Stroke Question

[DaisyDo]

My sister in law had a stroke 2 days ago.  Her right side is effected, at the moment they are just saying it was a massive stroke.  Before this happened she went odd - threw pans around the house, poured milk over herself, chewed raw eggs and then just colapsed.  Two days later she is just laying in bed.  No movement, no speach.  I never heard of anyone acting like this before a stroke.  Does anyone have any ideas?  Thank you so much

[DaisyDo]

Thank you so much for all your help and comments - they have been very helpful, thanks again

[Dr Santos]

Hi!
Rehabilitation helps stroke survivors relearn skills that are lost when part of the brain is damaged. Generally, stroke can cause five types of disabilities: paralysis or problems controlling movement; sensory disturbances including pain; problems using or understanding language; problems with thinking and memory; and emotional disturbances.There is a strong consensus among rehabilitation experts that the most important element in any rehabilitation program is carefully directed, well-focused, repetitive practice. At least one-fourth of all stroke survivors experience language impairments, involving the ability to speak, write, and understand spoken and written language.

With rehabilitation, i hope your sister in law will eventually get well and answer all our questions. God bless and take care.

[DaisyDo]

Hello
Everyone would love to know however, she is unable to talk.  The stroke is a week on and all she can do is make a grunting noise.  So until that improves (?) the answers wont be clear.  Thank you so much for all your help and input

[Dr Santos]

Hi there,

Women having a stroke are more likely to delay seeking treatment than their male counterparts. There is this recent study that looked at the medical records of women treated in an emergency room. Among women who were later treated for stroke, the study showed that many of them reported symptoms that were different from the typical stroke symptoms. Aside from the classic stroke symptoms, a woman may have: loss of consciousness or fainting, shortness of breath, falls or accidents, sudden pain in the face, chest, arms or legs, seizure, sudden hiccups, sudden nausea, sudden tiredness, and sudden palpitations. (http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/stroke-symptoms/BN00055/METHOD=print your risk of disability from stroke)

With this in mind, it is possible that when she fainted, that’s when the stroke evolved. Her confusion or problems of memory, spatial orientation and perception together with the loss of balance or coordination would have explained the things she did. Have you tried asking her if she remembered anything or felt the other symptoms just mentioned?

I hope this helps. Take care.

[DaisyDo]

Thank you so much.  What I dont understand is why just before the stroke, I mean minutes, she did odd things - threw pots and pans around, poured milk over herself and then bit into a few raw eggs.  I knew about the classic signs but had never heard of anyone doing anything so odd minutes before a stroke.  Apparently they got her out of bed today, I think just to move her around a bit, the only thing she can currently do it grunt - nothing else

[Dr Santos]

Hi DaisyDo,

How are you? How is your sister –in-law? Stroke happens when the blood flow to the brain stops. The usual symptoms of stroke are: numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg (especially on one side of the body), confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech,  trouble seeing in one or both eyes, trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, or severe headache with no known cause. Some of these were seen with your sister-in-law.

You can learn more about this through this link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stroke.html

I hope this helps. Take care and regards.