Have you had a TIA?

Hisgirl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 8, 2011
I have a friend who is 46. A couple of nights ago she suddenly began slurring her words and speaking nonsensical words. She was taken to the ER where they did a cat scan and MRI and they said no stroke.

She cannot lift her left leg higher than five inches from a laying down position but can lift her right leg fully vertical. Her speech is slow and slurred but comes and go. She has had head pain.

I took her to her regular doctor yesterday and she wants her to go to a neurologist. I researched and found that young women who go to a non-teaching hospital are misdiagnosed 45% of the time when they have in fact had a stroke.

The ER docs told her it was stress.

It happened again last night, where suddenly her words made no sense and her memory has been affected. But because they told her it was stress and gave her a xanax, she didn't go back. Money is an issue.

Can you share your experiences with strokes and TIAs? My Daddy had one and it did not show on the cat scan.

Thank you. I'm so concerned for her.
 
Oh boy, I'm glad she's got you pushing her to seek more help, she definitely should not let this go! My other concern besides stroke/TIA would be brain tumor. Hopefully it will turn out to be something simple, but she needs to see a neurologist. If it is a stroke, early treatment with clot busting drugs can make all the difference. Is she on birth control pills or any other medicines that could cause blood clots?
 
She needs to be seen by a neurological team at the best hospital closest to you right away. Better hospitals will have a "stroke team" that springs into action right away. Good luck. PS She can't worry about money right now for lots of reasons. If she needs help social workers will be there to help her. But this could be something that costs her more in the long run if she doesn't get the help she needs right now. So she should just go. "What to call it" is less important than the physiology behind what's happening, too.
 
She needs more help, those symptoms are serious! And STRESS causing stroke symptoms!? That is insane. 46 is unfortunately not too young to have a stroke.
 


My mother had Lupus and one of her symptoms was heart issues, she had TIAs all the time. We would be out at a restaurant and in the middle of a conversation she would just stop and sit there then start back up in the conversation where she left off. She had a number of heart attacks as well. Your friend needs to get to a specialist.
 
I work for a neurologist and we have had patients come in and their stroke work up is negative. They are sent home and their symptoms repeat a day or two later. They come back in and their work up is positive for stroke. Same symptoms, same doctors and same workup done each time, different results.

Your friend needs to be seen again.
 
I remember reading about a woman who was having similar symptoms but the doctor dismissed her. The next time she had an episode she was able to tape herself with her phone. She showed the video to her doctor and was correctly diagnosed. Maybe suggest your friend try to tape herself (or have family do it) and go right back to the ER with the video.

Oh here, I found the news story. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/woman-films-stroke-article-1.1834082
 


I had relatives who had strokes and heart attacks. I had a uncle who is at rehab because of a stroke.
 
She needs to see a neurologist and should set up an appointment for one as soon as possible.
Was she admitted to the hospital or kept over night for observations?
Dh had what we thought was a stroke, but all scans showed negative. He was kept over night for observations. Had another scan (I can't remember what ones and what order) the next day and was released instead of admitted.
He went through almost a year of tests, with 4 separate neurologists, an neuro-opthamologist, 2 cardiologists, and his PCP and still no diagnosis. They have given him all kinds of could be's but no actual reason for what happened. Unfortunately he does have lingering symptoms but thankfully hasn't had a stroke like episode since that first time. It really sucks not knowing what it was or if it is going to happen again.

Please tell your friend to have herself checked out. They may not find a cause, but they just might.
I am so surprised that the ER doctors did not tell her to see a neurologist.
The doctors here were wonderful, I have never seen so many people in one ER room trying to figure out what was going on. They did come to a conclusion but referred dh to a neurologist. I really can't believe the ER doctor's didn't for your friend, even if they thought it is "just stress" there should be some kind of follow up with a specialist.
 
Thank you. Everyone. It's a really tough situation. Her oldest son is going to Texas to college and they are driving across several states tomorrow. Come hell or high water she is going. I just hope she makes it back. (she is flying). I hate this. I love her and I want her to be safe. Her husband is no help right now and lives in another state.
 
I have a friend who is 46. A couple of nights ago she suddenly began slurring her words and speaking nonsensical words. She was taken to the ER where they did a cat scan and MRI and they said no stroke.

She cannot lift her left leg higher than five inches from a laying down position but can lift her right leg fully vertical. Her speech is slow and slurred but comes and go. She has had head pain.

I took her to her regular doctor yesterday and she wants her to go to a neurologist. I researched and found that young women who go to a non-teaching hospital are misdiagnosed 45% of the time when they have in fact had a stroke.

The ER docs told her it was stress.

It happened again last night, where suddenly her words made no sense and her memory has been affected. But because they told her it was stress and gave her a xanax, she didn't go back. Money is an issue.

Can you share your experiences with strokes and TIAs? My Daddy had one and it did not show on the cat scan.

Thank you. I'm so concerned for her.

This happened to my father-in-law two weeks before he had a massive stroke. He ended up in a wheelchair unable to walk or talk.

Tell her to see another doctor ASAP.
 
Thank you. Everyone. It's a really tough situation. Her oldest son is going to Texas to college and they are driving across several states tomorrow. Come hell or high water she is going. I just hope she makes it back. (she is flying). I hate this. I love her and I want her to be safe. Her husband is no help right now and lives in another state.

Oh boy. Flying, and or/sitting in a car for hours on end is the absolute worst thing she can do right now http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/health/06clot.html

If she is indeed having stroke warning signs, waiting vs. treating it now could be the difference between death/permanent disability, and having possibly no long term effects at all (if she gets treatment)
 
Oh my. Her son needs her in a doctor's office or ER tonight more than he needs her on a plane tomorrow. I hope someone talks some sense into her. Please show her this post:


I work for a neurologist and we have had patients come in and their stroke work up is negative. They are sent home and their symptoms repeat a day or two later. They come back in and their work up is positive for stroke. Same symptoms, same doctors and same workup done each time, different results.

Your friend needs to be seen again.
 
I agree. I'm heart broken. It isn't happening. She got back blood work and her thyroid and liver numbers were way off. She has thyroid disease. She is going tomorrow and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm scared for her. She has always put her kids above herself and this is one time I am scared it will be the worst kind of sacrifice.
 
I hope your friend finds out what is going wrong. I imagine it could be a number of possibilities.

Tragically a lady up the street, in her early 40s, and with young children had a stroke 5 years ago or so. She passed from it. As can be imagined it came as a surprise to many.
 
My father in law had a TIA around the same age. To be honest, I'm not sure how it was treated or the type of testing done. I know he's doing just fine now but it is something my MIL is always observant for.

It's so sad she won't listen. A beloved teacher/coworker and family friend had a stroke on the last day of school in June - she passed away. We are still reeling from the loss. Even more tragically, she was alone in a bathroom stall for about 3 hours before she was found. We can't help but wonder if things would've gone different if someone had found her earlier and was able to get her to the hospital to be treated. Not trying to scare you, OP, since it's clear you are advocating hard on her behalf but maybe sharing that story with her will motivate her to be seen again? Regardless, hugs for you and her!
 
Yall, seriously I am heartbroken. If it were up to me, she would have gone to a stroke-specialty hospital in the first place. I get so dang mad at how doctors will write off women as to having stress when they actually have a serious issue. When I had an analphalaxis (spelling?) reaction to a bee sting, the EMT said it was 'just stress'. P.O.ed me to no end. My throat was closing and my tongue was swelling and I had just been stung by a bee! Ugh!

I can pray she will be safe and encourage her to go to the neurologist, which was referred by her doctor yesterday. Hopefully we can do this next week.
 
DH had one a few years ago (he was about 57 then). Basically, he fuzzed out at the dinner table -- basically was making no sense and, by the time I got home, he had completely forgotten 45 minutes of his life. No pain, no problems with motion, and our family doc put him in the hospital for 3-4 days and ran all sorts of tests. Nothing else was found, and they said it could just be that one time.

She really needs to get more tests and care -- Praying for her, you, and her family. I think if it happened to me, my husband wouldn't let me travel and would force me in the hospital. It's a shame she doesn't have a stronger family advocate. Best wishes in the situation.
 
I will send some prayers her way. I truly hope that once she gets back from delivering her son to college, she sees a neurologist. Truthfully, she should be seeing someone NOW, but doesn't seem as though that will happen. Please try and help her get some help.

My mom may have been an extreme case. Looking back now, she was having TIA's long before she had her first diagnosed stroke. She was having dizzy spells and also severe pain in the back of her head when she went upstairs. She went to her own PCP who "explained away" the symptoms. Sadly, by the time she had her first diagnosed stroke things were bad. What was happening was that an artery in her brain was becoming blocked. By the time she had an angiogram, the artery was 100% blocked/shut down. The neurologist said that surgery was out of the question.

Sending good thoughts.
 

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