#vertebral artery dissection

Some Neurology HospitalGlam. My neurologist is brilliant. Treats me like an equal and partner, reasons out management and plans of action with me, takes my input at face value, never patronizes me or doubts my symptoms or reports. To top it all off, fantastically and brutally honest. From a previous appointment ‘well, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the brain, so the answer probably lies there somewhere.’ And from today 'it definitely sounds like another TIA but we’re already doing the treatment so there’s not much we’d change.’

I’ve worked damn hard to build my current medical team and they may be inexperienced with connective tissue patients, but they are pretty fine doctors.

It’s world Stroke Day today. Two years ago and one month I had a dissection (rupture) in an artery in my neck. This temporarily cut off blood supply to my brain, similarly to how a blood clot would. Mine is a rarer form of stroke, and my dissection was spontaneous (no trauma) due to the fact that my blood vessels are weakened by my faulty collagen.

This is extremely rare, BUT! That doesn’t mean perfectly normal young people aren’t at risk of strokes too. Strokes aren’t just old people. 25% of strokes are in people under the age of 45. The dissection that happened in my neck, can also happen in perfectly healthy people from trauma (usually weightlifting, moderate car accidents or even chiropractic adjustments). Young people can also suffer from blood clots (the usual cause of stroke in most people).

Know the signs. They’re not always as obvious as the common acronyms proclaim (FAST). In my first stroke I had no one-sided weakness or numbness that I noticed. I DID have vision loss, severe sudden headache, and dizziness (that I get a lot of anyways). I also experienced confusion and a sense of DREAD like I have never felt before. I missed my stroke and so did the ER triage.

I was extremely lucky that my blood flow went back to normal on its own as it was something like 8-9 hours before I got to see a doctor. Don’t let the same happen to you!

My second stroke DID include one sided weakness, but it was extremely brief. Stroke is not always as obvious as you’d expect (as in the more common severe face drooping and speech difficulties). Be aware. Thankfully the ER doctor I finally saw knew right away what was probably going on.

I feel incredibly lucky to be a stroke survivor! ❤️

{please don’t remove my caption!}