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Neurology (Expert Forum)
i am ok with get numbness in my hands
Answered by
Esteban Cheng-Ching, MD - Neurology, Internal Medicine
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland - OH
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
Doctor's Answer
by Esteban Cheng-Ching, MD, Jul 22, 2008 10:10PM
, Jul 22, 2008 10:10PM
Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.
Without the ability to review your medical history and examine you personally, I can not give you a diagnosis nor recommend a specific treatment. I will try to provide you with some information regarding your question.
The symptoms you describe are concerning, because that is a way stroke presents. Stroke signs are those in which there is focal neurologic deficits, and examples are numbness of an arm or leg, weakness of an arm or leg, facial drooping, speech disturbance such as inability to speak or inability to understand. If you develop symptoms like this, or like the ones you describe, you should seek medical attention sooner rather than later, and if you are having these symptoms, at that moment you should call 911, or go to the closest ED.
These symptoms however can also be caused by other conditions, but it is wise to be safe and seek medical attention sooner, in order to get treatment or to rule out such a disabling condition as a stroke. Be aware that for stroke, there is approved therapy within a 3-hour window of the onset of symptoms.
Usually symptoms of stroke do not resolve rapidly and the manifestations are a longer lasting, and not just minutes or hours. However there is an equivalent called TIA (transient ischemic attack), in which the mechanism is similar to a stroke, but the symptoms resolve within minutes or hours. Your symptoms could be related to something like this, and it is still wise to seek medical attention sooner, because TIAs can present preceding a stroke, and so patients with TIAs may develop a stroke in the future (more frequently in the next few days to weeks).
Risk factors for TIAs and stroke include age (older patients), hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, smoking. The treatments to prevent TIAs and stroke include antiplatelet agents such as aspirin, and therapy targeting the risk factors written above.
Other conditions that can cause symptoms such as the ones you describe, include seizures and migraines. Seizures can produce transient weakness and numbness as well as speech disturbance, even in the absence of external clues of seizures.
Patients with migraine can have focal neurologic symptoms with their episodes of migraine, and so some patients can experience numbness, visual symptoms, and even weakness and speech disturbance. However as I said, even if you did not have a stroke, a TIA, or a seizure, and your symptoms were related to migraine, it is important that you seek medical attention, and see a neurologist, to make sure that your symptoms are not caused by something worrisome.
As I said, if you develop symptoms again, you should call 911 or visit the closest ED. But I think you should see a physician as soon as possible before the symptoms recur, and preferably a neurologist in order to determine the cause of your symptoms, and start treatment to target the cause and prevent further episodes, or just to make sure there is nothing worrisome and be reassured.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information useful. Good luck.
Without the ability to review your medical history and examine you personally, I can not give you a diagnosis nor recommend a specific treatment. I will try to provide you with some information regarding your question.
The symptoms you describe are concerning, because that is a way stroke presents. Stroke signs are those in which there is focal neurologic deficits, and examples are numbness of an arm or leg, weakness of an arm or leg, facial drooping, speech disturbance such as inability to speak or inability to understand. If you develop symptoms like this, or like the ones you describe, you should seek medical attention sooner rather than later, and if you are having these symptoms, at that moment you should call 911, or go to the closest ED.
These symptoms however can also be caused by other conditions, but it is wise to be safe and seek medical attention sooner, in order to get treatment or to rule out such a disabling condition as a stroke. Be aware that for stroke, there is approved therapy within a 3-hour window of the onset of symptoms.
Usually symptoms of stroke do not resolve rapidly and the manifestations are a longer lasting, and not just minutes or hours. However there is an equivalent called TIA (transient ischemic attack), in which the mechanism is similar to a stroke, but the symptoms resolve within minutes or hours. Your symptoms could be related to something like this, and it is still wise to seek medical attention sooner, because TIAs can present preceding a stroke, and so patients with TIAs may develop a stroke in the future (more frequently in the next few days to weeks).
Risk factors for TIAs and stroke include age (older patients), hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, smoking. The treatments to prevent TIAs and stroke include antiplatelet agents such as aspirin, and therapy targeting the risk factors written above.
Other conditions that can cause symptoms such as the ones you describe, include seizures and migraines. Seizures can produce transient weakness and numbness as well as speech disturbance, even in the absence of external clues of seizures.
Patients with migraine can have focal neurologic symptoms with their episodes of migraine, and so some patients can experience numbness, visual symptoms, and even weakness and speech disturbance. However as I said, even if you did not have a stroke, a TIA, or a seizure, and your symptoms were related to migraine, it is important that you seek medical attention, and see a neurologist, to make sure that your symptoms are not caused by something worrisome.
As I said, if you develop symptoms again, you should call 911 or visit the closest ED. But I think you should see a physician as soon as possible before the symptoms recur, and preferably a neurologist in order to determine the cause of your symptoms, and start treatment to target the cause and prevent further episodes, or just to make sure there is nothing worrisome and be reassured.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information useful. Good luck.
