after effects of a TIA

[jjjtll]

A week ago I had a Tia. I was unable to speak and could not move my left arm or leg. This went on for about an hour and 15 mins. After a night in the hospital, and an Mri and other scans. I was released. I was told I should have no side effects. But  now I have bad head aches on my left temple and I get a stabbing pain on my temple and neck, that last that last just several seconds.
    Also my speach has been effected slightly. Often I will be talking and a word will pop in a sentence where it doesnt belong, and I forget just what I want to say.
   Could you tell me how long these symptons last?
     Thank you
        jjjtll

[idbl_fanatic]

I too am having these same symtoms, it has been a month tomorrow since I had my TIA, and I have also had more numbness, and weakness of my right arm since I was released. I too am trying to find out how long this will last, because this VERY seriously affects my job (I am on phone calls all day) The speech comes and goes for me, depending on how long I have been talking for.

[Juliexxx]

I had 4 TIA's in 27 days, the last one was 25th January. I still don't feel well enough to return to work (I'm a school teacher); the extreme fatigue and a feeling that my brain isn't as well "tuned-in" as it used to be are holding back my recovery .... I don't feel that I've made any progress over the last fortnight! Frustrating isn't it?

Julie

[catherineandre]

Julie how are your symptoms now? It has been six weeks for me. Very slow progress.

[willsher]

I was so glad to read these posts. I was begining to think that I was doing this to myself. I also have a hard time with my speech and thought patterns as well as fatigue, even doing the smallest chores. I had a cluster of tia's about two weeks ago and I get the feeling that when I tell others about the persistent symptoms they think I'm milking this. Thank you for your comments and wish you all a speedy recovery

[lucky2007]

i had a stroke on 22nd october thank God i am able to walk  etc however i am sooooooooooooo tired and my short term memory is really bad. has anoyne else experienced sensitive hearing.my hearing is like th e bionic woman i hear everthing and it irritates the hell out of me. apart from my tolerance level being non existent i have still manged to keep my friends. i am soooooooooooooo miserable and argue non stop with my boyfriend.like you i talk but very very quickly and forget what i want to say. my speeech slurs when i am tired or get tired of talking.julie i am so sorry to hear that you hvave had so many attacks over such a short period of time no wonder you dont feel like tyou are not progressing.i myself am extremely frustrated ani am stuill very tired my left han still needs some work. ido not go back to wor before you ar fully recovered. how old are you julii f you dont mind me asking and whathave they said about the amount of attacksyou have had/causes etc. i am 36 and my fear is tha t i could have another one.  i hope not.

[lisafilla]

thxx 4 your comments...
I thought I was just crazy. I just cant seem to get my energy back. My speech is far less then desirable and I cant keep my thoughts together. sometimes I feel I've run a marathon with the smallest of task. the doctors before my PFO closure asked if I was depressed..... well, my life has stopped as I knew, I wish they could understand, YES... I am depressed. It is depressing to loose your abilty to connect your thoughts, to loose your ability to connect with others and to loose your ability to connect with your normal life. I have a hard time making it through the day.

[Nichole28]

I keep saying I have super sonic hearing omg every noise or baby crying or dog barking or whatever scares me to death and kills my ears. And nice to know other people with TIA's are still having issues, I was told after a TIA all your symptoms would go away that is why with me they didn't think it was a TIA even though everything I experienced was very stroke like.

[Nichole28]

Oh I also wanted to ask, when you had a MRI or CT scan did it show that you had a TIA or did all your scans come back normal??

[nickgold]

Hi all, I had a stroke when I was 21 years old, It was a small stroke and due to my age and stamina only took me 4 months to recover, since then I have been on no medication.

I am now 30 years old and now looking back have begun to realise that the problems I am experiencing could be due to TIA's and side effects of the stroke. I am very "up and down", have (which is the opposite to some) very bad hearing. But the worst of whatever is happening to me is the "jekyll and hyde" one momment great the next angry, aggressive, depressed, lost, suicidal, and find this very difficult to control. This lately has been getting worse. I have very little energy and sleep most of the day. I have no speech problems but a very bad memory and short term attention span. Sometimes I feel totaly lost and do not understand why, I have a very understanding girlfriend (thanks god !) but now she's finding this hard to cope with.

Within the last two years I had what seemed to be two mild (but very quick) strokes, and had to be hospitalised. Do these symptoms sound like TIA'S or side effects of strokes.

If anyone could offer any advice or anything to help I would be most grateful !! Thank You !

[tracey1962]

hi  i had what hospital say 3 mini strokes within 3 months   im still feeling weak on left side . short term memory loss ; exhausted most of time and noises get too me  ;concentration not good either   . mri test showed multiple white dots  does anyone think this is normal ? i feel i should be ok now.

[echo97]

I had a TIA less then a month ago, I have problems with:: concentration and balance.  I also confuse numbers, insert words and stammer when I talk.  I know what I want to say, it just doesn't come out.  Some days are better then others, bad days I feel like I am a fog others like my old self.  Everything I read states the side effects last only 24 hours.  It is very frustrating and scary.  My doctors are not sure what is going on.  I am relieved to see that I am not loosing my mind, that the side of effects do last or manifest in different forms.    Does anyone know of ways/exercises to reduce these symptoms?

[ascholef]

Thanks to all of you for detailing your symptoms.  I had a mild TIA (aren't they all supposed to be mild?) in September '08. I experienced the same sensitivity to sound others have described, and and a low grade, two week headache. I rarely get headaches...

Since then a specialist has prescribed Lipidor--my "bad" cholesterol was high, as was my "good" cholesterol. I also take 81 mg of ASA a day. I've felt fine, mostly, since October, but do have spells of muddling words, losing vocabulary, and confusion. I'm a 58 year old woman and sometimes think these symptoms are also menopausal.  Recently I've been experiencing constant fatigue--very low energy and the sense of no strength in my legs.  I've been quite fit and active--cycling to work, walking a lot, etc.  But now it takes huge effort to walk half a mile.I'm also quite depressed--limited enthusiasm for anything. Sometimes I wonder if I'm having TIAs in my sleep.  How would I know? Or is any of this related to the original "event"?

No solutions, I figure. Just wanted to drop in and add my two cents to others' contributions. Hang in there, everyone

Just dropping in

[karen41years]

I had a TIA last June and was exhausted for about a month afterwards to the point that I had to retire to bed as I could hardly lift my hands, let alone think of using my brain to make conversation. It's almost a year now and I believe I have made a full recovery but have lost 30% of my energy levels. I often had ringing in the ears for several months after and odd piercing pin ***** pain in my head which lasted 1-2 seconds. My life is very full-on as I run a business and have 3 small children. I'm 41 and would like to know of signs to look out for so I don't risk pushing myself too hard. All investigations found no reason why I had the first TIA but I had been on a roller coaster 1 wk prior with family! Pls advise?

[sue_in_oz]

Hi Karen

I'm a strokee but didn't have any TIA's prior, so my interest is making sure you don't have a stroke.

I think you should get your current symptoms properly checked out as they may well be the signs you are asking about.  A TIA is a warning of a stroke wanting to happen & you don't want to go there.

Also please pull back & rest when you have symptoms or fatigue, it's your body saying "enough".  Brain injuries seem to create fatigue unlike any other fatigue we have know.

HTH

Sue

[tammie12]

I had what they thought was a Tia 3/23/09 on right side ct was normal mri/mra showed scaring they think i may have multiple sclerosis alot
of the sympoths are the same. Has anyone been told this.

[Eva60]

I had a TIA in 2000, it started with a horrible headache, I thought the world was on top of my head, lost memory for about 24 hrs. Ever since that episode, I keep getting headaches, even in my sleep, I feel pins sometimes on the left sometimes on the right side of my head and sometimes just on the back of my head. I should probably get my head check.

[jacksue]

This thread has been so helpful.  I'm still waiting to hear whether what I experienced was a TIA (which I'd never heard of before).  I just was curious to know whether you can still carry on normal life after a TIA.  I play a lot of competitive sport but am worried that my concentration levels will have suffered and I won't now be able to play.  Also does anyone know what other life changes have to be made or am I overreacting?  I am now taking aspirin  - is this sufficient to stop me having another TIA?  So many questions

[sue_in_oz]

Hi

I can't answer about the residual effects of a TIA as I never had one.  However I can tell you 2 things that you need to know, even if you're not that pleased to hear them.

1.  It depends what caused your TIA to know if asprin is sufficient to prevent another one,  So please get thoroughly investigated  - don't settle until you are satisfied.

2.  TIA's are serious & a warning of a stroke waiting to happen.  Please do all you can to prevent a stroke happening, even if it means changing your life to some extent.  Trust me you do not wan't to have a stroke.


All the best

Sue

[shaken_up2]

i am a 45 yr old female who 10 days ago was told i had a tia. i was hiospitlized a little over 24 hrs and told my symptoms would go away.Well the first day home i felt great however now i want to sleep all of the time,have slurred speech sometimes,i have noticed my eyesight is not as good,sometimes when i want to talk the words will not come out,and so much more .i cry alot and even argue with people and ask god why this happened to me.
anyone out there going thru the same thing?
Tracy

[ripley1948]

The TIA/stroke community
Yes there is a life after TIA/stroke episodes but you have to keep an eye on yourself.  I have changed everything in my life.  No smoking, no glasses of wine, low salt, low cholesterol.  I am under a doctors care and taking bllod pressure amd cholestrol medication.  Yes you can work and as I am a kitchen designer for a major Fortune 500
company, You can concentrate but it does mean taking breaks, grazing all day instead of easting large meals and getting plenty of sleep. Sometimes my speech slurrs and words get jumbled.  I need to pause and take a breath.  Some days are better then others.  The
headaches are my problem and I am going to go to my daughters herbalist.  He stopped her migranes when doctors couldn't give her migrane meds because of numbness associated with the migranes.
I have to keep trucking on, I am only 61, I have a lot of living yet to do.  Keep asking questions, do research and do what your doctor tellsyou.  If you don't like is answers fo to another doctor and get another opiinion.  No one can take care of you but you!

[Luvmywife810]

Hi all,

I believe my wife had a TIA about a 10 days ago ( she is, 41, 115lbs, normal BP, no high cholestoral) she complained about having a weird headache on wednesday, thursday she called me from work stating that it was hard for her to write on board ( she is a teacher) and that she was dropping things. She came home and tried to rest she got worse. She could hardly use her right arm.  On Thursday took her to ER..did cat scan--(it was negative)- did blood work, also negative..they sent her  home stating that she should follow up with neurologist in 2 days.  next day she was even worse could not use her right arm at all, and she was responding to me very Slooooowwwly.  They did another cat scan and and MRI, and a doppler test..alll negative, her right arm began to move after  2-3 days.. she has total function in her arms now, but the problem is---she is constantly exhausted!!!!!!!!.  Now my wife does suffer from depression, and I know she is sometimes exhausted ( or non motivated when she is going through her depression)  and this situation has definitely caused her to go into a depression.

At this point in time we are getting mixed messages, at the hospital on doctor told us that they believe her temporary paralysis was caused by a severe migraine, they do not believe it was a TIA.  when the Physical therapist and the visiting nurse came to our home they stated that it was definitely a TIA.

She is scheduled for her first follow up exam with the neurologist this Saturday.

Does anyone have any questions that they know or feel I should be asking the Neurologist when we meet him?  Even if the question are aimed at determining if he is good enough to handle my wife's situation or we should seek someone else.

Thank you everyone for sharing your stories!!!!...the sad part is that I was able to get more information here than in the hospitals from the "professionals"  

[RM3]

I recently had a stroke three weeks ago, I'm 42 yr old male and thought I was in OK shape alittle over weight.  I had been really doing alot of work around my house for a good month remodeling my kitchen then putting in 40+ hrs at work prior to my stroke.  I came in the house after trying to close my pool for the winter months. I sat down to watch T.V with my fiancee and I had my hands over my head my left hand dropped in my lap and my whole left side went numb.  I went to the hospital that night given aspirin and then released. I have had a million dollors in procedures and tests it's not my heart, no high blood pressure, no chlosterol problems, I'm very tired and confused most of the time.  I'm a engineer working for a Construction Management Company.  It's taking me time to think things through at work.  The littlest things that should take ten minutes take me an hour some days.  This is very hard for me to accept.  I will never forget the day of my stroke, I felt great all day that day...I mean great!  I even went to my neurologists today and he wants be to take folic acid.  I got off the blood pressure medication lisinipril and chlosterol medication simivastatin and I'm still tired.  It's only been a week off all the medicines, at this point my neourologists is a joke.. he couldn't tell me nothing.  Maybe I just burned my self out.  I had symptoms for the last year blurred vision, but within the last six months my feet have been swollen when I wake up,  I had a really bad leg cramp while walking in the grocery store two weeks prior to my stroke.  I had to hold onto the carriage to get to the car,  My balance at work was off leaning while wwalking , so I went to the doctor and got my ears cleaned, thinking ear wax buildup after this a week later my balance was still off.  Then the headaches and leg cramps.  Now that I look back all these systoms were there and I didn't realize it until now.  I even had my sugar levels checked within the last six months prior to my stroke came back normal I just keep pushing myself trying to stay positive, we have too..

[RM3]

Hi Karen we have very similar stories. I'm 42 yrs old (3) kids and had been on a roller coaster at my house just before my stroke.  My stroke happened on September 18, 2009 and I have no answers from doctors and tons of tests that all have come back negative.  I process alot of paperwork at work which has been very difficult and frustrating at times,  I had a neurologist appt today and primary tomorrow. I ask myself why do I bother going.  It's like I almost which they did find something wrong with my heart so, I know what's wrong with me. I have started to conduct my own research every night and I'm gonna find out what happened to me.  I have too...  Keep the faith..

[ginge1977]

Hi folks,

My husband (46) has had 3 TIA's last Thursday/Friday, he was discharged last night (Tuesday).  He is commenting that his head still feels sore, before he had his first TIA he had an headache for 2 weeks but we put this down to potential swine flu as he had very bad flu like symptoms.

He also has high blood pressure and he had stopped taking his tablets for a couple of weeks prior.  He wont be doing that again!  he is now on Dipyidamol, Aspirin and Simvastatin (as well as his high blood pressure tablets).

Is it normal to still have a Sore head after or does this mean he might be about to have another.  It feels like living on eggshells at the moment.

Thanks for taking the time to read this x