Hospital

[melancholy]

So yeah, I was admitted into the hospital. First time in my life actually being a patient and not just a visitor. I'm in the stroke ward because while they don't have the test back yet to say what happened to me, it had all the symptoms of a stroke. So here I am, awake at 5am and wondering how I'm ever going to get any sleep in this place. I hate hospitals.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Saw the title of this thread and thought it was going to be something not good. Read the post and it's not good!

A stroke, shit. I hope your you're feeling OK. And hospitals do suck.

So what happened?

At least we can understand your posts, unlike when it happened to Hawq.

[Bandit]

Wow, I am sorry to hear that. I hope you are okay.

[melancholy]

Yesterday I was at work when I gradually started loosing vision in my left eye. All I could see was bright white spots in the center of my vision and gray haze around my peripheral vision. Then my fingers started going numb. I told my coworkers, and they asked if I was having a stroke. None of us knew what those symptoms were so we looked it up online. They told me to try smiling, but when I tried I realized I couldn't move the left side of my face easily. So they were like 'okay, you kinda failed the first test, so you probably should go to the hospital.'

So I went to the ER, got a couple scans done that came back negative, and was told I was looking good. Then out of nowhere they were like, 'actually, we are keeping you overnight for a 24 hour watch.' So that's how I ended up in the stroke ward.

Good news is my multitude of tests all showed nothing. I didn't have a stroke. Bad news is that while they know the issues originated in my neck, they have no idea what caused it. By the time I had the MRI, it was all gone. So yeah, I'm going to be released soon with even less answers than when I came in. But at least I know I'm completely healthy. Even the blood work came back all clear. No heart problems, no cholesterol problems, no sugar...I'm the healthiest patient they have on this hospital wing.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Oh well, at least it wasn't a stroke.

[Bandit]

I'm glad to hear you're okay.

[Skynet]

That sucks you're in hospital, I've done an overnight stay before and I hated it, but at least you're OK. Hopefully it's nothing too bad long term and it doesn't happen again.

[Big Boss Man]

Good to hear it wasn't a stroke. But I definitely would push to see what caused your symptoms. Did they mention it could possibly have been a TIA which is a mini stroke?. They often don't show up on MRIs but can be symptomatic of an underlying issue. Do you have high blood pressure? Although I assume as you've mentioned all the tests have come up clear which is a good sign. I also assume you had a MRI of the brain which should rule out any serious issues like a brain tumour or multiple sclerosis. I'm guessing it's more likely an issue with maybe a blocked artery in your neck which caused a TIA. Do you suffer from migraines? As some can cause stroke like symptoms if they are severe.

[Roofus]

That's scary as shit. I agree with Big Boss Man that it sounds like it could be a TIA. I'm glad you're OK now though. You should start taking an aspirin every day for now and see if you can get a doctor to prescribe you a stronger blood thinner.

[Big Boss Man]

Yep definitely take aspirin for now and if they do suspect you are at risk of a stroke your doc should prescribe a blood thinner like Warfarin. I'd also monitor things like stress levels, diet etc and have a full health check/medical if you can to see if it picks up abnormalities. If it is a TIA it's a warning sign so I'd recommend seeing a doc asap and minimise any risk of stroke. They also should refer you to a specialist for a venography to check the veins are working correctly.

[melancholy]

Good to hear it wasn't a stroke. But I definitely would push to see what caused your symptoms. Did they mention it could possibly have been a TIA which is a mini stroke?. They often don't show up on MRIs but can be symptomatic of an underlying issue. Do you have high blood pressure? Although I assume as you've mentioned all the tests have come up clear which is a good sign. I also assume you had a MRI of the brain which should rule out any serious issues like a brain tumour or multiple sclerosis. I'm guessing it's more likely an issue with maybe a blocked artery in your neck which caused a TIA. Do you suffer from migraines? As some can cause stroke like symptoms if they are severe.

They specifically checked me for 6 things: stroke, TIA, MS, migraine and two other things I don't remember the names of. It was none of those, though the way he described what was actually happening was very close to a TIA. The doctor was sure to check for MS because my mom has it. And he ordered special tests for my neck area.

He also had me do some simple stroke tests (repeat this sentence, read this stuff, make fists...) and all were fine except for one test that actually surprised him. He had me point my right hand to the right and turn my head left as he pushed on my head. Instant sharp pain on the top of my head. Then he had me point left and turn right, pain was gone. He was literally like, 'wow...well that was an unexpected result.' So then he put in orders for new neck tests, which at first confused me because the pain was in my head, not my neck.

After all the results were in this morning, he basically described it like this: while there was no abnormalities in any of the testing, the most likely cause of all of my issues were a temporary strain or restriction in my neck area that caused the nerves on the top of my head to act erratically, causing near identical TIA symptoms. So basically for the next few months I have to do followup appointments and possible future scans to make sure my neck doesn't develop anything more serious.

[ian]

Glad you are ok but i'd get a second opinion from a different hospital / doctor.
when I was last in hospital as a patient they said nothing was wrong. With a second opinion they found something, true I'm not doing anything about it anyway, but I am at least aware of it.

[Big Boss Man]

Good to hear it wasn't a stroke. But I definitely would push to see what caused your symptoms. Did they mention it could possibly have been a TIA which is a mini stroke?. They often don't show up on MRIs but can be symptomatic of an underlying issue. Do you have high blood pressure? Although I assume as you've mentioned all the tests have come up clear which is a good sign. I also assume you had a MRI of the brain which should rule out any serious issues like a brain tumour or multiple sclerosis. I'm guessing it's more likely an issue with maybe a blocked artery in your neck which caused a TIA. Do you suffer from migraines? As some can cause stroke like symptoms if they are severe.

They specifically checked me for 6 things: stroke, TIA, MS, migraine and two other things I don't remember the names of. It was none of those, though the way he described what was actually happening was very close to a TIA. The doctor was sure to check for MS because my mom has it. And he ordered special tests for my neck area.

He also had me do some simple stroke tests (repeat this sentence, read this stuff, make fists...) and all were fine except for one test that actually surprised him. He had me point my right hand to the right and turn my head left as he pushed on my head. Instant sharp pain on the top of my head. Then he had me point left and turn right, pain was gone. He was literally like, 'wow...well that was an unexpected result.' So then he put in orders for new neck tests, which at first confused me because the pain was in my head, not my neck.

After all the results were in this morning, he basically described it like this: while there was no abnormalities in any of the testing, the most likely cause of all of my issues were a temporary strain or restriction in my neck area that caused the nerves on the top of my head to act erratically, causing near identical TIA symptoms. So basically for the next few months I have to do followup appointments and possible future scans to make sure my neck doesn't develop anything more serious.

Great to hear it was nothing too serious. I would like Ian says look into a second opinion if they can't get to the bottom of things. The temporary strain/restriction could relate to the veins in the neck or it could be a pinched nerve where you turn your neck a certain way it caused the symptoms to happen. I assume you have had your neck/spine XRayed/CT etc. It might hopefully be a once occurrence but if it was like a TIA or maybe a variant of a TIA I would really seek out an answer because it could become serious if it happens again. Keep us updated and I'm hoping everything goes well for you.