Hi just had my 6 week follow up with the stroke team ,they don't know what caused the stroke as my bloods are all ok my R test was normal and so was my echocardigram so now they want to insert a loop recorder under my skin in my chest ,and monitor it from there they record every minute or every day and night and if there's a problem the hospital alert me ...I'm just not that keen on any invasive op to be honest ...pippy
That's a big step, but if it is just under the skin, it should be okay? They didn't find a cause for mine either, but my own prognosis is a thrombosis I had in my arm which possibly became embolic. I am having an MRI of my neck just to double-check. All my tests came back normal including bloods, had several echocardigrams plus one with a bubble study. They were putting two and two together, and hoping to make four, meanwhile, I have been doing my own research, more so for curiosity now than anything else.
If I don't have it done I'd be forever worrying at least they can keep check on my heart ,it's crazy all my results were normal it just don't seem real ...pippy
Hi Pippy- the doc thought they might need to do that to me too, to see what caused my ichemic stroke-- because they said it was often hard to pick up afib, since a person could go a long time between it happening. But first they tried a halter monitor on me, which I wore 24/7 for a couple of days. I was fortunate in that during that short time they did find afib (of which I was totally unaware). Had they not picked it up and had I later refused the implant, I might have had another afib episode and not known about it, and maybe another stroke. As it is, I am now on medicine that controls the afib and blood thinners. So I don't worry anymore. I now also have a pacemaker, which is just under the skin. It's no "big deal" having it, and was a fairly simple outpatient procedure for me to have it put in. Just another perspective.
Love, Jeanne
Hello Pippy, I don’t know about anyone else but, me personally, I would find such a thing reassuring. I had a heart monitor round my neck 24/7 for seven days in hospital, it was oddly reassuring at the time, except one of them stopped working and the batteries ran flat a few times! ?
Morning yeah I know they are trying to look for the causes and I get it that if it is my heart causing it it may happen again but worse ,I've slept on it and I'm thinking it's the right move the ironic thing is I work on the cardiac ward so know exactly what's going on ...hope your ok ..pippy
Morning thankyou Jeanne ,I think I was a bit shocked yesterday after the phone appointment ,I find I'd rather talk face to face ,but I'm going to go ahead with it ,as I reckon af does probaly come on now and again ,I had the R test on in the hospital for 3 days but I was resting so was probaly ok ..it's bad enough having a stroke without everything else thankyou have a good day pippy
Hello Pippy is the monitor called a reveal device only they wanted me to have one and like you I didnt fancy having it implanted undermy skin but I have got Af I have got to make mymind up. Best wishes Norma Jean.
Hi Norma it's a loop recorder it goes under your skin in your chest and stays there upto 3 years then they take it out ,they haven't seen af on any of myecgs echo r tests but suppose if it is that it will pick it up ,the device is monitored all the time and if something is noted they call you there's a device that comes with it that you have to put the remote on it and it downloads each day's heart beats ,it's a good idea but I don't like anything invasive ,I think there is an external loop recorder that you were it's probaly a bit clumbaston but I think I'd prefer that ...pippy
Do you have any recognisable AF symptoms? I imagine these can be also detected by feeling for flutters and increased heart rate, or medically by ECG.
I have flutters on and off most days,no increase in my heart rate I've had flutters for many years it's been investigated by means of numerous r tests ecgs ,they came up with a diagnosis of ectopic heart beats as that's what I felt,and on ecgs I have runs of them,which feels like your heart skips beats then double beats if that makes sense ,also feels like the heart stops for like seconds but I'm guessing that's the ectopics ,the stroke doctor yesterday did say to check for hole in the heart which I've had so many tests it would have been seen by now ...pippy
You had a bubble study too? Does that mean you had a stroke in your cerebellum? You mentioned some time ago a POCI stroke which I am lead to believe can hit that region.
I had the poci stroke in April this year ,no not had bubble study they were talking about it yesterday ,to have done ,yeah my poci was in the brain mid stem at the back of my head ,I've been bit forgetful since the stroke with numbers and names and also go to say something and it goes ,I asked the doc yesterday when he phoned and he said it's unlikely to be the stroke because if it's the sides of your head it effects cognitive speech memory ,but if it's at the back it's the eyes balance things like that so not sure why I forget things ,maybe because I'm not so active now ,and anxiety stepped in and probaly getting bit down in the dumps ,I know I'm so much more emotional they said that was normal ...pippy
Oh okay, brainstem, rare like mine in the cerebellum, and yes, motor functions, our original primitive functions including emotions and also to an extent language (well, right side of cerebellum). I have a friend who had a brainstem stroke, he's fours years on now and has to have an MRI every six months. He's an ambassador for the Stroke Association. Both our types of strokes have high mortality and morbidity, so we are very lucky to have come through and you are doing very well by the sounds of it. Your symptoms will be very similar to us in the cerebellar club, as David on here has christened it 
One of the symptoms with the kind of stroke I had is loss of short term recall, not associated with the hippocampus but primitive recall like we would have used for survival. I used to find absent minded people endearing, but I've discovered I don't want to be one of them now! I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on, actually, if it wasn't screwed on I might feel better. Yes, anxiety is tough with strokes because if, say, you broke your leg and were anxious about it, your brain could do all the muscle to help relieve the anxiety, but because the damage is in the brain it's not neutral, it's actually part of its own problem.
I'm just so glad I found this site otherwise life like this would be so lonely and worrying ,I hope I can get back to most of what I was like before ,it's just the mental side that's dragging me down ,and fatigue,but had a nurse ring me today about joining the fatigue group once aweek for 5 weeks all done on line ,I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain,..pippy
Hope all goes well
Looks tough ..pippy