i had been a nurse practitioner for 20+ years until my avm ruptured 1 1/2 yrs ago. people that see me now, are quick to ask if i've gone back to work-"yet". my avm was right parietal so my speech was affected (that was one-half of my job duties). also, i can't use my dominant right hand so that's why i type in all lower case letters. i've adjusted to try to communicate because the 4 weeks i couldn't talk, were absolute torture! i was cold, hungry, in pain - i shudder thinking about it. i HAVE noticed improvement since "hell broke loose" but i'm very aware of my continued deficits, although, they may NOT be to others. i'm wondering how many people here are dr's, resp therapists, nurses, SLP's, OT's, PT's, PA's (etc) that have been able to return to work. one of my fears is that i will feel shamed to go back to work, only to lose my nursing license. i didn't work so hard to leave this profession in shame. and, i won't go through the motions with my patients and betray their confidence, i just won't! thanks in advance.
LEFT PARIETAL, my mistake. i get my right's and left's mixed up :)
I posted a question awhile back asking kinda the same question. I am a nurse.I work at a blood bank. If I had to change jobs I don't know what I would do. I don't think I could handle any other job. I tried working at a hospital when I first got out of school back in 1997. I can't handle any job that causes me a lot of stress. It was a true God send that I landed this job. Been here for going on 10 years. I haven't had a rupture. Mine was discovered when I had a bad seizure at work. Described by one of my coworkers as "looked like I was possessed by the devil". I have since had 3 more seizures all at work except one that was at church. I have often wondered how many people work or have returned to work if they had a rupture. I have seen several success stories on here. Very encouraging.
OMG! i have had 2 seizures as well so i know what that's like, the horror! as i continue to trudge along slowly, i'll keep your words in mind. nursing is what i know, what i do best, and i can't see myself doing anything else either. my job was VERY stressful (12 hr shifts non-stop) but i thrived on it. now, i can even think if there is noise in the room. :( somethings gotta give but i'll lay in wait for now. thanks again! by the looks of my responses, it looks like a longshot...
I am a Resp therapist, I have never bled but I had a grand mal seizure during the delivery of my 1st child. I have yet to go back to work since then due to everything that has been going on since then, but I am having an angio this Monday and hopefully we can see what’s going on.
I am a patient care tech and have been one since 1988.NEWLY diagnosed unruptered cerebral AVM and I am having a really hard time light duty is not light duty and I can’t get them to understand I don’t have the strength I’m dizzy walking I feel like my head is swelling as I’m turning my patients I’m at a lost I’m scared I don’t want to cause a rupture a bleed. They act as if they either don’t know what it is or just don’t care.
i wish you luck with your angio. i know full well what that entails and i'll be thinking about you on monday! hopefully, it will be something they can fix with oral meds. my brother is a resp therapist as well (i have a pic on "my page"). when i went to have surgery in houston (5 hours away), his patient's family member from back home recognized him and asked why he was at the Medical Center in houston. my brother said, "i'm here with my sister who's having brain surgery." we all have our issues... luckily for me, it went well. congrats on your first baby!...and so the story starts!
i would vent those feelings with your dr and tell him/her to reassure you plus, consider your options. after my bleed, i take extra care protecting my head and focusing on breathing when exercising. i know i'll never be footloose and fancy free again. we all have things that make us hesitate and nobody can tell you how to "feel". i have had sick family in the hosp and won't help with turning them or scooting them up in bed. i just can't get myself to help the way i used to. i also feel lightheaded when i do that. part of it is because: i'm scared to trigger another bleed, and i suffer from PTSD, self diagnosed. in my 47 years, i have had several jobs and learned, you have very few "friends" at work. take care of yourself!
I've never had a rupture but I've recently had stereotactic radiosurgery and I have seizures from my AVM which is in my left frontal lobe. I'm an orthopaedic nurse, thankfully my neurologist has given me 6 months off work to try and get my seizures under control which are every couple of days at the moment. I know what everyone is saying about getting dizzy and not been able to concentrate because I'm with you all there too. All the best with everything.
You are so right and I thank you.I am going back to the dr.have a blessed day.
thanks for sharing! my avm was left frontal lobe as well, contrary to what i said above. i DID have a bleed and my speech was affected, and i was left with right sided weakness. i can fool most of the people most of the time because i walk around like i used to. i joke, "just don't get me to talk because you'll gasp!" people associate intelligence with the way we speak. i play along sometimes just for fun but i'm no dummy :) Best of luck to you as well!
best of luck.
I can understand what you are feeling though I have not endured what you have and are experiencing. But please don't feel ashamed. You should be proud that you have come as far as you have considering what happened when "hell broke loose"
I am a Respiratory Therapist and have been working as a Therapist up until Jan of this year. My AVM was diagnosed in 2005 (left posterior frontal lobe) by an accidental find on CT that was performed for a severe migraine and (what I know now) seizure activity on my right face, arm and leg. I continued to work full time through out my endeavors of preparations for Sterotactic Radiosurgery (traveled from Maine to Boston after working shifts), physical effects from the radiosurgery (fatigue, loss of strength in right arm and leg(improved some with strength training), continued migraines, seizures). 2 years ago I had an embolization procedure performed to get the residual AVM and still have about 10% that they could not embolize.
In June I started getting symptoms that felt similar to when I was started having seizures in the past. Seeing a neurologist in December 2013 I was told I was having break through seizures. These symptoms included heaviness and loss of sensation in my right brow area and down my right cheek, loss of sensation, weakness and heaviness in right and leg, transposing letters and numbers, knowing what to say but comes out wrong, tongue feeling like it didn't want to work and irritability.
These break through seizures are caused by fatigue and stress. I have recently concluded that I will not be continuing on as a therapist for now (will continue to hold my RRT crendital) and moving on to something different for now rather than having these seen by others having me and my ability as a therapist be questioned. I am not giving up my part being in the work force, just taking a change of pace.
Thanks for sharing. My heart is ready to go back to work and maybe I'll be back sooner instead of later. I have some "closet" deficits which largely, have been swept under the rug. Everybody sees the "outer shell" and they're fooled by my exterior. They assume it's the old me. Truth be told, I've got my issues... It's so frustrating and embarrassing, to have been smart at one point and now feel like a "scatter-brain". I know enough to know. I was good at what I did and maybe I'll find another niche. My hands don't work the same and I'd risk injury to a patient if I allowed myself to return to my old job. As far as fatigue, don't mention it. I'm a whole mess of bad! :)
I would tell my speech therapist that I text better than I talk. It's still true today. My speech gives me less trouble than it did at first. I was called "functional" at my last eval though I wouldn't brag. I've always been one to let things roll off my back and I need that ability even more now. I will roll with it, "corre' y se va" like we say in Spanish.
I renewed my RN license and WHCNP certification. I live to fight another day! Thx again.
I have a Respiratory license and I also work in the hospital as a social worker. I have a non bleed as AVM. I’m planning to return to work, but will have to play it by ear. Have my CT scan tomorrow. No plan yet for treatment, although doctor did say embolization.
Hi
I am a mental health nurse and after my suspected bleed in November 2016 I was moved “off the floor” for admin duties till they worked out what to do with me 
. I too have many symptoms that people cannot see so don’t understand when I say “sorry I cannot do that” After nearly a year of working in a temporary place I am now working in a completely different role with less hours but still utilising my nursing skills. It’s definitely not the career path I had planned out for myself but I am just happy that I was supported to stay on in the NHS. I miss my nursing role and sometimes it is so sad for me that I am not doing the job I loved but I am hopeful that there will be opportunities through this post that may have more of a nursing role. 
Take care
Amanda