How do TIAs show up?

[BeckyJan]

My husband was confirmed Alz. some 4/5 yrs ago. Since then I was told he may have Mixed Dementia but I am not too concerned about the diagnosis.

I would like to hear from folk about the nature of TIAs. He was hospitalised some 5 months ago following a serious fall. Following his return home in May there have been 'episodes' which I suspect could be TIAs.

Typically during one of these episodes he will be very confused, may complain of feeling dizzy, sleeps heavily and then may be slurred and left eye very droopy. He may mention vision irregularities, eg. double vision or movement. This could continue for several hours and then later he may be bright as a button!!!

Please could others share their esperiences on TIAs.

Best wishes Jan

 

[jenniferpa]

Jan - I would say you've got it spot on, particularly when you mention increased one sided droopiness, and subsequent recovery.. Not that I'm an expert though: I never managed to work out definitively whether the episodes my mother had were TIAs or seizures (definitely some of the latter, but quite likely some of the former). Unfortunately brain damage e.g. strokes which cause scarring which can, later on, produce seizures.

Love

 

[citybythesea]

Jan, not being a dr. heres what I have noticed. Several years before moms diagnosis she had a series of mini tia's. Her complaints ranged from a slight tingling in her arm to a head ache. What you described she also described. My grandmother on my dad's side had a stroke which just all of a sudden took her sight in her left eye. My mother had several brain scans that had mapped the regions of her brain that were effected by the strokes so it was easy for the dr.s to see when one had happened. Moms most recent were with violent tremors that would last a while then go away and leave the area afflicted seemingly "tired" or hard to maneuver. Her dr. explained to me that the sleeping and seeming lethargic state that at times she would go into were the bodies way of trying to regather and regroup...but with AD it just doesn't do what a normal persons body would do. The re"regrouping" just seems to add the extra time in that the body needs to forget instead of get bettter. With mom I di a lot of therapy with her and supplemented dha to help heal her brain what little I could. DHA is a supplement that comes highly recommended in infant brain growth and the therapy was a way to keep her mind on what she needed to be able to do.

I wonder also if your dr. has had a scan done of his veins for dvt's. These are clots in the blood that can break loose and travel to cause a stroke, depending on where they hit. Sometimes these clots become large enough that they cut off circulation in an area and that area appears to swell. MOms case had her clots all on her right side. Unfortunately tia's aren't predictable but if a person really knows what is going on with the body then they can partially be tamed.

Some of the treatments tho are not recommended at all for AD patients and can cause serious problems. Keep on top of your dr. Let him know that the more they know of what is going on with your husbands body the better he can be treated for his AD and by all means if you manage to get the dr.s to do the studies required be right by hubby's side..this will help alleviate any unwanted trauma. Prayers are with you.


HUGS

Nancy

 

[Brucie]

Hi Jan

I think, as the others have said, your description is of TIAs.

Worth gaining consensus from a doctor, but it sounds familiar to me. My Jan has mixed dementia and had frequent 'faints' aka 'fits' which appear in retrospect to have been TIAs.

The classic thing -for Jan at least - was that she would be brighter and more with it for a period afterwards - my conclusion is that the body overcompensates for a while to restore equilibrium and thus makes them seem a bit better.

only for a while

 

[Sandy]

Hi Jan,

You might want to look at this link to NHS Direct on TIA's:

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleID=374

I have often wondered if my mother-in-law has had TIA's and I'm now a bit more sure that she has.

Take care,

Sandy

 

[connie]

As the others have said Jan, your thoughts sound about right.

Interestingly Lionel had many Tia's whilst at home, and when he first went into the care home.

He has had his minor epileptic seizures now for about a year.
Two conditions, different, and yet with the same outcome - at least where he is concerned.

I diagnosed Lionel at first with the Tias. These were confirmed by his consultant.

Quoted by jennifer:Unfortunately brain damage e.g. strokes which cause scarring which can, later on, produce seizures.

Thank you, had not linked the two conditions.

 

[candymostdandy@]

TIA's?

Mum's diagnosis is also Vascular dementia.

We seem to go in a cycle of her being quite well for a while, she then gets quite hyper, and we then get a dip where she gets more confused, slurred speach,sleeps more and drooping to one side..

eg

Last sunday, totally verbal and unpredictable a horrific day where she was constantly calling for her mum, and even when she went to bed tottaly unsettled.

Monday and Tuesday almost "normal", bright, ate meals, and could get up out of chair by herself, walked around the house a couple of time, and attended daycare.

Wednesday onwards, totally bent over,will not stand straight, going back to bed after breakfast and sleeping for much of the day, and even when awake she is calm, slurred speach, totally confused, eg, sat on chair with back to table for breakfast.

In the past when she comes out of these episodes,she appears to regain some ground but each time a little bit more of her is taken away..

The medics have never been able to give me an answer to this.

 

[citybythesea]

Candy

You have almost described some of what I went thru with mom in the later months of 2007. Mom having had her brain mapped was very useful for her dr.s they were able to explain to me that while she had tia's this was not the tia but the AD. He explained that the tia would take a little of her and then she would have a little recovery and so forth. The moments you described he called perpetual sundowning. Have not heard it before and it is not used by other dr.s but it is his way of explaining how an AD patients flips from 1 stage to another then back and forth.

I wish more studies would take place on the actual disease itself so that dr.s would be better able to explain this and I know they can do these studies without the use of an actual patient so it gets very heartwrenching at times.


HUGS

Nancy

 

[BeckyJan]

Thank you all for such quick and interesting replies.

It confirms my thoughts. I am not so sure that our GP will change anything but I will mention this.

Today it is obvious yet again that D is going downhill. This morning he is depressed, immobile and very confused - I think an Alz phase rather than a TIA. It seems now I can distinguish between them although they are interrelated.

Best wishes Jan

 

[Grannie G]

Hello Jan

How was David in the night? There`s no way you will know if he had another TIA during the night, is there?
Love xx

 

[gigi]

There`s no way you will know if he had another TIA during the night, is there?

That's a valid point, Sylvia....

Just chipping in here..Eric has never had a stroke but he does have VAD and AD..and I've suspected for a while that he has TIAs, Jan.

Sometimes Eric will go out like a light..and the sleep he has is more like a coma..nothing wakes him. After one of these episodes his left eye is drooping and his speech is slurred and confused..occasionally I've noticed his left arm behaves as though it doesn't belong to him. The sleeps are awful..his breathing becomes irregular..his mouth falls open and his tongue lolls. But he always seems to recover eventually...


Love gigi xx

 

[Helena]

My experience of my Mother with definite TIAs and VAD

started with rapid shifts of temper for no real reason

Sleeping like the dead
waking up in the evening disorientated

"off days" her favourite expression "thrown it over my shoulder " I always told her the mountain forming behind her shoulder would get her

Lack of awareness when driving etc

"parking the car in the back room " she forgot words like garage

She forgot the names of plants yet used to be an expert

Always phoning up claiming the the TV had lost its sound ( refused to believe she had a remote control or that she had pressed the mute button

Claimed the telephones did not ring ........she was either asleep or her hearing disapeared for a day

Stopped paying bills or having any awareness of finances

Yet in between all these various episodes she was perefectly capable of serious discussion and when given a new washing machine said "its whiter than the fridge "!!!!!!!!

TIAs and VAD are the great illusionists !

 

[Lynne]

For anyone curious about DHA (mentioned in post by Nancy/CityByTheSea) it's full name (when I Googled it) is Docosahexaenoic acid.

 

[BeckyJan]

Thanks Lynne:

I have just googled it too! Is it worth it at this late stage, I wonder? (Perhaps I should take it).

Love Jan

 

[citybythesea]

When mom hadher strokes in February and March I trudged thru with giving it to her both in her pill form and it was an additive in the baby food that I would feed her in the morning. (Yes baby food...and I have even taken to eating some of them as they have some really good flavors and are more of a custard consistency.....tho' I haven't lost any weight...)


She was at the point where she could not comprehend even using her own hands to feed herself and in late March with home therapy and I believe this (can't prove either way) she was once again able to at least do finger foods and use a spoon to feed herself if I put the food on it.


HUGS

NAncy

 

[harvey]

My MIL has suffered at least two TIA's. She would be talking and all of a sudden her speech slurred and we could not understand what she was saying. She then became very agressive accused us of all sorts. She was able to talk properly within about half an hour, said her mouth felt funny and she was very tired. She was unable to comprehend what we were saying to her. Within an hour or so she was back to normal [or normal for her]. I find that because her decline is so gradual and there are not the marked 'steps' other members have mentioned, we tend not to see the decline. It is only when we look back that it becomes clear just how different she is.

I think that she may well have had previous TIA's but she would never admit to it, she has complained over the last few years of feeling dizzy and she has fallen several times. Not sure if her falls and her behavioural changes were due to dementia or because she has had previous TIA's, or a mixture of both. She refuses point blank to have a scan so we do not know what damage has been caused.

Polly

 

[gill@anchorage5]

Anyone ever noticed any "lead up" to TIA's?

Good evening everyone.

Staff think Dad had another TIA yesterday evening (he had one last time he was there in respite.) Fortunately he was sitting at the table (so didn't fall), but went a horrible shade of grey and was wet with perspiration. BP was extremely low, but (as always) they acted quickly, got him on to his bed & raised his legs & obs were soon back to normal.

Today he looks really well & I've noted from previous posts that following ITA's the sufferer seems to really "perk up".

I'd like to know if anyone has ever noticed (with hindsight) problems leading up to a TIA. Reason for asking is that since Dad has been in respite (6 days) he's seemed so much better, but yesterday he was reluctant to get up (happens every day at home - but was the first time during his respite stay), he was not at all "with it" during my visit yesterday, lots of agitation, noises & growling/singing (again the first time witnessed duringthe respite) and then this happened yesterday evening. Could be just a coincidence I suppose, but I wondered if the body "builds up" towards this type of attack.

Any thoughts welcome....

Love

Gill x

 

[BeckyJan]

Hello all:

Gill: it will be interesting to hear from others about this. I am not aware of any build up of symptoms with David but I will observe more closely.

Best wishes Jan

 

[gill@anchorage5]

Docosahexaenoic acid - a question

Hello Nancy

Interested to hear about Docosahexaenoic acid (never heard of it before) Tried googling it and it lead to various fish oil supplements. Dad is not good at taking tablets (I have to crush all tablets)and some of his meds we have managed to get in liquid form. Can you tell me what form the tablets are in? Are they crushable or capsules?

Hope you can help - I think anything has to be worth trying - although would "run it by" the Dr first as he is on so many meds this days, and would want to be sure that I am not going to cause any "interraction".

Hope you can advise.

Love

Gill x

 

[BeckyJan]

complained over the last few years of feeling dizzy

David used to complain of feeling dizzy quite often (before these more obvious tias started). I used to put the dizziness down to low blood pressure! Not sure now though when looking at the whole picture.

Love Jan