TIA and Minor Stroke

I was on medication before because I had experienced heart troubles so I was, I was on medication but it was obviously boosted up when I went into hospital, hospital with, with the stroke. And that’s continued to this day.

And in terms of, you know, your future health and the risk of further TIAs or minor strokes, I mean what have you been told about that, how do you think about it?
 
Nothing at all really. And it seems as long as I keep taking the tablets as they say. Yes. Hm. [shrugs]
 
So your expectation is that you keeping taken your medication and things should remain stable?
 
Yes, because, I actually asked some, until things....yes. I’ve actually asked if I can stop the tablets and I think the implication is that you don’t, you know, you keep taking them. But I did wonder about it. Then I had a friend who does the alternative therapy. She seems to be very into not taking them. But she’s not pressed me on that lately so…
 
So was it her influence that led you to think about may be stopping taking your medication? Or was it your …?
 
Connected. Connected. But it was something that I’d, because I’d managed with Bendrofluazide, but seeing what happened with just the Bendrofluazide and not having other tablets. Or maybe it was just the stress kicking in.
 
Was there a side effect from that?
 
Bendrofluazide? - unsure really. I’ve had various things like rhinitis or sinusitis rhinitis generally, swallowing a bit. Just generally the rhinitis I think, the what do they do call it post nasal….
 
Blocked?
 
Yes, blocked and you feel all the time you can sort of …
 
Can’t clear your nose...?But that’s something you don’t know if that’s linked?
 
No, I don’t. Because I had a deviated septum, but I did go to sorry to the hospital, and they said they looked, and I said about an operation for a deviated septum and she said, “Well its relatively clear to be honest because of the tablets you’re taking and the risk factor and we wouldn’t, it wouldn’t be a logical step.” or whatever they …
 
So what was it that made you want to stop taking some of the medication?
 
I just felt perhaps I felt, well I feel well at times, you know, I feel if I’m carefully eating… watching my dietary considerations, exercising, perhaps I don’t need them?
 
But the medics have said keep taking the tablets?
 
They said, yes, they did yes. I mean psychologically I do wonder about it, psychologically. And I think sometimes there are other factors that work looking after you, I suppose thinking from a spiritual background...
 
Yes, I mean, that’s interesting, because some people do, you know, kind of relate to that in, when they go through an illness or something like that. Is that something that’s been….
 
Yes, for me.
 
Is that since the illness or…?
 
It’s always been that way. Always been there. And I’m not sure about the tablets. And I know the alternative therapy lady said, “It’s a shame to see you going down that road.” She said that about five years ago.
 
And is that to do with not kind of wanting to pollute your body with…
 
Yes. I think it is actually.
 
… drugs?
 
Yes, yes.
 
And what sort of alternative, have you looked into any kind of alternative therapies that you might take on?
 
Some of them yes. Then others - people say, oh they’re untested and they unproven. So, yes, I have looked. Obviously they’re not on the NHS. You have to pay for them privately or whatever, so …

What kind of things have you thought about?

Oh. I’ve heard the names of them, but usually they look to me as a small white tablet, that this particular lady has. She sometimes … she gets them from Tunbridge Wells.

Are they herbal things like that?

Yes, herbal thing, herbal homeopathic. Hm. And there’s Chinese medicine and all sorts. I’m looking into things and perhaps I’ll go along those lines.

You’re thinking about that for the future may be?

Yes, the future. Although I feel the GP service would be totally, well unhappy about it. 

And would that make you think again about it, you know, if you wanted to do something that wasn’t advised by the medical profession is that something you would take. How would you feel about that?

I feel you would have to weigh all the factors up. And also when one’s close what’s it.....partner, relative, seems to be against it. Because you have to go by, well you have to go by what you feel personally, and their experience is something that they’ve had a lot of experience perhaps in a certain field, and plus my wife is very against alternative, I think more or less alternative, because she’s worked in the mainstream medical.

So you wouldn’t necessarily rule it out?

No I wouldn’t.

But anyhow, so I had these doubts about having the surgery. And the anaesthetist was really tremendously supportive and even whilst he was prepping me for the operation he was explaining that, “If you really don’t want to go with this, you can still pull out.” And I felt that the fact that the hospital maintained this position that it was my choice till the last minute, if - that was to me a very encouraging sign that these people were really up, right up there.

The operation’s a bit peculiar and I don’t think I’ll go into the details here. But because they want to make sure that you don’t lose blood circulation to the brain, when they cut the carotid open, of course, there’s no circulation to the left side of the brain because peculiarly [pause] - to the right side of the brain, there’s no circulation to the right side of the brain, because peculiarly the right side of the brain is what operates the left hand. So far. And because they want to make sure that the right side of my brain is still functioning, they don’t actually give me an anaesthetic. I’m not unconscious. In fact they want me to talk to them, they want me to describe my condition. They keep asking me, “Who is the Prime Minister?” and “Where is the operation happening?” and “Which county are you in?” and “Would you tell us little stories.” And, well, I’d just recently had a wonderful adventure, so I told them all about this wonderful adventure. I do hope they were entertained. And it’s a bit scary because you can feel your life symptoms getting better and getting worse as these operations proceed. You know, your blood pressure varies and things like this happen, and suddenly you have this terrible feeling that you’re sinking.
 
But, but also it’s a very great advantage to have not had an anaesthetic, because as soon as you’re all out of the operating room, you’re essentially well. And within ten minutes I was sitting up and hungry, but they wouldn’t feed me, and chatting to people and, within an hour or so - my memory of the times might be wrong. Other people say I was, it seemed like I was gone forever. But as they were sitting in the ward waiting for me, wondering whether I’d come back on alive or dead, they probably felt it took a long time too. Recovery was complete. I didn’t have any symptoms before. I don’t have any symptoms after. The surgeon very carefully laid the scar in a crease in my neck, of which I’m getting too many, and so you can’t even see the scar. And so when I explain to miscellaneous doctors that I’ve had this operation and it was on the right-hand side, they look and they say, “No, no, it must have been the other side”, as if I didn’t know.