TIA's versus stroke? How to tell? when to go to the hospital?

[bridgeoflions]

My  mother suffered a stroke on March 6, 2007. On March 7, she had a Carotid endarterectomy on her left artery.  Her right artery is fully blocked and the surgeon said there is nothing they can do about it. She spent 8 days in ICU after the sugery to get her blood pressure under control. Since this time she has been re-hospitalized two times and rushed to the emergency room 3 times for experiencing rapid TIAs (7 in one day), 5 falls in a day. Her face will completely sag on the left side and she has no control over her arm,and sometimes her entire left leg (all left side) Each time they do a CAT scan, it shows no permanent damage and they seem to resolve on their own.  One ER doctor essentially told us to not come back for "only TIA's", since that this is "normal" after suffering a stroke. Her surgeon states that it is not coming from the left side but from the blocked right side, and that there is nothing else to do.The first time we brought her in, the hospital told us to always always always take any stroke symptom seriously and seek immediate medical attention. Now I hear otherwise. How am I supposed to know if these TIAs are not the warnings before a huge stroke? No one will give me any parameters. I have scheduled another consultation with a neurologist, but it is not for several weeks. Meanwhile, she is on blood thinners, and meds for blood pressure and goes to PT to work on strength. She loses complete use of her left leg and falls all ove the place. She has been trained on a walker, but is still pretty dangerous. Is this how she will live the rest of her life? Is there really nothing else to do? It's like she is time bomb.....

[catherineandre]

I had a stroke 8 weeks ago and its scary because you think you are going to have another one at any time. The medical staff dont really help you. I dont mean to be cynical but you are just a number among other numbers!
I stopped crying after 4 weeks and slept better. (I always feared I was going to die). I make sure I have protein at every meal, fruit, vegetables (cant have some of them because of blood thinners), drink 2 litres of water every day, avoid sugary foods at all cost (it become an type of acid in your brain that doesnt help with healing process) and try to walk. Although, walking is a problem because of the dizziness, ringing in the ears and headache.
How is your mother doing now?

[vja]

I would take the TIA's very seriously.  My mother at 87 years old had a TIA, (she probably had several previous), but this one slurred her speech...it resolved.  The next day, she had a major stroke that affected 70 percent of her brain.  Today, 4 years later, she is still right side paralyzed and cannot speak at all.  It has been a nightmare.  My recommendation is get another opinion and take the TIA's very seriously.  Don't listen to the Doc's that say "don't worry about them and don't bring her in"  That is B.S.

[bridgeoflions]

Thanks for the replies. She is in the hospital right now. We were hoping we could bring her home today, however the doctor stated that she needed to keep her an extra night in order for her to qualify for an in patient rehab facility inside of the hospital. Turns out, now they don't have a bed, but because that is what they recommended, they cannt release her until tomorrow, even though she won't be getting into the program! Go figure!  She has not fallen or had anymore TIAS while in the hospital.  Someone at one point stated that these TIAs are actually a cast off from the initial stroke that occurred on March 6, not as a result of anything "new" going on.  Is this true? also, that these sort of things wax and wane...could have several in a week and none again for a year! ALso, that there are more the first couple of weeks after a stroke and that then they quiet down.  If you know of any articles regarding this, I would love to read them. I just began searching and that is how I found this forum. Thanks, Carol

[breezyjeans]

A TIA is very serious and should not be taken lightly. If stroke syptoms occur you only have 3 hours to get family to the hospital for tPA to be used, if it ends up being a stroke. Maybe you should talk to a different doctor. You can also go online to http://www.strokeassociation.org for more info. Or find a website where you can get adive from an MD that specialized in stroke to give you the info that you need. Good luck!

[vega1318]

Make sure your doctors checked the carotid artery which has had an endarterectomy on it - as that is the only artery she now depends on.   Sometimes it can close off rapidly after endarterectomy and may need to be checked out, especially since she's having symptoms again.  Sounds like she's having more symptoms now than she did beforehand?   That is concerning.  But if her carotid on the left side is ok then you should look for other explanations.   Make sure her blood pressures don't drop too much.  Also, if she's on Coumadin (is that what you mean by blood thinners?) and keeps falling all the time - that is not a good combination at all.  

Ultimately, she may just need some more rehab but you should generally try to take TIAs seriously - someone should try to offer a good explanation as to why this is happenning so much.