Stroke

[dinahsmum]

Sad thread.
Sorry if I dragged up sad memories for people

Found this about recognising a stroke: It's worth learning and remembering

Recognising a Stroke

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient within 3 hours, which is tough.

Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE - are both sides of the face equal

2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS - can they raise both arms equally and easily

3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 999 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Try to remember
Face - smile
Arms - raise
Sentence/Speak - coherently
Time- Act fast, time is of the essence

It could help save someones life.

[Fran]

Excellent advice DM...especially for those of us with aging relatives and parents...Thank you

[dinahsmum]

Fast action is a (quality of) life saver. Sorry - longish story coming up.

Nearly 2 years ago my OH and his colleagues were at their monthly '2 day with o'night stay' meeting. On the second morning they all tend to go to the gym before breakfast. Breakfast time came and 2 were missing. Eventually a mobile call comes in from 'Charlie', who is the ex Met police inspector. He is in the local A&E after having received a call from 'Freds' room saying 'Something's wrong'. He had looked at 'Fred', diagnosed stroke, bundled him into the car, turned on all the lights, done the 'Sweeny' drive to the hospital, grabbed a wheelchair from the lobby, bundled Fred in, demanded a doctor immediately they reached the reception desk and generally made a pain of himself until he was satisfied that the medics had grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Fred was in hospital for several weeks, the first one being very very serious. He is now enjoying a very good quality of life. He has retired early but plays golf twice a week, is a stalwart at the local rugby club, helps his wife take care of their grandson 2 days a week and has just got his driving license back. He still has bad days, when he just takes things quietly.

He's the same age as my OH If it wasn't for the quick action of Charlie he could well be dead or (possibly worse) horribly handicapped. I remind my OH of Fred when I think he's working too hard.

[Fran]

A bittersweet story DM....but it goes to prove how acting quickly really can help 'save' someone or at least give them the best chance for a better quality of life following a stroke. So glad Fred recovered and does enjoy a quality of life...

[Mags]

Originally Posted by dinahsmum

Sad thread.
Sorry if I dragged up sad memories for people

Found this about recognising a stroke: It's worth learning and remembering

Recognising a Stroke

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient within 3 hours, which is tough.

Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE - are both sides of the face equal

2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS - can they raise both arms equally and easily

3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 999 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Try to remember
Face - smile
Arms - raise
Sentence/Speak - coherently
Time- Act fast, time is of the essence

It could help save someones life.

Thank you DM.........if we only knew then what we know now a lot of people's lives would have been saved.
My father said that the night before my mum's stroke she was slightly incomprehensible but he didn't take much notice of it She then had the stroke during the night. If only we knew the symptoms years ago

[CJK]

it not just old peopleat risk. I had a minor stroke in october, aged 29!
Yes, I have other factors involved, diabetes, really overweight, runs in family.
Luckily apart from occasioanl STM loss I am fine now.

My gran had 3 in a week in 1997, she died 16th dec after third one. therye horrid.

[dinahsmum]

Originally Posted by CJK

it not just old peopleat risk. I had a minor stroke in october, aged 29!
Yes, I have other factors involved, diabetes, really overweight, runs in family.
Luckily apart from occasioanl STM loss I am fine now.

My gran had 3 in a week in 1997, she died 16th dec after third one. therye horrid.

Goodness - you take care. My dad's is connected with diabetes too. Are you doing the sensible things about eating/keeping your weight down/reducing salt?
Sorry - nagging. But it is worth trying to reduce risk.

[CJK]

i lost two stone in a year, i have PCOS too so it hard toloose weight, but i do 20 mins a day on a epileptical cycle thingy. My cholesterol was high 2 years ago, iw as on tablets for a year but now it is fine.I dont take sugar or salt, only on rare occasion i have chips, then I use lo-salt.
Being an ex-nurse too You think id have known better than let myself get overweight to start with, but it kinda crept up on me after having the two kids, and with the pcos and steroids and things. But I made a start on loosing the weight again, and my HBA1C is around 5-7 usually, with no medications. so i think I am doing better, was on metformin for 2 years on and off ( inslulin while pregnant) but now Im behaving more , i was a bit naughty for a while. A fromer fiance died in 2001 from diabetes realted heart failure and kidney failure, so you think I would ahve taken that as warning enough to take better care of myself!
Since i got diabetes i dont half get a lot of coughs colds n flu like problems, one after another.Maybe it's the astham i dont know.
but anyway, itis good for people to me made aware of the signs of stroke and also waht to do, IE i knew to take small dose asprin right away.
We hearso much about heart attacks etc, not many people learn how to recognise a stroke.
Of course, just to complicate things a bit, there is also a thing called a hemiplegic migraine which can give all the same symptoms as a stroke, but best to err on the side of caution and assume it a stroke, cos it more than likely is.

Boy did i hate that flaming zimmer frmae they gave me!!! but nos tick even now!

[Mags]

My next door neighbour is a diabetic and she had a stroke in her early 30's, it has left her with a weak left arm. She has also had a heart bypass and a kidney transplant. She is on anti rejection tablets and steroids which have made her put on an enormous amount of weight and must stay on them for the rest of her life. All this is as a result of being diabetic....I forgot to say her eyesight is very bad too. She has 2 teenage children and she is the happiest person you could wish to meet...never complains on her bad days, just says she is glad she has been given the chance to see her children grow up. She is a star!

[CJK]

she IS a star, you should ehar me complain when IM not feeling well!!!! lol