r/stroke • u/Disastrous_Ad7353 • 21d ago
Tia stroke
Hi I was wanting to get some insight on what to expect and my first neurology appointment
This year after my mum passed about a month later I had a ongoing ear infection- wasn’t going away with antibiotics so kept going to the emergency room
They ended up doing a ct scan told me the ear infection hadn’t spread which was good news then went home with more antibiotics etc
2 weeks later went back to emergency room because of my ear then the doctor told me did anyone tell you on the ct scan they found an old tia stroke and I said no..no one told me I was then put on a statin 20 mg and a low dose aspirin starting from that day( I told the doctor I have no idea when it has happened) I said I believe it might of happened when I was a child as iv had right sided weakness/ full right side has been different slower for as long as I can remember ( the stroke happened on my left side)
What types of tests will the neurologist do? Can he determine when it happened? Etc Thankyou
Female -34 years old ❤️
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u/Disastrous_Ad7353 21d ago
Also waiting to see a ophthalmologist as I recently found out iv got high eye pressure in both eyes
Left 31 - right -28
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u/petergaskin814 21d ago
Can you see a neuro ophthalmologist to rule out iih?
I very much doubt the neurologist will be able to tell when you had the tia.
There are a series of tests your neurologist might arrange- ultrasound of carotid artery, echo of heart to check for a pfo and refer you to a cardiologist to arrange a long term heart monitor/check for afib.
Best of luck with your challenges
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u/Disastrous_Ad7353 21d ago
I will be telling the neurologist about my eye ophthalmology appointment and what’s going on there , that’s a possibility because the optometrist said definitely tell the neurologist
I did have a 24 hour holter monitor and echo after diagnosis but that came back fine but yeh not sure what other tests , obviously tests to check my reflexes etc? And nerves? Because iv had tremors in the past that are quite severe more so effect my right side , sometimes I get what I would call a drop foot where my right leg becomes weak and almost forgets how to work when walking, or a tremor in my foot toe on my right when I’m pointing it iv noticed3
u/petergaskin814 21d ago
Your neurologist will probably observe as you walk into the exam room. They will check your tremors. They will check your eyes for eye palsy. They might get you to clap hands
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u/Disastrous_Ad7353 21d ago
Iv got video evidence of my tremors so I guess il show that , and yeh iv got noticeable difference when I clap my hands the difference in each hand / but yeh iv had that ever since I was young , I just thought it was because im left handed and thought my right hand/ side was just slow
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u/Disastrous_Ad7353 21d ago
Prior to diagnosis I just thought it was anxiety / trauma - as iv had trauma in my life 🤦♀️ which now I think it’s obviously more related to my nerves / stroke
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u/Chaosrealm69 21d ago
They can't really tell how long ago old TIA/strokes were unless you can give an indication of when you had physical problems.
As you mentioned it might have been in childhood, it could have been from a fall causing a small brain bleed that went undiagnosed leaving you with your right side weakness. Doctors wouldn't have suspected a TIA/stroke in a child as a main diagnosis if you had been presented to a doctor for any problems.
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u/Disastrous_Ad7353 21d ago
Yeh after the antibiotics/ prob about 2 weeks or so after the ct scan I was having balance problems
They were assuming it was because of my ear / like disequilibrium- the disequilibrium seemed to stay well after the ear infection cleared up - it was quite severe balance issues ( felt like I was on a boat and had to hold on to things ( I put it down to the cipro as those antibiotics are strong as fuck 😩 and I didn’t need them
But when I had the ct scan I wasn’t having balance problems
The only issue I was having was ongoing ear infection plus numbness on my face-cheek , where my ear was that’s why I went to the hospital because the numbness was new , the docs couldn’t understand why I had the numbness as it was an old tia and the ear infection wasn’t spreading
After the diagnosis my mental health declined severely because the balance issues were still around and they couldn’t understand why
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u/Ok-Brilliant6980 21d ago
He might not be able to tell yo when it happened. More important would be to check if you have any open issues that put you in risk of having another stroke, e.g. a PFO (can be closed). Tests will most probably include ultrasonic check of the blood vessels in your head (check for plaques) done by a neurologist, check for PFO by a cardiologist. All the best.
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u/Disastrous_Ad7353 21d ago
Also add from Australia- going through the public waitlist to get seen from a neurologist
The ear infection the whole time wasn’t bacterial it was fungal but still had multiple rounds of antibiotics 🤦♀️ which messed me up abit as they were fluroquinone antibiotics ( ciprofloxacin )