i thought about posting this on the stroke forum, but its actually not very active and i thought i'd ask people i was comfortable with first..... They are thinking my FIL had a TIA today. We took him to the dr, but he said there really isn't any real way to tell since the effects only last for a little while. I've been reading some about TIAs today, but was wondering if anybody has had a person in their family or has had one them self. I didn't go to the dr with my FIL, my husband took him so of course he didn't write anything down the dr said and said he was just to worried to ask questions so we really dont know much.... sigh........

I am so sorry to hear this goofy! I can imagine your husband was beside himself. I'm not sure if you remember? But I have had series of TIA's since Last March(07) Mine were due to stress... and unlike conventional strokes I did not "throw a clot" Instead mine were from lack of blood flow. They believe this to be due to my complicated head issues and the brain surgeries.

Was you FIL given a head scan? MRI? I always have one after these, just to make sure no permanent damage was done. But, that could be because of the other stuff I have too, I am not sure if it is standard practice or not.

My first one was mild, it scared the heck out of me, but only lasted about 3 to 5 mins.... but they did get progressivly worse, the last two leaving me with partial paralysis for a couple of months and residual weakness I still deal with today.

If I can be of any help, please let me know! The most important thing to keep in mind, is to lower stress levels and of course try to get healthy if it is an option... as the stats show a major stroke often occurs after these mini strokes. I will keep you all in thought and prayer Nikki

hi Nikkey, and thanks.... they did an MRI of his brain when he was in the hospital a few weeks ago... or was it a CAT scan... anyway i doubt they'll do another one any time soon.. I asked Rick if he asked the doctor about that and he didn't .... I dont know... I'm not convinced it was a TIA.... i mean most of the symptoms were there, but the symptoms only lasted maybe half hour???? When the in home health nurse called me she said he was lying on the bed. He had just gone back to his room from eating breakfast. she got him up as she wanted to watch him walk.. said he was leaning to one side and very slow and he was complaining of numbness in his left hand... His doctor said it could be a pinched nerve and prescribed an anti-inflamatory.
i dont know... like i said i've been reading about TIAs this evening... it just confuses me more.... i guess i should try not to worry about it.... I just dont want to walk into his apartment and find that hes had a real stroke and not just a mini one... kind of a scary thought. I know i'm not in control of the future.... anyway.... thanks.... i may have a couple questions that i'll PM to you if dont mind....
vicky

PM away My head is hurting so I may not be able to get on, but I will get back to you! TIA effects don't last too long, at least not the first one. I could well have been. Does he have a neuro? that who I would have a loved one go to. IMHO... thinking of you

(((Vicky))))

A TIA is to a stroke what chest pain (angina) is to a heart attack...in other words it is a warning sign that there MIGHT be an impending problem.

It indicates that there was a temporary (transient) lack of oxygen to a part of the brain. The reason it is important to have it checked out is so that if there is a cause which can be identified, then it can be fixed before a serious stroke occurs.

A CT scan; EKG; and carotid dopplers are all things that are often done to determine a possible cause.

Hope this helps...and I hope your FIL is ok.

Are you feeling better?

Vicky, not to scare you but I will share what happened with my mom.

I was at the doctors and when I came home I noticed mom looked different. She had some droopiness on one side of her face and her speech was funny. I kept trying to convince her to go to the hospital and by the time I got her to go an hour had passed. When I got her to the ER we had to wait all night until she finally got an MRI.

Well by then nothing showed but they wanted her to stay. SHe ended having a major stroke the next day. So even though the warning was there the docs were not able to stop the major one that came.

I am not saying this to scare you but in the hopes that with your fil they can do more for him than what was done for my mom. If you have any more questions please ask. And I am sorry that your fil is having health problems...Sue

Hi there Vicky.

You may remember that I'm a registered nurse of 40 years so I've had a lot of experience in everything medical. To top it off, my own DH had a TIA a few years ago, so I'm feeling for you on this one.

TIA's don't usually show on a CT of the brain unless significant damage has already been done. What he needs more than a CT is a Carotid Ultra Sound Scan, which is a non invasive scan of the arteries in his neck.

My husband's doctor started my DH on 100mgs of Aspirin each day to thin his blood after he had that TIA, but he didn't do any investigations.

Now that we have a new GP, one of the first things she did was order the Carotid Ultra Sound Scan and that showed that DH has a plaque of Cholesterol type stuff, half blocking one of his cartotid arteries.

This in turn means less oxygen is getting through to his brain because one of the main arteries can only deliver a certain % of the normal requirement of blood to the brain.

There is an operation that will clear out the Carotid Artery, and that's called a Carotid Thrombo Embolectomy.

I hope that makes it a bit clearer, and not even more confusing.

And....please ask if you want any more information.

Ahhh yes Koala, I had forgotten about that! my first one was over a year ago, I just dug out my paperwork. They did do this test before I was allowed to leave the hopsital in fact. They also did an EKG, chest xray and CT scan. I was in the hospital for 3 days, when I was released into the hands of my neuro at a bigger hospital.

My neuro did so an MRI to check the brain for any damage. Since that first time, I have only been hospitalized one other time for this. But I have had an MRI each time. Like you said, TIA does not show up, unless there is damage and then it would be classed as a stroke. I think this is just a precaution due to my history.

I was 39 at the time of my first one, and they kept me for 3 days, I would think if one was older it would have been an automatic stay for more tests and observation... no?

Best of luck goofy, I will be praying your FIL is ok, Nikki

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! you guys are awesome..... I'm going to show my husband your response Koala and then see if my FILs dr thinks he needs to have one of those done.... Since we lost my MIL a year and a half ago, my FIL's care has fallen on me. Dont get me wrong... i dont mind one bit, I lost my dad 4 years ago and my FIL is the only dad i have now, and i want to keep him around for as long as possible....
Yes Spanish Moss i'm feeling better... not 100% yet, but ALOT better than i was on Friday LOL....
Snoozie, what you said doens't scare me... i'm sorry you lost your mom to a stroke.... from what i've been reading about TIAs they are an indicator that something is wrong... (like S.M. said LOL) I guess now we wait and see what my FILs dr says is the next thing we do... in the mean time i'm just going to love him and make sure my kids spend more time with him.... they have a tendency to neglect him. i guess thats partly mine and Ricks fault for not taking them over to see him more often....
{{{{HUGS}}}} hope you guys have a good Wednesday.

I had forgotten about that. After mom's stroke 2 of her brothers had that test and in turn had the procedure to clean up that artery. We jokingly called it rotor rooting their lines. One brother lasted till he was 86 the other is still going strong. I would certainly ask for this test for your fil. Thanks Koala for the reminder...Sue