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Husband Had Weird Incident


mvdula

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My husband (33 yrs old - great health) had a scary neuro-type incident yesterday. He came home from business trip and told me about it and asked me to research it. He was walking through the terminal at the airport - very early morning - feeling fine - had eaten breakfast, etc. He says suddenly he lost vision in his left eye - he says it was not black, just seemed like no vision for a couple seconds. Then he realized he was walking in the middle of the aisle (he had been on the right - as the normal traffic pattern goes) - so feels that he was dizzy and didn't realize it or left side wasn't working right?? This lasted just a few seconds but scared him. Anyone have any ideas?

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Definitely get it checked out. I've had all kinds of strange neuro symptoms that we now know to be migraines--or rather migraine aura. And I don't always get the headache. But migraine is a diagnosis of exclusion-- after other stuff has been ruled out. The key thing is that he quickly returned to normal. but any new symptoms should be checked out. My vision does strange stuff regularly, but it's shortlasting--so unpleasant, but less scary.

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I looked up his symptoms and found that it is called Amaurosis Fugax - sudden loss of vision in one eye. It is a TIA (transient ischemic attack - I guess mini-stroke) - although not sure if that is the etiology since he has not yet seen a Dr. I'm not sure though if he actually had a loss of balance - or was just unbaalnced because of the loss of vision. Scary - we don't need this now! he is 33 and in great health! He is planning to go to Dr soon

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without wanting to alarm you, sudden/ temporary loss of vision can also be a symtom of problems in the retina. this can be the case even if the issue resolves but can be a warning prior to it happening again and possibly not resolving at some point (i.e. retinal detachment). so a check up at the eye doc might also be a good idea.

:P melissa

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well, i am more worried about the possibility that it was a TIA - the reason it may fall more into that category is that he ended up walking in the center of the aisle when he had been on the right - like a loss of balance - or his gait was off for a few seconds. this really scares me since everything i read warns that this can be sign of future stroke. he has absolutely no risk factors and is young for a TIA, but still scary

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Amaurosis Fugax is usually described as a black curtain descending over one eye with loss of vision. It is caused by tiny blood clots in the blood vessels of the eye. I didn't think that it matched with your earlier description. Pat is quite right that loss of vision in one eye will effect how you walk. However it could also be a sign of transient decreased awareness of one side.

There are lots of possible explanations including: migrane, amaurosis fugax, TIA, stress, and others. The only way to know is for your husband to get a thorough medical evaluation. Hopefully there is a simple explanation and even if it is something like a TIA with the right monitoring and treatment (making sure his BP, cholesterol and blood sugar are normal and maybe a preventative med like aspirin) this may be a vital early warning to prevent a major problem later on.

Let us know how he gets on with his doctor.

Flop

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Yes, we are working on finding a Dr. He tells me now it was definitely his whole left side - about 5 seconds total - didn't realize what was going on until it was over. felt odd - buzzy on left side - like whole side didn't work - vision gone in left eye. started walking to the left...not good. the only explanation we have is he carries his laptop bag across his body, so it presses on the right side of his neck - but he always does this. otherwise, definitely sound like mini-stroke.

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I would go to an ER, as they have the facilities to have him looked at quickly. When I first had an episode like that, I went to the ER immediatey, where they did a neuro exam, a head CT, and an mri and mra of my head and neck. With the mri/mra, they can look to see if the event left any sort of "footprint." In my case, my brain shows evidence of migraines (scattered white matter hyperintensities), but showed no sign of a bleed or stroke. They were going to do a trans-esophageal echocardiogram to see if I have a patent foramen ovale-- a common heart abnormality that is often associated with both migraines and occasionally strokes in young people. (Didn't do the test in the end, as I had a severe allergic reaction to the glue on the electrodes.)

So now we're working on a migraine-prevention plan.

Just so you know, I get episodes like your husband-- with loss of balance, one-sided weakness. So it may not be a TIA, but the only way to know is to get it checked out. An ER will respond promptly. If it was a TIA, Flop is right. There are things that can be done to prevent other episodes. But you do need to find out more to get a diagnosis. Those symptoms are ones that will get you treated quickly.

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My husband had this happen to him. It happened once then the next week it happened again. He went to an eye doctor who checked his eyes then they told him to make an appt with his doc which is the VA hospital where they did tests and it was a mini stroke. They said that sometimes there is pieces of calcium or build up that lets go and it will cause this but they checked him out for blockages which he had none but definitly get it checked out cause that is a warning sign of something going on.

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I have those episodes (loss or partial loss of vision, vision distortion, and balance issues) SO frequently -- my neuro figures it's migraine-related, even though I don't always get the headache afterwards. But hopefully his doc will have some insight! Good luck!

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