Saturday, July 30, 2011

stroke signs and other info

Even though I have some medical background there's a lot I don't know about stroke symptoms and temporary loss of function that may occur before a stroke or Transient ischemic attack (TIA, aka mini-stroke).  So I have done some research and wanted to share what I have found with you.  I won't lie to you and say it's easy to remember all of this info while your loved one is in the middle of having these symptoms, that's why I'm keeping copies in my purse and on my fridge at home.  I'm going to have to over-rule my husband's wishes/decision about if 911 should be called next time.  I'll also warn you that your loved one may not tell you about all of their symptoms such as severe headache when it happens because they don't want to go to the hospital or worry you.  That's something we are working on.

Temporary Loss of Function
  • numbness, loss of all feeling, or inability to move part or all of one side of the body
  • confusion or altered behavior, such as the inability to fully rouse a person from sleep, or unusually aggressive or combative behavior
  • sudden dimness, blurring, loss of vision in one or both eyes, or double vision
  • inability to speak, difficulty speaking, or difficulty understanding speech
  • inability to or difficulty walking or standing
  • headache, which is severe and in a specific area, without another apparent cause
  • dizziness or loss of balance with nausea or vomiting
  • fainting or loss of consciousness
Stroke Symptoms
  • sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or paralysis in your face, arm, or leg, especially on only one side of your body
  • sudden vision changes
  • sudden trouble speaking
  • sudden confusion or trouble understanding simple statements
  • sudden problems with walking or balance
  • a sudden, severe headache that is differenct from past headaches
Hemorrhagic Stroke
symptoms are the same as those listed above, but you may have other symptoms
  • severe headache, sometimes in a pecific area
  • nausea and vomiting
  • neck stiffness
  • dizziness, seizures, or changes in mental state, such as irritability, confusion, and possibly unconsciousness
"If you think someone may be having a stroke, use the simple acronym F.A.S.T.: Face: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
Arms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward? Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can he or she repeat the sentence correctly?  Time: If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 9-1-1. Note the time you experienced your first symptom. This information is important to your health care provider and can affect treatment decisions."

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/07/29/1763815/multicare-good-samaritan-column.html#ixzz1TbyQ8zPp

Sunday, July 24, 2011

home

My husband is home from the hospital.  all they could basically find were micro-vascular changes in his brain.  so he had another TIA (aka mini-stroke), this time the symptoms lasted 2 days.  his kidney disease is back to stage 3 which is good.  the dr listened to me and got him off the prostate medication that affects his blood pressure, and put him onto another one that doesn't affect his bp.

more later.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Anniversary and back in the hospital

We went to Leavenworth, WA right after I got off work on the 19th and checked into our hotel.  the next morning I woke up at 6 and found my husband on the floor.  It took about 2 hours to get him up, succeded once and then he fell again in the bathroom.  Was able to get him dressed and had to call down to the front desk to get some help to get him up.  I was able to rent a wheel chair for $1 from the local pharmacy.  He refused to get checked out by the paramedics or to go to the local  hospital.  Since he wasn't showing signs of stroke we decided to try to enjoy our anniversary and visit the various shops in the town.  I got quite the workout pushing the wheelchair.  Most of the little ledges in the doors we just ignore are a challenge for those in wheelchairs.  Uneven walkways, holes in paths are all challenges.  Getting around in stores was quite interesting, in most of the stores we could only get partway thru the store.  Then I would have to bring items to my husband to look at.  Quite the eye opener.
We left around 3:30, we stopped once we reached I90 for a quick break. He offered to drive....yeah right, don't think so dear.  John decided he was going to get out of the car and he fell again (this was fall number 5), his legs just wouldn't hold him up.  it was all I could do to get him back into the car.  there was no one around to help me. I made sure he took all of his ritalin doses, no effect, it was like he had forgotten to take them.  After that I hauled tail  as fast as I could to get him back to Puyallup.  He called the consulting nurse, refused to have an ambulance come get him as they would have taken him to Good Samaritin Hospital (out of network, bad experiences there).  so the consulting nurse told him to go to Saint Joseph's Medical Center in Tacoma (we've been here before, EXCELENT care). EXG, chest X-RAY, head CT all normal.  problems with his kidney function again, no one has told me what level of renal disease it is at yet.  waiting for renal ultrasound results.  waiting for the DR so I can request an MRI be done of his spine.  Something is going on with him.  I just want to know what. Please include him in your prayers

Sunday, July 10, 2011

vitamins, ect

I'm working today, I hate working on Sundays.  Only 30 min until I get to go home.

Have you ever left a question/comment on someone's blog hoping for an answer only to go back later to find out that it has been deleted?  Just because the subject matter happed to be many posts back.  bummer.  so I'll ask the question here and maybe I'll get some answers (crossing my fingers).  Do any of you take vitamins/minerals for memory issues and you can tell a difference if you forget to take them?

our anniversary is coming up, I took 2 days off from work for it.  Problem is that my hubby refuses to miss going to the Temple the day after our anniversay (that's one of the days I took off).  hard to believe that we've been married almost 16 years.