Interview Section : Healthtalkonline

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What happened? The first few days after a stroke :
The event: A stroke or transient ischaemic attack
Getting medical help
Getting a diagnosis
Early care experiences
A doctor speaks – an introduction to stroke

What problems did I have, and why? :
Changes to movement
Changes in sensations
Changes to vision
Continence and cathererisation
Eating and drinking
Speech and communication
Thinking, understanding, memory and fatigue
Emotional Impact of stroke

Why me? Why now? Reducing risk of another stroke? :
Causes and risk factors
Medication to prevent another stroke
Surgery
Preventing another stroke: Changes in life style

What happens now? Rehabilitation & care :
Stroke recovery: daily activities and personal care
Stroke recovery: physical aspects and mobility
Stroke recovery: communication disorders
Leaving hospital

Life after stroke. What is the long-term like? :
Major disability
When stroke is coupled with other health problems
When stroke happens at a young age
Coping strategies and resilience
Continuing care at home and institutional care
Driving and transport
What's important in care
Social support
Support from patients and support groups
Sex life and impact on relationships
Messages to others
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Stroke

People's stories

Age 46-55

Interview 30

Interview 30

Age at Interview: 54
Sex: Female
Background: Is a married mother of 2 children and is a nurse trainer. Ethnic background/nationality: White/English.

Brief outline:She had two sub arachnoid haemorrhages (age 32 and 52). The first caused temporary left weakness and the second some memory problems and migraine. Medication. atenolol, lisinopril (blood pressure), co-codamol (migraine).

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She said that the angiogram was a weird sensation but not painful.
Print An angiogram is an injection of radio opaque dye that is put in your arm, travels through the bloodstream and they take x-rays and they can see where there is maybe a tear in an artery or venal wall. The last angiogram I had was April last year and I'm due to have another one in October because 20 years after my first sub-arachnoid I had a second sub-arachnoid, treated at a different hospital and treated in a very different way. So with the angiogram, do you have to have any anaesthetic or do they give you a sedative or anything? No nothing. They like you awake so it's quite a weird sensation. As a nurse, I can watch the monitor and know exactly where they are. I can't say I actually felt the catheters because arteries don't have nerve endings for that but you can see it on the monitor and when they inject the dye, the radiologist will say, “It will feel warm behind your right eye”, and he injects the dye and you see the dye going through and, yes, it does feel warm behind your right eye but, no, no anaesthetic, no sedative, could have done with a double Scotch at the time [laughter] but fairly painless.

A charity called the Brain and Spine Foundation recommended she start using a diary to help her remember things which she found was very useful advice.
Print So last year I had a big page a day diary where I wrote down appointments and that was the first thing I looked at in the morning and it was the last thing I looked at night [laughter] to try and train myself to write things down because my husband would say, “Could you do X, Y and Z?” and I might remember X and Y but I'd totally forget about Z and it's very frustrating and very embarrassing to be constantly reminded. I found… I found it upsetting when my daughter in particular would say, “But I told you that already” and I did have a wee chat with her and say, “Look, I appreciate you said it before, I'm so sorry to have to ask you again but I have forgotten, please can you tell me, you know, just tell me the days you're coming home, you don't have to give me times or anything else, it's purely to plan meals, shopping and cooking, nothing else”. So that was very frustrating but the Brain and Spine Foundation have neurological trained nurses that [sighs] take the time to listen to your concerns and nothing is too trivial for them and I, I found that a great sense of comfort that I knew I could phone somebody up and ask advice, so they were very good.

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