TIAs and emotionally anxious

Ive had five TIAs in four months and feel very anxious and almost depressed. Im struggling with fatigue, have left sided weakness from the neck down. Speech issues. Memory issues. My vision has changed. Ive developed vertigo. I get very emotional sometimes. Is this normal?

Welcome to the forum. I havenā€™t had TIAs (well not diagnosed ones any way) but I have had a stroke and yes I think its normal to feel both anxious and tired after a stroke. Both have lifted somewhat (Iā€™m 18 months in) but they havenā€™t gone away completely and the ā€œtwo steps forward one and a half backā€ nature of stroke recovery which seems to be so common is so frustrating. So yes, Iā€™d say what you are experiencing is totally normal.

Thanks for your reply. Yes i get the two steps forward one backā€¦ i had four and then thought i was getting better then had another where i lost my speech. My emotions swing badly and sometimes things feel exterme and my responses are not how i used to be

Welcome @chrissydawn sorry to hear youā€™ve had multiple TIAs. Iā€™ve not had a TIA but everything you are feeling is certainly normal post stroke. Do you have any follow up appointments with the stroke team? If not you may want to see your GP and ask them to refer you.
Take it easy & rest up when you need to.
Wishing you all the best.

Ann x

Yeah i have been given medication. Scans and under a neurologist.

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Yes i see the stroke team and under a neurologist. This last TIA was a week ago and ive lost more stength in my left side. Its a blow to recovery

Thank you x

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I had six TIAs over three months before a major stroke. I didnā€™t know they were TIAs at the time but my MRI scan looked like Jackson Pollock had painted on my cerebellum. TIAs will heal over time, thatā€™s a positive out of a negative. I suspect it does take a while though, only one of the TIAs I had was starting to fade on the magnetic resonance image. I assume you are on all the right medication to avoid a stroke. The brain will benefit from repair time, lots of sleep and rest. Finding relaxation and meditation routines can assist with helping the brain manage repair better, and keep anxiety at a minimum. It is beneficial to slow down and not just crack on as usual, or push yourself past what the brain can cope with, otherwise it will feel like one step forward and two steps back.

Im on 300mls of aspirin daily. Im gonna start meditation techniques. Its the anxiety of not knowing when they will strike, most have been at work. One in the hairdressers. One in hospital. Im going to ring my GP. When ever i try to resume normal activities im hit with a TIA. None of my TIAs have shown on ct or mri scans. Its a worry like yourself a big stroke is on the way

Shwmae @chrissydawn, a TIA will show up on an MRI, maybe it is worth digging deeper into your symptoms with your GP or hospital?

Hiya, I had two TIAs before my stroke - itā€™s like they were dress rehearsals for the main event - but II didnā€™t know this at the time, of course. I just knew I felt incredibly dizzy and my left leg wouldnā€™t work properly but they wore off after about 25-30 mins. and then I felt OK but shaken. The stroke came on about 5 hours after the second TIA but, due to the fact that my symptoms werenā€™t ā€˜classic stroke symptomsā€™, I didnā€™t get to hospital for another 20 hours ! Fortunately it was a mild oneā€¦ That was almost 2 years ago now and Iā€™ve regained 95% of what I lost with just mini niggles like balance issues and vertigo from time to time. Follow the drā€™s advice, take the tablets and try to be patient. Itā€™s frustratingly slow, I know !

Ive got left side weakness from a previous tia in october. I lose more strength each time it happens. I have balance issues and vertigo too. I asked my gp today for anxiety meds but they said i need to go to the stroke clinic tomorrow due to residual effects in my neck and face.

Thanks ive been to the gp today and need to go to the stroke clinic tomorrow

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Hi @chrissydawn

I had a TIA just before New Year 2022 - and it got my speech and left me being fatigued. A side effect was also my emotional chip. Iā€™d say your effects are just because of whatā€™s happened. Quite normal.

Each personā€™s case and circumstances are unique - but similarities also occur. Wishing you best with next steps and treatment. Hoping you get some answers too. Time (to heal) is definitely a factor - and healing will just take the time it needs. Iā€™ve had my moments of frustration for sure.

Do keep us posted, if you wish to.

Jonty.

Hi thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear off your TIA. My first one exhsusted me too. Now im on my 5th. Ive got a few residual issues too such as numb face. Having issues with muscle jerks at night too.

Has your fatigue eased now? Mine has just been a big blur since last year

@chrissydawn

Hi. Five, wow. You poor thing! Within a week the bulk of my speech had returned. And now itā€™s not far from 100%. The odd word or combination of words may catch me out but folk say they cannot tell. Thatā€™s because Iā€™ll generally swap a word or similar before I get to it.

On the fatigue front, Iā€™ve pretty much needed a nap each day - or a little doze in front of the TV at least. Yet oddly, no daytime nap/doze since Thursday last week. Iā€™ve typically been tired enough to want one each day, yet at the flick of a switch, Iā€™ve not. Iā€™ve changed nothing. Odd.

Howā€™s your speech? I would find fatigue in the earlier days would cause me to slur more and more, just not so bad now. And a morning walk I do find really helps with the fatigue - making me more alert. Other daily exercise helps too. As too does drinking more water daily no doubt.

Wishing you well.

Jonty.

My speech has returned but i have word finding issues. So i also change what im saying or ask for the word i need. I did lose my speech fully. Ive got a lot of facial pain on my left side.

Im in physio but they think theres damage to my nervous system as i seem to have lost feeling in my left leg.

I try to do light excerise but it gives me muscle jerks at night sometimes to the extent it wakes me up at night. Have you experienced anything like that?

@chrissydawn

Hi, no, have not experienced any muscle jerks, pain or anything remotely similar. Iā€™ve literally just had the speech issues, fatigue and the emotion chip which went a bit ditsy at first. I do fully appreciate that Iā€™ve been extremely, extremely fortunate.

Wishing you a swift recovery!

Best,

Jonty.

Hi
Sorry to hear youā€™ve had cause to join us but very warm welcome now you have
Iā€™ve obviously been slow seeing your post as its 10 days old! But that gives a chance to reflect from a broader perspective maybe(?)

The first might seem a bit like splitting hairs but the term tia starts transient and what you describe isnā€™t sounding so transient- so that seems to make my NON medically trained observation that maybe you should call them strokes valid?. With the new word may come new biases/ sensitivities from the med staff you deal with - more focus maybe? Less dismissive, Iā€™d at least ask for a justification because the price of complacency may be high, of course it may be nothing. The question of sensitivity to risk is a very subjective one

My mri showed Iā€™d had several strokes leading to the one that hospitalised me and has accounted for the 2ys journey so far. I didnā€™t know. Iā€™ve not had any explanation of causes and didnā€™t have fast symptoms so I can imagine your anxiety and mine have similar roots. My Anxiety is best dealt with by knowing I take my meds, have adjusted lifestyle and mindful ness with breathing etc when it strikes because it adds physical symptoms that then confuse any analysis There is no escaping the spacey feeling = oh shiit is this another? Or just fatigue orā€¦

If youā€™re just on aspirin which is a blood thinner id ask why not antiplatelette, anticogaulants, other permenant thinners, ask what your choleserol is (and expect a statin anyway) and Iā€™d buy a bp machine for 50Ā£ and monitor

What you describe is typical stroke symptoms. Thereā€™s two phases of post stroke (in my NON medically valid summary). The 1st is when swelling - edema etc - is subsiding which is some months. 2nd There is the neuroplasticity as function find new brain cycles. The brains normal function uses ā€˜networksā€™ like the salience network, the CEN & DAN so damage in one area potentially effects higher level processes that have dependency on multiple lower level building blocks.

Thatā€™s maybe why all ā€˜strokes are differentā€™ but there are many common post stroke affects

In summary much of what youā€™re describing, as others have said is similar to what many of us have. There is no way currently of getting definitive answers - to a greater degree than anyone would like itā€™s a lottery. Engaging med staff is hard for many reasons from funding to opinions and may not help or may not be needed but is probably the appropriatley cautious

just 2Ā¢ of opinion

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Thank you. Yes my muscle jerks are a strange one. I get pins and needles too on my left side. How long did you lose your speech for? One of my attacks i lost it for four hours, my recent one for seven and a half hours.

My emotions seem to be balancing now too but i still have my moments of anxiety. Hope you fully recover too

Thanks for the replies.

Hi thanks for reply. Yes i do have conflicting symptoms of TIA and strokes. The more i read the more i see my issues are more stroke rather then TIA. My scans were clear last year and now im waiting on my new mri results.

Im on aspirin at the moment. I saw the stroke team this week and they said without my mri been fully looked at yet they are hesitant to prescribe another thinner as my symptoms when these attacks appear to be a multi brain attack rather then a left or right.

In November i ended up in a and e for the fourth time where i was asked if i was drunk or had taken any drugs due to mental confusion and not making much sense. I was a fit and healthy at 41 years of age boxing and weigh lifting until a few months prior to the attacks i was heavily fatigued. The doctor sent me away on aspirin. The neurologist requested a new mri which was booked on the day i had a further attack. I was scanned unable to speak so now awaiting results.

I monitor my own bp on a machine where its always within normal ranges until i have an attack and it rises. My cholesterol was slighly high last year but now i think ill call gp and ask for another test. I get pins and needles alot, muscle jerks any activity drains my left side esp my leg.

I was also going to contact gp for anxiety medication and practise breathing excerises to calm myself. Thanks for your reply too.

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