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Really worried I had a TIA. Please help!

Posted , 2 users are following.

ronan57888
ronan57888

Hi.

I'm 26, I am in decent health, and I'm not overweight. But I had a frightening experience yesterday which convinced me I had a TIA. 

I woke up with an odd tingling in my right big toe which came on suddenly. This tingling sensation then spread from my toe to my right leg, where it remained for approximately three minutes. I can best describe it as when your limbs fall asleep after leaning on a foot for too long.

The next three or four minutes it moved on to my right arm and right back. The feeling was horrible, like I was having a stroke or something. Because my arm felt dead, it was a struggle to unscrew a water bottle cap.

Finally, it spread to my mouth, on my tongue, which made speaking temporarily awkward. The whole episode lasted 15-20 mins. Right now, I cannot think of anything but a mini-stroke as the cause. The whole thing was like a marching paresthesia beginning in the toe and making its way gradually up my body.

I arrived to the hospital in an ambulance, they did blood work, blood pressure tests, a full neurological exam, and finally, a CT. All tests were negative. But TIA's don't normally show up on a CT. 

No doctor mentioned the possibility of a TIA to me. This surprised me because not much else matches my symptoms. I'm now terrified of a stroke because TIA's are like warning signs.

I've researched a few things with similar symptoms: a hemiplegic migraine was one, but I've never had one of them in my life. Another was a jackonsian march, which is a kind of seizure. Another was anxiety, but I only woke up so I wouldn't have been anxious. 

My recent medical history is I had a mild case of viral meningitis last week involving two lumbar punctures, but that has now cleared up.

I'm skeptical whether a TIA would've shown evidence on the neurological examination because it only temporarily affects you. Can anyone shed some light on this or offer some perspective? Perhaps people who've had actual TIA's might be able to describe their symptoms. Was it a gradual progressive numbness that marched on from one part of the body to another or was it more generalized affecting you all at once? 

I'd be so grateful for any help. Thank you. 

 

 

0 likes, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • Joe1959
    Joe1959 ronan57888

    Posted

    The description sounds like a unique type TIA which would be really rare in a young healthy person. However it is more probable that it is related to your recent viral meningitis. 

    I am not a Doctor but I have worked as a CT and MRI technologist for 34 years.

    Use this as an opportunity to improve your wellness, nutrition and immune system.

  • Joe1959
    Joe1959 ronan57888

    Posted

    You should have a carotid ultrasound to definitively rule out a carotid source. You could have a small ulcerated plaque that is not causing stenosis but is throwing emboli. This is what caused my stroke and recurrent episodes of TIA's.

     

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