Could someone tell me what a bleed is like? Im finding very general symptoms when I search sites via Google and Im getting worried that something might be going on with me. Should I wait a few days for my doctor appointment or go the the ER?
LET ME EXPLAIN...
Since my last known seizure (about a month ago) I have had ever increasing headaches. I also have dizziness - especially when standing up from laying down. For the last week I have had a constant headache which always gets worse in the middle of the night. I wake up in so much pain. Also my hands get numb if I hold them up (like when on the phone) but I also have Reynaulds (which seemed to be well controlled).
Right after the seizure my Keppra was increased from 750 mg per day to 1000 twice a day. I still take the same 81 mg aspirin and calcium channel blocker (for my heart/circulation - not high blood pressure). I talked to a nurse and she said that after over 4 weeks the increase of Keppra shouldnt be giving me these symptoms (I go see my neurologist in 3 days).
When I get the dizziness after standing up from laying down/bending over for awhile it feels almost like Im drunk. Im dizzy and unsteadly and sometimes have to think about the first few steps I take.
I havent had migraines in years so I dont think its that (plus Im not having my usually eye blurriness or nausea). But it seriously feels like Ive been hit in the head with a baseball bat. When I wake up at night I moan and feel like crying. Pain medicine doesnt seem to help.
It just doesnt seem normal. My whole head hurts but a little more on the left side and my forehead. My neck is bothering me but nothing too bad.
These are the symptoms I have that match the general aneurysm symptoms but I dont match others (I dont want to go to the ER and look crazy because these are so general or could be from the Keppra): Fatigue
Loss of balance and coordination
Decreased concentration
Short-term memory difficulty (but thats happened since a grand mal in August)
Pain above and behind the eye
Stiff neck or neck pain
A sudden, severe headache that is different from past headaches
Thanks a lot! You all are always so helpful when it comes to understanding the AVMs/seizures/etc. Hilary
Hilary, my husband is the survivor, but I think from your statement “worse headache ever” you should go to the ER. My husband is on keppra too and had increases and did have minor problems, tiredness, dizziness but never the terrible headache. He had that when his bleed occurred, that’s exactly how he described it.
Blessings, Marie
Hilary I pray you are not reading this because you are on your way to the ER . If you have not gone there yet please do so now .
Be good to you , take care of you , go .
Hilary, I echo everyone else & strongly encourage you go to the ER for an exam, evaluation & possibly a CT or MRI scan.
Always best to be safe when experiencing new or persistent symptoms.
Hope all goes well!
Maybe I will go. I just keep telling myself that Im paranoid.... its been about a month since my doctor said I have the AVMs so I dont want to be jumping to conclusions. But if you all seem to think I need to go then I probably should. Is it normal to have a headache for almost a week?
Hilary, PLEASE go to the hospital and get checked out! If you ever feel like your head pain is that severe, it is better to be safe. At the very least, they can give you some pain relief.
Just to let you know, and I’m hoping this doesn’t happen to you, every bleed I had was amazingly painful, as in twenty billion times more more insanely painful than any migraine headache that I ever heard anyone cry about. Following my final stroke, however, I remember, in my head, before I I lapsed into a coma, I remember having woken up after having taken codeine to what sounded, literally, like a piledriver, in my skull and having exclaimed to my mom that the bleed, at the time that I was experiencing was much different than any other I’d experienced. I woke up over a month later, having undergone a shunt surgery and having nearly let die at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
Please seek medical attention at once. My daughter experienced the same sort of intense headache before her small bleed during her second pregnancy. Please get in there Hilary. Good thoughts and blessings coming your way.
When I sustained bleeds, it hurt really bad to walk, swim or do anything physical. This is due to the fact that physical movement requires increased heartbeat for increased blood flow. I think the most stroke-related pain I experienced happened to me when I had a bleed after doing a 1 1/2 flip off the high dive at St. Mary’s College; as, I had the stroke when I hit the water; then, I had to swim to the side so I wouldn’t drown, climb up the ladder and walk back to the dorm in which I was staying.
I have had some small bleeds... It feels like I'm going to die! It hurts like hell. So GO!!!!!!! Go to the hospital!!! My bleedings are small and I still go.
I went last night and they did a cat scan - they said that was normal. And my blood work looked normal. So I felt like I was dying again last night when I got home and took a pill killer they gave me a rx for. Then I just threw up all night. So I went to the ER again and they didnt really -know what to tell me. I got ibprofen and anti-nausea pills. Now I feel like a zombie. Im so weak. Its taking a lot to get up and touch this computer. My headache isnt the worst anymore but its still bad. Thanks everyone.
Hi Hilary. I’m happy to hear from you because I was worried about you. I’m sorry that you didn’t get any answers or any pain relief. I don’t know what to tell you. Did you go to the ER of the same hospital that Diagnosed your AVM? My AVM has been obliterated so I have no medication restrictions. However, I am not sure you should be taking ibuprofen with an active AVM. You even have to be careful with medications or vitamins that thin the blood. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more helpful (really not helpful at all).
I'm sorry I haven't read your page to find out about where your AVMs are, I assume in your brain. If the ER CAT scans didn't show anything but your still having the 'worst headache ever' AND vomitting may I suggest that you have them look in your cervical-spinal area. That is where my AVM is and I was tested a dozen times, scanning my brain, and they never found anything because mine was in the cervical spine and it was producing SAHs. I do not mean to alarm and I pray that this is not the case for you. Having those headaches and vomitting is not normal, there has to be a cause.
I'll be praying for you, take care of yourself. Kim