Do you find that your symptoms fluctuate? Perhaps things are worse when you’re tired, hungry, have done too much, etc? Something else?
I have had two recent TIAs, on 2 August and 18 August. After the first I felt 100% fine within 24 hours. After the second I’m having a lot of numbness/tingling in my left arm. It seems worse later on in the day and it can be difficult get comfortable at bedtime. I had my first day back at work as a teacher (no students, but a staff day) and I left feeling like I’ve been hit by a train. My arm is really feeling out of sorts now!
What has your experience been? I would love to know. Thank you so much.
My 2 TIA’s were just about 15mins apart. The first, I was absolutely fine after but the second was just the same as a full blown stroke! Paralysis all down right side, including face, and no speech.
2½ years on, I still have foot drop. It drags in the morning until around lunch time, then it’s fine for several hours and then drags again in the evening. I get a bit longer on days I’ve been to the gym.
Speech goes the same way, I slur in the morning, fine for afternoon, slur for evening.
The exceptions to this pattern are days when I’ve a full busy day, next day not so great for whole day maybe, it does vary.
Hearing is fine most of the day but start to fade to near nothing by end of day…if it wasn’t for my hearings, which I have to turn up.
And then the brain picks a random day in the week, though it’s usually around Wednesday, to take the day off which I call my nothing day…much like today actually. I can just about read posts and reply but not many. And if they’re too long and deep, forget it, I might just about skim read them. And any meal planned for evening has to be moved to next unless some else cooks, otherwise it’s whatever’s in the freezer.
But everyone’s different as you know, I seemed to have developed some sort of rhythm to my stroke effects. Even my sleep has it’s own unique pattern I just can’t seem to break so don’t even try now. I sleep and I’m thankful and I just don’t care anymore if people think I’ve wasted daylight hours, it is what it is but at least it’s 8½hrs, that’s what matters. So anyway, that’s me in a nut shell.
But you have to work and all I can say is you need to give it time. Your brain is still healing and repairing, if this was a broken leg it would still be in a cast. 6mths at least it will take to recover initially and you may experience all sorts of symptoms in that time, they’ll come and they’ll go
I don’t know if you’ve read this post but it does give a good insight on the road to recovery. I hope it helps for you, take care.
Thank you so much for your sharing. It is very early for me and I was thinking I was crazy! I guess I thought symptoms would be consistent with, hopefully, a positive trajectory even if slow. I appreciate your perspective.
Many people do recover, you know, and without any residuals effects. Those ones you may be less likely to find on these forums for any number of reasons. They are just continuing on with their lives. Only time can tell really, you will have a better idea of your own recovery as you get through the first 6mths but you are already off to a good start, have faith in yourself, stay strong, and keep on
@EmeraldEyes and @estowz
So sorry about your symptoms. If you don’t mind, How do you know you have a TIA? Can it go undetected? Do you need a scan to find out? I’m pretty scared of these things and often when I get a spasticity attack I think “uh oh” a TIA. My Stroke was Aug. 2, 2022.
As far as fluctuation, my major symptom is spasticity and it has many triggers: Heat, cold, tight clothes,
a hang nail or other pain in the body, toothache, constipation, stress, and on and on.
This may be unusual, but if a i take a muscle relaxer like baclofen or tizanidine, just one dose, when it wears off I get a rebound effect of rigid muscles. @estowz I hope your arm is back to normal soon. best wishes.
@Outlander Oh my, it sounds like there are so many triggers for you! I’ve wondered about heat also.
When my sudden symptoms started, I sought care and my TIA was diagnosed at the hospital emergency department. I had at CT scan, MRI, and EKG all of which were clear. In my research it seems that clear scans are not at all unusual for TIAs. I’ve also had extensive blood tests and they went through a long list of other possibilities to come to my diagnosis. I am now taking daily aspirin for prevention and have a long wait (likely months) to see a neurologist.
Aye, my symptoms fluctuate all the time. Neurological-fatigue will usually bring them on, and even three years later if I have over-exhausted myself, I will started hobbling again and my visual-spatial awareness will be all over the place. It can also happen when hungry, and I feel much better after food, the brain. requires nutrients for energy, so this makes sense. It can also occur if I am having a cerebral day, in other words, a day where I am consumed in my own thoughts. I have learnt that I can’t walk and be lost in thought at the same time. I have have to separate thinking and doing. Stressful or negative thoughts can increase symptoms, as well as, being immersed in something unfamiliar, the harder the brain has to work, the less energy it has for making alternative connections and pathways.
Oddly enough, if I am too relaxed, symptoms can get worse. I am of the opinion that if I relax too much, the brain isn’t using much energy at all, and this results in symptoms becoming worse.
Better and worse days, that’s the ebb and flow I have become accustomed to.
Those of you who say you’ve had a TIA and then go on to describe symptoms that you still have months or even years later - what do you think TIA is? What do you think of stroke is?
Therefore what do you define as the difference?
My symptoms show some fluctuation. Not as variable as others above have reported. Without being scientific about it they fluctuate from pretty much the same reasons . Compare with many I seem to have a pretty quick recovery time from fatigue. !
What I find is rather than predictable cycles and variations I get random new stuff which takes a while to resolve. then random new new stuff while the random old stuff doesn’t come back!
I find the random new stuff more triggering of anxiety.
@SimonInEdinburgh My MRI indicated a “Small Stroke”…somewhere between a full stroke and a TIA.
I asked my neurologist "then why are my symptoms so bad? He said, unfortunately it happened in an area of the brain that hit the functional right side of my body. The Double vision is almost gone now and they took out the feeding tube from my abdomen (a horror) now that I swallow normally.
No cognitive issues or speech issues. My so-called “small stroke” has caused late onset spasticity and it seems to be progressive.
@estowz it seems pretty normal for symptoms to fluctuate. I am 21 months on & still get variable days & everything is worse when fatigued.
It is extremely early days for you & it’s likely you will find being back at work exhausting. Be careful that you don’t overdo it so soon. Could you perhaps take longer off sick? Once the oids are back you could get even more fatigued. It is so important to give your brain chance to repair.
For me, I was showing all the signs of the FAST test, it was the hospital that diagnosed the TIA.
Facial weakness: Can the person smile? Has their mouth or eye drooped?
Arm weakness: Can the person raise both arms?
Speech problems: Can the person speak clearly and understand what you say?
Time to call 999: if you see any of these signs.
Fortunately I was taken to Salford Royal hospital in Manchester and it has a large specialist stroke unit. While in hospital I had CT and MRI scans, ECG, x’ray even and an Ultrasound of my neck, along with all the usual blood tests. So I can’t say they didn’t look hard enough but as the doctor said, that doesn’t mean I didn’t have one. My discharges notes started off saying I’d had a TIA, by the end of the notes it was calling it a stroke. Confusing I know but it is what it is.
Unfortunately both TIA’s and strokes can both go undetected if they’re mild enough, mine wasn’t. But in your case Outlander you know your spasticity attacks are a symptom of the stroke you had. But if you were ever to suddenly develop any new signs or symptoms don’t hesitate to go to A&E or whatever the equivalent is for you.
If I ever have similar signs to last time, I won’t pussyfoot around, I’ll be calling 999 or someone else will, I’m not playing Russian Roulette with my life, I’ve still got some living to do
To me they are all stroke! My understanding in a nutshell, is a TIA is a temporary blockage of a blood vessel to the brain and stroke is a blockage or a bleed that either needs to be removed by medication or requires surgery. They all disrupt the signalling in the brain and they have the potential to permanently damage parts of the brain. Any permanently damaged signalling has the potential to reroute itself but I think that is dependant on the extent of the damage to the surrounding area. But I am no expert, that’s just my own understanding.
@EmeraldEyes thanks very much for the info. appreciate it. Sadly my hospital spent a lot of time evaluating and trying to treat my extreme vertigo which was my first symptom. They waited so long to give me the MRI and it showed the ischemic stroke area at back base of the brain. In the time they dawdled I could have been given the “clot buster” med and it may have saved me all this grief. They
waited too long to administer it.
My reading of the various information sources and the addition of your raising the question of a silent stroke is that if you draw two axes at right angles thus giving four quadrants and one axis was marked damage and the extremities were permanent and transient and the other access was marked impact and the extremities were none and perhaps death then there would be four quadrants.
One would be not detected no noticeable damage - the silent stroke
One would be detected no damage (that didn’t fully resolve) - and this would be the TIA
One would be not detected and damage which would be the undiagnosed reasons for neurological effects that maybe eventually given a diagnosis of stroke
One would be detected with permanent consequences - this would be what we typically call a stroke
Now we can note that in much of human communication often doesn’t need categorical accuracy - EG most conversations on here. We can also note that that tolerance of ambiguity in some circumstances carries on over into circumstances where the lack of precision leads to inaccuracy which is material - e g in a&e departments and in chronic care
@Mrs5K I wish I could take off work! But I have found these first 2 staff days to be a good way to ease into things. It keeps my mind busy and off worrying. My closest colleagues (and great friends!) are all aware and are more than happy to help me should the need arise. My administrators are also wonderful. I want to start the year as best I can but I have have devised some ways to keep the stress level down.
@Outlander They always say that ‘time lost is brain lost’ and it sounds like your hospital should have at least considered other options. I can only image that it’s beyond frustrating looking back. Best wishes to you.
I too presented in what I now recognise was an entirely a timely manner and has not given any thrombolyisis
I presented again I would be able to describe things in ways that used medical keywords and they would intervene in the correct way but they didn’t and as a result I don’t have a working right arm and hand but it’s coming back
I couldn’t communicate therefore communicating in medical terms would have been moot. Hence my undying gratitude to the all the staff in A&E and my consultant.
I forgot to say earlier, something you do need to learn to do for yourself is learn to suppress your fears of another one. Because between now and a potential next one you could step outside and be mowed down by a truck! That’s just how wasteful that emotion of fear is. When it rears its ugly head, drive it down deep 'til it comes out the other end as so much hot air, because that’s what it is. At least, that’s how I look at it. Don’t allow it to control you, get angry with them, mentally yell at them to f’off, distract yourself from them each and every time 'til it because instinctual for you. And night time is the worst time for them to come creeping into your head. Learn to tell yourself stories until you fall asleep or read a book or name all animals you can think of.
You know this could happen again; you’re doing everything you can to reduce that risk and you’ll keep on doing that; you know just what should be done in the event of another one. And now you need to concentrate on the next phase of your life. That fear is residual baggage left over from that previous episode, it’s not needed now, it’s just weighing you down, shack it off and move on.
Long time reader here, but first time commenting. I had my stroke last December but was lucky to avoid major physical damage. My residual damage continues to be head pressure/ache that flows to my left eye and the left of my mouth. No consistent pattern but in tracking it, fatigue or over doing something outside usually triggers it along with stress. Neurologist says it is not inconsistent with others.
I just wanted to thank all of you on this forum. It has been so helpful and kept my sanity as I read daily of the same things I am experiencing and don’t feel as though I am going down the path to the next stroke when something unusual pops up. God bless you all. I keep plugging away to get better every day!
It is so good to ‘see’ you. I find this forum very friendly and helpful as well. I hope you will speak up at anytime you feel like it. Some days I am quite chatty but mostly I am a quiet person. Being here helps me feel like I am a part of a community and not alone.
!
