Stroke Identification during the Holidays

[Fed Up]

A 90 year old had a very mild TIA in my home today. I felt it was a good time of year to share this with everyone, as a friendly reminder.

STR -Stroke Identification
Posted November 30, 2009 by pennyfox
Categories: Health, Practitioners, Quantum Wellness, Stroke Symptoms

Please read – (this is directly copied from an email, I was sent):

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall – she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening

Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don’t die. they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this…

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke…totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the ’3′ steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today)

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

NOTE: Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue.. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

.A.S.T. is an easy way to remember the sudden signs and symptoms of a stroke:
F.A.S.T. Letter F Face Drooping
F.A.S.T. Letter A Arm Weakness
F.A.S.T. Letter S Speech Difficulty
F.A.S.T. Letter T Time to call 911

Additional signs of a stroke may include:

Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, lack of balance or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause

Humm, sounds like MS plenty and a good reason to have a reminder.

[Seasha]

Thanks for this reminder, Fed!

My dad suffered a stroke a few years back while he was sleeping. He woke up blind in one eye, never to regain his vision. Not much could have been done by the time he woke up hours later.

My mom also suffered a stroke a couple months ago and went for days before she went to the doctor. My dad hadn't even realized the speech difficulty she was having until I was talking to her on the phone - I realized what was happening instantly and told my dad to get her to the doctor - pronto!!

Again - it was too late. They are both OK now and are 92 and 91 - bless their hearts!

You are right about these warnings and seek help asap if someone you love is having these signs!

[Thinkimjob]

You did well. When my aneurysm went off like the proverbial, I thought oooh that's a bad headache, and got on a plane.

Someone probably should have noticed how utterly stuffed I was, given I'd lost control of my bladder, left side utterly effed up, and was vomiting every five minutes. I probably looked too young to be having a stroke.

I just put it down to MS at the time, so the error was mine as much as theirs.

Through check-in, boots off and back on, on plane, probably near death, throwing up my guts in the lavatory. Four airsick bags! I think they thought I was drunk.

I finally, feebly, grabbed the hostess and said you'd better have an ambulance waiting. Brain haemorrhage! Lord knows how, or why, I survived.

If the left side of your head goes numb, or your speech starts slurring, or you have a sudden, hideous headache, call the paramedics.

[Tawanda]

WOW! Thank you. Your guidelines are so simple that even a young child who read your post could recognize evidence of a stroke. That statement about the 3 hour window really struck me! I didn't know that!

I am so "M.S. Obsessed" that I forget 3 out of 4 of my grandparents died of a stroke. One grandmother ended up in that not so good position you spoke of...she survived a stroke but was so messed up she would have rather that she didn't.

Another thing you reminded us of that holidays (vacations, etc.) do not protect us from such scary situations. It is easy to get complacent when we are relaxed and socializing as your story about the BBQ stroke reveals!

[Strhuntrss]

Stroke/ TIA

Thank you FedUp!

I cut, pasted and printed out your post.

That is so easy to remember. I will place them at work and here at home. Our church has something like that in their vestubule but this one is much easier and better than the one they have.

It's a scary thing when you don't know what is happening to you. Like Tawanda said, we think MS when it very well could be TIA warning us ahead of time.

God Bless you!

[minnie76]

Hey Fed

Great post! Thanks, I didn't know about "ask them to smile"

Come to think of it...when EMS was called at my work due to severe chest pain...they were doing those test!

Many thanks!

Minnie76

[rdmc]

My problem is I exhibit all those signs, so more than once a doc at a walk in will tell me I have all the signs of a stroke, but I tell them I have them everyday, all day, so I'm sure it's not a stroke, but just my normal MS issues.

I have a lesion that affects one side of face, mouth/tongue, speech, and bp, plus on on that side I have very little ROM on that arm due to spasticity and can't raise it above my head. So my smile is one sided, my speech is slurred, my tongue "points" to the left, and my arm won't raise...add to that the high BP that may accompany my dr. visit and I can't blame a dr. unfamiliar with my regular symptoms for thinking I'm having a stroke.

I don't know how I'd recognize if I had a stroke, and I know there are a couple members of this forum who have had strokes, and did not recognize them as such.

[Portia]

I was just thinking the same thing. I have most of the symptoms as a result of MS. When I had my first major flare almost two years ago, the only reason I didn't strongly suspect stroke was because I could speak clearly and coherently. But I really appreciate the reminder of the symptoms of stroke.

[Fed Up]

Well, the 90 year old had a stroke. I am sort of shocked, I'd swear it was only a T.I.A. she was fine when she left here in the ambulance. She has some slight speech impediment.

Apparently, she was being treated for A-Fib. I can only speculate she'll need a pacemaker. I sure hope she recovers..
ONLY MS PATIENTS WILL APPRECIATE THIS;

She is 90 and does much better than me. Still drives daily, works and is busy all the time. I do pray she makes a full recovery! fed

[Fed Up]

RESULTS: At 01:00 A.M. about 9 hours after the onset of the T-I-A; the 90 year old had a stroke in the hospital.

She only recalls a nurse taking her asap for an MRI while shouting out the door...'IT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW."

If you have a major stroke, that is the place to be. Even though I felt her T-I-A was over and she was fine when she left my home, this is the reason she was in the hospital.

I haven't seen her since Saturday, she is home and under the care of her friend of 85yrs old. I am very worried, neither one of them see any sense in getting her Digoxin Rx filled asap; she had none and her dose was doubled.

To add insult to injury, her primary a D.O. said: "go ahead and drive when you feel like it."

I phoned the doc and left a message: I question your judgement more than the 90 yr olds.

The woman is very weak and when the doc saw her Sat AM, her speech was horrible. It has improved but she is very weak. Driving is the hardest relatively passive, chore on one's heart.

I knew that but, when I had issues last year...I didn't realize how weak I was, until I started driving. Driving made me so weak and scared. fed