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Letter: When imagination suddenly vanished

Published 18 June 2025

From Patricia Finney, Falmouth, Cornwall, UK

I am a writer of mainly historical novels. I scored fairly high on your imagination tests. That said, there was a time about 11 years ago when my imagination faltered after I had a haemorrhagic stroke. After a few days in intensive care, I was put on pills to reduce high blood pressure. Suddenly I couldn’t visualise anything, not even a rainbow. In desperation, I rang a friend who is a doctor specialising in stroke aftercare and told her about this. “Are you taking diuretics?” she asked. “Stop them at once.” I did and two days later my ability to visualise was back(31 May, p 37).

Consult a doctor before making any changes to your medication.

Issue no. 3548 published 21 June 2025

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