Yesterday was a fairly typical day. After dinner, DH took dog for walk, sat in the den and watched TV until around 8:30, then came up to bed. Didn't say much to me, just went to bed. When I got in bed, he roused a bit, and started talking crazy, not making any sense. Didn't last but a few seconds, but was a little scary. Went on to sleep and slept well all night. This morning he said to me that something had happened to him last night. I asked him what happened and he said he couldn't explain it but he knew something happened and that he had "slipped down a notch". I have watched him closely today. He seems to be okay, just a little more tired than usual. What do you all think?
That's not like what mine has had, which may or may not be TIAs: slumped over shaking all over, for a minute or so, then very hard to rouse. Not talking or able to talk. Long sleeping.
Can you tell if there is any difference in the movement of the right or left sides of body or any mild facial distortion, slurred speech? If it was a TIA, you might not notice any difference, they can clear up rather quickly. The only way the doctors can tell for sure is to run a CT Scan of the head.
The only thing was his speech was slurred when he started talking last night. Today everything seems to be okay. I know there's nothing to be done if it was a TIA and I don't intend to pursue that.
CT scans of the head don't seem to show anything, Jimmy. Look back at other posts. They don't find anything, so what's the point of going to a hospital?
Sounds like a TIA. DH has had 2 TIA's. both were different. The first one sounds like what you describe when he woke up. I'd have it checked. Often TIAs are warning signals that a large stroke is possible.
NEWSFLASH! Just back from 3 days in the hospital with Jim. He had what I thought were TIA's. Nearly fainting, blank look, confused, unable to answer my questions. Got him to the car with the help of my company that had just arrived (by nice to have seen ya). Ran into the ER and told them and they rushed out, 2 RNs with a wheelchair. They ran CT scan, neg for a head bleed (stroke), his blood pressure was lower than usual, then did an ultrasound of the carotid arteries to look for evidence of a blockage that could have caused a TIA! Negative, blood work came back showing he was mildly dehydrated and chest film showed a mild lower left lobe pneumonia, (a result of last weeks brochitis). So after arriving at the ER at 10:30 we got to his room at 6:00. Not bad considering all the tests that were done. He was placed in ICU for Nursing Convenience, and kept on a heart monitor. It was determined that his new BP med, hydrochlorothyazide was causing a fairly rare side effect of all over weakness, combined with the dehydration, he fainted 3x's. Weird thing was that for days he had been telling me that he felt a feeling of dread, a dread that something bad was happenning. That was it. No other explanation. Then BOOM. We have talked often about how dementia patients go down hill quickly when sick. Boy, did he ever. We have also talked about them not fully getting back to where they were, also true. Much to his dismay he now has a walker for longer distances. Ok, I need to get back on our cruise now.
beware everyone-dehydration seems to be a super huge factor now that heats on. if they arent drinking fluids its not good. when they dehydrate they do lose blood pressure and feel faint and quite sick. get fluids in them any way you can. i have been using pedialite popsicles too they have electrolytes if DH doesnt want fluids. divvi
Briegull, should I have said an MRI? I get these two tests mixed up, one of them will sometimes show the brain bleeds.
TIA's are a warning signal that they are at risk for a bigger, more damaging stroke, sometimes it may take a few days to determine the full extent of the damage. It is helpful to know how much damage has been done by previous TIA's or mini-strokes. They can affect their ability to swallow.
A TIA is a "warning stroke" or "mini-stroke" that produces stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. Recognizing and treating TIAs can reduce your risk of a major stroke.
Most strokes aren't preceded by TIAs. However, of the people who've had one or more TIAs, more than a third will later have a stroke. In fact, a person who's had one or more TIAs is more likely to have a stroke than someone of the same age and sex who hasn't.
TIAs are important in predicting if a stroke will occur rather than when one will happen. They can occur days, weeks or even months before a major stroke. In about half the cases, the stroke occurs within one year of the TIA.
My DH has had countless TIA's. He has passed on on occasions, suddenly become extremely nauseous on occasions, and other times, just went into a stupor, and didn't know who he was or where he was. In almost all cases, however, he became very weak for a period of 5-15 minutes. He underwent in depth examinations and tests at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville,..and they were able to see tiny 'dots' on the MRI's..showing where some had left their mark in his brain. Not all do. They are impossible to predict and there is no real preventative treatment.
He has been transported to hospitals in ambulances and in our car. On each and every occasion, by the time we'd drive there, and he'd be taken back, there was no sign of a stoke in progress. That's how quickly they come and go. But...you are absolutely correct. They are signs of trouble and do preceed a major stroke. He's had the mini strokes for over fifteen years now.
I was told that they were/are a factor in his overall mental health. His diagnosis is AD w/multiple causes..or something to that effect. He has a prior history of alcoholism (before we were married), the strokes and then there was the APoEa4 indication as well.
This website (or rather the folks that use it) never ceases to amaze me by posting about my most recent problem even before I ask about it.
My DW complains continually about imaginary aches and pains to the extent that we couldn't possibly check them all. If we did, somedays, we wouldn't get anything else done. But, and here is where that presents a problem. She has been complaining of dizzy spells and then a sinking feeling that I have attributed (possibly mistakenly) to this. Night before last, she complained about a more severe episode, so I took her blood pressure and it was 165/91. Her's is usually 115/65 so for her this was actually very high. In about 30 minutes it went back down to normal and there were none of the other symptons that you talked about above.
This has happened more frequently (three times this week) and I was wondering about TIA's but haven't sought medical help yet. Maybe, with your good suggestions, now I will.
PS: This has also been a terrible week in the memory/confusion dept. I mean much worse that what we are used to. She must have asked me 15 times yesterday what day of the week or what month it is. Wondered if there might be a connection to the dizzy spells.
Thanks to all of you and I hope you have a good day.
dean-- could be. I know of a man who had on going vision problems, to the point tha there had even been surgery. As a part of his autopsy, the findings included mention of repeated TIA damage involving the optical nerves. His wife also had them--her's only affected her ability to write...some of the time. My Brother-in-law has had 5 Strokes, and what he and my sister have learned from the Medical Staff and through their support group is that TIAs and Strokes can be seen and identified a lot of the time, but sometimes not. They personally know of a woman who had a Stroke while on the table during surgery, and no one (not any one) knew it until 2 days later, when they finally figured out why she wasn't responding,post-surgery, as expected. The fact the BP issue and the added confusion/memory issues have happened together make this a stronger possibility. Having her checked out makes sense, but don't be surprised if the tests come back inconclusive. TIAs are often too small to be seen and are so transient that often there is no lasting effect to be identified.
Dean, some of my husbands mini strokes were described by HIM as a feeling of "Unnecessary". HIS WORDS. Just a weakened, and all over light headed feeling of emptyness. His eyes looked like he was asleep - he couldn't answer my questions but he could hear them. Some would pass in five minutes or less, others (when we called for help) would last 30-60 minutes. She may be having TIA's or it could be that her blood pressure is dropping suddenly which would also happen, especially if she takes beta blockers. We had to stop his beta blockers when his blood pressure would drop to 90/50. Do you have a blood pressure machine. Wallmart makes a good one that you wrap around her upper arm - and press a button on the control box. It would be important if you would start a little record of her BP every morning and check it when she had one of her 'sinking episodes'. You might be able to figure this one out yourself..and then share the info with your doctor.
One other thing, My DH has these sinking moments when he is dehydrated. Keep an eye on her fluid intake.