TIA?

Hi Diane. Your experience sounds very similar to the TIA I just had a week ago. I’m 66. I was fine all day updating documents on my computer. At 9:15 pm, I moved to my recliner to type 3 words on my phone. The first word was fine. The second word started out with 3 wrong letters. I thought typo and tried two more times and it got worse. I thought, “Why can’t I type this word right? Wait, how do you spell this word? I have no idea how to spell it (not one letter). Wait, what word am I trying to type? I’m getting so confused!!! OMG, am I having a stroke?” I started self-stroke tests. I said out loud “I am going to the store.” But only unintelligible sounds came out. My thought now, “Oh no, I’m speaking gibberish! I am having stroke! I can’t believe it. I need to call 911. Better use the land line so they know where I’m at. Wait, do I know how? If I can’t type, I can’t successfully make a call. I better get to a neighbor quickly before I fall on the floor and it’s two days before someone finds me.”

Thankfully, I’m in a condo so two neighbors are 15 feet from my front door. I was still able to walk fine. I rang one bell repeatedly and then the other. I kept pointing to my head and speaking gibberish to one neighbor. I tried repeatedly to say stroke but all that came out each time was oy, oy, oy. First neighbor didn’t understand. I was so frustrated. My other neighbor came out, knew gibberish was a stroke sign and asked if he should call 911. I nodded yes. I was sooo relieved he broke the code. I went back in my condo to grab what I needed for the hospital. I kept trying to talk and suddenly normal words were coming out again and I was relieved to know it was a TIA and not a full stroke. Gibberish lasted about 3-5 minutes. My hands were shaking probably due to adrenalin. But my voice was way beyond shaky (weird up and down with odd spacing) for 2 hours even after my body was calm and I was calm. I read that vocal cords can be chaotic for a while after a TIA. Paramedics were there in 3 minutes. In the hospital 24 hours. I had been in afib the day before the TIA so that likely created a clot that cut off blood to my speech center. I’ve had a few retinal TIAs, but this was my first cognitive one. I’m on a blood thinner now. I found it amazing to have one part of my brain shut down but still have presence of mind. Luckily, I’m pretty level-headed in a crisis. Very scary experience.

Do you have afib or any condition that predisposes you to blood clots? You need to see your doctor right away to determine the cause. Not meaning to scare you, but people that have a TIA are really high risk for a full stroke especially for the next 30 days.

Please don't mess around with anything stroke-related.

I don't think I had a TIA before my stroke, but in retrospect I clearly should have been paying closer attention.

You may find my YouTube episode "Warning Signs" helpful:

@scottrl
Thank you for posting the video, Scott. Good tips. Good reminder to really pay attention to any unusual symptoms. I keep a log of any new or noteworthy symptoms so I can reference back to them. Sometimes the details of what you were actually feeling weeks or months ago fades away over time. I also log side effects to meds. It’s not daily.

Tagging a few other members who may have some input on your question about whether what you experienced may have been a TIA, @dks. Please meet @sissybitus @brigid4 @esperos70 @keithl56 @caroleramsay @musicflowers4u @huffman @halifax.

@scottrl Whoa! great food for thought. I too have had a sharp headache awake me from sleep but confined to left temple/eye area. Went away on its own but has happened more than once. I had a pacemaker placed for AFib in '21. I also have pain in left shoulder joint and arm and down to my fingers that never goes away completely. Primary doc said it was muscle/nerve pain. Will mention to my cardio now. I am always dizzy, balance issues that are unidentified. My grandmother died at 81 of a massive stroke (never woke up). I am 81. Hence why I read others' ideas. Still functioning but don't want to go out on the floor or not awakening in the a.m. Just read an article on baby aspirin. A study at Cleveland Clinic I believe which says taking even 81 mgs for blood thinning along with another blood thinner may actual cause problems for the elderly. I am on Eliquis which is destroying my skin. Considering Watchman. Just had two cardio versions and still went back into AFib. Cardio (electrician) says not a candidate for ablation which probably would not be successful. As I write this my left eye has started up again. So I'll follow this thread and maybe if enough folks share symptoms we can put together some questions that our docs can understand. There is so much they still do not know. I usually get some blank stares and have sort of quit complaining.

@lisalucier Thank you!

@scottrl Thank you for posting this! Extremely helpful to hear your journey!

@dks Thanks!
I hope you watch some more episodes and enjoy them, too.

P.S. Tell your friends.

@scottrl I will, thank you!