Gym and workouts almost killed me – a hidden danger left me so close to death I said goodbye to my little girl
WHEN Linzi Todd was struck with a throbbing headache, she brushed it off and struggled through - blaming it on the fact she was simply "over-tired".
The 40-year-old was oblivious that this was the first sign of a catastrophic ordeal that would leave her fighting to survive. So bleak was her prognosis that Linzi was forced to say her goodbyes to her husband and daughter.
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What she initially assumed was just a headache was, in fact, a bleed and blood clot on her brain - which may have been caused by her years of intense exercise in the gym.
The ultra-fit personal trainer, who lives in Northampton, Northamptonshire, was hosting classes at a two-day training camp earlier this year when she first noticed the headache, as well as a ringing in her ear.
It was only when the pounding in her head got worse that the mum-of-one took herself to A&E.
'I was teaching outdoor bootcamp fitness classes and went to bed that evening and developed tinnitus, which I'd never had in my life,' she tells Sun Health.
'I woke up the next morning with a really banging headache.
'I popped a couple of pills, felt unwell, but cracked on.
"I rang the doctors and they put it down to labyrinthitis (an inner ear infection) because I felt dizzy as well.
"I just thought maybe my body was tired. I'm not the type of person that gets sick. I've always been really fit and healthy.
"But the headaches persisted. I would wake up with intense throbbing in my head as soon as I got up every morning.
'It felt like the worst brain freeze ever, and only lying down and taking painkillers would give me some relief."
When Linzi went to A&E in March as she grappled with worsening headaches, she was told she had "low pressure" in her head.
Medics advised her to increase her caffeine and water intake and she was referred for an MRI.
But shortly after having the scan in May, Linzi received an urgent call from a neurologist while at work, telling her she needed to come back to hospital immediately.
The scans had uncovered the true case of her headaches - a large bleed and blood clot on her brain.
Based on the size of the bleed, doctors were stunned that the mum was able to form a sentence, let alone carry on with normal life, unaware of the significant damage being done to her brain.
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While the clot measured 17mm, the bleed covered more than half of the right side of her brain.
Linzi says: 'I got a phone call while I was at work from the neurologist who said, 'Where are you right now?' and told me to get to A&E immediately, and that I had a very serious condition.
"He said he could see an acute subdural haematoma on my brain, which is very serious, and a very large blood clot.
"He said, 'We don't often see bleeds of this size in women of your age without any head trauma' and that it was a medical emergency.
"I was Googling what this condition was and it said there was a 25 per cent survival rate. I thought, 'Am I going to die? Do I need to plan my funeral?'
I had to push every single step of the way. It would've had a different ending if I hadn't pushed as much as I did with doctors. I absolutely would've died
Linzi
"It was so traumatic. I had to say goodbye to my husband and daughter. I didn't know if I was going to see them again or not.
"Doctors were baffled by how I was presenting based on my scans and what they found.
'I was at high risk of a stroke and seizure, yet I was passing all of their cognitive and reflex tests.
"It's normally found in boxers, rugby players, horse-riders - someone that has had a trauma to the head.
"I was walking around with that in my brain and it could've killed me."
'Push to get seen'
Linzi was later told that the bleed had been caused by a leak of her cerebrospinal fluid in her spine - a clear fluid that protects the brain and spine.
She suspects the leak was caused by years of intense exercise and over-doing it at the gym.
The mum, who remains in hospital weeks later, is due to have an epidural blood patch to help seal the leak and help the clot and bleed to naturally disperse.
Linzi said doctors said the leak can happen to fit and active people who "overdo it" and put too much pressure on their spine, which is what they believe may have happened to her.
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"There's no real way of knowing what exactly has caused this,' she adds.
'[Doctors] believe I may have overdone it during exercise and caused a tear in my dura (the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord).
"However, I wouldn't have felt this happen and only had symptoms in my head later on.
"Because I've been consistently active, it's just consistently worn down and created this leak. It's just unlucky it's happened to me.
"I don't want anyone to be put off exercise because it's a very rare thing to happen but it's the only logical reasoning for why this happened.
What is a subdural haematoma?
A subdural haematoma is a serious condition where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain.
It's usually caused by a head injury.
Symptoms of a subdural haematoma can include:
A headache that keeps getting worse
Feeling and being sick
Confusion
Personality changes, such as being unusually aggressive or having rapid mood swings
Feeling drowsy
Loss of consciousness
The symptoms can develop soon after a severe head injury or very occasionally a few days or weeks after a more minor head injury.
You should always seek emergency medical treatment after a severe head injury.
Go to your nearest A&E department or call 999.
If you develop the symptoms above any time after a minor head injury, you should also go to your nearest A&E department or call 999 for an ambulance as soon as possible.
Source: NHS
"I never thought a bad bout of headaches would result in this and nearly three weeks in hospital.
"I had to push every single step of the way.
"It would've had a different ending if I hadn't pushed as much as I did with doctors. I absolutely would've died.
"I just knew there was something wrong. I always tell others to listen to their own body and gut. Push to get seen and get answers.
'You'd rather get a normal result than leave it and it be too late."
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