Cerebellum Stroke??

[skiffi]

Hello, I'm a 40 year old female, 5' 8", 150 lbs.  I like to jog and walk 3-4 x wk and in the spring ran a 1/2 marathon.  My blood pressure is usually around 90/60 and my cholesterol is in normal range.  I do however have a heart murmor.  On July 4, I got dizzy/light-headed and my right arm felt numb.  I couldn't pull myself up from the floor.  I felt pretty disoriented and ended up going to ER.  They sent me home and said it was likely a panic attack but to talk to my Dr.  My doctor ordered an MRI which came back showing a small lesion (about 8 mm)in the cerebellum.  The neurologist said he thinks I had a small stroke but we are repeating the MRI in 6 weeks.  I have had 2 other days in which I felt similar way since, but I have also been getting blurred vision and headaches almost daily.  I talked to the doctor about these symptoms but was advised to take an asprin a day and wait.  Do 40 year olds in good health have strokes?  Are these symtoms of strokes?  What kind of questions should I be asking after the next MRI?  If it is a stroke is there anything I should be doing to prevent future problems?  I'm thinking about getting a second opinion but will wait until the 2nd MRI.  I also have some concern that if it's a tumor we should have acted faster.  Any thoughts?  Thanks for your advice!

[Glauren5]

I had a stroke two years ago at the age of 28 and I still go through long periods of dizzy spells. It sounds very similar to what you have experienced and I can only think it is somehow related to my stroke. I am experiencing the dizziness as I type this and I am so frustrated because my nuerologist and doctors don't have any answers and none of the medications prescribed are helping. I even woke up one night vomiting and sweating profusely like you mentioned. It even feels like I'm spinning when my eyes are closed. I just want it to go away. :(

[GMILLER1983]

I had a stroke about a month ago. I am 33 years old, male. Sounds like I am having same symptoms as everyone else in this room. My stroke was caused by Vertebral artery dissection. I had a CT scan, which was abnormal. MRI confirmed the stroke in my left Cerebellar section. The artery in left neck tore and caused the stroke. Had 3 MRI's; Head, Brain with and without contrast, Neck with and without contrast.

I am recovery mode now. I feel dizzy. I have dizzy spells that come and go. I have trouble with conversations and speech. I can listen well, but it is hard sometimes to gather my thoughts and return speak answers to others in conversations.

I saw the neurologist a couple of days ago. He suggested I stay on my baby aspirin regiment. Popping like tic tac's thorough out the day just to keep the headaches away. I had a EEG test done the other day. Hopefully the results come back ok.

Questions to you below or others with answers:

How are you doing now?

If recovered, how long did it take?

If not recovered, what adjustments made?

What type of treatment have you got?

[unclebuck38]

I'm 53 and had a stroke of the Cerebellum.  I had a bad headache on right side of head while at work and didn't think much of it.  Very early the next morning I was so dizzy and disoriented that I was vomiting and feeling like I was going to pass out and went to er by ambulance.  The ER Dr diagnosed me with an inner ear infection and sent me home.  A few days passed with me still extremely dizzy and I visited my Dr, she wanted me to get an MRI as she couldn't see any sign of infection but sent me to an Ear nose and throat specialist the same day first.  The ENT Dr couldn't see any sign of a ear infection but the MRI scan did show the stroke in the Cerebellum so they sent me immediately back to the ER where I was admitted for the stroke.  Unfortunately by that point no one could do anything to help with the actual stroke but I did get on a recovery plan and I'm doing pretty good so far.  

I just wanted to say don't let the ER try to tell you something isn't much until they check for the more serious possible causes as they always seem to just want to send you back home with a pill.

p.s. Being dizzy and unstable most of the time is a pain but I'm alive and going to be ok. :)

[StephanieSosa82]

This happened to me. I am a 34yo female. My father passed away and we traveled 11 hours back home on the 16th. I got dizzy, room was spinning and I blacked out. Went by ambulance. The ER doctor said I had vertigo and was going to send me home. My husband said, no, something more is wrong. I was admitted only under observation. Another physician ordered an MRI, scan of my arteries and echo of my heart. The MRI showed a cerebellum stroke. Luckily I am doing much better. I had to get glasses with prisms and still waiting to see neurologist!

[StephanieSosa82]

This happened to me. I am a 34yo female. My father passed away and we traveled 11 hours back home on the 16th. I got dizzy, room was spinning and I blacked out. Went by ambulance. The ER doctor said I had vertigo and was going to send me home. My husband said, no, something more is wrong. I was admitted only under observation. Another physician ordered an MRI, scan of my arteries and echo of my heart. The MRI showed a cerebellum stroke. Luckily I am doing much better. I had to get glasses with prisms and still waiting to see neurologist!

[cehlen]

Hello, and thank you for your reply!  Not a problem on the time it took, as I forgot to go back and check for any response.  I came across it today since once again I am having residual issues and was back online looking for info.  Since the second cerebellar stroke a year ago I have had three small episodes.  With the first episode I went in right away for a new MRI which showed nothing different, and no issues with small vessels. My stroke doctor says she thinks it is the old one 'acting up.' My cardiologist wants to get in there and fix my PFO, but my stoke doc and PFO closure expert don't think it is necessary, and that the risk of getting afib is greater than the chance that closing it will help.  My small episodes are mainly dizziness, low grade headache on the back of my head, and eye ache, and one time I started sweating profusely. I have been out and about when these occur and have not been able to drive myself home.  I did not go thru all the doc visits again after the 2nd and third episode, but I'm getting somewhat anxious about why these keep happening.  This third time happened today, and yesterday out of the blue I had that same headache and a slight aura, which was the first aura that I have had in a year, since my last stroke.  These episodes have been inconvenient so far but getting more worrisome.  I have seen my stroke dr. twice, she is super nice, and have spoken on the phone, but she cannot come up with any reason for my initial strokes or subsequent episodes, and still just recommends 2 baby aspirin daily.  
Sorry this is long winded and I kind of forget why I typed all this!  I guess I am wondering if anyone else out there is still having after shocks and what are you doing about it.  It also seems that my memory remains worse than before.

[mariedar]

Hi cehlen, sorry i didn't see your post to me last year. In regard to your first question about the PFO surgery, the surgery was painless and recovery time was very quick. In reply to your second question, I did have a lot of dizziness & nausea after the cerebellar stroke. Plus a constant headache, most of the time the headaches were mild. I had mild eye ache but only occasionally. These side effects lasted about 6 months.

Hope you are doing well. Sorry again about not getting back to you sooner.

[jwl0918]

hi. im a 21 year old male and would like to make my contribution to this real quick, because my case is really complicated.

so here it goes...
i was born with a single ventricle heart and had 3 major heart surgeries at ages 1, 2 and 4. i had what is called a motified fontan procedure. it is a bvery radical surgery and im lucky i survived it. my recovery was very good and now doctors say im by far one of the top so-many healthiest people to ever undergo that surgery.

well long story short i have a fenestration in my heart (basically a small hole). in January i had a small cerebral stroke in the right side of my cerebellum. you know the deal, dizziness, vomiting, ect... they released me from the hospital with an ignorant diagnosis of benign positional vertigo, after being told in great detail of my heart problems. any decent doctor with a single brain cell would have called my cardiologists immediately, but nope... anyway after 4 days of not walking right and not being able to talk correctly or move my right arm right, i went and had an MRI and MRA which showed the stroke. after hospitalization they put me on blood thinners and its been 2.5 months since and i have fully recovered on the physical side of things. the down side is i did not have headaches for the first month but then started having small headaches then every day since have gotten worse and worse. several cat scans and EKGs show no bleeding or any other problems with my brain. i have several early heartbeats per day but that has always happened. none of my doctors know why i have these headaches, so i dont really know what to do. im soon to have a catheter surgery to close my fenestration.

[cehlen]

Just investigating and came across your post.  I had my second cerebellar stroke on April 5, 2012---presented only with severe dizziness and nausea, which did not let up for a week.  The MRI showed this newer one, and that I had another one about 2 years prior.  I remember that dizzy spell and it did go away after several hours, so I never looked into it.  In seeing all the specialists, I found out that I also have a PFO which is the suspected cause.  I also have always had migraines to varying degrees, in recent years just with the weird halo in my vision.  During my latest stroke, I noticed a change in my 'halo'---mentioned that to the doctors.  I fortunately did not suffer any impaired motor skills, but have noticed I have a problem typing emails and spelling correctly and am forgetful.
So my two questions for you are-how did your PFO fix go?  And did you have residual dizziness, headache, and eye ache after your stroke, and if so how long did it last?  My stroke doctor said these things should go away after 6 weeks, but I am over 10 and still feel significantly yucky.  Any feedback would be appreciated.