I am a 57 year old male, rarely suffering from any head problems, even headaches are rare! Back in March 2019 I experienced a new event. In the morning, I was walking in town, when, suddenly, I experienced a 1-2 second interval of dizziness, which went away. Later on in the evening, a sudden surge of dizziness hit me. I could barely keep upright, and went outside to find my wife, I was all over the place, plus my speech was slurred, this lasted about jalf an hour. We phoned 111, and was advised to attend MIU, which we did. After a thorough examination, it was assumed that I had a minor TIA. I attended the stroke clinic and had a scan, which was clear. In the absence of any real proof, I was diagnosed with having had a TIA, really only by process of elimination. I was put on blood thinners, and extra medication to bring my BP a little lower. I had an ECG, which was also clear.
Nothing more happened until last Friday, when I started to feel dizzy, all of a sudden. Again, I felt a loss of balance, and then started to feel a little queezie. I felt hot and cold at the same time, and my skin became clammy. My wife said that I looked pale, but my speech was ok. After about 30-40 mins, I made a complete recovery, not even excessive tiredness, it was as if nothing had happened. Before anyone says anything, I am reporting this to my GP. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Any differential diagnosis? Not sure if it is something I should be concerned about.
Just want to reach out to see if others have had similar experiences, and what different conclusions they have come to.
Hello @Spencer, not being a medical expert, I can only advise on experience. I had six such âturnsâ misdiagnosed by a GP as BPPV before I had a major cerebellar stroke. Your symptoms sound âcerebellishâ, dizziness, nausea. A cerebellar stroke or TIA wonât show up on a CT scan, theyâll need to do an MRI to confirm. Too much bone matter in that area for the CT scan to scan through. Okay, so having said that, theyâve given you anti-platelet medication for what reason I wonder? If you had a small haemorrhage near the cerebellar, the anti-platelet medication would be a bad idea as this could increase the chance of another TIA. Having said that, if ischaemic, anti-platelet medication is the best route but it is not foolproof.
Okay, worst scenario out of the way. It is possible you are having post-TIA symptom which will feel like a milder version of the first one. All my symptoms now mimic the TIA and stroke symptoms I had but are not as acute. This causes anxiety which causes hot flushes and clamminess. Itâs the bodyâs natural way of expressing fear even if you consciously donât feel it. Like the hairs that stand up on the back of the neck. Itâs automatic.
I would indeed contact your GP, also I would arrange for an MRI. At the end of the day, if it shows up nothing, at least you walk away with peace of mind, and can then get on with managing any symptoms you may have as a result of the TIA. Generally, TIAs are warnings of a major stroke, and should not be ignored. Cardio and blood pressure are merely the tip of the ice-berg when it comes to stroke triggers and causes. When misdiagnosed for the second time, my GP checked my heart and blood pressure, no issue there. I donât want to cause worry but if I can prevent someone from experiencing what I have experienced, I need to do that.
Thank you so much for your useful and relevant reply. I see that you ended up having a more significant event, and I hope that you made a full recovery.
I must admit, I struggled with the logic of being given blood thinners, when the first event was thought to be caused by a bleed.
It is also fascinating to read your comments about the nausea and clamminess - I described this to the surgery as ânot the sort of nausea that makes you sick, more of the nausea like when you are acutely afraid or suddenly realised something bad could happenâ, I said this subjunctively as I wasnât really aware of being afraid, so , subconscious, I guess.
Ok, I will ask for an MRI, and I will question the medication. Are you ok if I share your post with whomever is allocated to deal with me (I suspect that my GP might just refer me to the stroke clinic)?
Thank you so much for your useful and relevant reply.
I think that it was a CT scan that I had, being in the medical profession myself, I am kicking myself for not paying more attention to what was being done, it was a few days, literally about 2, days after first lockdown, and everything just seemed a bit overwhelming.
Hello @Spencer, yes, certainly use whatever info from me as you like. It is essential to go into these situations with as much information at hand as possible to rule out as much as possible, and to avoid âsymptom satisfactionâ. Iâm not saying you had a cerebellar TIA, but dizziness and being unable to stand are two symptoms. Headache is not usually associated with it unless it is a haemorrhage. Unfortunately, it is a widely misdiagnosed type of stroke and I know quite a few people who had been misdiagnosed with BPPV. So, I am on high alert, whenever someone express these symptoms. The sad matter is that many people present similar symptoms, and the health care system just canât afford to give everyone an MRI. Chances are it may be nothing, but erring on the side of caution is also a way to manage anxiety. Best of luck with it.
A question @Rups about TIAs being misdiagnosed as BPPV. Is it a case of doctors not being aware of the onset of a stroke and doing MRI scans right away, or is there something else Iâm not getting.
Like many survivors on this forum I also a lot of dizzy spells. I canât even count the number of times they happened from May to August 2020. The doctors gave me some meds and I tried to get on with my life and was even driving to work
The dizzy spells were then replaced with 3 episodes of sudden loss of vision. The stroke happened after the 3rd episode in September 2020.
Hello @joy.alliy, I talked about this with my consultant today, funnily enough. If it is a cerebellar stroke, the symptoms mimic BPPV but there are other ways to determine if it is something other than vertigo, like the patients gait and something else, but I forget. My consultant said that he sends such patients with symptoms straight for an MRI which elder medical practitioners would think a no-no. This I imagine comes down to the expense of issuing an MRI. General GPs most likely donât have a clue, they are trained to deal with a broad variety of general symptoms but anything beyond that requires specialised attention.
I had an MRI that showed up six patches of damage (TIAs) and a larger patch which was the major stroke itself. In my case, being that the stroke type was cerebellar and only a 2-3% make-up of all strokes, most doctors are not on the look out for it, and default to other conditions.
MRIs are expensive, and if they can avoid giving one, a medical professional may do so under advice from the health board. Australia has a much better system where MRIs are free out of hours, and payed for in peak times. So, if you are prepared to pop into hospital at 3 am, you can get your MRI when you want it but not at an ideal hour. However, where health is concerned, the hour is insubstantial. I could have been in a much better place had the GP not misdiagnose me, and had the hospital arrange an MRI on the spot. I still would have been in the window of receiving a clot-busting medication (although not foolproof) despite waiting 2.5 hours for the paramedics to arrive and take me to a hospital forty minutes away.
I can understand why some stroke survivors use the term stroke warriors because essentially itâs not just the wound but the context of the battle to survive that makes sense of it all.
Hi guys. This is all really useful. Like Spencer Iâm new here and I had an episode (vomiting, dizziness, pins and needles and violent shaking) which the doctors think was most likely a TIA. Iâm waiting for an MRI. Very interesting to know that my residual symptoms (mild nausea, slight dizziness and fatigue) are all ânormalâ. I though they were pointing to something different but they seem like classic post-stroke symptoms. Anyway - I wondered whether to refuse the MRI? Surely it will be too late (at least a month after) to show anything useful? Thanks again, this is all really helpful.
Shwmae Paddy, as far as I know, these are classic cerebellar stroke symptoms. I guess the reasoning behind an MRI might be to determine whether you have had a TIA or stroke. But also useful to rule out anything else, I guess.
Thanks Loshy. They put me on aspirin every day and Iâm off to get a 24-hour heart monitor fixed today so Iâve not been completely ignored! Thanks for the confirmation re symptoms.
Hi, Iâve been diagnosed as having two TIAâs last week after months of feeling light headed and off balance. Iâd been putting it down to peri menopausal symptoms and my recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Then last week I had a few minutes where I couldnât speak properly on Wednesday and got pins and needles in my face on the right and my right arm. My dizziness had been particularly bad that morning. My GP didnât seem too concerned but referred me to the blackout clinic as Iâd blacked out briefly on the Monday. On Friday I had a longer worse episode where I could barely open my eyes or talk. Felt sick and dizzy. My CT head at hospital showed no blockage and my carotid Doppler ok too. Diagnosed TIA as I have intermittent AFib for last 5 years but was never put on blood thinners as my risk of stroke was deemed too low! Also some of my other meds may have contributed to my blood being too sticky for want of another word.
Totally shocked, scared and left so fatigued and still constantly dizzy. My right side of my head just feels different. Not painful but like itâs not mine. Does this make sense?
I like you have found it difficult to find out specifically about TIA , most info is aimed at full stroke or is it just assumed itâs basically the same thing?
Shwmae @Waddy, a TIA is when there is a temporary lack of blood flow to the brain, it does cause damage as opposed to a silent stroke which doesnât. However, the blood gets flowing again but itâs a warning that a major stroke may follow. I had six TIAs over three months before the big stroke came along. I was misdiagnosed with BPPV. The thing is with my stroke (cerebellar), a CT scan wonât show the damage as there is too much bone, an MRI is required instead. The problem is whether your symptoms are caused by the damage of the TIAs or you are experiencing further TIAs. I am not medically trained, but I would insist on an MRI just for your peace of mind and if symptoms become acute, to go to A&E.
Take care