Adventures in Medical Facilities

[featherynscale]

So, yesterday, triadruid and I were partaking of a late night Applebees dinner (because it's Kansas. If it's after 9 p.m., you pretty much have Applebees or Denny's), when I had some sort of neurological event.

I'd had a headache for a while, which was not alarming particularly, because I've also had sinus problems for the last lifetime, and I figured that was what that was about. When we got to the restaurant, I noticed that I was having a hard time reading the menu. I attributed that to the fact that the overhead light in our booth was out, but there was a street-light right outside the window that was all orange sodium and obnoxious. I assumed the halos and whatnot were artifacts of glare. But then, I started to fail at speaking. If you know me, you know I'm pretty good with words, so when I was consistently unable to pull up the word to describe a thing, and began to use the wrong small words, and slur my speaking, I was sort of alarmed. Then, pieces of my right side began to go numb.

At that point, triadruid, who had been trying to keep my brain engaged as I was fumbling, offered to take me in for medical attention. We spent ten minutes short of five hours in the Emergency Room. I had bloodwork and a CAT scan, all of which came back normal. So I really don't know what happened. By the time I had been in the waiting room about an hour, I was able to do all of the word puzzles in the newspaper without difficulty. I seem to be fine today.

The whole episode was very bizarre and I hope not to repeat it any time soon.

Comments

[liquidfun.livejournal.com]

I ... OK, it's not April 1st.

That is some seriously scary shit stuff.

Much, much best wishes it was a weird isolated non-important thing.

[akaashben.livejournal.com]

I am no doctor, but what you describe sounds very much like a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) (more info here) - which is like a mini-stroke.

here's some more info

I would definitely follow-up with your primary care physician.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, darling. Please please please follow up with your doctor. Very glad you weren't alone, and that D took you in for medical attention. WOW.

Nagging, yes I am?

[teross50.livejournal.com]

Having had three of those, two of which were silent. I can not say it better. Please go see an internist, and do some serious follow-up!! That may have contributed to the events at the birthday club event? I would also suggest for a time to check your blood pressure at work regularly.
Yes being the fussy ole man who knows enough to be scared.

Hugs
T

Re: Nagging, yes I am?

[leiandra.livejournal.com]

Fuss enough for all of us.

[archway.livejournal.com]

Yikes!! Please go to your regular care physician...
~concerned!~

[ashlupa.livejournal.com]

Not abnormal for a migraine, but could have been a baby clot. Please to be keeping eye on it, either way...

[jackbabalon23.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I just want to say I'm glad you're okay.

[starwyse.livejournal.com]

Go see your Dr. to rule out TIA, call now! Really.

S~

[duriyah.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh. That's so scary. I'm glad you are better now.

[vediskoerner.livejournal.com]

I will also repeat the suggestion of seeing your regular physician to rule out TIAs.

My Grandfather has had a few, and they are scary because you never know when a TIA is going to go into a full stroke.

((HUGS))

Good luck.

[elisedevescy.livejournal.com]

In the past, I have had several of these symptoms and found them to be attributed to Aspartame. I don't know what your diet is like, but if diet drinks are part of it, that is a possibility. The final straw was a brown out on the way home from academy one night. I had to pull into a parking lot because I had no idea where I was (two blocks from where I lived at the time). Fortunately, my middle son was with me.

[cynthiaweb.livejournal.com]

Perfect description of your basic terrifying neurological weirdness followed by a frustrating, long, undoubtedly expensive, and ultimately uninformative trip to the ER. You gotta love the ER. Good health to you and may this never bother you again.

My input...

[mesniu.livejournal.com]

In early November of 1997, I had a very similar and terrifying event. All my tests in the ER came back completely normal. My personal doctor later diagnosed it is "migraine syndrome," saying that all the blood vessels in my brain did a slow expansion and contraction from one end to the other, causing the blood to flow more slowly to certain parts of the brain than others, thus slowing the oxygen flow to the the portions being affected from moment to moment.

It could have been that. Just sayin'...

[rougewench.livejournal.com]

You most definitely need to follow up with this. Anything that happens with regards to mental functioning is not something to blow off or fuck around with.

However, another possibility to add to what might have caused it...I watched my ex-husband Cliff have an episode like what you describe once, and in his case it was the first indication that he was seriously hypo-glycemic. We were having a conversation while he was in the shower after a faire day and he fell over in the shower and started slurring words. We sincerely thought he was having a stroke.


D.

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

Being that it was a very late dinner, hypoglycemia is something to keep in mind. It didn't register as that to my brain (my grandfather is diabetic, and I get mild hypoglycemia from time to time myself), but good thought on the 'less terrifying' end of the scale.

[celticwhistlin.livejournal.com]

I second the hypoglycemic theory.

I also affirm and promote the don't blow it off or fuck around with it.

Call your Dr.

[matchgirl42.livejournal.com]

*tries very hard to not go into full-out worry mode.*

*fails*

*echoing all the other sentiments to follow up with your PCP.*

[greektoomey.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah. What they all said.

You'd better not let anything happen to your brain, or I will be very upset.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I'll add my bit about going to the doctor, too. That's what we get for having so many people at the book study actually read the book, no doubt.

re: So many people reading the book

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

*laugh*

Re: So many people reading the book

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Well, I figure Doom had to rain down somewhere on that. I feel bad that it landed on an innocent bystander is all.

[adammaker.livejournal.com]

Nods to the Dr visit.
Do It.

-
I also play my "i know a few things" card, and invite you to talk to me on the phone later about this.

[hekatatia.livejournal.com]

Very scary! I'm sure by now you are following up with your doctor or planning to do so ASAP.

[curlysquirrel.livejournal.com]

Do I really need to state the obvious above???

Get checked out. The ER only said nothing was immediately wrong with you. But you could still be in serious danger.

Go get checked out or the majority (if not all) the posters to this thread will take you ourselves... collectively...

I just hope the exam room is big enough for all of us.

[bubbledragon.livejournal.com]

The first bit does sound like migraine auras, but I've never had numbness. The auras I get are just squiggly jagged lines that flash, and then my vision slowly goes away. Like you were trying to see through the afterimage of a camera flash or TV fuzz all over your vision.

*snugs* I do hope things improve and take care of yourself. :o)

[shauna-aura.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I hope you are feeling better.

Last year, my father, a sufferer of chronic and almost constant sinus infections, had a stroke-like episode. He lost words, and eventually had a seizure and went into a coma. As best the doctors were able to determine, the sinus infection entered his brain tissue--I think that's called meningitis?

After about a week he regained lucidity, and another week after that he was on the road to recovery. He's still on Depakote as an anti-seizure med though he feels that's excessive. He's researching sinus surgery to help him with the chronic sinus infections since he's worried about it getting to that level again.

Not that any of that will happen, but, it was a huge mystery for the doctors at the time this was going on, and it ended up being some weird connection between sinuses and brains. Perhaps this info will help you as you get this stuff checked out....

My thoughts are with you, and I'm sending the good vibes.

[zerself.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that you went to the ER. What you're describing is scary to experience. I'm glad they gave you a CAT scan (that should have ruled out a TIA, but yeah...talk to the doctor, an MRI or other testing might be in order).

It definitely sounds like it could be a migraine (I get ocular migraines. I had EXACTLY the experience you're describing, and I was working in a psych residence for schizophrenics when it happened to me...didn't know if I was off or they were).

It could also be a blood pressure variation, either up or down. It could be blood sugar....it could be lots of things.

Keep us posted, I hope it doesn't happen again, and I hope you get answers about why it happened that make sense for you.

(Adam showed his card...I got one too, and you know where to find me if there's anything I can offer)

[lightonthesill.livejournal.com]

What she said. This episode sounds very much like the SP TIA case I used to coach. Must be followed up on w/ Dr regardless. Keeping in mind that even so you are likely to get a less than satisfactory answer since the Dr. didn't catch you in the act. Details will be important when you relay the story to your Dr.

Glad you feel recovered today.

Uck. Scary stuff.

[matchgirl42.livejournal.com]

Also, speaking of sinuses and Wil Wheaton, he recently had sinus surgery himself (http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/02/just-nod-if-you.html).

[karinablack.livejournal.com]

i hope not either :(
Glad you are well!

[dietrich.livejournal.com]

Good lord!

I hope you're continuing to stay well. Do follow up on this, as everyone has said. Eek, scary.

[zylch.livejournal.com]

Agreed on the above commentary that it's probably worth checking out with your primary care person. Also, another possibility to throw into the mix -- have you been regular on your thyroid meds? The only symptoms I get from not taking mine are neuro, and particularly verbal (not being able to put a sentence together properly or find the right "structure" words -- verbs and nouns are fine, but putting on the right endings and picking the right connecting words takes serious thought).