Intermittent stroke-like symptoms?
 

Ever since my 2 concussions, I've had intermittent stroke-like symptoms, that have been very worrying.

One time, a few months after the concussions (early 2015), I first noticed that sometimes when tired and recovering from a stressed day, I'll have a brain fog and words will come out weird - I slurred my words sometimes and it required some effort to speak correctly. It came and went so I ignored this.

However, a few months ago it worse; when I had the slurred speech, I also started having weakness in my right side of the body - my right arm and leg (mostly it was in the arm) felt weak and sore for no reason, even if I barely moved around all day. The weakness in my right side started one night without warning in November 2016 after a stressed day and ever since then, it came and went intermittently.

This got so bad one day that I went to the emergency room one day, thinking I had a stroke (saw a TV commercial that said these are the signs of a stroke). My neurological exam was fine, and I refused a CT, so an MRI was conducted 12 days later (without gadolinium contrast because I refused), and found no brain abnormalities. Everything turned out to be fine on the scan.

The main suspicions were either a stroke or Multiple Sclerosis, and the MRI excluded both possibilities. I read about it before the MRI and thought because of the sudden onset one night, it could have been Multiple Sclerosis, but it wasn't.

In the last few days, my symptoms have become constant. I now have a 24/7 feeling of weakness in my right arm, and speech requires more effort. I can still talk coherently and be very well understood by everyone around me, but if I don't allocate enough energy to the speech it comes out slurred. It just feels like talking requires more effort 24/7 now.

I now think it might have really been a stroke in the last few days, since the right side weakness has turned from intermittent to constant. The speech is also worrying me, and intermittently, it also feels like my vision worsens.

Did anyone here have similar symptoms?

I think you need to have somebody video record your speech. It is very difficult to self diagnose slurred speech. When it is neurological, usually, the person is not aware of the slurred speech. You should get a full neuro assessment. It would help if that neurologist would be willing to examine you on short notice when your symptoms flair. The ER is not a good place for an in depth neuro assessment.

When you say the neurological exam was fine, did the doctors perform strength tests?

Is your weakness real weakness or perceived weakness?

Pro,

My speech can get a bit halted and some words require a bit of conscious deliberation to get out when I am stressed or tired.

My wife notices it and tells me it is time to take a mental break or put things down for awhile.

Good wishes to you,

Bud