Mike
Mike had a small episode one evening where he found himself unable to speak for a short while. As it was out of surgery hours he saw a locum GP who advised him to go home and see his doctor the next day, even though he had very high blood pressure. However, the next morning he had a more serious episode which was diagnosed as a stroke. He is fully recovered now, although he finds sometimes he has some short term memory loss, and is speech is slightly slurred at times.
Mike returned home from work one evening and found that he was unable to speak coherently for a short while. His wife Debbie said it was if he;d had a few drinks and was slightly inebriated. As it was during the evening they went to see a locum GP from the out of hours service, who did not mention the possibility of it being a TIA but advised Mike to see his GP the next day even though his blood pressure was extremely high. The next morning before he had a chance to visit the GP he had a more serious episode in which his speech became more confused than it had been the previous time, and on visiting the GP was diagnosed with a stroke. He was immediately referred to the TIA clinic at the local hospital where the consultant suggested that he should be admitted for tests. Over the course of the week that he spent as an in-patient Mike underwent an MRI scan and an ultrasound of the carotid artery amongst other tests, and gradually his speech returned almost back to normal. Initially he found swallowing and eating food difficult but gradually he was able to eat normally again. Since that time he had some help from a speech therapist and finds that he can generally live a normal life, although his words are sometimes slightly slurred at times. He has been left with some residual side effects one of which was diagnosed as cough syncope – occasionally he has a coughing fit that leads him to black out and he later has no memory of the event. He also sometimes has short term memory loss.
Looking back Mike remembers that he experienced two episodes earlier that year in which he felt slightly unwell but had not felt it important enough to see his GP about. He now thinks these symptoms may have been a warning sign or small TIA event. It seems as though the initial episode he experienced on that first evening was probably a small TIA and he feels let down that the locum doctor did not advise him to start taking aspirin straight away that evening instead of leaving him to his own devices until the next day, particularly as he now knows that may have prevented him from having the stroke the following day. Mike and Debbie feel strongly that it’s important that people who experience these types of symptoms should insist on getting medical attention as soon as possible during or after the event because they now understand that the sooner treatment begins, the better the outcome.
Since his TIA and stroke Mike has taken aspirin, Lisinopril, Bendrofluozide and Fenofibrate on a regular basis but it came to light that Fenofibrate was affecting the protein levels in his kidneys. Although his GP felt he should remain on the medication to avoid a further stroke taking place, he was sent for an ultrasound scan on his kidneys and it was found that he had a malignant tumour on his bladder. This was totally unrelated to the medication, but Mike feels fortunate in that if he had not been taking Fenofibrate and been having regular checks this may not have come to light until much later. He was also prescribed Citalopram for a short while to help him cope with the reactive depression that he experienced for a short while. He still finds that he sometimes feels more emotional about things than he used to.
Mike and his wife Debbie both feel that stress may have played a part in contributing to his risk factors for stroke/TIA as at the time his blood pressure was particularly high. Since he had his stroke Mike took the opportunity to retire and take life more slowly. He feels lucky that he has no significant lasting effects from his stroke and is able to live a happy and normal life.