My first mini stroke

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My name is Gurajit or Guj, 48 years old, and I had my first diagnosed mini stroke on 24th May 2024. I say this is my first diagnosed mini stroke as I had a similar episode in April with my loss of balance and both eyes twisting but it only lasted a couple of minutes the first time. In May however it started at 5:30am and didn’t stop for a good 1.5-2 hours!

After going to the GP and then throwing up everything I ate on that morning I eventually ended up in Southampton Hospital A&E which diagnosed me having a mini stroke. I was kept in hospital for 1 week, with regular CT Scans which showed I had developed hydrocephalus which eventually contracted and I was discharged on Friday 31st May 2024. The first two days in hospital are still a blur and only around Tuesday/Wednesday I gained some sense of reality again. The hospital staff were amazing and we do realise actually how good the NHS really are providing so much care, support and encouragement!

I am very lucky in that I still have full use of all my body but just my left leg and arm get slightly more tired and my left eye twitches a bit more than normal.

I came home to my fantastic wife and two amazing children who have given me so much support and for the last two weeks have not let me do much apart from rest but also let me slowly build myself back up over time. I was very tired in the first week needing just a lot of rest but this has started to improve this week. I do still get very tired and the medications have been messing up my stomach a bit but my GP has been really good with brilliant advice and guidance about how to cope going forward.

I am not allowed to drive for this month and signed off from work for this month. Although I am positive this will come round, I do feel different and just want to let things go a bit more with taking things at a better pace and want to enjoy life with my family, my passions and value the precious time more. I do always live in the fear that this may happen again and hopefully with no worse outcomes but can only pray to waheguru (God) of this being my wake up call to change life for the better for us all.

I will continue to post more over this month and an taken aback by how much support is available on this forum and how many survivors are doing as well as possible. I hope to hear more from you all soon!

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Waheguru Jee Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Jee Ke Fateh Simon

Thanks very much for your kind support and really glad that you’re making good progress.

I didn’t get FAST but got the BE (Balance and Eyes) from BE FAST acronym being advertised at the moment. In the first instance in April my eyes were constantly twisting and lack of balance for about two minutes but it stopped. In May it was much more major and took nearly two hours to balance out but then fuzzy with a headache all day.

I’ve been told by consultant that my arteries near my cerebral area at the back of the brain have narrowed and blood is a bit thick. My HB1ac is 38, my BP (with medication) is 120/87 and chloresterol is 5.1 so although not too bad I will try to improve my BP and reduce my chloresterol to about 4 in next 12-18 months. I have to stick with the blood thinners, statins and gastro medication for life and the rest we’ll see.

In terms of my lifestyle, i think I was too stressed doing too many things, not anything I enjoyed and also work were giving too much stress. I was off work for six months from work (NHS) and then when I went back in March, I had high BP still and they weren’t being very supportive.

I love my family, playing keyboard, DIY, photography, art, badminton and exploring the world. I’m going to try doing more of what I enjoy and still be a great husband and father to my family - but just bring the focus more to myself instead of everyone else for a change!

I agree with you on the tiredness and will certainly look into the welcome post and other posts with the magnifying glass.

Thanks for all your help again.

Kind regards
Guj

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@Guj1man just popping by to say hi & welcome to the community. Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like you haveca lot of family support around which is really important at times like these.

It sounds like you’re doing all the right things to help your recovery. Fatigue can be a difficult thing & it is about pacing & finding the balance that works for you. Not everyone suffers with fatigue though & hopefully you’ll be one of those.

Look forward to hearing more from you.

Best wishes

Ann

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Hi Ann

Thanks very much for your response - it’s much appreciated.

It’s reassuring regarding your advice around fatigue - I am getting a bit stronger and can last about 2-3 hours and then just need to rest. I do still find my left leg and arm more tired than before.

It was nice to go out with the family to town today but I do feel like I burden my wife somewhat (who has been amazing) and limit her at the moment. After resting for 2 hours, I felt okay but bless her my wife had nodded off. She’s doing amazing but you can see she is getting tired too.

It will get better over the coming weeks and agree that I will find a balance that suits me first and then my family. I’ll keep you all posted!

Kindest regards
Guj

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@Guj1man good to hear you enjoyed some family time yesterday. Try not to feel a burden…we all do i think as it is difficult not to. I kept apologising to my husband once about being a burden and he categorically told me I wasn’t & he’d take that over the alternative.

It’s important that your wife rests up too. The “carer” often gets forgotten about & they need to try & take time for themselves. Where would we be without them.

Best wishes

Ann

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Hi @Guj1man just wanted to add my welcome to the forum.
Sounds like you are doing pretty well and long may that continue :smile:

This has been a shock for you all and a bit of eye opener for going forward. One of the symptoms of shock of course is feeling tired. and your wife is in shock too :wink: This has been a traumatic event for both of you, it’ll do you both good to take a little time out to just relax and process.

Fatigue, on the other hand, is your brain’s way of getting you to just stop and rest while your brain does the more complex repair work and process its data :wink: So take it easy and I look forward to seeing you around the forum. :smile:

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Hi Ann

Thanks for your response and yes i have tried to calm down a bit. My wife is adjusting herself okay and at least she is able to work from home for me and more for herself so that she can rest and function normally.

She like your husband is insisting that I do less to at least get me past my initial 2 months. I’m trying to help in small bits where I can but not doing much as needed.

I know over time the balance will shift to a new normal and it will be fine in the end.

Kind regards
Gurajit

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Sounds like you ad your wife are doing all the right things. It will imprve in time and a better balance should start to appear.

Best wishes

Ann

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Hi Ann

My wife is complaining that I’ve already started to do too much and need to slow down. I’ve finally managed to change my medication to stop my stomach from reacting and hence feel a bit better. So I decide to cut the grass and spray clean my car and basically got told off for doing too much! She does worry and care about me so much I’m actually lost for words…

I do still get tired and need to sit down regularly so am taking my time. I will still slow down and build up slowly.

Kind regards
Gurajit

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Hi Gyrajit,

Your wife sounds like a sensible lady. As long as you’re taking regular breaks and you aren’t making yourself feel rough then there is nothing wrong with trying something out but just be mindful of how it might make you feel not necessarily today but tomorrow or the next day. I usually suffer fatigue a couple of days after I’ve overdone it.

Glad you’ve sorted your meds too. That will help you feel better too.

Enjoy your weekend

Ann

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Hi @Guj1man I’m new around here too. I had my stroke in January and was taken to QA hospital. There was talk of transferring me to Southampton but it never materialised although they took on part of my care and told the consultants at QA what to do in terms of treatment.
It sounds like you’re making a great recovery and I hope this continues for you :grinning:

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Hello

Thanks for your message.

Southampton Hospital are actually very good and treated me very well indeed. It’s funny that I work in UHS as a Project manager and the work staff (non clinical) are nowhere near as good as the clinical staff. But that’s a different story…for another time :smile:

I hope they treated you well in QA and UHS and hope you’re recovering well. I am getting stronger but am learning to take things more at pace and just put things more in perspective.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards
Gurajit

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Hello @EmeraldEyes

Thanks for your response.

I agree that it has been a shock for us all. I sat back to think what my wife and children have been through and it must have been very upsetting and heartbreaking for them. This very nearly could have gone very south for us all… But with Waheguru’s (God’s) blessing I’m okay and live to tell the tale…

We’re all going out as a family more which is nice albeit I do still get fatigued and need to sit down regularly when we go out. I do get a bit more irritable and have just learned to stop, step away and just relax to let everything calm down to come back to reality.

I look forward to hearing more from you in the forum.

Kind regards
Gurajit

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QA were really good. I can’t fault anything about them. I am making an ok recovery I think. I’m taking it day by day and treating each day as it comes so if it’s a bad day, I rest more and on a good day I try to do a little more. It’s nice to find someone local on here :grinning:

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Dear all

This is a monthly update following all your great replies and advice.

I have been officially signed off from my Occupational Therapist, declared that I do not have AF and have started driving again and also have a follow up with the neuro team at end August 2024.

This all sounds great and yes i should be counting my blessings. I am doing more but I still find that fatigue takes over, I do get tired and need to stop after a few hours and end up either resting and/or taking a small nap.

This is decreasing but at least I can recognise when my body just says stop and rest. I almost didn’t listen once and soon learned to just stop and ended up lying on the bed.

I know that I am on the road to recovery but am getting other serious stresses and pressures that are not needed for a full recovery.

I have been offered a new job to start in September which I have accepted and am really looking forward to it. I gave my 3 months notice to my work in early June and advised that as I have been signed off until July and then on holiday for last two weeks in August that I just don’t come back, reset to start afresh and get 2 months just paid off.

UHS have been just awful in that they first said that if I hand in my notice that they would allow me to leave. After 10 days, they changed their mind and asked me to come back to the office during my notice period.

This just seems ridiculous because being a PM, my projects have already been handed over and I’m only coming for 5 weeks to leave again. I’m only 65% recovered and hence not ready for work and this stress is making me even worse. I’ve approached my union, MIP health and health professionals who were all disgusted with this approach. I am planning to just stay off sick on half pay for the remaining two months and just not go back - My family and I need me more than my work does at this point in time!

My second issue is that my mum who lives with me for the last 10 years since my father died, has taken a serious turn and been diagnosed either with a stroke, Alzheimer’s or dementia by her memory clinic appointment last week. Her behaviour has changed significantly - she is sleeping lots, cannot drive anymore, forgetting her medication, not aware of time etc.

I’m currently having to handle care, CT scans, appointment and hence really don’t need to be at work with all this going on. This ensures that I get plenty of rest to ensure that I recover and can deal with our home life more easily.

We are getting through this okay and taking it as steadily and calmly as we can and just lucky we are all just supporting each other to manage this time as best as is possible.

I will continue to keep you all posted.

Kind regards
Gurajit

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Good to hear how youre getting on & sounds like you’re getting ready for your new start on Sept.

As for your current employer I guess as they would be paying you they woukd expect something in return. Getting another fit note sounds a sensible thing to do espevially given everything else you have going on too.

Good to hear you’re listening to your body & resting when you need to.

Hope things go on ok with your mum & you can get a proper diagnosis for her so at least you know what you’re dealing with. You can then put in place things that need to be.

Best wishes

Ann

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You are a very wise man Gurajit, and what you are doing is the right thing for both you and your family. That’s what has to come first, health and happiness for all of you :wink: UHS have had their money’s worth out of you, you don’t owe them anything, certainly not your life.

The fatigue may get easier as time goes on, it did for me, gradually with good management of your time it won’t even be noticeable. So celebrate your good recovery and long may it continue :smile: :people_hugging:

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