Thank you for posting that!

We've experienced something similar, except with a heart attack, not a stroke. Three years ago, at the age of 42, my husband picked our son up from a sleepover. He was fine until then. When he returned, he seemed agitated. He kept saying he felt "wired". He tried to rest but couldn't. He said his teeth hurt. I knew this was not his normal behavior. Because of heart disease in his family, I called the advice nurse, who urged me to call 9-1-1. I felt silly doing that. His teeth hurt, after all! But we did, and sure enough, my husband was having a heart attack. He never experienced what you'd think someone in that condition would feel. He was never short of breath. He had no pain. His main symptom was feeling agitated and that his teeth hurt. We've since learned that is a sign of a heart attack. I must pass this on to all of you!

Thanks to quick response, my husband had very little damage done to his heart. He had a stent implanted and he's doing fine. I won't lie - I worry every day that he will have another heart attack. But I'm so thankful we got the help we did.

I don't mean to hijack your thread. I just wanted to expand on the subject of knowing the real symptoms.

When my husband was wheeled out to the truck, he was joking with everyone. That's not how you see it on TV. Who knew he was having a heart attack?

Sheryl

My sister got up or work one morning,As she was getting ready she got this severe pain in her face.It took her to her knees it was so bad.she was rushed to the hospital ,she had 2 brain anyerisms.

If you suspect someone is having a stroke, have them do these three things.

1. Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE coherently, i.e., "It is sunny out today."

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stroke ID

I agree - everyone has different symptoms. I had a heart attack 4 yrs. ago & had no idea at the time that that's what it was. I went to work as usual but had a minor pain in the middle of my chest, like someone poking their finger into your chest. I worked all day, still with this pain, drove home, but noticed I had no appetite, which is unusual as I'm usually starving on the way home from work. Did 2 loads of laundry, still had the pain. Around 11:00 that night, I started getting clammy & sweating & vomitted liquid. DH came home & I told him to take me to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. I had 1 stent put in that night. I had read that nauseousness & sweating were both signs of a possible heart attack in women. I never had the horrible chest pain that you see in the movies & on TV, with usually a man suffering. Please, please be aware of the odd symptoms women can have & never know what it is.

I've had several mini strokes and each one was different...The one that was the most serious, hit me while I was laying on my bed reading a book...I couldn't bring the words into focus on the 1 side..I was fine if I closed 1 eye and read with the other...Then the headache and numbness on the one side...It was very strange...Other times, it was like I was there in body but couldn't remember or even talk and would only last a couple of minutes....It is very scary, they can hit with literally no warning....
The above advice was given to me by my doctor....

TTT, this is a great thread which should be read. I've learned something new today. Thank you.

I wish my DH had known this info the night he had his stroke at our business. It was 2am and the two guys that were helping him had no idea what had happened. He never told me. It wasn't until he was in the hospital having stents put in that he read the posters all over the hospital that he realized what had happened. The doctors also believe he'd had a heart attack before the stroke and didn't realize what it was.

Let me add....

Confusion...When we were on our vacation to Tex. in 04, we stopped at a place to eat lunch. From where we were sitting you could plainly see how we would leave the parking lot and drive up and back on to the interstate.

Denny was totally lost and could not figure out how to go.
He kept saying he just couldn't understand...I was getting angry with him because it was so simple.

I wish I would have been smart enough at the time to ask for some help. I would have taken him to an ER right then.

He also woke up that next morning saying something just wasn't right... he just didn't feel right.

Before we left for vacation he was having some "tipsy" spells...he said he wasn't dizzy...just kind of tipsy feeling...unbalanced.

I made him go to the doctor...They didn't run any tests, just said it was vertigo and gave him some pills. Had they run the test we could have done something about it before it happened.

Also when the hand goes numb...if it is only the thumb and first two fingers it is most likely to be carpal tunnel. If it is the whole hand (all the fingers) seek out help.

Sorry I always get too long..I talk too much in real life too.

patti

If this has been posted then I apologize but I don't have time to read all the responses...From family experience I can tell you that a stroke sometimes manifests itself as a fall. The person doesn't remember being being dizzy or slipping or anything..they are just aware that they tripped or slipped an fell. what happens is they have a minor stroke and lose their balance and fall. The pick themselves up and go on and sometimes it might even involve a broken arm,, wrist or whatever. The last time it happened in the family everyone said...Oh he is fine..he is the same old Uncle so and so..but my husband had not seen him for awhile and we spotted the difference right away...sure enough they ran tests and he had had a stroke.

That's a great point, Ruthie. My father had two strokes, a major one and a small one, and both times he fell.

Great info in this thread, thanks to all!

Yeah, really great info. Wonderful to share experiences to prove there are other indicators. Great point, Ruthie. Sheryl, not hijacking at all. I'm really glad you shared and makes me wish I'd thought to make the thread about both stroke and heart attack. Hope others will continue to share experiences with whichever condition they are familiar. Valuable, Patti, and not too long.

I had a stroke in 2001, I had a terrible headach , my speech was unintelligible, and I couldn't keep awake. I collapsed in the bathroom, and my husband came home and found me after about 30 minutes.

My Sister started talking gibberish when she had her strokes - the words coming out of her mouth didn't make sense.

I noticed one time that Marjorie wasn't making sense and talking nonsense and I asked her what she was talking about and she got mad at me and hung up. I told her something was wrong and she needed to go to the ER but she ignored me and told me I was crazy she would know if she talked gibberish.

A few weeks later she was at the hairdressers and started talking the same way and they told her what she said and she listened to them and went to the ER.

Marjorie was told she had had 2 strokes - the first one was probably when I noticed it and she ignored me. Lucky they weren't massive strokes. She has a blood clot in her brain but was told it is the kind that won't move. Hopefully.

Sometimes my sister shows signs of dementia or confusion and when I question her she gets mad at me. She tells me it is her medication or the antibiotics she was taking. It happens more frequently than not these days so I am worried.

I always use the signs that Lindakathy mentioned because they are easy to remember.

Bestlawn, did you see that commercial on Channel 9 because I know they show it quite frequently and I like how they demonstrate the signs using the words.
The commercial is very imformative.

Anne

As Sheryl said, I have heard that jaw pain may be a sign of heart attack. So scary, because it's not what you first may think (harmless toothache?). Woman generally don't have the typical pain in the left arm also.

I guess if you ever suspect heart attack or stroke, just call 911. Don't feel foolish if you are wrong! Better safe then sorry!!

Great thread!!

My sis had a minor stroke several years ago. Had numbness in her arm and hand for most of her work day but she ignored it. She called me from home when she couldn't stay seated in a chair. Her speech was slurred only for a few moments while we were talking. She wasn't scared either. I had to convince her that she needed to go to the ER immediately and she agreed finally. She couldn't remember how to dial 911, so I called the paramedics for her. It was higher powers that she was able to dial my number! She lived 50 miles from us and was better by the time ( a record time btw) we got to the hospital. She had some residual weakness that therapy helped overcome.
Usually with a brain hemmorage a patient will experience fear, but often with a blockage or clot, there is no fear. Yes, listen to your body, and don't be afraid to check it out. " Better to be a live fool than a dead one " is kind of my motto. I really don't mind being that kind of "fool" . Meaning I'd rather feel foolish.

Five years ago my mother saw her doctor prior to going on vacation with us. She was given the all clear to fly and travel. Two weeks later she mentioned that one day when she was reading, all of a sudden some very vividly coloured splotches appeared in front of her, like a hallucination, obscuring the page she was trying to read. She noticed that it seemed to originate from her left eye, as everything was normal when she covered that eye. It lasted only 10 seconds or so, and since she just had her yearly physical and didn't suffer from high blood pressure, and had no opther symptoms, she brushed it off as a 'silent' migraine (visual auras instead of headache pain), and didn't bother seeing her doctor again.

Fast forward to a month later, and my mother died suddenly while on vacation with us. The American hospital forwarded the autopsy report to her doctor in Canada, who called us to offer his condolences and discuss what had happened. He shared that the autopsy confirmed she had died of a massive stroke, caused by a blockage in an artery in the brain, located behind the left eye. I told him about the weird incident with her left eye a few months earlier and how she had assumed it was just a silent migraine and not gone to see him. He said that the fact that she died of a stroke located behind her left eye strongly indicated that the prior incidident was connected, and was an early warning sign of a partial blockage there. Had she come in, he would have erred on the side of caution and prescribed a medication to prevent a possible future stroke.

So my message is that even if anyone doesn't have the typical signs they warn about for heart attacks or strokes, sometimes other strange symptoms are just as important. (My mother thought only 'blurred vision' was equated with strokes, and didn't realize any visual abnormality can be a warning). If you have a gut feeling that something doesn't feel right, don't feel foolish about getting it checked out, even if you had just seen your doctor, or your symptom disappeared quickly.

I wanted to add one more thing....I read an article...can't even remember where now but the AARP magazine (I think) and it suggested that by the time we are adults...we have probably experienced most of the different kinds of aches and pains and infections that would be considered "routine"...the article suggested that if you have a symptom that you don't recognize and especially one that last any amount of time that you should have it checked out..A friend had a pain in his side (lower like the abdomen area...it was bothering him quite a bit ...enough that he was laying around and avoiding doing anything streneous...He died two days later of an aneurysm...

This is certainly a timely post. My DH has had a stroke serveral years ago. No permenant damage. Wouldn't have realilized he was having it but his DSis was visiting and he wasn't talking right, and mouth drooped slightly. I know he must be having tia's. Some days (like today) he can't seem to understand simple things. There isn't anything they can do about it. It's like Cherryfizz said about her DS reminds me of dementia or confusion. Hope tomorrow is a better day. He also hates taking showers and that just is so different that the way he used to be about his personal hygene.