Hi all, not posted for a while, hope everyone is doing well? anyway a couple of weeks ago, whilst at work both of my eyes started to close, the part of skin that sits inside the socket below the eyebrow, I didn’t feel “right” and I found the daylight too much, because I had a TIA nearly 2 years ago I thought “not again “ and contacted the Gp, I was reassured that this wasn’t the case because I didn’t have the “classic symptoms “, it when I had the TIA I had very few of these symptoms and that’s why it wasn’t diagnosed instantly, is it time for gps to look past the so called classics? anyway my eyes recovered after a few hours and I was fine, just overreacting (as usual) but it made me think ![]()
Overreacting to a possible TIA is actually appropriate self-care, not a personality flaw. Good luck, Roland
It could been the fatigue (neuro fatigue) doing that to your eyes. The brain wants rest when it wants rest and it takes it wherever it can get it. Like I get foot drop and hand wants to go into a claw when when my brain is over taxed and needs rest.
But the medical world could certainly do with an overhaul in the stroke department.
Lorraine
In my opinion which may not be all that humble, this is not what I would call overreacting - this is absolutely common sense and what you must do when it comes to your health. You are better off being safe than sorry.
GPs are absolutely not the experts in this and your first point of call perhaps should not be the GP. I know it’s not getting NHS care but to prevent a stroke you must act FAST.
This is what I mean - you have been there and you know the likely consequences. So do you want to overreact and be safe and reduce the risk of a stroke (and it is reducing the risk as I happen to believe you cannot prevent it in absolute terms) or do you want to do the stiff upper lip and risk having a stroke. This is a choice you can make ![]()
And the thing I forgot
is yes, I also had that eye droop, just the once, about a year ago I think. I just put it down to too much computer, phone and reading time that day on top of whatever else I’d done that day too.
Lorraine
Lorraine - your comment above leads me to think this links to the discussion we have been having about identification and prevention of stroke as put forward by @Quarterp.
Is it the case that you also did not take the precautionary action of seeking medical opinion and as you say just put it down to one of those things? If this is the case, then we are in a catch 22 situation as I see it, because whilst there is a possibility your body is telling you there is a possibility you might have a stroke, you are "choosing2 to ignore that warning. And whilst in this case it did not lead to another stroke, could it have lead to another stroke?
If we are to reduce the number of strokes happening, do we the “at risk” group need to stop self diagnosing and maybe err on the side of caution? (I hope I have got that right)! Because you say it happened just the once, but what if that once was the one occasion when you could have had a stroke?
Just my tuppence worth!
I’d be interested to see what other participants of this conversation think.
To what extent can instances of stroke be reduced and what level of education is required?
You didn’t over react. Any concerns should always be checked out. I would add if you think it could be a TIA you must go to A&E.
You could have overdone it as that can cause stroke like symptoms. I was advised by my consultant that any symptoms that aren’t typical for me (we were discussing stroke decompensation) should be checked out.
Hope you’re feeling better now.
In my opinion I’m taking no more of a risk than I do crossing the road each day.
If I took every single blip in my body to the doctor just in case it was another stroke, I really wouldn’t have much of a life worth living! I’d be spending the majority of my valuable life making appointments and sitting around in waiting rooms. Only to be told by the doctors that they have no more an idea than I do of whether it was a stroke or not.
I’m not going to waste my valuable time or theirs on the off chance it could be a stroke. That’s just not life to me.
It is a game of Russian roulette.
I suppose the NHS could introduce annual full body mri/ct scans for at risk patients along with their annual health checks. But that would be a huge drain on their finances.
Lorraine
That’s fine Lorraine.
I always say it’s your life, your body and your choice.
As you know I am anti-medicines, but that is for me and Mum. Others must have medicines because that is what they are comfortable with.
In case I come across as dictating, that is not my intention, it is just a view I am expressing and as I see it.
Each of must choose what works for us ![]()
Oh don’t worry Manjib, I know you’re not dictating, you strike up many good discussions and this is another one that needs addressing. I’m not against anything, just happy and healthy as I can be and have no desire to look any deeper, because how deep do you look. And then my head just wants to explode
so I tend to avoid them if I can ![]()
Lorraine
I can, and of course, will only give my own experiences but when I had mine, which took away my right hand peripheral vision (and in fact any awareness that there IS a world to my right, but that’s harder to explain) I saw what I can only describe as lighting shaped multi-coloured shapes flickering on and off in the area of vision I’ve now lost. but I thought it was tiredness because I remembered the same thing have happened a few years earlier. But the next morning I woke up and couldn’t see properly.
But the interesting thing is that when I was scanned the doctor told me this had actually been my second stroke!
So, in a very long winded way, I’m saying don’t ignore anything. If it seems wrong to you it most likely is and classic symptoms be damned! I had the same symptoms twice but they aren’t classic.
Thanks for sharing, the thing that concerned me was that a few months before mine, I had a similar thing with my eyes in March after a bout of something, fast forward to July and the consultant told my wife that,after looking at my scan results, it appears I may have had one in the recent past, which got me to thinking there was something in the Droopy eye, hence my concern this time around.
I hope you don’t mind me replying here but your account of your visual disturbance was very interesting.
I suspect I in fact had 2 TIAs and both included a peripheral vision disturbance. First my left side and then a week or so later my right (plus then a verbal disturbance too).
With the visual disturbance the way I described it was this:
”When I close my eyes and ‘look’ towards where the disturbance is, it looks like falling, shattered, stained glass. Like I’m watching a stained glass window exploding”
It was so vivid. If I ever see that again I’m going STRAIGHT to A&E
OK never, ever worry about bothering me! So, with that said, if I were you I would ask to see your GP and tell him what you’ve told me. The problem then, of course, is I’m afraid it comes down to how good your GP is and the fact that these are not classical symptoms.
So look it’s good to hear from you but I am an ex-mechanic so although I woukd be concerned don’t quote me!
Let ne know how you get on if it’s no trouble though.