I thought I’d create this topic just for interest and not to start or continue any conspiracy theories.
Since having my stroke last year at the age of 55, I’ve joined this wonderful band of brothers (& sisters) who have really helped get my head around this devastating event (that I incorrectly thought only happened to “old people”).
I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who had a stroke that can’t easily be explained i.e. the medical professionals that dealt with them couldn’t give a reason why it may have happened.
I’m particularly interested in anyone in the above category that had the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at any point before their stroke.
The reason I am interested is because I had the AZ vaccine 32 days before my stroke and since I have become a Stroke Survivor (SS) I have heard of many others in a similar situation.
It won’t change anything, or turn back time, but it may prompt someone to research if there are any other links that can be avoided in the future.
Please add to this post if you fall into the category outlined (and you want to ).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Chins up & let’s make the best of what we’ve been dealt.
Mark
@Loshy Hi Loraine, that’s a horrible experience you went through and disgusting treatment you received (or lack of treatment). I’m sorry you had to go through that experience but thanks for adding here.
I don’t understand why they would treat people like that, probably not helped by low staff levels and over worked, but not an excuse.
Your stories are very frightening. I too don’t know why I had a stroke but I have had better care since, particularly from my GP.
The GP thinks that I released a clot in my back while driving. I didn’t have the Astra-Zenica jab, I had the Phiser one, but I did feel unwell after it and had the stroke about a month later so who knows. I’m still waiting for the results of a heart monitor to see if it was AF. I hope not as it took a year to organise the test and then they seem to have lost the results but the Stroke Nurse did say that the number of strokes is increasing so both Covid and the vaccines may be responsible for that. I was 60 when I had my stroke (now 61) and didn’t have any pre-existing conditions (at least that anyone knew of)
@FionaB1, thanks for your reply. Sorry you are another statistic like us. I hope that maybe some researchers will at some point look into the possible link to the vaccines.
Not that it can help us, but hopefully to improve them and reduce/remove the risk for future vaccines.
It is quite likely that COVID type viruses will be around for a long time.
Hi Mark.
I too had a stroke at the age of 55, having previously been fit and healthy. However, that was 8½ years ago. Despite running all the usual tests, no cause was found and I was told that clots can form at any time and stay in the body until something causes them to break away and travel around the body. There were a number of things the NHS could have done better at the time (not assume I was suffering from a migraine and leave me overnight for observation, perform an MRI), but to dwell on it would get me nowhere. If I were in your position I might assume the Covid vaccination was to blame, but as so many people were vaccinated it would be difficult to say it was to blame unless more people than usual had strokes.
Thanks @MinnieB , for sharing. I agree with you that it’s unlikely to be the vaccine, but unless someone does the research to see if they had been a higher rate of unexplained stroke since COVID then no one will be any the wiser.
It is unfortunate that stroke isn’t particularly high on people’s agenda (until it happens to you or someone you know). Stroke research is underfunded so it’s a catch-22 that won’t improve unless it becomes more important. I have taken part in a couple of student research projects into stroke. Maybe someone will find a link to an increase in recent years (for whatever reason) which will lead to better future funding that may help others in years to come?
My diagnosis was not conclusive, but after a buffet of tests and scans, and many appointments with my consultant, it was most likely trauma to my neck that caused a stroke. I had a whopping seven inch thrombosis in my arm artery which most likely became embolic. Bilateral strokes are often the result of trauma as the platelets get caught at a junction and then break off in different directions. Even a small tear in an artery can cause a clot as it heals.
As for Covid and vaccines, I caught Covid about two years after the stroke, and had the Pfizer vaccine many months after stroke.
I feel I need to be rather cautious when commenting on whether or not it may have caused a stroke for some people. I am by no means well read up on this, and spent much of the pandemic completely immersed in the effects of my post-stroke symptoms. At that time, I ignored much of the news and kept most of my information limited to cerebellar stroke and anything that could distract me from the “real world”.
Aye, it seems to be the case that Covid and also the AZ vaccine have been linked to clotting. I guess the problem in determing whether it can be connected to a one person’s particular stroke lies in the circumstance of it all. If stroke, statistically, occurs every five minutes in the UK, and the majority of the population has had a vaccine jab, then it’s difficult to surmise whether or not one may have just had a stroke that year when the vaccines were being rolled out or a stroke was connected to Covid or a vaccine. Keeping in mind that before the vaccines were being administered people were having strokes every year, and in many cases, a cause was not found. Although, AZ specifically has been linked to clotting, but I also imagine other people had cryptogenic strokes who had other vaccines that were not AZ.
I have to be clear, that I am not saying one thing or another, but just applying deductive reasoning.
Thanks @Rups , I’m not on any specific agenda here. It is just something that has been bubbling around my head over the last year and a bit. I’m not bitter as it is probably just the way the crumbles.
If it was COVID or vaccine related then what was the alternative, spend 10 years testing them whilst millions die?
Not a witch hunt for Halloween just an interesting topic for discussion.
Aye, I do agree with you. For instance, not many people seem aware that a medication like ibuprofen can increases the chance of stroke threefold. These are over-the-counter medications that some people take as if they were sweets. It can increase the risk of a stroke, but it may not be the cause of a stroke. That’s also an important distinction.
I do not know why I had the stroke the consultant said it could of been over weight diabetes or the vac fir covid which I had about 28 days before the stroke but to be honest with methere cannot say what caused it with kind regards des
Thanks @Dennis238 , it’s an interesting link that would take a large scale statistical review to show a clear link. Not going to change anything for us but would be nice to know that it may have increased the chance.
I’m sorry you have had such a hard time getting to the bottom of the cause/timing of your stroke Loshy. I just wanted to reassure you that you could absolutely have already the stroke when it didn’t show up on the CT scan. My first stroke did not show up on a CT scan. It did show up on the MRI the following day.
I have a little story about my second stroke that some may find interesting. My second stroke happened a week after I buried my dad. The night before it happened. I had a dream. I dreamt I was in Salford Royal (the main stroke unit for Manchester area) and my dad came to me and told me we had to get to Liverpool within the hour to have a pacemaker fitted or else I was going to have a stroke. I did have a stroke the next day - a clot that came up from my heart. Now I don’t think my dead dad really came to me - I think my subconscious brain had worked out something was not right and tried to warn my consciousness through this dream. The brain is a magnificent thing.
Shwmae @sgjools, oh that is interesting. I keep a dream diary and am constantly fascinated by my dreams. Apparently, the brain uses dreams to process information that can then be brought into service during its waking hours. It’s an exciting area of science because it’s still in its relative infancy. In your case, the brain would have had knowledge of stroke, due to having had one already, and maybe included that into its narrative of recent events that it was processing subconsciously, as self awareness that something was amiss perhaps. Thanks for sharing this story.
Shwmae @Loshy, it baffles belief that some medical professionals don’t know that a cerebellar stroke will not show up on a CT scan because of the amount of bone in that area. If I hadn’t of had an MRI that same day, I would have gone home, like you, undiagnosed for stroke. I am led to believe that the way to tell how old stroke damage is by its opacity. Recent MRI technology allows for a time period to be determined, but it requires two different MRI scans, and I am not sure how long a time period it shows.
Unfortunately, with cerebellar stroke, misdiagnosis is still an ongoing issue for people who have recently had a cerebellar stroke. All the time on Twitter (where I am part of a stroke survivor community), there are people being misdiagnosed or turned away from hospital because medical professionals are not up to speed with cerebellar stroke symptoms. That’s why I make a point of talking about it often because the FAST campaign does not include cerebellar stroke warning signs.
).
crumbles.
. The brain is a wonderful computer that most “normal” people take for granted!