Hemorrhagic Stroke

[Rustic23]

DW had one last Friday, and I thought I would pass along some of the things we have learned.

First, she is doing extremely well! We truly dodged the proverbial bullet. We had gone out to dinner, and the stroke happened just before we got up to leave. Maybe it was the bill. LOL When she stood up she felt woozy. She said she didn't think the shrimp was fully cooked and it was having an effect. She showed no signs going to the car. We stopped about 5 min as we walked to the door. and did not carry her purse as she normally did. I stopped and ask her a couple of questions, and during that time she lost her balance. I told her we were going to the hospital!

Since then I have talked to a couple of people who have had strokes. The common thread, 'they did not think they were having one'. One friend was lying on the ground and still did not realize it was a stroke! It was not until he was in ICU and the doctor said 'you realize you had a stoke' -- his reply NO!

When I told my wife she was scuffing her left foot. "I am not" she later said she new she was and has no idea why she denied it.

The ICU nurse said the majority of people go home to 'rest while the symptom goes away', and by the time they see a doctor it is often too late.

FAST (Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time) I found a better one:

In her case, Stability was the only clue. Lucky for us we reacted and she is already 95%

 

[Bestwifeever]

OMG so glad she is doing so well! Really helpful post!!!

 

[Teacher Terry]

Glad she is doing well.

 

[Moemg]

Glad you reacted quickly and she is fine !

 

[MichaelB]

Rustic23, smart thinking and excellent response on your part. Hope your DWs recovery is quick and uneventful.

 

[euro]

DW had one last Friday, and I thought I would pass along some of the things we have learned.

First, she is doing extremely well! We truly dodged the proverbial bullet. We had gone out to dinner, and the stroke happened just before we got up to leave. Maybe it was the bill. LOL When she stood up she felt woozy. She said she didn't think the shrimp was fully cooked and it was having an effect. She showed no signs going to the car. We stopped about 5 min as we walked to the door. and did not carry her purse as she normally did. I stopped and ask her a couple of questions, and during that time she lost her balance. I told her we were going to the hospital!

Since then I have talked to a couple of people who have had strokes. The common thread, 'they did not think they were having one'. One friend was lying on the ground and still did not realize it was a stroke! It was not until he was in ICU and the doctor said 'you realize you had a stoke' -- his reply NO!

When I told my wife she was scuffing her left foot. "I am not" she later said she new she was and has no idea why she denied it.

The ICU nurse said the majority of people go home to 'rest while the symptom goes away', and by the time they see a doctor it is often too late.

FAST (Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time) I found a better one:

In her case, Stability was the only clue. Lucky for us we reacted and she is already 95%

Thanks for this possibly lifesaving post, and best wishes to DW! Speedy recovery!

 

[SumDay]

Thanks for sharing! Very happy that the outcome was so good. Good on you for acting quickly!

 

[REWahoo]

Thanks for sharing! Very happy that the outcome was so good. Good on you for acting quickly!

+1

Well done! Great outcome due to your quick decision to seek medical help.

 

[sumdaysoon]

Such an excellent post. I'm glad it turned out well for you and your wife.

Having had experiences in stroke(s) with my father, hindsight offers proof that small indications didn't lead us to thinking that the tiny symptoms were leading him to a bigger event. Things such as tripping over nothing, intermittent speech oddities, dropping items, trouble with buttons/zippers... Definately not "normal" things to his activity level. In hindsight, I can start putting things together earlier but didn't at the time.

Good for you for taking a determined initiative for medical intervention right away. FYI, magic stroke meds have a very specific window of opportunity for dosing (within the first few hours of initial symptoms). Therefore, the sooner a patient gets to the hospital, the better.

 

[eytonxav]

Glad your DW is OK and thank you for the information. Did they just treat her by careful monitoring or was any other intervention necessary?

 

[Rustic23]

I have learned there are two types of strokes, 80% of strokes are caused by clots, and I think that is where clot buster drugs are used. For the 20% bleeds, lowering blood pressure and waiting until the blood is absorbed, if it is, is about all they can do. The blood shows white on an MRI and blocks the location of the bleed. So it is wait four to six weeks then another MRI, and hopefully we will know more. From reading, treatment is compounded as those things that prevent clotting, aggravate bleeds.

Most of this information I have gathered from the web, with exception of DW's direct doctor input. One thing that does seem to be in all articles is monitor and track your blood pressure. Both stroke types are aggravated by high BP.

 

[RunningBum]

Wow! But you didn't dodge the bullet by luck, you deflected it by not ignoring the signs and reacting correctly. Nice work, and very helpful post.

 

[COZICAN]

I wanted to forward this to my DW. Here's the link if anyone else wants it.

https://www.beaumont.org/health-wellness/blogs/stroke-symptoms-from-fast-to-faster

 

[marko]

Nice post. Glad you got to it in time!! Time is of the essence.

I've mentioned here a few times that my brother had a massive stroke 2 1/2 years ago. He was supposed to end up with a permanent feeding tube, need 24/7 bedside care and permanently bedridden with zero cognition.

The one phrase early on that I heard over and over is "we don't know".

He still can't talk (communicates just fine with gestures) but now walks with a cane, goes out every day, lives semi-independently at his own home. We just got back from dinner at a restaurant and he ate like a teenager. His limitations are those of an 83 year old man (who can't talk and walks with a cane). And, he's fully cognizant now; we're going for a competence test this summer.

Good luck to you and God Bless.

 

[MRG]

Wow! But you didn't dodge the bullet by luck, you deflected it by not ignoring the signs and reacting correctly. Nice work, and very helpful post.

+1000

 

[street]

Very happy all turned out in a bad situation. Very good news and thanks for sharing this information.

 

[kaneohe]

Echoing many others..........thanks for the public service announcement and reminder that there are times when it is not good to tough it out. Glad that it's working out so well for you!

 

[GoodWishes]

DMIL just had 2 strokes recently. She is in rehab now, not sure how much she can recover.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your wife. Thanks for raising awareness.

 

[marko]

DMIL just had 2 strokes recently. She is in rehab now, not sure how much she can recover.

Rehab is critical to success. But remember that it can take 2, 3 or even 5 years to know how much recovery is possible. It took my brother 2 years to regain his awareness and cognition.

 

[mountainsoft]

Since then I have talked to a couple of people who have had strokes. The common thread, 'they did not think they were having one'.

My mom had a stroke a couple years ago. She lived alone and spent five days crawling around on the floor too weak to stand up or reach the phone on the wall. She was finally able to call 911 but didn't realize she had a stroke until they took her to the hospital.

We didn't see her till she was already in rehab. She couldn't talk and the whole right side of her body was limp and lifeless. After a few months in rehab and several months of therapy she mostly talks normal now, can walk again, and has good use of both hands. She still has some minor speech and motor skill issues, but she made a remarkable recovery. It could have been much worse.

It's fantastic that you were able to recognize your wife's symptoms and get her to the hospital immediately!

 

[Brat]

A partner in DD's firm had an almost identical experience. He and his wife went out to dinner. After dinner he felt woozy, she is a physician and drove him directly to ER. He has recovered and is back to work.

DS's MIL suffered a series of small strokes. Prompt medical care and she too has recovered BUT she isn't driving and has been instructed to call 911 if it happens again. The first round she went to the clinic across the street from her apartment, they told her she needed care urgently so she DROVE to the urgent care clinic, they sent her to the hospital. After discharge, she was staying with DS's family and it happened again. They called 911 and she was transported to the nearest hospital. People having a stroke can't think clearly. The clinic staff in the first instance should have called 911 or a car service to take her directly to the hospital.

 

[kaneohe]

................................
FAST (Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time) I found a better one:

.............................

I like the idea of the acronym as a mnemonic for remembering these important factors but for some reason I couldn't remember them all. I finally invented my own imagery that hopefully will help when needed:

A giant FACE with 1 ARM. When I look at the image, the major features of
of ARM, FACE,EYE, EAR, and MOUTH hopefully will suggest to me when needed:
1) Weakness in arm
2) Facial drooping
3) Vision problems
4) Stability problems (as in inner ear problems)
5) Speech problems

Hopefully I don't get hung up trying to figure what "nose" signifies.

 

[gindie]

I have learned there are two types of strokes, 80% of strokes are caused by clots, and I think that is where clot buster drugs are used. For the 20% bleeds, lowering blood pressure and waiting until the blood is absorbed, if it is, is about all they can do. The blood shows white on an MRI and blocks the location of the bleed. So it is wait four to six weeks then another MRI, and hopefully we will know more. From reading, treatment is compounded as those things that prevent clotting, aggravate bleeds.

Most of this information I have gathered from the web, with exception of DW's direct doctor input. One thing that does seem to be in all articles is monitor and track your blood pressure. Both stroke types are aggravated by high BP.

My father had a brain stem hemorrhage in '99. He was extremely lucky that we had him another 18 years. It did put him in a wheelchair and affected his eyesight, but we still had him.