G - Life after a Brain Stem Stroke,
Life after a Brain Stem Stroke
For ten long years from 2000 to 2010, for me it was about learning to live "Post Stroke with associated disabilities", worst of which was a dead left leg and total loss of balance as the nerves associated with right ear was badly damaged. Was not allowed to Drive, which meant being confined at home with wife going to work and son to school.
I was drugged with a psychotic drug called Seroquel and slept from 9.00pm to 3.00pm the next day. The sleep I believe served me well during my recovery. Seroquel was prescribed by my Psychiatrist who was a fantastic physician who went out of the way to help his patients. More on him later.
So alone at home I had four companions. My Dog Rajah, my TV, my slow computer Windows XT and my bed....eating what ever food was in the fridge during the day.
TIA's
TIA stood for "Transient Ischemic Attack". Every time the blood flow to the brain stem region fluctuated the body went into a shock and virtually shuddered, due to the Hypo Perfusion of the PICA (posterior interior cerebellar artery) that supplied the Brain stem with blood.
There was burning and tingling of the right side of the face and the left side of the Body. Left leg was dead as a log so I could not feel anything. Drooping right eyelids, one sided cough on the damaged right side, choking on saliva and drooling. Destined to be a vegetable for the rest of my life. This very thought made me look for an extraordinaryspecialist neurologist who could cure me. Well that was the Hope.
I had consulted in six months most of the neurologists in Sydney Metro and realised very few really understood my real condition and what had caused it, were conducting some basic neuro tests to decide which medicine to prescribe. It was more like "Inky Pinky Ponky, what Can I give this donkey".
They all pretended and took out their prescription pads and Prescribed Rivotril, Lamictal, Sando Migran, Epilum, Ginko and the list went on and on. In fact it took me a while to realise that I was being used as a guinea pig to test if X,Y,Z medication helped and not through established medical knowledge.
The Good Bad and the Ugly:
We have the Good, the bad and the Ugly in every profession be it a plumber or electrician or carpenter or Engineer or Nurse or a "Doctor". Yes the Doctors were no exceptions. There were extremely Great Doctors who dedicated their lives to serving sick people, then there were mediocre ones and lastly there were totally incompetent ones too.
The worst neurologist I came across in Sydney was not happy with the angio images and the MRI and CT Angio images I had with me. Insisted I get a new MRI of the Head and Neck done as a first step. I had my exhausted my quota of one MRI for the year already and this meant Medicare was not going to pay for it and I was going to be out of pocket by Aud $1000. When you are desperate and want to get cured you agree to everything. On hindsight I believe it is a racket to sponge sick patients. Got the MRI done and when I picked up the images, my first appointment was with my haematologist Prof. Harry Illand ( My God Send) so he had a look at the MRI. Put it up on the screen and explained to me where the infarct was and also pointed out the blocked vertebral artery in the neck and said the radiologist had not imaged the neck properly as was requested.
Few days later saw my neurologist who reads the radiologists report and tells me there are no blocked arteries and no infarct in the brain in an authoritative way. I politely asked him "Doc can you show this on the MRI Images please ?" He had little choice so he put the images on the screen and said "See there is nothing there". I was irate as he had the image upside down and that meant he did not know how to review MRI Images. He was blindly reading the Radiologist Report and the Radiologist must have been another DoDo. Immediately I decided that he was a quack. He prescribed another medicine for the Guinea Pig and asked me to see him after three months. I paid my dues walked out and tore the prescription and never saw him again.
Though I am not a doctor, I come from a family of doctors. Three of my sisters are doctors and specialists too. A Cardiologist, another who was a gastroenterologist and Anaesthetist in London and the last a General Surgeon. My Brother in Law is a Hospital Doctor many nieces and nephews were doctors by the time I had a stroke and in Sydney I had many many doctor friends who we played cards with. Having associated with many many doctors in my life, I was fully aware that there were good bad and ugly doctors like every other profession. In fact my father wanted a family of Doctors but I refused as I knew I would have made a good doctor but I was not keen on seeing sick people all my life as a career. I wanted to Create and build things from scratch.
I will never assume that all Doctors know what they are doing. I do my due diligence and the minute I find the doctor is incompetent I start looking for second opinions.
When you Find a Good Doctor who is knowledgeable and knows the subject and cares for you as a Patient "Cling on to them and never let them go".
My original GP was a lady who told me I was a Hypochondriac saying I was imagining my symptoms and a week later I suffered a Brain stem stroke. She did offer an apology but then I needed a better GP.
Destiny led me to Dr. Darrel Weinman. This is an amazing story. I was at RPAH in the diabetes clinic for tests when I met another Patient. When I had finished I got into my car and was on my way home. I noticed this gentleman at the Bus stop. H was Old and must have been in his 70's. I pulled up and offered him a lift. he declined as it may be out of the way for me, but for some reason I insisted and he jumped into the car and we exchanged notes on our health conditions and on hearing my case history he said You have to se Dr Weinman. He is in fact a neurologist from Sri Lanka but now practicing as a GP and he was in Burwood just five minutes away from my house. Dr Weinman was a God Send and was my GP for about 15 years. He passed away at age 85 and had worked until the last day. He suffered a massive stroke in his sleep and went into a Coma and died three days later. But he is the reason I am alive today.
As a Rule
Life after a Brain Stem Stroke
For ten long years from 2000 to 2010, for me it was about learning to live "Post Stroke with associated disabilities", worst of which was a dead left leg and total loss of balance as the nerves associated with right ear was badly damaged. Was not allowed to Drive, which meant being confined at home with wife going to work and son to school.
I was drugged with a psychotic drug called Seroquel and slept from 9.00pm to 3.00pm the next day. The sleep I believe served me well during my recovery. Seroquel was prescribed by my Psychiatrist who was a fantastic physician who went out of the way to help his patients. More on him later.
So alone at home I had four companions. My Dog Rajah, my TV, my slow computer Windows XT and my bed....eating what ever food was in the fridge during the day.
TIA's
TIA stood for "Transient Ischemic Attack". Every time the blood flow to the brain stem region fluctuated the body went into a shock and virtually shuddered, due to the Hypo Perfusion of the PICA (posterior interior cerebellar artery) that supplied the Brain stem with blood.
There was burning and tingling of the right side of the face and the left side of the Body. Left leg was dead as a log so I could not feel anything. Drooping right eyelids, one sided cough on the damaged right side, choking on saliva and drooling. Destined to be a vegetable for the rest of my life. This very thought made me look for an extraordinaryspecialist neurologist who could cure me. Well that was the Hope.
I had consulted in six months most of the neurologists in Sydney Metro and realised very few really understood my real condition and what had caused it, were conducting some basic neuro tests to decide which medicine to prescribe. It was more like "Inky Pinky Ponky, what Can I give this donkey".
They all pretended and took out their prescription pads and Prescribed Rivotril, Lamictal, Sando Migran, Epilum, Ginko and the list went on and on. In fact it took me a while to realise that I was being used as a guinea pig to test if X,Y,Z medication helped and not through established medical knowledge.
The Good Bad and the Ugly:
We have the Good, the bad and the Ugly in every profession be it a plumber or electrician or carpenter or Engineer or Nurse or a "Doctor". Yes the Doctors were no exceptions. There were extremely Great Doctors who dedicated their lives to serving sick people, then there were mediocre ones and lastly there were totally incompetent ones too.
The worst neurologist I came across in Sydney was not happy with the angio images and the MRI and CT Angio images I had with me. Insisted I get a new MRI of the Head and Neck done as a first step. I had my exhausted my quota of one MRI for the year already and this meant Medicare was not going to pay for it and I was going to be out of pocket by Aud $1000. When you are desperate and want to get cured you agree to everything. On hindsight I believe it is a racket to sponge sick patients. Got the MRI done and when I picked up the images, my first appointment was with my haematologist Prof. Harry Illand ( My God Send) so he had a look at the MRI. Put it up on the screen and explained to me where the infarct was and also pointed out the blocked vertebral artery in the neck and said the radiologist had not imaged the neck properly as was requested.
Few days later saw my neurologist who reads the radiologists report and tells me there are no blocked arteries and no infarct in the brain in an authoritative way. I politely asked him "Doc can you show this on the MRI Images please ?" He had little choice so he put the images on the screen and said "See there is nothing there". I was irate as he had the image upside down and that meant he did not know how to review MRI Images. He was blindly reading the Radiologist Report and the Radiologist must have been another DoDo. Immediately I decided that he was a quack. He prescribed another medicine for the Guinea Pig and asked me to see him after three months. I paid my dues walked out and tore the prescription and never saw him again.
Though I am not a doctor, I come from a family of doctors. Three of my sisters are doctors and specialists too. A Cardiologist, another who was a gastroenterologist and Anaesthetist in London and the last a General Surgeon. My Brother in Law is a Hospital Doctor many nieces and nephews were doctors by the time I had a stroke and in Sydney I had many many doctor friends who we played cards with. Having associated with many many doctors in my life, I was fully aware that there were good bad and ugly doctors like every other profession. In fact my father wanted a family of Doctors but I refused as I knew I would have made a good doctor but I was not keen on seeing sick people all my life as a career. I wanted to Create and build things from scratch.
I will never assume that all Doctors know what they are doing. I do my due diligence and the minute I find the doctor is incompetent I start looking for second opinions.
When you Find a Good Doctor who is knowledgeable and knows the subject and cares for you as a Patient "Cling on to them and never let them go".
My original GP was a lady who told me I was a Hypochondriac saying I was imagining my symptoms and a week later I suffered a Brain stem stroke. She did offer an apology but then I needed a better GP.
Destiny led me to Dr. Darrel Weinman. This is an amazing story. I was at RPAH in the diabetes clinic for tests when I met another Patient. When I had finished I got into my car and was on my way home. I noticed this gentleman at the Bus stop. H was Old and must have been in his 70's. I pulled up and offered him a lift. he declined as it may be out of the way for me, but for some reason I insisted and he jumped into the car and we exchanged notes on our health conditions and on hearing my case history he said You have to se Dr Weinman. He is in fact a neurologist from Sri Lanka but now practicing as a GP and he was in Burwood just five minutes away from my house. Dr Weinman was a God Send and was my GP for about 15 years. He passed away at age 85 and had worked until the last day. He suffered a massive stroke in his sleep and went into a Coma and died three days later. But he is the reason I am alive today.
As a Rule
