TIA or migraine

[kasinc88]

Hi. I had mitral valve repair on March 4th this year and had a lot of visual disturbances afterwards.

On April 1st I went blind in my right eye for 10 mins and a carotid artery scan suggested a cholesterol plaque disturbed by the surgery had broken off and caused a TIA.

Since then no more visual problems till today. The right hand side of the vision in my right eye became rather indistinct and after about 10 minutes the familiar wavy patterns I experienced after the op returned for about another 10 minutes.

I rang the GP who seems unsure whether it was a TIA or a migraine.

I have been on apixaban for 4 weeks now.

Does this sound familiar to anybody?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

I think it needs to be checked out by an opthalmologist to make certain there are no early signs of retinal detachment or other eye condition. Personally I would present myself at A&E but do not drive yourself. If it turns out to be a TIA you are not allowed to drive for a minimum of one month and until you get the all clear.

[kasinc88 in reply to MichaelJH]

Hi. Thanks for that. The gp rang me back and said he will send me to see an eye specialist if it isn’t a tia. He’s spoken to a stroke nurse who will get dr to ring me tomorrow. Meanwhile I’ve spoken to my sister who told me Mum used to get visual migraines where she had visual disturbances but no headache so it seems that may be a possibility.

[Healthyheart1 in reply to kasinc88]

Rely on your instincts, if you go to a&e when you get it this could be checked out straight away. Regards Sheena

[JayceeW]

Hi Kasinc88

I had visual disturbances for a short time before my open heart surgery and very definitely after. Initially whilst still in hospital whole sections of magazine text would ‘slip’ out of position and at times my vision seemed very blurred. I mentioned it to the staff. They didn’t appear concerned - they said it takes a few months to settle down.

A few weeks later I started experiencing shimmering auria and sometimes black wavy lines shooting across my vision. I mentioned it to my doctor and my optician, both said it was silent migraine and nothing to be concerned about.

Twelve months later it seems to have calmed down, the auria are almost non existent and the black lines only appear occasionally - so things do settle down.

How if you are worried follow the advice previously giving and consult your doctor.

Hope everything improves soon. Take care.

[kasinc88 in reply to JayceeW]

Thank you Jaycee. I think it is visual migraine as my other eye suddenly turned into a kaleidoscope this afternoon. It may have restarted due to stress as my mum died recently and the funeral was only on Wednesday. Hopefully it will settle down soon.