Can you always definitely diagnose a stroke?

Question

My mother had some leg numbness and says it now is weaker than her other leg. There were no additional symptoms that would point to stroke, but they did hospitalize her for tests. CAT scan, MRI and doppler of heart and carotid arteries did not show anything. Neither did blood tests. Dr. said it's possible that a small stroke can slip by. He didn't say it definitely was a stroke.
I want my mom to look into other possible causes, such as something neurological -- possibly beginning of MS or anything -- just in case she should be getting treatment for something that isn't being diagnosed.
She gets furious when I "insinuate" that it wasn't a stroke, because she is hell-bent that it was. She would prefer to just say she had a stroke, even though they didn't say it certainly was.
Should you assume temporary leg numbness followed by weakness was a stroke when nothing else defines it as that?
I'd like to hear from anyone in the medical profession or anyone with a medical history of stroke.

Answer 1

Stroke symptoms can easily mimic symptoms of other conditions and diseases. A relative began suffering small symptoms recently that I was certain were the result of mini-strokes -- slurred speech, loss of coordination. I did a lot of research on them and was convinced that was what was going on. I finally convinced her to see a doctor and she was finally diagnosed by a neurologist of having a mild form of MS -- no strokes. I was really stunned. After I started researching MS, I learned that the symptoms of strokes are shared by a lot of other conditions.

Answer 2

A stroke by definition is a ishemic event in the brain. This means that for some reason (clot, aneurism, etc) caused the blood flow to stop reaching a portion of the brain and there by killing that portion. A mini-stroke would be that on a smaller scale. The tests that they preformed would be able to see if there was a burst blood vessal (one of the causes), a reduction of blood flow to an area, or decreased activity in a portion. All these can be looked at under a microscope to be further evaluated. If the radiologist (looks at these day in and day out) says he doesn't see anything, I would trust his judgement. I would have her see a neurologist. There would do a post-stroke work up (that she would need anyway if it was a stroke) but they could do a full evaluation to see if it may be something else (this you can ask them in private to do so your mother is not angered).

Good luck.

Answer 3

It is possible, some people are diagnose with having a slite stroke or a mild one and you really can not tell until down the line .

Answer 4

If you cannot convince your mother that she didn't have a stroke, do you think you could persudade her to see a doctor that specializes in stroke patients, that way she could feel justicified seeing him and YOU could have your mind put at ease by ruling anything other than a stroke out!! Good Luck!!

Answer 5

A friend almost died because the folks at an ER didn't know what to do with a stroke victim Finally after 3.5 hours they evacuated him out of there

Answer 6

Well,your mother didn't had a stroke. She was unconscious?She probably have restless leg syndrome.Sounds like she didn't had no stroke,because she would have face dropping,headache,dizziness,can't stand.Even if it was a mini one the same.I had numbness in my arm,I went to the E.R they said,I COULD have had one.They done a Ct scan,nothing.I had to take aspirin for nothing.I went to my family doc. she told me i was having migraines with numbness and stuff.So.Sometimes doctors don't know what they are talking about.Now it push to become a nurse(smile)

Answer 7

Not completely, they think the doctor should be able to diagnose their disease, because to them it's christal clear. And of course, Anxiety is basically a state of mind, where you take everything you think, WAY to seriously(which is also how behavioral therapists help you with Anxiety, they teach you, to take your panic with a grain of salt, because you can choose if you take yourself seriously, or not of course), add to that a deep-seeded feeling something is wrong with you, and it's a potent mix, for panic attacks of feeling you have a serious illness.

Answer 8

You should not force her to believe what you think, even disease of ear vestibulocochlear system can give rise to such symptoms.
KINDLY READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WHICH I HAVE SEARCHED OUT FOR YOU, IT MIGHT HELP:

Alternative names Return to top
Mini stroke; TIA; Little stroke

Definition Return to top

A transient ischemic attack is a "mini-stroke" caused by temporary disturbance of blood supply to an area of the brain, which results in a sudden, brief decrease in brain function.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors Return to top

In a TIA, the blood supply is only temporarily blocked. For example, a blood clot may dissolve and allow blood to flow normally again.

A TIA is different than a small stroke. The symptoms of TIAs go away in less than 24 hours, usually less than one hour. TIAs do not show lasting changes on CT or MRI scans. (Small strokes do show changes on such tests.) TIAs are like warnings that a true stroke may happen in the future if something is not done to prevent one.

A brief interruption in the blood flow to the brain can cause a decrease in brain function. This is called a neurologic deficit. Too little blood flow to the brain for some time can cause brain cells to die.

The loss of blood flow to the brain can be caused by:

* Narrowing of a blood vessel
* Blood clot within an artery of the brain
* Blood clot that travels to the brain from somewhere else in the body (for example, the heart)
* Injury to blood vessels

Atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries") is a condition where fatty deposits occur on the inner lining of the arteries. This condition dramatically increases the risk for both TIAs and stroke. Approximately 80-90% of people who have a stroke due to atherosclerosis had a TIA episode before.

Less common causes of TIA include:

* Blood disorders (including polycythemia, sickle cell anemia, and hyperviscosity syndromes where the blood is very thick)
* Spasm of the small arteries in the brain
* Problems with blood vessels caused by disorders such as fibromuscular dysplasia, inflammation of the arteries (arteritis, polyarteritis, granulomatous angiitis), systemic lupus erythematosus, and syphilis.

In some cases, hypotension (low blood pressure) may be seen before symptoms of a TIA occur. Other risks for TIA include high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, migraine headaches, smoking, diabetes, and increasing age.

About a third of those diagnosed with TIA will later have a stroke. TIAs are more common among men and black people.

Symptoms Return to top

Symptoms of TIA are the same as those that occur in stroke and include the sudden development of:

* Numbness, tingling, changes in sensation
* Weakness, heavy feeling of extremities
* Speech difficulty (garbled speech; slurred speech)
* Vision changes
o Loss of vision in one eye
o Decreased vision
o Double vision
* Sensation that the person or the room is moving (vertigo)
* Loss of balance
* Lack of coordination
* Gait changes, staggering
* Falling (caused by weakness in the legs)

Additional symptoms:

* Facial paralysis
* Eye pain
* Confusion

Note: Symptoms begin suddenly, last only a short time (from a few minutes to 24 hours), and disappear completely. Symptoms may occur again at a later time. Symptoms usually occur on the same side of the body if more than one body part is involved.

Signs and tests Return to top

Answer 9

Need more information before make the Guss;1) his try;she has diabetic,htn,alcohol abuse,back injury 2)physical examination.Because numbness and weakness on one leg could be diabetes neuropathy,disc disease with radioculophay(picth nerve),alcohol neuropathy.sure other neurology illness such as Ms,mm,stroke,Tia.I Guss She must has most of those tests.

Answer 10

are several options actually could be stroke could be Tia could be ms could be bells palsy could neurological