot of headaches…an extremely long travel day or a lot of strenuous work will give me a neck ache that will turn into a headache. But, dammm… do I get tired easy
Hi Cassie, it seems we are all in the same boat. We have all learned ways to cope, pace ourselves and get through each day but nobody is saying that after doing certain things their stamina/energy returned to normal. Guess this is our new normal. Good luck to you
Hi Lucky Man, I too find that driving gives me a headache, plus noise, stress, etc. The fatigue is life changing, isn't it, but ignoring/fighting it ends up being so much worse