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    lalbox09's Avatar
    lalbox09 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Aug 1, 2007, 03:17 AM
    Stroke or MS or?
    At age 62,last year,I was a healthy person.Neither hospitalized nor taking any medicine. On account slight numbness over finger tips(left hand),slight facial weakness,after MIR, scars on T1and T2 in brain and total cholesterol 220( LDL cholesterol 145) detected.no any diabetes,no high blood pressure detected diagnosis as TIA without any physical defect seen.Now suffering from urinal inconsistency(prostate,kidney,bladder OK in MIR,urine culture clear),three finger tips numbness and heavy head. What is happening?
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #2

    Aug 1, 2007, 03:30 AM
    At 62 you are extremely lucky to be so med free but it is important for you to realize how dangerous trans ischemic attacks are because they are the warning of a major stroke. Here is some information that I think you should commit to memory. It is important though, that your doctor, when ordering blood tests, be made aware of all of your symptoms, feelings, etc. so that he may order up the correct tests, such as the one for cholesterol because blood clots do occur under this condition and are the cause of TIAs.

    I changed doctors when I found I was definitely under medicated for blood pressure and it was definitely not low enough for a very long time. Telling my new doctor all my symptoms helped her bring my BP down to a proper level. High Blood Pressure is the silent killer.

    What are the symptoms of a TIA?

    It's very important to recognize the warning signs of a TIA or stroke. The usual TIA symptoms are the same as those of stroke, only temporary:

    * Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
    * Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
    * Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
    * Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
    * Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

    The short duration of these symptoms and lack of permanent brain injury is the main difference between TIA and stroke.

    TIAs are extremely important predictors of stroke. Don't ignore them! If symptoms appear, CALL 9-1-1 TO GET MEDICAL HELP IMMEDIATELY. A doctor should determine if a TIA or stroke has occurred, or if it's another medical problem with similar symptoms. Some examples are seizure, fainting, migraine headache, or general medical or cardiac condition. Prompt medical or surgical attention to these symptoms could prevent a fatal or disabling stroke from occurring.
    inthebox's Avatar
    inthebox Posts: 787, Reputation: 179
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    #3

    Aug 1, 2007, 02:26 PM
    MRI with contrast/gado. Is pretty sensitive for MS and MS symptoms vary in location and vary temporally [in time].
    Confirmation or exclusion may depend on a lumbar puncture and spinal fluid studies.

    A TIA would not necessarily show up on CT or MRI since by definition it is "transient" and not a completed event [stroke].

    With a ldl 145, male over 50, left hand numbness, and possible tia: the biggest concern would be for a vascular event [ heart attack or stroke , for example ]. Risk is higher if you smoke, have high blood pressure, and / or a family history of heart disease / stroke.
    Prevention is the key - talk to your doctor.



    Grace and Peace
    Xrayman's Avatar
    Xrayman Posts: 1,177, Reputation: 193
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    #4

    Aug 1, 2007, 06:57 PM
    Okay, some posters above know their sh$T! Well done, however TIA's can show up on MRI using the correct sequence, you sound like you have some demylenisation going on-at your age though this would be within normal (do you have more than 10 scarred areas within your brain? Around the corpus callosum? This would indicate MS -although in your case a "normal" age-related version).

    Because you stated T1 and T2 hyperintensities (white areas on MRI) I'd say you were more MS affected rather than stroke or TIA's. Bear in mind, I have not seen your scans and I am not a radiologist.

    I would follow a better diet and some physical-prferably walking exercise to maintain your health.

    Best wishes!
    tickle's Avatar
    tickle Posts: 23,796, Reputation: 2674
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    #5

    Aug 2, 2007, 02:19 AM
    Xrayman, I see where you were going with your answer and it brought to mind an experience once of a young man who had a stroke at birth and it had effected the nerve endings in his brain (this showed up in MRI when he was l9). They called it lesions and diagnosed POSSIBLE MS although this wasn't what they were looking for at all. My point is, is that it looked LIKE but was told it possibly never will be. One those borderline occurrences that sometimes happen when diagnosing but I thank god for MRIs !
    k1j14mom's Avatar
    k1j14mom Posts: 108, Reputation: 6
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    #6

    Aug 6, 2007, 12:03 AM
    Well I had this same problem when I was pregnant w/ my son. I pretty much acted as if I was having a stroke it happened repeatedly and it was really scary and "I" finally discovered that I had a blood disorder and my brain was not getting enough blood to my brain to cause this problem and being pregnant flared it up. Next question for you I could not see if you were male or female so which are you and if you are a female did you or have you recently started taking hormone replacements because if you have a blood disorder this can effect the thickness of you blood that is what caused my symptoms the fact that I was pregnant and my hormones had changed it caused the problem it is scary and annoying both I would love to try and help you so I hope this does and just so you know it is better to have a CT scan to determine TIA and that was part of my problem I was pregnant and they couldn't do one because I wasn't far enough along I just read the comments above so I thought I would throw that in
    Xrayman's Avatar
    Xrayman Posts: 1,177, Reputation: 193
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    #7

    Aug 6, 2007, 04:04 PM
    MRI was the first imaging technique to show plaques (MS lesions). Because the poster said they showed up hyperintense on T1 and T2 images then there is a combination of demylenisation scarring and some aqueous (water) associated with each plaque-this is indicative of MS rather than straight TIA. Or stroke which tends to vary over the next few days after a TIA episode. Acute symptoms happen with TIA rather than chronic (almost never changing) symptoms of MS.

    Cheers

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