Hi everyone.
I had a TIA less than a week ago, I suppose I was lucky it wasnt as bad as it could be,
I had a very bad pain/ headache at base of head on right hand side for a few days. Then I woke up with double vision and a headache where I could barely keep my head up.
I had an CT scan ( and a bad reaction to the contrast used. Basically started fitting) and Neurologist said the blood supply to one of the nerves in my eye had been blocked and that was causing the vision problems.
I am 65 years old and donāt drive. However because of the double vision I have trouble crossing roads. I dont know which is the actual car
as traffic is approaching. Iāve started wearing an eye patch which helps but obviously when wearing it, I cant see anything on my right hand side. This makes me very wary of going out alone.
I also get very tired after an hour or so.
The other issue Iāve found is I can remember things I need to do but I canāt remember why I need to do them. For instance. I knew I needed a medical form but I couldnāt remember why it was needed.
Iām on aspirin daily and trying to look after myself,
Drinking enough fluids, eating properly, Resting, etc,
I am very scared at the thought that I could be in danger of a further TIA or full stroke.
My questions are, does the double vision really get better as Neurologist said, will my memory improve over time.? Iād appreciate any feedback. Got to finish now, headache starting up again.
Hello @She1 and welcome to this wonderful community where you will find support and advice to help you manage your recovery from the TIA you recently suffered.
You will no doubt have been given advice from the specialist (neurologist) who treated you and you should follow that. Do not be scared or hesitate to ask questions to get more information or clarifications.
The answer to your questions about double vision and memory is almost definitely āYesā and this will happen per your own personal circumstances i.e. there is no hard and fast rule about timings. I expect in the next few hours and days, some of our more experienced and dedicated contributors on this forum will come on here to welcome you, support you and give you better help and advice I have offered
My main advice is keep doing all the things you are doing; taking asprin, looking after yourself, drinking enough fluids, eating properly and resting etc.
Also, get plenty of rest - cat naps, sleep as much as you need - this is an important element on the path to recovery from stroke.
Welcome to the community, Iām sorry to hear about your TIA and the difficulties youāre having.
With regards memory, we do have some information on our website which may be helpful for you, which also has some tips for improving your memory. You can find this here.
Iām sure there will be some more members along shortly to share their experiences too.
If you need anything whilst youāre using the Online Community, please donāt hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Hello @She1 ,Iām a new arrival too, had what they first called a TIA at end of Nov and made a quick recovery from physical issues but no memory of the event and the next day!
How very unlucky to have a reaction to the contrast during your scan, very upsetting for you.
Yes improvement will take place. Maybe think of your problems as in the healing stage, which may continue for a long time. Think of that area of your brain being shocked and numb and gradually this improves. No one can say how long it will take or how much improvement but it will happen.
The functional changes you are experiecing will also improve. Iām relearning cabinet ministers (!)
and my vocab has shrunk. I understand how frustrating your present ādeficitā must feel, but itās early days.If you feel up to it read about neuroplasticity, the brain is a superstar and if a tiny bit isnāt working, it creates new pathways to do the job in time. I seem incapable of writing a short welcome. Rest whenever your body tells you itās a good thing.
Wendy
@She1 hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear about your TIA.
I have double vision after my strokeā¦although not to the extent you describe. I have been seeing the ophthalmology people gor a couple of years and they have given mebsome exercises to do. Perhaps you should ask for an ophthalmology referral if they havenāt already done it.
As with all things stroke there is always hope for improvement. You are very very early days yet so please give yourself time & you should start to see improvement.
A TIA is transient so any injury to the brain quickly heals, I imagine your double vision will resolve unless there has been damage to the eye as a result. However, I am not medically trained so can only express my opinion, with the stroke I had, double vision still persists but I also have blurred vision and nystagmus. As for memory, assuming it is working memory that is affected, I would say that it may not be your memory function but rather that your brain is distracted by the shock of the TIA. Memory is something that requires constant training throughout our lives to be kept sharp. As we age, our brain gets lazier and lazier, so if we donāt constantly stimulate it, it defaults to the easiest gear.
My lovely daughter said itās just that I have so much info in my brain, it takes longer to search for it A bit like my husbands filing cabinets, info goes back donkeyās years.
I suspect most people struggle with their memory, my eldest son in his early twenties once expressed concern for his memory but at the time he had a lot on so it wasnāt surprising his brain was pushed to its limits. Working memory is different from long term memory and short term memory. Brain diseases can affect long term memory. Short term memory is meant to be short and not remembered. Working memory can be affected by brain injury. I continuously trained my memory after stroke. It was the most pleasurable part of all the rehabilitation exercises I could do. Despite still having mobility issues and other cognitive complaints four years on, I feel confident my memory is actually sharper than most of my peers who have not suffered a brain injury.
For me, at the end of each day or at the beginning of each rest period I would run through my mind everything I had done. Recounting everything I could remember including things people had said to me or I had heard, things I had noticed. I found after some time my mind would want to bring up the next memory even if I had a blank. I also played brain games online for some time. But there are lots of ways to keep memory sharp.
Thank you, I play brain games, word puzzles, I like the idea of recalling the days events. The first 2 or 3 weeks at home I had a notebook in every room and the days were still a blur
@She1 , this forum is great for advice and information. And we also like to have a bit of fun whilst doing it - you will soon see this for yourself
Below taken from one of the threads on this forum, c/o @axnr911
I remember reading about why we forget things when we cross thresholds (ie doorway). It goes back to our caveman days, as our mind switches to look for danger, a self preservation thing. We many not have those dangers today, but the instinct is still there.
Sorry to hear about your TIA. They are by ādefinitionā ātransientā, therefore you should recover fully. Timeline depends on too many things to give you an estimate. Some people immediately recover, others have lingering issues for days/weeks/months.
There is some debate on the traditional definition of a TIA fully resolving within 24hrs, as we can see here with the issues you are experiencing.
Did you have a MRI to check for damage? A TIA is not suppose to leave visible brain damage. That said you could be ābruisedā (for lack of a better term) and once that inflammation dissipates, so will the symptoms.
Thereās such a widespread variety of issues stroke can cause, so this is just my opinion and what I believe.
Thank you lovely people for reassuring me. Its a whole new landscape/ mindscape? for me and Iām having to learn to navigate accordingly Iāve just had my first MRI today. It was so noisy, lots of bangs and buzzing noises. It was like listening to a Kraftwerk album from the 80ās. Iām thinking its easier for me to communicate by writing and texting I find I can take more time. I lose words when Iām on phone or talking to people. Iāve texted my friends and let them know Iām going to write snail mail letters to them. I think they are actually quite happy about that cos hardly anyone writes letters anymore. Iām hoping this will help my brain recover. I quite like my brain even if there are times when it wont shut up. Lol. So Im going to try this and maybe some journallingā¦
When get tired I do switch words round or get a word similar to the one i want to say, i actually find it quite funny and itās not unusual for me to laugh at myself. The thought process gets the right word but what the brain controls and lets me say is different
My speech therapist advised speaking more.slowly and this usually does the trick, giving a tiny bit of extra time for spoken words to keep up with thought words. I do a fair bit of presenting/speaking in front of people. They donāt ever notice my slightly slower delivery.
I think Iām in a minority of one but I really enjoyed my MRI. I tried to work out why and think it was because, I could not do anything, or be responsible for anything while I was cocooned. No one had expectations, a bit like a flotation tank but admittedly noisier!!!
Kraftwerk - Autobahn, one of my all-time favourites, though from the 70s. Still listen to it every few weeks
Snail letters - I like to send cards and letters, though very much out of āfashionā
Journaling - good for health and wellbeing all round
These three things will definitely help you, I know they help me
@EssexPhil - I have heard it said or taught on presentation skills classes that slowing down delivery is actually very good as it helps to make things clearer.
I believe it helps both the presenter and the audience.
