Carotid Stenosis & Mini Strokes (TIAs)
From 2001 I worked leading overseas expeditions to south America, freelancing as an outdoor instructor in the UK, and being a snowboard bum working in kitchens in Austria for a month.
During this last job I developed a very nasty pneumonia which put me in hospital for a week on IV antibiotics. Whether this was related to the lung issues which had caused me to bleed previously I do not know.
Around this time I also had stopped taking my aspirin. I naively and stupidly thought it was pretty irrelevant and I was so fed up with taking so many tablets each day, and by this stage having to remember to scale down the dose of various things such as steroids over the course of the year, that I didn't see the harm in dropping what I thought was a simple painkiller. On two separate occasions I had Transient Ischaemic Attacks (mini-strokes).
The attacks are caused by a small thrombus or clot forming in the blood and getting stuck for a short time in an artery - one of the carotid arteries. The carotid arteries supply blood to the brain, so if you block them, the brain will quickly run out of oxygen and this is essentially what a stroke is. The difference between a TIA and a full stroke is that there is no permanent damage after a TIA and the symptoms will resolve usually within minutes. The reason I was put on the aspirin in the first place is that it helps prevent the early stage of clots forming, and with already narrowed carotid arteries from the arteritis, I was at a greater risk of these clots forming and getting stuck in the narrowings.
In my case, I can't remember the exact details of what I was doing before, but I suddenly felt weakness, tingling then numbness on on side of my face. I could not form words properly - I was slurring as if I was drunk. I could not smile or lift the side of my mouth. I had no loss of consciousness or confusion - I was totally aware of everything happening, it was very frightening.
The attack lasted no more than 30 seconds. After a minute I was back to normal.
Needless to say, when I mentioned these to my Doc, he suggested, patiently, that I might want to restart my aspirin.
You might be getting the picture that I was a pretty ignorant patient at this stage, and pig headed. That put me at risk in some ways, but in others it allowed me to form my own limits and show what could be achieved despite having cardiovascular problems.
During this last job I developed a very nasty pneumonia which put me in hospital for a week on IV antibiotics. Whether this was related to the lung issues which had caused me to bleed previously I do not know.
Around this time I also had stopped taking my aspirin. I naively and stupidly thought it was pretty irrelevant and I was so fed up with taking so many tablets each day, and by this stage having to remember to scale down the dose of various things such as steroids over the course of the year, that I didn't see the harm in dropping what I thought was a simple painkiller. On two separate occasions I had Transient Ischaemic Attacks (mini-strokes).
The attacks are caused by a small thrombus or clot forming in the blood and getting stuck for a short time in an artery - one of the carotid arteries. The carotid arteries supply blood to the brain, so if you block them, the brain will quickly run out of oxygen and this is essentially what a stroke is. The difference between a TIA and a full stroke is that there is no permanent damage after a TIA and the symptoms will resolve usually within minutes. The reason I was put on the aspirin in the first place is that it helps prevent the early stage of clots forming, and with already narrowed carotid arteries from the arteritis, I was at a greater risk of these clots forming and getting stuck in the narrowings.
In my case, I can't remember the exact details of what I was doing before, but I suddenly felt weakness, tingling then numbness on on side of my face. I could not form words properly - I was slurring as if I was drunk. I could not smile or lift the side of my mouth. I had no loss of consciousness or confusion - I was totally aware of everything happening, it was very frightening.
The attack lasted no more than 30 seconds. After a minute I was back to normal.
Needless to say, when I mentioned these to my Doc, he suggested, patiently, that I might want to restart my aspirin.
You might be getting the picture that I was a pretty ignorant patient at this stage, and pig headed. That put me at risk in some ways, but in others it allowed me to form my own limits and show what could be achieved despite having cardiovascular problems.
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