Sudden blindness in left eye, numbness in left arm, severe headache...?!
Question: My sister had an episode 2 nights ago. She and her husband had just finished watching I Am Legend at the movies and suddenly her left eye went blind, her left arm went numb, and she got a severe migraine. She has panic attacks easily and she had one when this happened and threw up her pain medicine. They went to the er and while they were waiting the symptoms just went away, as if they never happened. So they left. I'm afraid she might have had a TIA but I would like some opinions on what happened to her please.
Answers: My sister had an episode 2 nights ago. She and her husband had just finished watching I Am Legend at the movies and suddenly her left eye went blind, her left arm went numb, and she got a severe migraine. She has panic attacks easily and she had one when this happened and threw up her pain medicine. They went to the er and while they were waiting the symptoms just went away, as if they never happened. So they left. I'm afraid she might have had a TIA but I would like some opinions on what happened to her please.
It really does sound like a TIA. She is a little young for that, but it's not unheard of. Is she taking any form of hormonal birth control? (The pill,patch,depo etc) These can increase the risk for a stroke. It also could indicate a subarachnoid hemorrhage which is also life threatening. Of course it could also be nothing but neurological symptoms of a severe migraine too. In any case I wish she had been examined while she was at the ER, and I believe the only safe thing for her to do is to be seen ASAP by her health care provider.
She should diffenetly see her doctor. It sounds like a heart attack. Yes, even young people can have a heart attack. Besides it's better to be safe then sorry.
She needs a very detailed check up by her Dr.and or Neurologist.
Never blame symptoms on panic attacks until all has been checked out.
sounds similar to a cluster headache - my husband used to get them and his hands would go numb and he would throw up. but to be on the safe side, I hope her doctor did a cat scan and lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to check for meningitis or anything else serious.
These are all symptoms of TIA. Your sister should go see a physician immediately. This is no panic attack. It sounds as if she had a small stroke, or perhaps a blood clot in her brain. I recommend a Cardiologist so he can run some simple tests to see if there was any permament damage done. The sooner the better. Yesterday would have been best.