Hello, i hope everyone is ok. My partner (37) had a stroke 1/3/24. It was a ischaemic stroke, he had a clot in the cerebellum. He presented with dizziness, co ordination issues & sickness. He passed the Fast test, A&E didnt do a CT and we were sent home. I took him back 1.5 days later when they did a C.T and he was rushed to a trauma hospital. He had a stent put in as he had developed hydrocephalus. He had a vertebral artery dissection and was put on aspirin for 6 months which is due to stop now. We have been fortunate that he has full mobility, he has a physical job which he went back to, but recently he’s had spells of light headedness or headaches. The GP put him on anti dizzines tablets. Could the dizziness be a sign that hes over done it or is this one of the side effects that occur later as we are at 6 months now? We read in his notes that he also had brain stem compression. Also is it normal that they dont do a CT before stopping the aspirin? He had his last CT 3 months ago.
Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.
Welcome but sorry you have had a reason to join us
There’s a lot in the Welcome Post that some of us put together to cover the most commonly useful subject areas and I think there are a number of themes within it that you will find start you on the road to better understanding
At the risk of repeating some of what it says… Every brain injury is unpredictable in its consequences. He could very easily be having neurological symptoms for years to come. Fatigue is the communist one but there are others and a good proportion of which Only evolve some months after the stroke.
After the stroke that hospitalised me - I apparently had many previous ones that were not correctly diagnosed ( no FAST/no CT) - when I got light-headedness while the GP and consultant weren’t sure they eventually blamed it on the blood pressure meds - I think they were just putting a label on something they didn’t really understand so lightheadedness could be disruption to the vestibular system with a neurological or a physiological cause - just because we’ve had a stroke doesn’t mean every change in our health following it is a tributable to it But it is the first suspicion forevermore by the medical staff
But you’re right to ask about emergent side effects and overdoing it could trigger fatigue which could manifest with dizziness other things would be extreme tiredness, when I am getting fatigued my speech deteriorates - There are many things that can interact and or temporarily degrade.
I’m not sure why you think another CT scan would be linked to stopping aspirin? Scans spot if there is damage - of which a CT isn’t particularly refined. Aspirin guards against blood clots. Are you suggesting that he might have had silent strokes since his hospital event? It is possible
I assume he’s been on 75 mg a day? This is because of its blood thinning properties. Is he also on clopidogrel? Or maybe warfarin? When I’ve felt a bit funny and been to the consultant they were suggested I take 75 mg for 30 days in addition to my clopidogrel It’s just belt n braces the absence of ability to say anything concrete (my case)
You should be very proud and supportive of him if he’s managed to return to work so quickly & has coped with it ok. That is not the norm !!
Shwmae Daniela, sorry to hear your partner had a cerebellar stroke, I had mine at forty-four, so understand how unsettling it can be to undergo such an ordeal. I am surprised it was picked up via a CT scan, CT scans can’t display cerebellar strokes because of the bone density in that area, an MRI is needed. The dizziness is because the cerebellum has motor function responsibility, particularly, the vestibular system and modulating vision, so this can cause giddiness or the feeling of dizziness. If he’s feeling fatigued, chances are, the brain will be exhausted and have little resource for regulating movement and vision, and so as a result, giddiness will occur. Cerebellar stroke is a very rare kind of stroke, only about 2-3% of all strokes are cerebellar strokes, it is deemed to have a high efficacy for improvement after the fact, but can come with its own set of unique complications.
@Daniela hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your partners stroke & so young too.
It is very possible that your partners dizziness could be down to fatigue. If he’s returned to work he’ll probably find fatigue has caught up a bit. Hopefully with the meds it will settle but if not he made need more rest.
In relation to stopping the meds I doubt they would rescan before stopping them. I had a carotid artery dissection & they never double checked that until I said to them at a follow up appointment you keep saying it shoukd heal itself but how do I know if ir has or not. I then got a scan …may be worth an ask?
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your partners stroke.
I hope some of the replies on here have helped and you’ll continue to find this community helpful - there’s a wealth of information within this community!
If you need anything whilst you’re using the online community please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol.
Hi @Daniela and welcome to the forum
From the little I’ve just read on the internet, your partner’s dizziness could be a symptom of the brain stem compression.
But it could also be from any number of things including the stroke in general. I too had dizziness/giddiness and fatigue in the early months post stroke (which were TIA’s). The dizziness righted itself in the first year, the giddiness was nearer 2+yrs, I’m now nearly 4yrs post stroke.
I suggest he discusses these symptoms with his gp being linked to the brain stem compression and find out whether it needs further investigation. Just don’t dismiss it as a stroke symptom that will hopefully correct itself over time, not until all other avenues have been investigated and ruled out
Thanks for your detailed replied. Sorry, im getting a bit muddled, a&e did a MRI which showed the stroke. He had a CT with an iodine injection 3 months later to check the healing of the vertebral artery which was going in the right direction. They said to continue with aspirin 75 for another 3 months. Just makes me nervous stopping it now without checking whether the artery has fully healed. He isnt on any other thinnners.
Hes done so well and i keep reminding him on the days he gets frustrated.
He says he doesnt feel tired but has this re occurring light headedness or dizziness. But perhaps fatigue can manifest that way.
Sorry to hear you had one too. Sorry i got a bit muddled, it was picked up with a MRI by A&E. He had a CT with an iodine injection 3 months later to check the healing of the vertebral artery dissection.
One day at a time.
Thankyou, yes it just makes me nervous stopping aspirin now without checking whether the artery has fully healed. So just wanted to see if this was the norm or if you have to push for it!
For the one you pushed for, did they scan you with an MRI or CT?
Thanks. Yes, ive been so focused on reading up on vertebral dissections and cerrabella strokes that i havent really read about brainstem compression. We have no idea if the brain stem compression was mild or even the size of the stroke itself. He had hydrocephalus so they had to put in a evd to drain the fluid.
A stroke to the cerebellum will result in dizziness, and after the stroke, dizziness will persist. The cerebellum has a primary role in balance and vision. Every cerebellar stroke survivor, including myself, has experienced this. I hope your partner is coping okay, is he keen to join our forum? It is a good resource for, perhaps, answering some of the niggling questions in his mind. If you search “cerebellar” and “cerebellum” in the magnifying glass search bar, you will find many posts on the matter.
Hi Daniela.
Sorry to hear about your partner’s stroke.
I had a cerebellar stroke in early february this year.
Im 8 months now and I can tell you that dizziness is a constant. It has improved a lot, but I still have spells so its kind of normal. As you have read the cerebellum control eyes movement so gazing exercises help a lot, you can find a lot online.
I got a CT scan a couple of moths ago (six moths after the stroke) and found that the dissection in my vertebral artery was healed but I still will have to take aspirin for quite a bit to avoid new cloths, something as @SimonInEdinburgh said could be addressed with your gp.
Something I have learned from this group is that every recovery is different and right now your partner’s brain is working double the effort for healing and still working all the things it controls so a lot of things are missed up. Give it time to recover but never stop paying attention to new symptoms if they come up.
My fatigue started in the six month with a lot of anxiety, so just pacing one self is very important in recovery and just keep track on everything that is happening.
Hope you guys can find something good in this group to help you.
Thankyou for your comments and advice. Gaze exercises hadnt even crossed my mind.
It feels like there isnt much emphasis on how anxiety can affect things and the importance of pacing yourself. I think the GP added to the anxiety as he didn’t seem to think that perhaps theses symptoms could be caused be over doing it! Just need to find the right balance (no pun intended!).
Im glad the dissection in your artery is healed, that’s fantastic news!
I think the group will be a big help and hopefully we can give back in time too.
He has coped really but as he is always 100 mph he still needs to learn to pace himself. Perhaps, he may join in time. Its an excellent resource and it feels less isolating to know there are others who understand the bad days.
But it is the first suspicion forevermore by the medical staff
!!
