TIA on Monday

Hi all, 

I suffered a TIA on Monday, I never knew it at the time. I'd had a bad headache on the Saturday, it faded on Sunday then came back on Monday morning. I've been working from home for 7 months now and was fine for the first hour, then as I was writing an email I started to struggle to remember how to spell the words I was writing, I tried to contact my partner but his Skype was off, I FaceTimed my parents as I knew there was something wrong and found out I couldn't say some of the words I wanted to say, they managed to get hold of my partner who rushed home and we went to A&E, they took me for scans and found a blood clot and also a slight heamorage in my brain... Monday is a bit of a blur now but I felt like that moment of them telling me that just changed my Life. Within a few hours I could speak, read and write properly (I had no other symptoms of TIA) but I was kept in hospital for a couple of days.
For the first five days I was given blood thinners through injection and this morning I've started Pradaxa tablets. 
I'm currently having to wait for further results as they're not sure what's caused the clot. I don't have many high risk factors at all, I'm not overweight, I don't smoke or drink, I exercise daily. The only risk factor they've thought of was my contraceptive pill which I was on since I was 18 (I'm now 32) So they're not even sure that it the cause. 

I haven't had any symptoms since Monday but I'm terrified of another TIA or full on stroke, knowing that I'm at such a high risk of having another one. I'm trying to think positively but it's so raw at the moment it's difficult and I'm really scared. 
I almost keep forgetting it happened but then every 30 minutes or so I just start thinking about it again. 

Hi, thank you for your reply. My emotions are all over the place, I was on the contraceptive pill but have been told to stop so I feel like I'm getting a double whammy of emotions from this and hormones trying to sort themselves out after 14 years on the pill.

I am terrified, but also feel strange as it's like it happened to someone else... so at times I'm fine then it hits me that this happened to me and everything is not fine... 

As Jane has said, many of us on this site have had those feelings. On my first night home, I was obsessed with the idea I would die that night. I didn't of course, but for several nights I woke on the hour every hour, presumably because I wanted to check I was still alive.

Over time, fears subside, but we all are also prone to suspect every twinge in the head might turn into something worse. Please remember a stroke is not an illness, but a brain injury. The brain, however, is brilliant at re-wiring itself, but this takes time.

You also have youth on your side, plus you are on the right medication.

Hello, 

Sorry to hear about your sudden TIA. It's good that you acted fast. I had four or five over three months without knowing that's what they were. Has anyone suggested a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale?), my consultant thinks this might have been the cause of my clots. I am due to have a bubble echo to determine if this is the case, it is apparently quite common for younger stroke sufferers who show little other evidence of typical stroke causes. As long as you are on medication and are continuing to have further medical attention, that is positive progress. I know it is really quite scary but we here on Stroke Org are here for advice pretty much round the clock. 

A stroke can certainly mess with one's emotions. Sorry, but I cant give you any remedies except to say handle each problem one at a time. Breaking things down like this can allow you time to get to grips with the 'new' you. Believe it or not, things will get better. 

Deigh