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 havenāt 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 (Iām 18 months in) but they havenāt gone away completely and the ātwo steps forward one and a half backā nature of stroke recovery which seems to be so common is so frustrating. So yes, Iād 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 youāve had multiple TIAs. Iāve 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
@chrissydawn whilst I havenāt had a TIA myself, (I had a stroke) the after effects you describe all sounds pretty normal to me. Itās a scary event and your brain and body need time and you need time to process what happened.
Hopefully youāve been given medication and have an appointment with a consultant for more tests to see if thereās are any underlying causes that can be treated.
Best wishes
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 didnāt 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, thatās 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 - itās like they were dress rehearsals for the main event - but II didnāt know this at the time, of course. I just knew I felt incredibly dizzy and my left leg wouldnāt 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 werenāt āclassic stroke symptomsā, I didnāt get to hospital for another 20 hours ! Fortunately it was a mild oneā¦ That was almost 2 years ago now and Iāve regained 95% of what I lost with just mini niggles like balance issues and vertigo from time to time. Follow the drās advice, take the tablets and try to be patient. Itās 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. Iād say your effects are just because of whatās happened. Quite normal.
Each personās 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. Iāve 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
Hi. Five, wow. You poor thing! Within a week the bulk of my speech had returned. And now itās not far from 100%. The odd word or combination of words may catch me out but folk say they cannot tell. Thatās because Iāll generally swap a word or similar before I get to it.
On the fatigue front, Iāve 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. Iāve typically been tired enough to want one each day, yet at the flick of a switch, Iāve not. Iāve changed nothing. Odd.
Howās 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?
Hi, no, have not experienced any muscle jerks, pain or anything remotely similar. Iāve literally just had the speech issues, fatigue and the emotion chip which went a bit ditsy at first. I do fully appreciate that Iāve been extremely, extremely fortunate.
Wishing you a swift recovery!
Best,
Jonty.
Hi
Sorry to hear youāve had cause to join us but very warm welcome now you have
Iāve 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 isnāt 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, Iād 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 Iād had several strokes leading to the one that hospitalised me and has accounted for the 2ys journey so far. I didnāt know. Iāve not had any explanation of causes and didnāt 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 youāre 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 Iād buy a bp machine for 50Ā£ and monitor
What you describe is typical stroke symptoms. Thereās 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 ānetworksā 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.
Thatās maybe why all āstrokes are differentā but there are many common post stroke affects
In summary much of what youāre 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 itās 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.