HI yes got copy of a letter sent by stroke people to my GP to day, not good reading goes on about tia s, infarcts old and new, right carotid TIA, cardioembolism Atrial fibrillation, previous lacunar strokes on brain imaging, previously dilated cardiomyopathy SO BASICLY I AM F..KED
Hello I’m squeaking new. With trepidation I write on this forum. I had a mini stroke but I don’t know when. MRI May 2019 did not say the date so says the Clinical Director of ENT, to whom I was referred to about Otitis Media, after 3 weeks of constant headaches. I thought what’s that; I just have always had chronically itchy ears and, my children say, hard of hearing. I’m 71 1/2 always been dead fit and positive. Ever since this news of a right cerebellar infarct, (apparently to do with vertigo which I’ve experienced a few times, I’ve been in denial, panic stricken, angry, frightened and now practical. Just written my will! Could not take aspirin as it exacerbated my asthma. Then Clopidogrel (it took me ages to pronounce that correctly) gave me bruising under which blood vessels broke giving me acute groin pain and I barely walk like earlier in the year. After the hospital gave me this information, having ruled out potential hip replacement worries in an x Ray, I decided to come off pills. Dipyridamole is the next one to try but I was told they seem to be discontinued as patients complained of headaches...
So having consulted Dr Google I gather it’s imperative to take meds post stroke for a year after. But I don’t know when I had the mini stroke. I’ve cut down hugely on alcohol, never smoked and I’m not overweight! Yes I do too much so I’ve tried to calm down somewhat. The weather has put me on dead stop slow! I can only think last year, as Ladies Bowls Captain, I played too much in extremely hot weather, had sunstroke about 3 times and did too much. It was a bad summer
So I feel lucky compared to others
I feel this is a warning but I would be pleased to compare MRI pictures with anyone
Hello I’m squeaking new. With trepidation I write on this forum. I had a mini stroke but I don’t know when. MRI May 2019 did not say the date so says the Clinical Director of ENT, to whom I was referred to about Otitis Media, after 3 weeks of constant headaches. I thought what’s that; I just have always had chronically itchy ears and, my children say, hard of hearing. I’m 71 1/2 always been dead fit and positive. Ever since this news of a right cerebellar infarct, (apparently to do with vertigo which I’ve experienced a few times, I’ve been in denial, panic stricken, angry, frightened and now practical. Just written my will! Could not take aspirin as it exacerbated my asthma. Then Clopidogrel (it took me ages to pronounce that correctly) gave me bruising under which blood vessels broke giving me acute groin pain and I barely walk like earlier in the year. After the hospital gave me this information, having ruled out potential hip replacement worries in an x Ray, I decided to come off pills. Dipyridamole is the next one to try but I was told they seem to be discontinued as patients complained of headaches...
So having consulted Dr Google I gather it’s imperative to take meds post stroke for a year after. But I don’t know when I had the mini stroke. I’ve cut down hugely on alcohol, never smoked and I’m not overweight! Yes I do too much so I’ve tried to calm down somewhat. The weather has put me on dead stop slow! I can only think last year, as Ladies Bowls Captain, I played too much in extremely hot weather, had sunstroke about 3 times and did too much. It was a bad summer
So I feel lucky compared to others
I feel this is a warning but I would be pleased to compare MRI pictures with anyone
Hi Brenda - I'm also a Brenda! There aren't so many of us around these days :) Thanks for sharing your story with us and sorry to hear about your stroke. I have also suffered with vertigo since the 1980's and didn't realise that it can cause damage to your brain but, strangely enough, since my stroke, I haven't had any episodes at all - spooky!
Following my stroke 2 yrs ago, I was put on Clopidogrel which, combined with the statins they put me on, landed me in A & E several times because my legs stopped working. I am no longer on statins and, having tried several different types, they decided I was allergic to them but I was swapped over to aspirin 75mg which I can tolerate well. I also tried Dipyridamole which was as bad as Clopi for side effects. I am on aspirin for the rest of my life to prevent another stroke as well as blood pressure tablets. If you could find a blood thinner you can tolerate, it would help to protect you for the future. It's good that you have slowed down your pace of life too. I think once we retire, we pack so much into our lives that we end up being as busy, if not busier, than when we worked!
This hot weather is horrendous for me too and also slows me down to a snail's pace. Not just my body but my brain as well. There is a nice cool breeze this morning when I stuck my nose out of the window so hopefully not so humid today!
Thank you for replying Brenda. Yes with a name like that we all know how old we are! I have a doctors appointment on Friday and my inclination is to try a lower dose, if it exists, of aspirin, perhaps taking it 3 times a day. Let’s see if that would make any difference. I’m waiting for my kegs to work normally again before I try anything else. The only pill that totally agreed with me was HRT which I stopped taking at 59. I wish I had never stopped
To be honest 75mg once a day is the normal dose I think for stroke patients as this is considered a 'baby' dose and enough to thin your blood down to prevent another. I normally take mine after my evening meal which helps to avoid heartburn which can happen to some people if you take it on an empty stomach.
Regarding stopping HRT, well - I may be able to make you feel a bit better about stopping! I was on Premarin for 27 years following hysterectomy. My GP asked me to come off it when I was 60 saying it increased risk of stroke dramatically to a one in ten chance over 60 years old. I stopped gradually over 6 months but had various problems following and was referred to a gynecologist. Then after 3 years or so of investigations, she said the reason for all my problems was down to stopping HRT and recommended I go back on it which I did but at a lower dose. 12 months later I had a blood clot stroke which the consultant said was mainly due to being on HRT at 65 together with high cholestrol. So although I loved HRT and being on it for the huge benefits it gave me, I'm the opposite view of you now and wish I'd never gone back on it!
You are so true regarding our name! I have only ever known 2 other Brenda's in my life time and both of them worked with me but in different jobs. They were both tall and I am only 5ft so at those jobs, I was always known as 'little Brenda' and they were known as 'big Brenda's' so people knew which one they were talking about! My mother, bless her in her wisdom, wanted to call my brother and I names that could not be shortened (my brother is Roy) and just to make doubly sure we all got called what she wanted, we weren't given middle names either! It didn't really work for me though as most people close to me call me Bren!
I chose my childrens names so that they could be shortened and they thus had choices. Girl would have been Lucinda and that must have about x number of variations. But we only had boys so that went out the window ! And they have second names so they have that choice as well.
best wishes
Colin
hi no cant get time of work at this time ,Iam realy anoid i was told i hade a tia last august .i have s
just had anothrr 2 tia,s this august but was informed that i didnot have a tia last august BUT A LACUNER STROKE I would not have returned to work so soon if i hade known this
Hi James, Do not rush back to work. It is important that you have time to recovery as much as possible before returning. If not you will find that you are suffering more with stroke fatigue which will cause you to need to be off more. Your employer should know that you have had a stroke and I dont think they can dismiss you for that, after all it was completely out of your control. It is always good to be honest with your employers otherwise they cannot help you. My employers still keep an eye on my health after 2 years post stroke. If they are reasonable people they will be interested in your well being, not trying to get rid of you. Maybe a visit to the Citizen,s advice will help. They can explain what your rights are in this situation. Regarding your mental issues It sounds as if you need to see a neurologist who will help you to assess where you are with your mental thoughts and abilities. I visited one who helped to settle my mind and I was able to move on with things.
Hope this helps
Sandie
thank you
Hello. I'm new here and full of trepidation, though it looks like a friendly place. I had a stroke a few weeks ago, and am finding the move from hourly observations in hispital to almost no assistance and enormous stress upon discharge almost unbearable. I still feel extremely ill, and have far too much to do that I simply cannot do. I'm lucky, of course, but my head is all over the place, and in pain. I keep getting told I'm young, which doesn't really help ... Muddling on, of course, but scared.
Hello and welcome although it is a club no one wants to join! I think we all feel pretty scared at first, I certainly did but I find it gets better over time. It is 5 months since I had my stroke and I did find it very frustrating at first but I think you just have to keep smiling and trying to do things. It is a huge assault on your brain and your brain will do everything it can to get better and rebuild the pathways that got damaged. Everyone is different and everyone's experiences are different but you are among friends on here.
Joan
Listen to all of thee above, agency work is crap I have been there! I don't know what work your are doing but Wendy is correct you could be putting others in danger, your health and well being comes first, and resting is the best way, I can't add any more than what they have said other than
Deep breath and keep padding
Hi jm
A lot of what you read on this site will be.... It takes time and rest.... And it's all true, And this is coming from those that have gone before you, not a friend or family member that is trying to comfort you, and some of it you will relate to and some of it you will be glad that its not you that's going that way... But you are breathing which is a good start! So just go forward from that point....
Deep breath and keep padding
Hi Jm, You are in very early days of recovery. Stroke is a very traumatic experience and affects you both physically and mentally. I am nearly four years post stroke, but in the early days, I became ‘hospitalised’ quite quickly. Just before discharge, I was allowed on a trip out, but I found it frightening and could not wait to get into my hospital bed again. Once back home, I was still scared, could barely walk and had to sleep downstairs for three weeks. Sleep was difficult and I thought I might die at any minute. Then post stroke fatigue hit me and I spent each day trying to stay awake.
Over time, fears eased and my health improved. I fought to walk again and do things....a hard journey, but one I had to make. Things will ease for you too, so take heart. You have survived and been given a second chance. Take it. Also, rethink your lifestyle and diet. That will help you, as will the support of friends and family. I wish you all the best.
Hi everyone, I’m new here too. I’m 44 and I had a stroke on 20th July 2019 so for me it’s still fairly early days. It was an ischemic stroke on the right side of my brain which has left me with loss of vision and numbness down my entire left side. I find I can generally manage these symptoms Ok. What I find harder to deal with is the lack of memory and ability to concentrate as well as the fatigue. My friends, family and partner have all been great and I’m lucky to have them. But it’s hard for them to really understand as all of my symptoms are unseen. To them , I ‘look’ the same... Reading other people’s stories and comments on here really helps. I should have come here sooner ?
The short term memory issues and concentrating etc are common following a stroke but over time they do become less and less.Sometimes you think you’re doing ok and you get tripped up by a simple question, I still get the day wrong now and then but to begin with I rarely knew what day it was. I’m looking for a watch with the day and date on it which I’ve been told will help keep me orientated ( but not one of those big sports watches). It’s very common to get upset when you realise you got it wrong again and I hated that so much because I was so organised before the stroke but again that feeling becomes less and less over time.
I do think recovery of your memory is very slow but it does improve, I had the stroke over 19- 20 months ago and in general I know I have greatly improved - I still get the odd glitch now and again especially if I’m not paying much attention.
Keep reading and posting on the site, you’ll gets lots of help on here from friends who totally understand.
Ann
Hi hope you feel stronger and positive day by day. it’s very important you fight back with loss.
yes nice to have friend and family around yes not everyone can understand as our pain is unseen and fatigue really unexplainable thing which we have to handle after stroke.
At age of 40 i had it.....and lost my right vision off both eyes not allowed to drive since March.
Please don’t loose hope keep this gang close to you. Let’s Fight together rather than alone. remember the strength is in the Pack .... we are not wolves but we are survivors.
Keep praying for your strength and most important for positivity . Drink lots lots of water in day time.
Stay blessed.
One of the worst bits is ‘looking well’. Friends, families and partners always want you the way you were and, obviously, you wish you were too. What they fail to understand is our frustrations, anxieties and temper bursts, sometimes even over the smallest things. It is so irritating when weak hands fumble with things, drop things or spill tea. Fatigue is debilitating in a way others cannot understand and,for me, walking even a reasonable distance is an effort.
Currently I am working on my weak shoulder muscles and exercises are a little painful. I do them religiously though and am sensing a small improvement. The slowness of improvement is frustrating too, but no pain, no gain. I get a bit tired of endless comments of ‘you’re doing so well,’ but I probably am. No mobility scooter more me just yet.
Hey I'm new to the stroke guide. I had my stroke when I was 22. It's not easy after stroke, I'm part of the stroke group in my local area they are a great bunch of people of all ages