Its now over a year since my husbands TIA. He had a repeat CT scan recently and his yearly blood tests and all fine.
He still has these funny episodes when motorway driving which he is finding very disconcerting. He had to drive 4 hours today to a training venue for a course tomorrow and he found the drive awful, particularly when driving over a bridge. Its almost like vertgo symptoms. (These started to happen when first driving after he experienced the TIA)
He has spoken to 2 different GPs, and one suggested BBPV and the other doctor decided that, after speaking to his consultant, that it was anxiety related.
The thing is he doenst feel anxious until these episodes set in when hes driving. I dont feel anxiety is the issue. Im not sure what else to do to help him, it feels like we arent getting anywhere with the GP.
What were his initial TIA symptoms? There could be a chance it was a full stroke in an area that affects balance. CT doesn’t always show stroke, but MRI can. Did he get an MRI?
perhaps the TIA did leave some residual damage. In which case it was probably a stroke… but definitions are sometimes blurred.
None of us here are doctors so take anything you read with a pinch of salt
It’s very difficult to say what could be happening. Does he only get the episodes when driving? Never at any other time? I wonder if it could be a form of anxiety. If he is thinking (even subconsciously) what if it happens when im driving that might be causing the problem. Sometimes anxiety can be present without us really realising & it can present in many differing ways. Also if they keep happening when he is driving that is probably making him more nervous and could subconsciously be brining them on.
In my non medical opinion if he had BPPV I would think he’d have the issue at other times too.
@Karenemma hello. I have lots of physical symptoms from health anxiety which come and go, at varying intervals.
Sometimes difficult to “unpick” the reasons.
Has he tried any strategies to help until answers are found? I’m thinking of regular even 5 minutes mindful meditation daily.
When it’s actually happening, you don’t want to be distracted from the driving but I do try and slow my breatthing a bit. It can become a vicious circle. Of course he wants to keep up these activities but are the ways of managing long journeys? Sorry more questioms than answers. So am I right in thinking this has happened ever since his episode?
We all love to have cut and dried answers and of course this rarely happens
So he still has that issue. It will stop; I can’t remember exactly when it stopped for me but it was at 2yrs. Even after I got back into driving, 18mths after stroke, it was only on the roads and short distances, an hour at the most for the first 6mths or so. I can do longer now 4yrs on, but I don’t do motorways. And yes, I have a particular bridge, Barton bridge, that I still don’t like going over too. And that’s even as a passenger
It’s not anxiety, its brain fatigue. Particularly on motorways, the brain is trying to take in information at a much faster rate than it can cope with just now. But it will get better, how much better and when is a matter of time not even the experts can answer
@EmeraldEyes that makes so much sense. We jump to our own experiences, well I did. at present ( very early days) I can be doing something and just know I’ve done too much. @Karenemma a lot of the literature implies a TIA is all over in 24 hours but further research shows this is not the case. My consultant said scans and MRIs sometimes do not reflect symptoms experienced after such an episode.
You need to listen to your brain a little more closely. It actually tells you when it’s had enough It’s easy enough for me as I’m retired so I can just stop whatever I’m doing and rest or go do something less taxing. Unfortunately that’s not so easy to do when you have to work, particularly if your work entails a lot of driving. Not so easy to pull over on a motorway to take a break But that’s all the brain wants, a break!
It’s easy enough for me as I’m retired so I can just stop whatever I’m doing and rest or go do something less taxing. Unfortunately that’s not so easy to do when you have to work, particularly if your work entails a lot of driving. Not so easy to pull over on a motorway to take a break