Could this be a TIA? - Stroke Message Board

Chris26MI · 07-24-2008, 08:07 PM

I am 28 years old, male, my total cholesterol is 170, dont smoke and am not overweight. im 6' and 175lbs.

Today Im at work and I developed a headache. I took an Advil. Normally I take aspirin. Anyways about an hour or hour and a half later Im at my desk on the phone and suddenly my headache came on pretty strong, kind of like a burning sensation and I couldnt talk. Its like I forgot what I had to say and couldnt get anything out. This lasted about 5 seconds and I ended the phone call but now was dizzy & confused and had that hot feeling going through my body like something was terribly wrong. I became very weak and tired and my face, arms and legs felt "heavy" and I had to keep moving them to make sure I still could. My vision got kind of funny, it was like I almost had tunnel vision but not really. I cannot explain it.

Anyways, as luck would have it, Im between health insurance right now and am waiting for underwriting to be complete so I can have coverage, otherwise I would've been in the ER lickity split!

I also looked up advil side effects, as I usually do not take advil. It said right on the website that serious side effects advil can give are heart attack and stroke and to go to the ER immediately if you have vision disturbances, sudden headache, dizziness, etc... Basically all of the symptoms I had.

As a guy, I always wonder if it was just psychosomatic or something...lol... but today left me scared. It was scary not being able to talk. Its like I lost my thoughts and couldnt make any noise.

agalloway · 07-25-2008, 02:41 PM

Did everything go back to normal after awhile? It could be a TIA but most likely a complicated migraine. Look it up on the internet and see if it mimicks your symptoms. Good luck!

zekat · 07-27-2008, 07:19 PM

I'm not sure what may have brought on the headache, but MANY of your symptoms sound very much like a panic attack. It's a hard call, but if you happened to notice the headache getting stronger and suddenly panicked, it could certainly have amplified everything. I doubt the Advil caused additional symptoms, but it may not have been the drug to help, and instead the headache simply continued to get worse.

The dizzy, hot, confused, weird feeling are all very familiar to me. And when you say "tunnel vision", I used to suffer from bouts of depersonalization after an attack. It was like I was inside a glass box or something and nothing was quite "real". I'm certainly no doctor, but your post resonated with my experiences with panic attacks. Often stress can lead to both headaches and panic attacks.

Chris26MI · 07-28-2008, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zekat

I'm not sure what may have brought on the headache, but MANY of your symptoms sound very much like a panic attack. It's a hard call, but if you happened to notice the headache getting stronger and suddenly panicked, it could certainly have amplified everything. I doubt the Advil caused additional symptoms, but it may not have been the drug to help, and instead the headache simply continued to get worse.

The dizzy, hot, confused, weird feeling are all very familiar to me. And when you say "tunnel vision", I used to suffer from bouts of depersonalization after an attack. It was like I was inside a glass box or something and nothing was quite "real". I'm certainly no doctor, but your post resonated with my experiences with panic attacks. Often stress can lead to both headaches and panic attacks.

Thanks for the info, I was hoping it was something like that. Ive been feeling better ever since and have been monitoring the situation closely. I have been under a lot of stress lately so this makes sense.