Advice please...

[Braveheart]

Hi All,
I am Dougie and I am a 52 year old male from Edinburgh. On New Years Eve I noticed I was having problems with my shirt buttons and later had some problems with slurred speech (although I put that down to too many shandies!!) After a couple of weeks it still wasnt any better so went to GP, he did a couple of checks and said not to worry. I went back another 2 weeks later and he said he still was not sure but he would refer me anyway.
2 weeks later I got a cancellation at hospital and received an ECG ( I had a bypass in 2002) a CT scan, ultrasound and a chest xray. He called me that night to say he found no abnormalities and prescribed a blood thinning tablet. My speech was ok that day so never referred me for therapy. I have intermittent speech slurring and problems with my left arm/hand. I do presentations so the speech thing is really getting me down. I am still very active and go to the gym 3/4 times a week. Any advice please? I have been back to my GP and asked to be re referred for speech therapy and physio.still waiting!

[Karen]

Hi Dougie and welcome!

It sounds as though you're still pretty worried about things .... sometimes you have to keep pestering your GP to get things done.... so may be you need to chase them up, re: referral for speech therapy and physio.

I can't really give you any more advice, as it sounds as though you're doing all the right things, especially with the gym..... it can only help! I think that your confidence can easily be knocked after this type of event, especially in your line of work ... my speech was affected to a degree and I often found it hard to find the "right" word .... especially in the early days of recovery. I can only say that it does get better, as time progresses ... however, when I have a bout of fatigue, then my speech does suffer, as does my thought process.

Wishing you well and hope that you're able to get the help that you need. xx

[Braveheart]

Thank you Karen, I appreciate the reply and advice and I will chase them up,

Dougie

[jess]

Hi Dougie hope things get better in time. Jess.xxx

[Braveheart]

Thanks Jess x

[Katie_Todd]

Hi Dougie, its sounds to me like it could be that you've had a TIA (mini stroke). There is no way for the dr's to test for them as the tests will always show up as normal. My mum suffered with them a while ago, she kept going dizzy and losing all feeling down one side of her body... it was only when it happened whilst she was in hospital that they were able to diagnose her.

Be persistant with your dr as if it is TIA's that you're having, they can get worse and can sometimes lead to a fully blown stroke if not detected in time.

I hope you find the help that you need!
Katie x