What type of stroke did I have?

[catherineandre]

My original symptoms were: vision blurry, left hand numb, frontal headache and unsteadiness on my feet.
I was diagnosed with a right vertebral artery anurism or dissection. There was damage seen to the right frontal lobe and pons area of my brain.
2 days later I had a left sided headache with neck pain which was so severe I thought my head was going to explode. I was told by the doctor I that I was tense and that it would go away.
the next day I went to another hospital and they diagnosed me with
right vertebral artery dissection. I was transferred to another hospital.
I now have ringing in my ears, dizziness, occipital headache with pressure, nausea if I read, and unsteadiness if I walk to far. I am 40 years old with no prior history of illness, good cholesterol, none smoker, non drinker. Recently hurt my right neck and shoulder at work and was in a car accident in November with no ill effects apart from shooting pains in my fingers, arms and left foot.
It six weeks since my diagnosis. Did you think I had an injury to the front and back of my brain? The ringing in my ears drives me crazy.
Any thoughts on my recovery timeline. What damage to the part of the brain causes these symptoms? Is it the PICA region?
What are the risk of a further stroke?

[theflyjd]

Right before I had my first stroke in 1988, my foot was crushed. Two weeks later I started getting Tinnitus and had a severe headache. My worker's comp carrier paid compensation for my foot injury for 6 weeks but denied a connection of that injury to my strokes. Six years later, I won my worker's compensation case where it was determined that my stroke was directly caused by the same injury where my foot was crushed. My employer's insurance carrier committed fraud trying to cover-up the report of their own Dr. who stated there was a direct connection between the crushing of my foot and subsequent stroke and hearing loss that followed. Don't give up; get an attorney. Good luck.

[catherineandre]

Thanks everyone for answering my questions!
The ringing in my ears is intermittent but it is driving me crazy tonight. I have a headache and I have had a terrible day. I injured myself at work and my work denied my workers compensation. It is all very unpleasant and making me more ill.
Has anyone else been through this?

[theflyjd]

Catherineandre, I posted at another place where you posted. Its strange that you had problems in both areas that I had problems. My first stroke in 1988 happened in my left parietal/occipitol area of my brain. It caused a ringing in my right ear that alerted me that something was wrong. I went to an ENT Dr. who inadvertently delayed my MRI for almost 3 weeks. That delay caused me to lose the hearing in my right ear. I have had continuous Tinnitis in that ear since. My second stroke in 1995 was in the frontal lobe and it caused severe right-side weakness. Since then, I have had 2 minor strokes , one in each area. Your concerns are legitimate and you should keep on top of your neurologist to deeply investigate the immediate cause of your condition. But good news! You can, in time, overcome the disabilities caused by your stroke so keep up the faith and KEEP walking! Good luck to you.

[vega1318]

Hopefully, you will still read this post.   Your symptoms sound typical of people who've had vertebral artery dissections.   Your "frontal" brain should not have been affected though.  The ringing in the ears may be the aftereffect if one of the arteries supplying that area has been affected but it should get better with time.   Did you get any physical therapy?  Are you taking any medications (you should be, at least, on an aspirin  a day)?  People with these types of problems usually recover completely, just give it some more time.

[breezyjeans]

The ringing in your ears may be tinnitus. You can see an audiologist, but he may just refer you back to a neurologist. There are physical therapists that specialize in problems like this. Check with you doctor and/or local rehab center and see if they can refer you anywhere.

[catherineandre]

Can anyone reply to my question?