Dizziness post stroke

No one in the Red Wing area unless someone can lead me to someone. I really like the Rochester Mayo but once you are discharged from there their pop up clinics in surrounding towns have no specialist field Drs. I also have AFib and HCM and when I ask a primary to check with a Cardiologist before prescribing meds that would increase heart rythem they just dismiss it until I get to the pharmacy and discourage taking the perscription because of known heart side affects. I am thinking on a new health system , but I like the knowledge of Rochester Mayo for imergancies. If anyone knows of some place near Red wing for therapy I would appreciate it.

Clinic social service has no openings. They just laugh to think you could get appointment.

I had my stroke over 2 years ago and I still have dizziness. I had therapy shortly after the stroke with a physical therapist who works with this very thing. It helped initially. But the dizziness came back. I have read online about a drug that can help by the name of Cilostazol. My neurologist won't prescribe it for me yet because i am having other issues he wantst to sort out first. I hope to eventually convince him to let me try it. One exercise to try that helps me temporarily is to mve your head up and down, looking up at the ceiling and then the floor, repeating for a count of 30, then do this side to side. Repeat several times. Also, get a popsicle stick and place an X on the end. Hold it close to your nose. Focus on the X, while moving your head side to side for a count of 30, then up and down for a count of 30. Do this several times a day, every day. It doesn't totally take the dizziness away, but it does ease it up some.

Thank you for the advice. I’m going to ask him to try it and see if it helps. I like that it doesn’t involve talking to a therapist, something he will never do.🙏

I’m so truly sorry that this unfortunate stroke happened to your husband, just as you both were retiring, and now, with 18 months gone by, it may seem to you both, that some of your best planned retirement activities, are being affected, and, that would be difficult to handle! Having to change plans and adjust to a retirement that you both were so looking forward to enjoying, is difficult to accept! I recall when my wife and I retired, after many years of working strenuous, difficult jobs! We were looking forward to doing all kinds of fun things, like taking an Alaska Cruise, spending more time with our Canadian relatives, etc. I got a retirement job, managing an upscale hotel, which, although challenging for me, it was something I enjoyed doing, and I was adding to my income at the same time! After about 18 months doing that, my wife and I decided we would take a well deserved vacation, to Canada, where we had rented a cottage, in a small beach town, along one of the Great Lakes. This place was where we had our honeymoon staying at a beach cottage, 30 years before! We have relatives that live on farms within a 60 mile area, of this beautiful, touristy, small beach town, and we were so looking forward to seeing them again! So, we were planning a party, at the beach cottage, to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary! Well, right after we crossed the International Bridge, from the USA, to Canada, we stopped at a grocery store, to pick up some groceries for the cottage. My wife stayed at our hotel, for the night, with our toddler grandson, and I, my daughter, and my two granddaughters, went shopping to the grocery store! That’s when everything changed abruptly! I had gone over to the cookie/biscuit aisle, and my daughter and granddaughters were in the next aisle over, getting breakfast cereals, when, suddenly, I felt dizzy, and faint, and started falling! I yelled out my daughter’s name, saying HELP ME! I passed out, fell to the floor, and don’t remember anything that happened, till I woke up in a Canadian Hospital! My daughter told me that I had had a Grand Mal tonic/clonic seizure series, that lasted for a while, and an ambulance had been called, and they took me to the Hospital ER, where it took them most of the afternoon to get me stabilized. It was evening, when I woke up, and I was in an intensive care unit room. So, anyway, I had to be transported back to my hometown hospital, in the United States, the next day, and they kept me there, for a few days, where they did extensive testing! I had a cat scan and MRI. The MRI showed that I had had like a TIA-small stroke, in addition to the seizures, so I was put on medicine for seizures, and I couldn’t drive for many months etc. I had to quit my hotel job, and we didn’t get to see our Canadian relatives, or celebrate our 30th Anniversary! Notes were put on my medical chart to follow up, with more future MRI’s. I’ll admit that was a depressing time for me! The advice I have for your husband, though, is DO NOT GIVE UP! Somehow, I found a way to go forward, make plans for physical therapy, and rehab. That was one of the best decisions, because I learned about neuroplasticity! This is where the physical therapist showed me how the brain has the ability to relearn tasks, like improved walking, balance, and overcoming dizziness, to the point, where it really makes a difference! Since that time, of my seizures and first stroke, 22 years have passed! My grandchildren are grown up, and I enjoyed taking them all to ice skating, and hockey games, that they participated in! I found that purpose in life, and it has been rewarding! Meanwhile, health wise, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease 8 years ago. I’ve gone through physical therapy for that, and improved my gait, balance, and dizzy sensation with the neuroplasticity methods! Recently, I’ve had 2 more strokes, that affected my walking, left me with incontinence, vision problems, where I have to wear prism glasses, and I was diagnosed recently with atrial fibrillation! I had a couple really scary episodes, I was put on blood thinners, but, because I’ve had a number of falls in the last few years, I am scheduled for a heart Watchman implant next month! I refuse to feel sorry for myself, and give in to feeling down, in spite of my adverse health conditions! I have not been back to visit our relatives in Canada, since that fateful day, that I had the Grand Mal seizures, and I had hoped to visit Canada, one more time, this year, but, now, with the physical problems that I’m having, along with the new administration’s activities, my hopes for going back to Canada for a visit, are dimming! Dreams are good, but, sometimes, making dreams become realities, is not always possible! I hope my story will be helpful to you and your husband, as you make future retirement plans, that may have to be adjusted, because of the effects of your husband’s stroke! Wishing you both the best!!

@foundryrat743 thank you for sharing your story. Best to you.