Stroke or Migraine. Advice please.

[Fingerscrossed11]

Thank you firstly for reading. Apologies if it’s long, I’ll try to keep it as short as possible.

yesterday morning I woke up and thought my voice isn’t right, the left side of my face also felt strange as I’m wasn’t quite right. I looked at myself in the mirror after noticing my left foot seemed to take longer to hit the floor than my right and seemed it didn’t really know what it was supposed to do. So when I looked in the mirror I noticed the left side of my face wasn’t drooping but didn’t have same symmetry as the right. When I smiled it looked like I just come out the dentist after an injection on my left side. the foot thing did panic me as my body just wasn’t in sync at all.

I went to a&e as the first thing that did worry me was is it a stroke with my left side not working. When I arrived I went straight though to triage and was sent to resus. I was told it gave the same symptoms as a stroke. Whilst there my left leg didn’t have same strength as right and from what i gathered for a while my left eye wasn’t same as the opposite one. After being there a short time I then found it difficult to speak, I had to think about what I was saying and I started to find difficulty speaking and stuttering my words too.

I went for a CT head scan which came back okay.

I was then transferred into a room in A&E where I was being monitored until there was a room in the admissions ward to see the stroke specialists. Must also say at this point all the staff were so lovely. Rather hot doctor in resus but let’s not go there 😂

up to admissions ward and saw the stroke specialist/consultant who was also lovely, she said ct scan was fine but would be referred for an mri. As it’s the weekend would have to wait until next week but to stay in that night. She asked me symptoms from when I realised things weren’t right so I started from when I got out of bed that morning and my voice was odd until I got to that ward.

she said she didn’t think it was a stroke but mri would show either way. Mentioned that it could be a migraine as sometimes they show stroke symptoms without a headache.

stayed in overnight and saw consultant next morning, she said she’d be happy for me to go home and go to clinic outpatient next week for mri. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go home as obviously scared after what happened and especially as don’t know why it happened.
I thought about it for a few hours and decided to go home as she had no worries about this.

whilst in the ward I spoke to another patient who said they had a mini stroke or tia I think it’s called and he had same symptoms as me but little less.

also on discharge I noticed it wasn’t my consultant who wrote discharge letter but a trainee doctor who had seen me at initial
dosvussion with consultant day before but whom i didn’t speak to. On this letter it says very briefly that I was admitted with voice disturbance and mentioned when I smiled in Mirror. This all happened before I got to hospital. Nothing is mentioned from when o got there like the not being able to speak, the high blood pressure, the leg weakness, the mouth not being symmetrical, nothing at all.

also says I declined admission over the weekend for an mri due to childcare commitments which also isn’t the case, childcare wasn’t an issue and the reason I left was due to being told they couldn’t see any problems and to visit outpatient for scan. I at no point asked to go home.

sorry for long thread. Thanks for reading and any advice would be appreciated.

@DyslexicPoster
sorry to hear what you went though. Must have been terrifying. That’s great you’ve not had anything since.
thank you so much for your best wishes

@Maddy70
have you has anything similar since? Hopefully not and never again. It is bizarre how a migraine could cause such terrifying symptoms.

@stayingaliveisawayoflife
thank you so much for your reply
the hemiplegic headaches sound awful. Sorry to hear you have those. It must be difficult not knowing when they are going to happen.
I hope you’re well.

@CandyLeBonBon @Dpace @DyslexicPoster @FannyFifer @FortofPud @Ispywithmycynicaleye @Lifeinlists @Maddy70 @MrsFiddle @Pollymollydolly @Tilllly @WetBandits @cptartapp @lostparcel @stayingaliveisawayoflife

Thank you all so so much for your replies, support and helpful advice.

I had a call today from the consultant I saw in the hospital who asked how I had been feeling, said I had been getting pain left side head, light headedness and speech wasn’t how it was before last Friday.

She told me I had a stroke albeit she said a small one. When I woke up last Friday morning and these things were happening to me I thought straight away is this a stroke, the only reason I went to hospital as I generally am I it’s fine type of person but this was something else.

after being told it’s more likely a migraine I was happier with this prognosis albeit hemiplegic migraines after researching are very complex and just as scary.

I have to go for a neck mri next week, to see what he consultant who will show me mri results and discuss what’s next. I have also to get a echocardiogram and a heart monitor for a few days.

to be honest I still feel numb, it’s not really sunk in.

I had an extra rib removal years ago now 2019 and when they did this operation they found my subclavical artery was being compressed. Fast forward to now, still have the awful nerve pain which has spread to my shoulder and I wonder I’d that’s what’s caused the stroke. Compression of artery etc.

thank you all so much xx

The stroke had showed up on the MRI but not the CT scan as CT scan shows large differences rather than smaller ones which show on MRI

@Fingerscrossed11

i’m glad that you are being well looked after now by a consultant after your initial bad experience at a&e.

Sorry to add a late and slightly tangential reply to this. I just wanted to add a couple of things, more for anyone in a similar position who stumbles across this thread in the future (i’m not a doctor, am a migraine sufferer with family members who’ve had stroke) - one is that migraines usually have a very particular time course, so making a note of when each symptom happened and how long it lasted is important for diagnosis. The second is that the unusual left sided symptoms alongside problems with speech and language wouldn’t help you know if it’s a stroke or a migraine, it’s just that some people (most often lefties) have language on the right of their brain or across both hemispheres.

Hope you get good care and advice from here, sounds like the consultant you now have is on it at least after the a&e experience. Not to give medical advice but I hope you can dial back the long working hours as much as you can, TIAs can be a warning sign that you need to make some lifestyle changes. (Edit - oh just realised it was someone else talking about 70 hours weeks not you)

Ah shit, sorry to hear a stroke has been confirmed.

Have you to remain on aspirin?
How's the BP?
When are you next seeing someone medical?

You def need a referral to stroke clinic.

If you want to talk things over with someone & get advice on what to ask etc then these guys are amazing.
www.chss.org.uk/services/chest-heart-stroke-scotland-advice-line/
Maybe there a similar resource if you are in England but I'm sure they wld help anyway.

@FannyFifer
thank you 😊
ive to remain on aspirin until Tuesday at least when I see consultant again
I haven’t checked my blood pressure
to be honest. Trying to find something that works accurately has been difficult.
I’m in Scotland.
thank you for the link and your well wishes and support, means a lot xx

My partner has this one, it does the job, I'm old school though & like doing his BP manually with the stethoscope.
High BP is the most common reason for a stroke in younger folk so if u can check it for a couple of days before appointment you can tell them if it's high & get on BP meds ASAP.

I’m sorry you’ve had such an unpleasant time!

In England, pharmacies both sell blood pressure machines, and will take your blood pressure for you.

There is a knack to taking blood pressure, and not all machines are suitable for all conditions, so I would recommend starting out with having the pharmacist taking your blood pressure for you.

Edit to add: I hope Scotland has a similar blood pressure service In pharmacy.

Here is a guide to buying blood pressure monitors.

It is important not to get any old device. They should be medical grade and have passed a validation study with any conditions you have.

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/tests/blood-pressure-measuring-at-home#Heading2

I had a stroke back in May. I was sent home from hospital after a couple of hours. No suggestion of a stroke, even though my sister, who's a nurse was telling them that's what it was. Went back to my usual hospital the next day and it took them 4 days to find the stroke.

Still can't walk, my voice is still messed up and my hand is still below function.

It's a pain, make sure you are on the right medication.

Good luck x

Ah I'm sorry to read that it was a stroke but I did suspect it might be as it sounded quite similar to my husband's experience. He's been on clopidogrel (anti platelets) ever since and is doing fine now, though with the odd hiccup along the way. Aspirin can't be taken for very long without something to protect your stomach as well.

Being diagnosed quickly is good and I hope you get good treatment and monitoring. DH checks his BP weekly now (was daily) and has to report any change, but it was never high anyway. The stroke came out of the blue - no obvious reason.

I really wanted to wish you well as it must be quite a shock for you.

Oh no that's crap. I was hoping it would be a migraine. On the plus side you should never be dismissed at A&E again.

Once your feeling a bit more relaxed it might be worth asking pals for your notes from A&E. You can ask the consultant what SHOULD have happened at A&E, look at NICE guidelines then decide if you want to complain. I'm not suggesting a major investigation, but sometimes it helps you process and move on during traumatic events.

I was supposed to have a mri and lumber puncture during my admission, but each new days doctor had different ideas so I guess I will never know, but my contact with pals after the event reassured me my d dimmer was fine, A&E did the right things at the right time and there couldn't have been a better outcome from their actions. ACUTE ward? I should of had the MRI but overall it help me put it behind me.

I have two good enought but cheap BP monitors from argos. Both certified by bhf. Different models. One was about £20, one was about £35. I use both to make sure the readings are fairly accurate. Don't worry if the single digits are out. Your looking for the tens really. Any thing over 90/120 isn't great. But 100/130 is too high. 110/160 I'd seek help asap. BHF tells you the ranges more accurately than me.

Your on the right path now. Any niggles seek advice assp.

I hope you feel better asap and you will be event free going forward

No but..... I feel I lost a bit of cognitive ability (also menopausal so could just be that )

Sorry to hear a stroke has been confirmed. Please do ask about investigation to see if you have a PFO - if you have this it may have caused the stroke and a PFO closure will prevent it happening again.

thankfully it was a small stroke, look after yourself - I know you suspected it but it must still be a shock to have it confirmed.

Please know life can return to normal (whatever normal means!) my family member has absolutely no lasting damage and it’s now over 4 years since it happened

@FannyFifer
thank you for your link for the BP monitor.
i saw the consultant who showed me the brain MRI. She showed me where the stroke had happened.
i had the neck mri with dye. Was told I would get results back in 7-10 days approx.
I have been taken off aspirin and put on clopidogrel. My cholesterol was 7.1 so also have atrovastatin.
just got my prescription last night so today was first day of clopidogrel but was rather anxious as the aspirin was disperable and I think that’s working nearly straight away but I’m just overthinking.
thank you so much x

@CauliflowerBlue
thank you for your advice and the link.
im not sure if Scotland pharmacies offer BP monitoring but I’ll check, thank you.
would probably want to buy one so not to be a pest 🙈😂

@SittingOnTheChair
im so sorry to hear that.
I hope you’re doing well now.
are you now on medication for it?
ive been prescribed clopidogrel and atrovastatin x

@SittingOnTheChair
it was my leg, face and voice that were affected first then in the hospital I couldn’t speak properly, I couldn’t find the words and then began stuttering.
my voice isn’t back to normal yet but my leg seems okay.
hope you get better soon 💐 x

@Lifeinlists thank you for your reply and thank you so much for your best wishes.
I’ve also been given clopidogrel. Was anxious this morning, first time taking it after the dispersable aspirin, in my head aspirin must work better as it’s dispersable and gets into blood stream quicker. Silly thought I know.
im so happy to hear your husband is doing well now.
ive not been monitoring my BP but have been sent some links for BP monitors.
am i correct on thinking that clopidogrel
is same as aspirin in a way?

it was such a huge shock and thank you again for your message. x

@Lifeinlists
also, sorry does your husband have to take clopidogrel indefinitely now?
thank you x

@DyslexicPoster
thank you so much for your reply and best wishes
thank you for so much information too.
I will definitely look into the BP monitors and thanks for the advice on them also.
x

@Pollymollydolly
thank you for your reply
it’s reassuring that 4 years later everything has been okay as I’m trying not to get anxious over what happened. Each morning I’ve woke up since I’ve smiled on opening my eyes to make sure everything feels okay.
it was a huge shock, I thought it will be this rare migraine as I’ve had rare conditions before.
must have hit every branch on the way down.
ive to get an echocardiogram but don’t know when as it wasn’t as time critical as the Brain mri and neck one with dye I had on Tuesday. Will get results from neck one next week hopefully.
thank you so much for the reassurance x

@Maddy70
thank you for your reply x