Mini stroke that I had

[cosmictraveler]

I had what they refer to as a "mini stroke" the other day. It was interesting for I never encountered one before. I felt a dizzy, numbing experience and then blacked out and fell to the ground waking up a few seconds after I had fallen. I am thankful I was sitting down when that happened or else I might have been in serious problems.:eek: This aging shit isn't as good as they say it is. I just hope I don't get one of them again. :shrug: Anyone else ever encounter one themselves?

[James R]

Hope you're ok, cosmictraveler. Have you seen a doctor?

[madanthonywayne]

If you haven't seen a doctor about this, see one ASAP. A "mini-stroke" or TIA is often a sign of an impending real stroke which can have devastating and life altering consequences. Given the symptoms you describe, I can't say for sure whether that was a TIA or just some kind of feinting. But, regardless, see your doctor (or go to the ER if you don't have a doctor) today (within 24 hours).

[skaught]

I hope you have gone to the doc Cosmic! I didn't know you were that old!

[Carcano]

Hopefully your doctor will put you on blood thinners.

Take a baby aspirin twice a day until he does.

If you did have a stroke youre at serious risk for another.

[Ophiolite]

I've had two strokes. The first took the form of a TIA while I was driving to work, but I did not lose consciousness. (I drove myself to A&E.) The proximate cause was high blood pressure that had produced a small brain haemorage in the left side of my brain. I was hospitalised for three weeks and took almost two months of recuperation at home.
Burning and numbess (and odd combination) to the point of pain continue on my right side to this day - ten years later, to varying degrees.
Shortly after this I began experiencing TIAs on my other side. These culminated in a second minor stroke about four years ago. In that one I lost fine motor control and needed to look at my foot to see where it was before placing it on the ground. The good news is that the TIAs have diminished since that one.

I am on a pharmacy full of drugs to control the bood pressure. I have got accustomed to working through these TIAs, which can occur almost continuously on a bad day. When I asked my neurologist how I could distinguish one of these from one that would be the onset of a large, possibly fatal stroke he said "you can't". As you might imagine this is somewhat unsettling.

If you ever notice I haven't been posting for a while, then you'll know the Big One finally hit.:)

[Carcano]

The proximate cause was high blood pressure that had produced a small brain hemorrage in the left side of my brain.
Hows your magnesium levels? People with low magnesium and potassium often have high blood pressure.

[Captain Kremmen]

Strokes. Bad ones turn young old men into old old men.
You are one of the youngest old men on here.
I'd never have guessed you were over 25.
We can't afford to lose you.

The speed at which you get to hospital is vitally important, because the effects can be mitigated with drugs and surgical intervention.

I hope it was just a fainting attack, but you need to see a doctor ASAP.

[Asguard]

cosmic as MAD said except that he is slightly wrong, firstly dont even BOTHER with a GP. They cant run the tests fast enough or put you on heprin in the mean time, secondly, you shouldnt think that you have UP to 24 hours to go.

There is an acronim which is used to deal with strokes and TIAs are included in this

FAST
Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speach difficulty, TIME TO CALL AN AMBULANCE.

[S.A.M.]

I hope you feel better soon. Do you live by yourself? It may be a good idea to get some help.

[cosmictraveler]

Thank you all for your comments and concerns. :)

I'm over 50 but under the ground as yet. I will be seeing my neurologist this week. She only sees people Tuesday and Thursday and operates on Fridays. Yes, I do live alone and have done so for many years now. My blood pressure is 80 over 130 which isn't bad at all. So far I've had no other side effects since that occurrence. :cool:

[Syzygys]

My arms keep falling asleep when I lay on my side, but always the one that is not under my body. How strange is that?

[cosmictraveler]

My arms keep falling asleep when I lay on my side, but always the one that is not under my body. How strange is that?

You are an odd ball for sure! :D

[Asguard]

cosmic i think you have your BP bacwards:p Big number goes on the top:p

130 systolic (ie just after contraction of the ventricals)
80 diasystolic (when the heart is fully relaxed and the atria are starting to fill)

[cosmictraveler]

cosmic i think you have your BP bacwards:p Big number goes on the top:p

130 systolic (ie just after contraction of the ventricals)
80 diasystolic (when the heart is fully relaxed and the atria are starting to fill)

Silly me, thank you for pointing that out. :)

[Crunchy Cat]

If you haven't seen a doctor about this, see one ASAP. A "mini-stroke" or TIA is often a sign of an impending real stroke which can have devastating and life altering consequences. Given the symptoms you describe, I can't say for sure whether that was a TIA or just some kind of feinting. But, regardless, see your doctor (or go to the ER if you don't have a doctor) today (within 24 hours).

Good advice.

[draqon]

cosmic write a will

&

do whatever you wanted to do in your life and not regret because you did not get to do it.

[visceral_instinct]

What does TIA stand for?

[Syzygys]

Telecommunications Industry Association

I know it because I googled it!

Now, just kidding, it is really the Travel Industry Association:


http://www.tia.org/index.html

[Asguard]

transient ischemic attack

similar to angina for the heart but this effects the brain

[cosmictraveler]

My neurologist upped my blood thinner 50 mgs and I will have to go back to see her after an MRI is done.

[Anti-Flag]

When is your MRI cosmic?

[cosmictraveler]

Tomorrow, why?

[S.A.M.]

How do you feel cosmic. Do you feel alright? Why the delay in MRI?

[cosmictraveler]

The MRI place had a booked day today or I would have gone today. Tomorrow was the earliest. I really haven't felt that bad except for my being crotchety which is normal anyway since the stroke , thanks for asking. :)

[Asguard]

cosmic can i ask why they are giving you an MRI rather than an angiogram?

[S.A.M.]

Because he had a TIA?

[Asguard]

exactly my point, they need to check for blockages in the blood vessals which is done by angogram

[Asguard]

SAM you had me worried there that the procidure had a different name when not heart related but i was correct

Neuro-vascular angiography
Another increasingly common angiographic procedure is neuro-vascular digital subtraction angiography in order to visualise the arterial and venous supply to the brain. Intervention work such as coil-embolisation of aneurysms and AVM gluing can also be performed


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiography

by definition a TIA is ISCHEMIC not Hemorrhagic which means its caused by a blockage. If you want to know where that blockage is that means an angiograph not an MRI which will show up bleeding

[S.A.M.]

I may be mistaken but I think intracranial bleed is a priority. I know my friend had an MRI immediately after her stroke. But she was young [42] so it may depend on other factors.

[Asguard]

your right that heamoragic stroke is the most common form but he said it was a TIA not a stroke. There for its ischemic not heamoragic. I surpose you COULD get TIA like symptoms from a small bleed in the brain but i have never herd of it being releved which is the definition of a TIA (it has to be TRANSIANT), if its a small bleed either you wont have ANY symptoms or those symptioms wont go away because once the blood is there, its not going away in a hurry

[Anti-Flag]

Tomorrow, why?

Just checking it's as soon as possible. :)
You'll have to let us all know if anything shows up, all the best cosmic.

EDIT: Asguard has a point, have you had an angiogram? I thought that was standard for all things like this. :shrug:

[draqon]

cosmic, you are a very good person. I was very fortunate to know you.

[cosmictraveler]

cosmic can i ask why they are giving you an MRI rather than an angiogram

Because the angiogram was done today at the hospital.

[cosmictraveler]

cosmic, you are a very good person. I was very fortunate to know you.

Thank you, and it is a pleasure to know you as well. :)

[skaught]

cosmic, you are a very good person. I was very fortunate to know you.

Uhh, hes not dead draqon, you don't have to talk like hes gone...

[Syzygys]

Cosmic, you are a good person, and it was a pleasure for you to know me... :)

[cosmictraveler]

Cosmic, you are a good person, and it was a pleasure for you to know me... :)

And it was for me good as well to know that you think so. :)

[S.A.M.]

How was your MRI? Was it scary? I remember when my friend had one, she felt terribly claustrophobic.

[draqon]

SAM when I did my CAT scan a year ago, it was very scary, I dont think it was claustrophobia thou...in fact I do not think anyone who gets scared while doing MRI is actually claustrophobic, the reason behind their hallucinations or fear during MRI is because the doctors put a plastic frame on a head which is extremely tight (extremely) for the purpose of keeping the patients head in one position...however that frame squeezes the skull of the patient and constructs blood flow, which results in the experiences of people doing MRI.

[cosmictraveler]

How was your MRI? Was it scary? I remember when my friend had one, she felt terribly claustrophobic.

They have a new MRI that is open all the way around. Not bad unless you have to itch something and if you move theyt must start all over again! The 45 minutes I was in there wasn't to bad.

http://www.decaturopenmri.com/images/1.jpg

[S.A.M.]

wow, thats cool! :)

[Absane]

My blood pressure is 140/80 and has been that way since I think I was 18... I'm 24 now.

My doctor wanted to put me on blood pressure medication but I refuse to do so for a few reasons. One, I don't want to form a psychological dependence on a pill because I'll never get around to treating the root cause. Second, the cause of my high blood pressure is, in all likelihood, mental. My sodium levels are fine and I even went low-sodium for a while... zero change. When I take in to account my addiction to caffeine, simple sugars, and other stimulants, I have come to realize that I have a natural low-level amount of basal stimulation, which was evident all my life.

So, my theory is that in order to function through out the day with little stimulation, I cause myself unneeded anxiety. Others have noticed that... I don't know how to relax and I easily get irritated or pissed off. I can easily become addicted to working 70+ hours a week or playing video games for just as long.

Interestingly (or at least to me), the lowest heart rated I recorded for myself was 57 BPM with blood pressure at 138/80. The lowest diastolic BP I had was 70 or so. Systolic BP stays the same always.

[Liebling]

I hope it goes okay for you, cosmictraveler. It's a very scary thing. Have they tested your blood sugar levels and ruled out diabetes? A close friend of mine had a TIA and then a major stroke when she was just 22 because she had undiagnosed diabetes. They called the first a "fainting spell", and ignored the fact that she kept listing to the right when she walked afterwards.

I sincerely hope that it all comes out okay. Until then, keep taking your meds and we'll keep sending you positive thoughts.

I've had two MRI's recently, one where I was fine and the other when I was on day four of a particularly bad migraine headache. Trust me when I tell you that none of you ever want to have an MRI when you have a headache. I wanted to stop breathing just to end the pain of the droning magnets. I am not claustrophobic, but I could see where one of those machines might drive someone who was absolutely batty. It's a pretty confined space, and add to that the lights and sound... not pleasent. I didn't have a plastic frame on my head that was squeezing it though, and I've never seen or heard anyone that has. Just a few velcro straps to make sure you don't move your head.