Hi everyone; I am looking for someone who has had a similar experience as me that I can get some information from. I have always been an excessively active 49 year female with no physical limitations whatsoever and lived my life on the go; non stop all day every day.
5 weeks ago I had 6mm subarachnoid rupture and subsequent coiling the same day. I spent 9 Day's in ICU , one in the regular ward and then sent home. I have been home 4 weeks as of tomorrow.
My extreme headaches had pretty much subsided - I only get occasional pulsing sensations but I'm still feeling very lethargic and exhausted physically, tired, and dizzy any time I am not laying down.
About the exhaustion - my body feels like it just ran a marathon and it feels that way all day even when I first wake up. I sleep fairly well at night at least 8 hours a night so I feel I am getting enough sleep. I am not napping as much since I am off all the medicine I cannot fall asleep during the day but do find I need to recline and rest my body frequently. This is a very foreign feeling for me.
I also feel like I have balance issues and some difficulty with depth perception and my peripheral vision. I started physical therapy last week and look forward to help with that.
Has anyone else gone through something similar ?
How was your recovery ? I am mostly concerned about the exhaustion and dizziness. I would love to hear about that and what to expect. I do not think it would be wise of me to push myself while feeling like this.
Hello Beata! You are only 5 weeks into your recovery from a major life experience and sounds as if you are doing remarkably well in your recovery and am so happy to hear that! I feel this extreme exhaustion and fatigue you are feeling are all part of your recovery and is a sign from your body telling you to just Rest vs. pushing yourself. I, too, experienced this extreme fatigue and exhaustion going 3 years back when I persevered thru a rupture from an undiagnosed AVM. Like you, I'm 49 "and holding"...haha... and always lived life "on the go" prior to what I call my "life-saving Blessing". So now; 3 years later, I still live "on the go" yet this certainly has taken on a new meaning for me! I have learned how to just settle down a bit and take the time to "stop and smell those roses" and am thoroughly enjoying Life so much more now. Please know that this all will subside with time, as you heal, and know that you'll be back to that "on the go" YOU that you once were; yet probably in a much more sane and enjoyable fashion :))! I wish YOU all the BEST with your recovery and enjoy this time of R&R while you can. Oh, and please do remember to "always be kind to yourself" thru this recovery of yours! {HUGS}
Thank you for Michele; this is good to hear; I was beginning to wonder if I will feel dizzy and exhausted the rest of my life.
Some days I spring out of bed as I used to and this is not good; I am reminded immediately that I am recovering still but find it hard to accept the amount of time it will take.
My husband thinks I should try yoga and meditation; it sounds like a good idea but my pace was more like kickboxing and zumba! But as you said I will have to learn to live life in a more sane fashion especially now.
I hope you are fully recovered and living life to its fullest.
And I am still learning how to be kind to myself; that is a difficult task for me !
Thank you for your input :-) :-) I find being on this site helps but it was my hubbys idea to post this and I am glad I did :-)
I'm so glad your husband urged you to post this and also think yoga & meditation would be a good start for you vs. the kickboxing & zumba. You and I sound so much alike as I was so eager to get back to my "body pump" class but started off lightly with 9-holes of golf...and always got a cart vs. walking....and still would feel like I just finished a triathlon...hehe. I'm happy to tell you I am fully recovered and certainly living life to the fullest now too -- nothing and no one will stop me now :))!!! Oh, and having a loving, on-line support community like this was certainly a life-line for me as I was healing...so welcome and I look forward to following your progress thru your healing!
Wow; thanks again; I too am a golfer and was getting discouraged as the weather has gotten so nice. It is good to hear all of this and I am glad you are doing so well :-)
The dizziness has been driving me crazy! I'm only 9 weeks out from my surgery. Glad this website is here so that I can hear about others having the same experience and that there is hope. Stay strong!
Hi Beata...you know me...I had to come and put my 2 cents into the conversation...Again, you are so early in the Healing journey...don't be so hard on YOU... it is time to be patient and relax ... and little by little do something little daily to reach back to your goals...wishing you a beautiful day ~ Colleen
Thank you Mary - I hope and pray that the dizziness does not last that long; did you have coiling done? yes; we need to stay strong :-) Hope you feel well today; I am off to physical therapy soon. :-)
Hi Liam; thank you for your input - I have never been accused of being a patient person; I have to keep reminding myself to stay in the present moment. That is the best place for me. I am going to physical therapy this morning and that does help. I do miss my golf though....... :-) Hope you are having a good day and I wish you well :-) I have a hard time being 'kind to myself' weird but true; I have always been a workaholic of all sorts; this is so foreign to me! Thank you..thank you....
Thank you Colleen; yes; I know you :-) and thank you....so much :-) I have always been very hard on myself but I am learning now that this is one battle I have no control over really....all I can do is try to live in the present moment and not get caught up in the past or the future; those are depressing and scary places for me....thank you so much :-)
Hi Beata, I'll share my experience. 9/26/13 I had an unruptured aneurysm clipped. Although I have the scar running across the top of my head I am one of the lucky ones who hasn't experienced any pain. But I have had the fatigue and dizziness. The dizzy feeling was strongest from Sept-Jan until I started going to physical therapy. They provided exercises to work on my equilibrium...everything from moving my eyeballs around to follow a business card to sitting me on a stool and 'driving' me around the room to simulate a car's movements. Around that time I also followed up with my regular doctor and discovered that my once high blood pressure had dropped so I was able to stop taking the meds and that helped some of the dizzies too. I noticed a significant improvement to the fatigue and dizziness until a few weeks ago. I sat and listened to my body (sounds weird right) and called for another checkup. Turns out my Vitamin D and B12 were really low so now that I'm taking those supplements I'm starting to feel better already. So long story short, yes these feelings are common. You'll learn when to listen to your body and when it's time to rest or ask for checkups. Oh and I have learned fast that if my body is warning me to slow down and I don't that pushing through isn't the answer for me. Not yet anyway. Best of health to you Beata!
Thank you for this information and sharing Harlyena; I too go to physical therapy and it does help; as they say, we can re-train the brain and this is awesome. I also learned that perhaps my left eye is not 'tracking' properly and that could cause dizziness too.
I really don't feel dizzy when I am laying down with my eyes focused on one thing or closed and for that I am grateful and hopeful.
I have a regular doctors appointment tomorrow and will ask about a referral to an eye doctor and ask for bloodworm; I am usually on top of health issues normally; now I am even more so.
I realize it's a whole body thing and everything matters in my recovery so thanks for confirming this with your note.
Hey that's my left eye too! We'd laugh at physical therapy because I'd try to track the card with my eyes and it seemed as if the left was on time delay. Or if I'd turn my head to the right too fast like my eye would still be back on the left. It was funny and weird but with exercise improved quite a bit.
Thank you - at PT today they suggested I see an eye doctor since they did not think my left eye is tracking properly; and could contribute to dizziness. Definitely worth checking into :-)
I hope you are feeling well and thanks for the input!