I’ve just joined the forum and wanted to share my story.
About two weeks ago, I found out I’d had a small, old stroke in my left cerebellum. I’m 45, a long-distance runner, don’t smoke and generally live a healthy lifestyle — so it’s come as a huge shock.
Reading some of the stories here, I realise my situation is quite minor in comparison, but the emotional impact still feels very big to me every day. I’ve been struggling a lot with anxiety — worrying about my health from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep.
What makes it feel even crazier is that, at first, the doctors thought it was just vertigo because I’d been having dizzy spells, balance issues, constant tinnitus and ear popping. I knew something wasn’t right, so I decided to pay for a private MRI, honestly expecting nothing to show up — and then got this news.
I’m now waiting to see a specialist on the 14th to try to find out the cause. All my blood tests, blood pressure and cholesterol have come back fine, so I’m left feeling quite confused about how this could have happened.
Just wanted to say hi to everyone, and if anyone has any advice on coping with the constant worry and anxiety, I’d really appreciate it.
If you read the stories here you will see that anyone can have a stroke. It makes no difference if you are healthy. It is always a shock. From my viewpoint you were quite old ( I was 32 ). With regard to the worry it can ruin your life as much as another stroke would.
You say your stroke was an old one. Does that mean you were living your life not having any real symptoms or were the dizziness etc symptoms you’ve been having a long time?
I was in my 40s when i had my stroke. My symptoms started very similarly to yours ’ i had dizziness, balance issues, tinnitus, nausea & vision issues. I also was a runner & lived fairly healthily. It comes as a shock doesn’t it.
Hopefully they’ll find a cause for uou but not everyone gets the answers they seek.
Anxiety is normal after a stroke but If your anxiety is taking over your life then uou need to speak to someone about it. Please don’t just suffer. Most people find it eases over time.
Hi Ann, They class it as Old on an MRI scan if it’s over 4 weeks ago, and they cannot confirm how long ago it was. But as it was on my left cerebellum (which effect balance & co-ordination), I remember being sat at my desk at work, suddendly went very dizzy and tried to get up, I remember having to grab hold of the arm chair to steady myself. Since then i’ve had all the symptoms mentioned. I’ve been doing a vestibular rehab video off Youtube which as really helped, and diet wise gone on a mediterrain one, it’s made me feel better doing everything that I am in control of.
I never had any nausea, my vision has always been suspect so i didn’t notice any change there.
I think i’ll feel less anixous once i’ve seen the specialist and had all the relevant tests, as the GP’s don’t really offer much support as i’m sure you’ll already know.
Both Janetb and Ann have said pretty much what I might have said and so all that I will add is that it is good you have an appointment to see the specialist on the 14th and I hope it will help to settle your worries and anxiety.
Mis-diagnosis / no diagnosis is not that unusual in the NHS when it comes go stroke, but the main thing is you have now been diagnosed.
Hi Andy it sounds very much, in my none expert view, that the 2 are linked. Hopefully you’ll geg more answers at your appointment.
Sadly I haven’t returned to running. I have a very stubborn left leg that won’t do as it is told so I think running is a long way off for me. I know of people who have returned to running after their stroke though so there is every reason to be optimistic. One even compla marathon recently.
Welcome to the site, nice to meet you. Your post rang a bell for me. In the past I have had ‘vertigo’ attacks leaving me feeling pretty rotten. I had my stroke in Oct23, during my admitting chat the doctor was quite interested in my ‘vertigo’. Since my stroke I have had continued episodes and I do wonder if they are little repercussions of TIA’s. I am now recovering very well, so I’m not having too much anxiety about them. I hope you will enjoy being amongst these lovely folks who share their experiences. Best wishes Norma
Thank you for your message, i’ve certainly started to feel a bit less anxious over the past few days, and I certianly think it’s helped corresponding with people on here. Glad to hear you are recoving well, and I hope this continues.
Hi, i’m not sure what that is to be honest. It’s my first appointment with a specialist on Monday, so i’d imagine once he’s reviewed my MRI images etc that they’ll send me for a whole host of tests.
A PFO is a hole in the heart, it can be a common cause for younger stroke survivors, many who have cerebellar strokes. It’s not a serious defect, in fact, about thirty percent of the population have this hole and nothing comes of it but if you do have it, you can elect to have it closed. To test it, they will give you a bubble study which I found rather intriguing. You can watch to see if your heart blows bubbles. Many cerebellar strokes remain cryptogenic because they are usually trauma based as opposed to lifestyle. Ironically, cerebellar stroke can be caused by exercise such as mine, lifting too heavy an object. Yoga has been known to cause cerebellar strokes. Cerebellar stroke is very rare, hence the often experienced misdiagnosis as symptoms are often different from regular cerebrum strokes and the symptoms mimic common conditions like BPV. It is also considered a younger person’s stroke but not exclusively so.
Ah yes, someone who my wife knows had this and had an old stroke. He badly bumped his head so they did a routine MRI which uncovered the stroke, and in the end assessed he’d a hole in his heart. I guess it’s a possibility. I’m sure ill know either way in the coming weeks.
Hello
I was 41 when I had my stroke, relatively healthy and a regular parkrunner. Unfortunately strokes can happen to anyone.
I’m 17 months post stroke and I can tell you it does get easier. The thought of having another stroke will probably never go but you learn to handle it better and live with it. I was diagnosed with PTSD and severe depression after my stroke but with the help of Neuropsychology I’ve come a really long way.
I hope you get some answers when you have your appointment. It’s great they’re dealing with you so quickly. I found out the cause of my stroke only last week!
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke and the difficulties you’ve been facing with anxiety, this is fairly common after a stroke but can be hard to deal with. With have some information on our website about this which you may find helpful and I would also suggest bringing this up when you see the specialist as they may be able to refer you to a neuropsychologist.
I hope you’ll find the community helpful for your continued recovery, if you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Thank you so much for the message. I’ve had to go private to get seen so quickly, the waiting time on the NHS is 11 weeks! Glad to hear you are progressing well. Andy
