Illegal subtance induced stroke

[RizadaRubia]

My friend recently smoked something she believed to be marijuana, but after doing so, her heart rate went from 68bpm to 246 bpm for approx. 15 min. She says the muscles in her eyes went numb, as did the feeling in her extremeties,& she experienced tingling/stinging in her chest. She also lost feeling in her throat & her speech was limited,with much stammering & pauses. She says she had smoked marijuana before & believes there was something else in there, but she has no idea what because she has never willingly done any "hard" drugs. Five days later the back of her throat is still numb & she has trouble swallowing when she's not eating. (She can chew & swallow food but just swallowing saliva is taxing.) She also has trouble yawning, concentrating & comprehending written material & believes her speech is not as fluent as before; she has longer pauses, stammers, and mispronounces/misspells words. She's tired at strange times throughout the day & then cannot fall asleep at night & no longer feels hungry; she just eats at seemingly appropriate times. At random times throughout the day her left hand tingles & sometimes feels very hot; this happens frequently when she tries to fall asleep. She is 20 years old & in pretty decent health. She's 5'10" & weighs 165 pounds & the only medication she takes is Ortho-Tri-Cyclin. Is it possible she had a stroke or is she just "worked up" after her incident? Is there any way to tell without going to a hospital and getting some sort of brain scan? She is genuinely concerned and would appreciate any feedback. Thanks you.

[celowe]

This should read - "Unfortunately I don't think a positive diagnosis of stroke can be made without a brain scan (ct scan or MRI)."

[celowe]

Unfortunately I don't think a positive diagnosis of stroke can be mode with a brain scan (ct scan or MRI).

I'll say this, whatever the reason for your friend not seeking medical attention is certainly not worth her future health or for that matter her life.  I don't think any rational human being would give two shits about what she did to cause condition that lead to this event if that is what is holding her back from receiving medical attention.  The early she gets a diagnosis, if she did suffer a stroke, the better her chances of receiving appropriate treatment/therapy and perhaps preventing other complications that might arise.

Please make sure your friend gets to see a doctor, have her goto the ER if she doesn't have a regular doctor or no insurance or is afraid to approach her family or whatever the case maybe.

I'm not a doctor and I can speculate as to what might have happened, but your friend's symptoms are far too serious for speculation.

I wish the best possible outcome for her.

Charles