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

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.

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

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.

got the Prius back!

I'm so happy that I have my Prius back, I really appreciate it so much more now.  The place (South Hill Collision) that fixed it also detailed the inside of the car which really needed it.  Plus they finished 1 week early.

my car accident

You know how "they" say most accidents happen so many miles from home?  This time it is was true,  mine was exactly 2 miles from my house.  I was stopped and a Marine recruiter driving a government car looked down for just a second and hit my car from behind.  That caused me to hit the truck in front of me.  My poor prius is going to be in the shop for a few weeks.  The estimate is $6100.  Thankgoodness I have PIP coverage so I didn't have to wait around for the government insurance to decide to fix my car.  I'm still a little sore and will be going to the chiropractor for a while to get my neck and back in allignment.  The first rental car we got was an SUV, it was a choice between that and a van, the suv got better gas milage.  Talk about sticker shock at the gas pump!  I'm used to $25 for my prius.  Finally the rental people got a smaller car that gets 35 mpg for us.    
Oh, the day after the accident I realized that I hadn't gotten the license plate number of the car that hit me so I drove to the recruiting office.  I found the car, wrote down the number, then got out my camera and started taking pictures in case my insurance needs them.  Next thing I know there are a couple of Marines asking me what I'm doing, telling me that I am making them nervous.  Then they look at my wrecked car and figured out that "I'm the lady who was in the accident" and settled down.  lol ... gotta smile

test results

the Dr was kind enough to include me in the appointment by phone ( I was recently in a car accident and had an appointment I had to get to shortly after my husband's appointment).  Over-all the test was went pretty good.  He had some difficulties with parts of it.  The results showed he has difficulty recalling new things (hence the need for writting in the notebook), and delayed reactions.   He no longer has Mild Cognitive disorder, it's Significant/Major Cognitive Disororder.  For some reason it's not hitting me as hard as I thought it would.  Maybe it will later.  Maybe it's just the relief of knowing that I'm not the one who's going crazy/imagining the changes, getting validation that the changes are real.  The Dr said for my husband to look at himself managing the disorder not the disorder managing him.  ie taking his medications, using his notebook, not obsessing on the disorder and what it has taken away.