# Possible TIA (mini-stroke). Or could be something else



## BrumJim (12 Dec 2022)

Posting here, not for a resolution, but just because I feel like I am amongst friends.

Had a 'moment' on Tuesday night (06/12/22, for the record).
As I was getting up from the table in the kitchen to clear up after supper, one eye went awry, staying in the same place and then heading in a completely different direction from the other. This affected my coordination and balance, and after a couple of minutes of trying to sort out the kitchen, my wife persuaded me to go into the lounge.
On the way there I was very unsteady, as you would expect anyone to be who had two images in their brain, but when I got to the lounge I collapsed on the floor and became semi-conscious. My wife called the ambulance, which arrived in less than an hour.
During this time I snapped out of my semi-conscious state, and, fully awake, sat on the sofa. However my eyes were still uncoordinated. I was OK to watch the football with either eye, but with both, everything was doubled including the score, ball, players, etc. Ambulance arrived and decided that I should be in hospital, so took me there. Arrived at the big QE hospital in Birmingham (just up the road from us) and straight into an A&E room.

After that, things progressed. I entered a state of semi-consciousness again, and with the symptoms pointing to a stroke, the doctor contacted my wife to gain permission for some drugs. He came back to find me fully conscious again, so didn't continue with the treatment. However later on that night I again became semi-conscious, either unable to answer the questions, or just not able to talk properly, falling asleep in this state some time after 00:30. During this time I was put in a tube, which it later turns out was a CT scanner.

Next morning I woke up in A&E feeling fine around 06:00, and with eyesight returned to normal. I was transferred up to a ward, given breakfast, and monitored. A whole herd of doctors and other medical professionals turned up later that morning to pass their judgement on me. I was able to stand (feigning a stumble to their lack of amusement) without any trouble at all. The obvious diagnosis from the symptoms was a TIA or mini-stroke. However at 51yrs old, 6ft tall and 78 kilos, and with a cycling hobby, I did not fit the profile of a stroke victim, and there is no history of early heart / circulation conditions in my family. 3 grand parents died in their late 80s / early 90s (the other of Cancer in late 70s) and my Mum in her 80s is still going very strong with no major health problems of this sort.

So they kept me in for a couple of days to monitor me. The single high blood sugar count from one of the tests was explained away as an anomaly (one single high result amongst a full set of compliant ones), the CT scan showed nothing, and there were no other results from tests that showed anything out of the ordinary. I slept for a good chunk of Wednesday. Thursday morning I felt a lot better, showered, changed, and sat by my bed reading The Big Issue and completing some of my Christmas cards.

Lateish on Thursday afternoon they sent me home. I have three further outpatient appointments; a bubble echo, an MRI and a 24hr heart monitor. I'm on 4 drugs (2 off, Aspirin and the associated stomach preserver, are just for 2 weeks), and have been banned from driving for 4 weeks.

Walked home (I live less than a couple of miles from the hospital door), and slept longer than I usually do. But by Friday I felt fine, if a little "wired" from the whole experience. Saturday was again a bit manic, Sunday more measured.

So now I am in mystery land. It wasn't a TIA, as there are no environmental factors that could explain it, but it was a TIA as there is nothing else it could be.


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## cyberknight (12 Dec 2022)

TIA are a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain that can leave no long term side effects and you can recover fully and quickly dependant on how severe and length of your original symptoms .
Mrs CK has had a full minor stroke and a TIA and has been told she is prone to them as the cancer treatement she had has shrunk the blood vessels in the brain


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## Sharky (12 Dec 2022)

I had a "turn", a couple of years ago. Lost my balance for several days. Didn't go to A&E, but was checked out by my GP. He couldn't say what caused it, but wanted to treat it like a mini stroke. I recovered and haven't had a repeat, but the downside was that he said I shouldn't drive for a month. I "mostly" followed his advice and let my OH do the driving as I guess I wouldn't be strictly legal, insurance wise, if driving against the GP's advice.


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## Dogtrousers (12 Dec 2022)

I had a similar, but less serious episode a couple of years ago. All that happened was that I temporarily lost vision in one eye. Then it came back. Wife has a history of sight-threatening retina issues so she packed me off to the GP toot sweet, who handed me off to consultants with remarkable efficiency. Within a week I had had a huge battery of tests, scans and wotnot and they couldn't find anything scary. Diagnosed as TIA. I'm now on blood thinners.

I'm a wee bit older, a wee bit taller and a wee bit heavier than you, also with no familial stroke/hypertension history (that I know of), BP in normal range. Consultant explained it along the lines of "shoot happens".


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## SpokeyDokey (12 Dec 2022)

BrumJim said:


> Posting here, not for a resolution, but just because I feel like I am amongst friends.
> 
> Had a 'moment' on Tuesday night (06/12/22, for the record).
> As I was getting up from the table in the kitchen to clear up after supper, one eye went awry, staying in the same place and then heading in a completely different direction from the other. This affected my coordination and balance, and after a couple of minutes of trying to sort out the kitchen, my wife persuaded me to go into the lounge.
> ...



I hope that this resolves well for you.

I have two friends who had a TIA and both were told there is no long term impact.

Both are still fit and healthy - as they were pre-'event'.

Good luck!


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## Slick (12 Dec 2022)

A workmate came to me one lunchtime and explained he felt funny in the lunch queue. He couldn't find the words to explain exactly how he felt, but I could see he was rattled, despite trying to play it down. I asked our welfare officer to drive him over to A&E and it turned out one of the blood vessels supplying his brain was twisted in some way and had been since birth. Long story short, it was a mini stroke but had none of the symptoms you hear about with a stroke and he recovered quite quickly but does have to live with the fact ha it could happen again anytime.


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## rualexander (12 Dec 2022)

Dogtrousers said:


> I had a similar, but less serious episode a couple of years ago. All that happened was that I temporarily lost vision in one eye. Then it came back. Wife has a history of sight-threatening retina issues so she packed me off to the GP toot sweet, who handed me off to consultants with remarkable efficiency. Within a week I had had a huge battery of tests, scans and wotnot and they couldn't find anything scary. Diagnosed as TIA. I'm now on blood thinners.
> 
> I'm a wee bit older, a wee bit taller and a wee bit heavier than you, also with no familial stroke/hypertension history (that I know of), BP in normal range. Consultant explained it along the lines of "shoot happens".



I had similar a year ago
Transient partial vision loss in right eye, lasted less than a minute.
NHS 24 weren't bothered, just said see optician.
Optician did full eye exam, all normal.
Google said could be a TIA or precursor to a stroke.
GP surgery not interested, just said it's your eye, see an optician, we don't deal with eyes.
Optician said nothing wrong with your eyes.
I asked what if it's a TIA ? (Amaurosis Fugax is the technical name for it occurring in eye).
Optician said see your GP.
GP said it's your eye, we don't deal with eyes see Optician.
So I was left in limbo with no option but to go to A&E
A&E said could be a TIA, could be a few other things less serious but we have to treat as TIA, you were right to come in.
Tests - 
There and then, chest X ray, head CT, ECG, 
Prescription Aspirin and Atorvastatin
Few days later,
Carotid ultrasound first, as clogged carotids are the main cause
Carotid and Aorta contrast CT
Swapped Aspirin to Clopidogrel
Two months later,
72 hour ECG monitor
8 months later,
Heart ultrasound scan
Results - nothing found, all normal
Carry on taking the tablets.


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## BrumJim (12 Dec 2022)

rualexander said:


> I had similar a year ago
> Transient partial vision loss in right eye, lasted less than a minute.
> NHS 24 weren't bothered, just said see optician.
> Optician did full eye exam, all normal.
> ...



On both Atorvastatin and Clopidogrel. Also Aspirin for 2 weeks.


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## Dogtrousers (12 Dec 2022)

@rualexander my experience was so much better than yours. On failing to find anything wrong with my eye the optician put her serious face on and said "you must take this letter to your GP_ right now*_" GP immediately got me booked into the hospital for tests and consultant. All this was in deepest lockdown too.

* Go directly to GP. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.


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## JtB (12 Dec 2022)

I don’t have experience of TIAs / mini-strokes but I know what it’s like to experience weird symptoms only to fully recover before the doctors get a chance to run their tests. In my case the doctors gave me some simple and innocuous explanation, and I was all to eager to believe them. It was only due to the persistence and stubbornness of my wife that the doctors were forced into to investing further whereupon they discovered the real cause. That taught me value of having an advocate to fight your corner because when you’re the patient you really want to believe the reassurances the doctors give you. Wishing you all the very best @BrumJim .


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## yello (13 Dec 2022)

Dogtrousers said:


> Consultant explained it along the lines of "shoot happens".



I think sometimes we maybe need to accept that is the best explanation we're going to get. Stuff can be frightening (and I hope your feeling better @BrumJim ) and there's a very natural and understandable desire to what to know the 'whys' of it, but you don't always get to know that.

I am coming to the belief (due to my own health experiences) that we are perhaps too expectant of the docs, thinking they know all and can always help us out. They'll certainly always do their best and I'm by not means critical. The fault (if indeed there is one) is with the general levels of expectation the general public has. 'Shoot happens' works for me these days. You carry on, taking the offered advice (or not), until you don't.


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## alicat (13 Dec 2022)

Hi @BrumJim 

I'm glad they are checking you out thoroughly.


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## Jameshow (13 Dec 2022)

Yeap drs don't know as much as you think ...! 

And that's the best ones!! 🤣🤣🤣


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## vickster (13 Dec 2022)

Jameshow said:


> Yeap drs don't know as much as you think ...!
> 
> And that's the best ones!! 🤣🤣🤣



But rather more on medical matters than a bunch of old blokes on a cycling forum


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## yello (15 Dec 2022)

Yep, don't get me wrong. It's not my intention to cast doubt. I trust doctors (in general) etc because they've learned up on their subject - and I haven't. My point is more that we perhaps expect too much of them. We can't always be 'fixed'. Bleak huh? No, not intentionally. It's a personal journey maybe, just trying to get a handle on my mortality. Just as I can no longer do 100km in under 4 hours, and indeed my bike itself will one day clap out for good.


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