Anyone on this forum a stroke survivor? Or know one?

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Im 27.. just had a mild stroke. Nothing paralizing thank goodness.. but now i have to live with the fear and uncertainty of possibly having one again. The Neurosurgeon was stumped with me. He was totally convinced I didnt have a stroke ( too young ) until he did several MRI's and 2 MRA's. There is was... big as day... blood clot.
I am a vegatarian, exercise daily , dont smoke, did every drug under the sun as a teenager.. but not now, and my diet changed over a year ago. You would think all these things would equal a HEALTHY person..>sigh< anyway.. im not looking for a pity party so I will stop the personal story. I am just looking for some 'support' and ideas on how to get your muscles back up to par. Any thing i can add / take away from my diet that may help? Any tips given by your doctors that was wonderful ? Any thing I should watch out for? I already do the asprin heart therapy..and steroids. I looked in all my nursing books but all they teach you is how to spot one in your patients. Not what to look for in yourself. Confused

Thanks for any advice!

Smile

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shewolfnm- From your description, it sounds like you had an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blockage. I could not find anything on these types of strokes in the young, but did find something interesting.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/333/333/301061.html

Apparently, excessive phenylpropanolamine has been correlated with strokes in young people. You said that you have used drugs. I am aware that many people use cocaine, mess up their nasal passages, and become addicted to nose sprays, many of which contain phenylpropanolamine.

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i have to live with the fear and uncertainty of possibly having one again.

And you also could get hit by a bus. I am not being flippant. My reaction is based on the fact that I was supposed to be dead of cancer 10 years ago, so I can certainly appreciate what you are going through. I know that a stroke, at your age, is a shock, and it will take awhile for you to live comfortably with the idea. But you WILL adapt to the idea, if you are just gentle with yourself, and give it time to settle in.

I would suggest that you maintain a diet and exercise regimen that will keep your cholesterol and triglycerides low. Have you ever tried Yoga? It is great for calming, and will tone up your body.

If you need support, or information, just give a yell. We are as near as your keyboard!

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my first (and last) stoke was 12/30/03. was a very scary event. other than taking meds now for future prevention I seem to have no lasting effects.

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You make a great point... I can get hit by a bus.. even in my own home. here in my city we have an enormous bus transport system.. it even runns through my neighborhood. I have a bus that runs every 2 hrs on my street. It could just as easily loose control and hit my home. >sigh< Worrying sure isnt going to help me any.
I dont take nasal sprays thank goodness, though cocaine was a drug of choice when I was 17 and it took my nasal passages 4 years to recover. I had blurry vision and the most awful headaches during that time. But... cocaine wasnt any better. hehe. And now , since my diet change, I dont take any over the counter anything. That I decided a few months before I got pregnant. It was a suggestion from Dr Weil. You should check out his website... http://www.drweilselfhealing.com/standard_pgs2.asp?iPageID=8 .... his diet reccomendations are what I follow.. and his recipies... OH MY GOD! He is a wonderful cook.After about 2 months of my diet change I started loosing about 10+ lbs a month. So far to date I have lost 85 lbs. Maybe somewhere in there I had a problem that caused the stroke? Who knows..
In the hospital I had every blood test possible done. My cholesterol ... perfect... my liver enzymes.. perfect... red/white blood cell count .. a little above normal, nothing to worry about . Everything checked out wonderfuly. That is why the doctor was so shocked by it. He tried to call it Bealls Paulsey... > spell check hehe < But after doing a spinal tap he found no fungus and MRA showed no inflammation of the facial nerve.
Maybe it is a good thing I dont have any 'residual' problems that can be found and pinpointed to a stroke. Then that would mean I truly WOULD be in fear of having another one?
Thank you for the web site and support. It is wierd , being so young , that something so life threatning , I can just walk away from. Not many people get such a mortality check and can survive. Or have the nerve to do something about it. De-nile (denial) as I call it , is a pretty strong river. If you dont jump in , you never have to swim against the tide. Smile

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Certain kinds of drug abuse - Intravenous drug
abuse carries a high risk of stroke from a cerebral
embolism. Cocaine use has been closely related to
strokes, heart attacks and a variety of other
cardiovascular complications. Some of them have
been fatal even in first-time cocaine users.

Quote:

Obesity or overweight - If you have too much fat,
especially in the waist, you're at higher risk for
health problems. These include high blood
pressure, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides (blood fats), diabetes, heart disease and stroke. A
high-risk waistline is defined as more than 35
inches for women, more than 40 inches for men.
Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of
30 or greater, or about 30 pounds or more
overweight.

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/joint/smm/downloads/healthfacts/stroke.pdf

It is wonderful that you took off the weight. Keeping it off will stand you in good stead, and greatly lower the chance that you will have another stroke.

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My only advice would be not to worry and dwell upon it. In 1992 I had a heart attack or stroke if you will as a result of a blood clot developed during an operation. In fact it occurred in the hospital while I was in recovery. It was mild and left no after effects or damage. The only concession I have made to it is to visit the cardiologist once a year.
Has the cardiologist prescribed any meds?

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I know two women who have had strokes or stroke like events and both have gone on to have successful, and in both cases, high pressure careers. This is a serious event but not one that will permanently disable you.

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So far , the only thing that I have been told to take is 81 mg asprin therapy. I go see the doctor again in 2 weeks. ( i just had this stroke tuesday ) so everything is still new. My doctor wants to make sure he gets in all the results from every test he performed first before he puts me on any kind of medicinal therapy. I agree with him on that one. So we will see.... any medicine suggestions? Is there any one that is better then the other? or one that has less chance of side effect?

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shewolfnm

The only suggestions you should interested in and listen to regarding Med. are those given to you by your Dr.

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True. My dr has the final say so in everything. But I like to go at him with all the information I can gather to cover all bases , make room for all questions and cover any possibilities. I already have a small journal of things I want to ask him and things I want to know about. I dont ever think you can ask too much about any health problem. Being a nurse... unfortunatly I know what ISNT told to people alot of times and what information is usually deemed "unnecessary". When I go to my doctor.. i want all my guns loaded with good questions so I dont walk out with out that "unnecessary" information. Know what I mean ?

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Wow! Sorry to hear this Shewolf! Wish I could help, but I don't know much about strokes. I should, though, they run in the family.

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Isnt it more likely that someone will have a stroke if it is in the family already? .. I think I heard of that somewhere.
If that is the case then i am in big trouble. My grandmother had 2 bipasses , 1 heart attack , cancer , and 2 strokes. HER father... strokes, and cancer , My DADS side of the family I dont think ever died of anything other then heart problems...
hmm.... just another tid-bit of info I will take to my Dr appt. Have to ask about genetics...