All seconded, especially this one:
For two reasons: surgery might be necessary and the stroken symptoms might include difficulty swallowing, with the risk of choking/aspiration of fluid/solids
I had a stroke about three years ago. I just ‘felt’ like something was wrong but didn’t know what. Decided to call the doctor and realized I couldn’t figure out how to dial the phone or write the number or the doctor’s name down to write myself a note.
Drove to the doctor’s office. He quickly said it looked like I had had a stroke and insisted on calling an ambulance after I said I would drive to the hospital. At the ER they said I had had a series of mini-strokes. Was in the hospital for two days then went home feeling better but still struggling somewhat with writing or typing and entering phone numbers; had some sessions with a speech / writing therapist. I now write / type much more slowly than before and back up to make corrections frequently but everything else seems to work OK.
When I later saw a neurologist after the hospital visit she told me “You didn’t have a series of mini-strokes – you had five strokes.” The pictures she showed me of the spiderweb of my brain scan were fascinating.
So yeah, know the symptoms and call 911 – time matters.
They can also be a symptom of a detached or detaching retina. Don’t mess about until you find the answer on your own. Hie thee to an eye doctor.
But yes, doctors do make mistakes, some are lazy. No offense meant guys, but maybe the woman patient isn’t a hypochondriac. Some symptoms aren’t caught for years simply because you and the doctor are looking for something else. After 20 years of complaining, I got the right doc to hear what I was saying. Turns out I have a heart valve problem. I knew there was a problem for 20 effing years but the docs didn’t find it. They were looking for clogged arteries because I am overweight. I am overweight because I have no energy to move. Why do I have no energy? Because my heart isn’t moving the blood properly.
Seriously, practice calling 911 in your head so that when you need to, you do so automatically.
True dat. Our profession is racist and sexist by default. Luckily we female doctors are currently in the majority FWIW.
It’s sad, but I have to agree wholeheartedly.
Glad that someone mentioned balance as an indicator above.
Six years ago, I got out of my car at the parking lot of a store, and felt as though I was standing on a boat. The balance issue subsided after a few minutes and I was able to get through the errand with my kid, and get home - but kept having these transient episodes - mostly after getting out of the car. This was Monday. Went to the doc the next day, and we thought it may be due to a change of medicine and we’d keep an eye on it. Wednesday I worked as normal, went to the gym, and sauna. On Thursday overnight, I had a very odd sensation of movement while sleeping and made an appointment to go to the doc Friday afternoon. He sent me (I was still driving around this whole time) to the ER for an MRI.
At no time that week did I have any of the stroke symptoms I’d be looking for - limp arm, slurred speech, etc.
I staggered in (the problem was WAY worse after driving) and I could tell when they pulled me out of the tube that something was pretty wrong.
They told me I had had a stroke that hit my cerebellum - hence the balance problems. It may have technically been a TIA, but stroke is what I heard, and I was admitted to the stroke ward.
What the incident revealed was that my Type 2 Diabetes was not (in fact) well managed and that’s what I tackled - losing 75 lbs and taking diet and exercise much more seriously, dropping A1C from 10.8 to 5.8. There was no issue with my heart, carotid arteries, etc. I still feel a few minor balance issues, but am significantly healthier than I had been my entire adulthood overall, and realize how lucky I am.
But for a week, I was “no stroke symptoms, so that can’t be it.”
Oh, I did at the time. He reassured me that the retina was ok, that phosphenes are normal, etc., and I’ve seen other eye doctors since. Thanks for your concern!
I had a few mini strokes three years ago, and then an occular stroke that left me half-blind in one eye.
About two years ago I thought I was having another one and it was another TIA and they kept me overnight. Then a year ago it happened again, but I didn’t go to the hospital that time.
It’s now been 3 years since I quit drinking and smoking.
Writing is OK, but typying not so great (always having to hit backspace and fix shit).
Walk with a cane when out grocery shopping or needing to walk longer distances.
My friend’s daughter (who also worked at my store) had one right around that same age. Her parents took her to the hospital where she was discharged with a diagnosis of ‘dehydration’. Luckily all her family members realized that the hospital was clearly incorrect and raced her to a different hospital. Turns out she had two strokes (or two clots, anyway). She was in PT for months after that, but appears to be more or less 100% recovered, at least from what I’m hearing.
So I ended up getting an EKG today as well as getting an appointment for an MRI/Brain Scan (whichever the insurance company approves.) I pick up a cholesterol control med and start an aspirin regimen tomorrow. They don’t know whether I had a stroke or not, but it appears to be mild if so. My right hand is about 97% normal. I can still feel “fuzziness” between my thumb and fingers. My heart seems to be fine. So OK right now and thanks for all those expressing concern.
I do my best to keep my strokes private. Nobody wansa see that!
I’m thinking good thoughts for you, Biotop!
not a stroke, but a stroke scare.
i woke up one morning, went to take a zyrtek, and dribbled. my thought process was, “great, having a stroke”. went to the bathroom looked in the mirror. right side of my face was swelled up, seriously swelled up, thought process " great, that isn’t going to go away completely".
then i went through arm and leg check. no weakness discovered, balance okay. spoke to cat, the words i thought came out properly, no slurring. thought process, “okay, not a stroke, get to urgent when it opens”.
took shuttle bus to the office at 8, urgent care opened at 9, figured it would be better to be with people rather than alone with cats. told co workers what was happening. then went over to urgent care a block away from my office. told them possible infection, triggering palsy or spider eggs in my ear (the spider egg thing was an attempt at humour). my ear hurt like when you crack the cartilage and was hugely swollen.
dr. took a look in my ear and said “whaaa”. huge infection around eardrum, he could barely get the scope in my ear. he did exactly what i did in the bathroom, arms, legs, balance. antibiotics prescribed.
when the swelling finally went down shingle lesions appeared. final diagnosis was ear infection and shingles outbreak in ear triggering bells palsy. no spiders, whew! i did have an mri after seeing an ent. no damage, and concrete proof that i indeed have a brain in my head.
and as i predicted, the swelling did not completely go away, but is not noticeable. my plan for an actual stroke is to get to/call the front desk (i live in a condo building) call 911, and be near people as the cats, while very attentive, don’t do first aid.
@Biotop, I’m so glad to hear you are following up on this. May all go well for you.
Moderating:
This is a thread where people are sharing details about serious medical issues. Maybe not the best place to share this kind of post.
Good luck, @Biotop!
@Biotop all the best!
So it appears from the MRI I did have some sort of “minor” stroke so I guess it is a wakeup call to eat better, exercise and reduce stress. They cannot even tell if the mini stroke happened on the day of my fuzzy arm, which is still a tiny bit fuzzy as I type this.
Of course it might reduce stress not to have the $1500 bill for the MRI, but I suppose going to the Doctor was the right thing to do even if it doesn’t fix anything.
Like a lot of people, I have ocular migraines. They were always just the flashy light thing along with difficulty reading, and a minor annoyance. Then one day I’m sitting in my chair and one started up. But it wasn’t abating and I was experiencing aphasia (inability to speak properly). It finally started to fade away, but I immediately had my wife take me to the ER as I thought I was having a TIA. They ran a bunch of tests, including an MRI and determined that there had not been a TIA, and told me that a neurologist would follow up with me.
When I went to see the neuro he told me that while the scan didn’t show a problem for that particular episode, there was evidence that I had suffered a very minor stroke at sometime in the not too distant past and that I also had a couple of very small aneurysms in my brain. News to me, as I hadn’t had any of the classic symptoms. So I take an aspirin a day and I go back for an annual MRA to make sure the aneurysms haven’t changed at all.
@Biotop , I’m so glad you had it checked out. I agree about the bill and stress. That’s what really sucks here. But, still, now you know.
And it will now show on your medical record so doctors will be aware of the possibility in the future.