Hello, everyone!  My son (9 yrs) was diagnosed as MM last year and had surgery.  Hopefully he recovers well and TIA will be gone.  But I was wondering if he could drive a car in the future with a possibility of TIA.  Because if you have TIA on regular basis, you may not be supposed to drive.  For those who used to have TIA in childhood, it would be appreciated if you could share how you are dealing with this issue.  Thank you.  Cotadad.

My sister (an adult) has moyamoya.  She has had two surgeries in the past year.  She drives all the time!

Dear Diane,

Thank you very much for your reply.
Doesn't she have TIA?
My son has occasional symptoms like numbness/weakness in his hands and legs.  Once it happens, I don't think he could drive safely.  Maybe I should worry about when my son becomes particular age.  But I was just wondering how other people were dealing with it.  Thanks again.

hi, Cotadad

    I just wanted to let u know that I have medical restrictions placed on my license for at least the next year. My neurologist & neurosurgery team have not yet been able to control my TIA's or seizures (whatever they are).  Due to that fact, they have placed medical restrictions that clearly state I am NOT allowed to drive. Basically, this was done on the chance that I could hurt myself or someone else.

    Unfortunately, due to these restrictions, I will be unable to obtain insurance coverage.  So, I had to re-title my car in my mom's name so she could carry insurance.  LOL...

   On another note, I have had MM since birth...I began having the 'spells' @ 4 and was just diagnosed @ 27. :)

Your son has had the surgery and should live a completely normal life.  (bugging mom & dad to borrow the car @ 16!!)  

I just wanted to share my experience with you.  God Bless.

lee

Hi Iee,

Thank you very much for sharing your case.  Sorry to hear that you have restrictions now.  Hope it will be lifted in the future.  Since my son is still 9, I hope he will be OK by the age of driving.  Thank you again.  Best wishes and good luck to you.  Cotadad

Hi Cotadad,
 We just got clearance to leave stanford and we will be flying back to New York toworrow after 5 weeks gets.  Dr. Steinberg release Mark to drive.  That blew me away.  He said that because he controls any odd symptoms and has full use of his body he is ok.  He gets the numbness that your son gets as well.  At first because it came on so quick it was thought to be TIAs.  After a week and cts and mris and long eegs they feel that he is experiencing seizures.  The medicine was change from dilantin 300mg to Keppra 1000mg.  This seems to have got them under control.  There sense is also that they will be short lived because there is some residual blood on Marks brain from the surgery the should go away after a couple months.  Not sure if that helps but it sounds similar to what Mark is experiencing.
                           Ron

Ron,

Great news for you and Mark!  It is really good that you guys finally can go back home.  Also, glad to hear that Mark can drive.  Actually I am not sure about the difference between TIA and seizure...   Anyway, have a nice trip and I look forward to hearing the update from east coast.

Lee,

I am sorry for misspelling your name...

Cotadad

Cotadad wrote on Feb 1^st, 2005 at 7:31pm:

Actually I am not sure about the difference between TIA and seizure...

Hi Cotadad,

This is what I know about the difference between TIA and Seizure. “Transient ischemic attack” TIA is a temporary interruption of the blood flow to an area of the brain. When the blood flow is restored to the brain, the symptoms go away. TIAs are often called mini strokes because the symptoms are like those of a stroke. Within minutes, brain cells are affected, causing symptoms in the parts of the body controlled by those cells. TIAs may affect vision, speech, behavior, and thought processes and may cause loss of consciousness, dizziness (vertigo), and weakness or numbness on one side of the body, and in fact a TIA may cause a seizure. However, unlike a stroke, a TIA does not cause lasting symptoms. Symptoms usually go away after 10 to 20 minutes, but they may last up to 24 hours.
Seizures are different from person to person. See, the brain controls how the body moves by sending out small electrical signals through the nerves to the muscles. Seizures, or convulsions, occur when the normal signals from the brain are changed.

Did that make sense? I hope it helped.  :)

Mar

Cotadad:

I may be a good person to answer this question because I was your sons age when I was having TIA's and was diagnosed with MM. I am now 24 and live a VERY normal life. I have not had any problems driving and have never been told not to. Post op, I still have a tingling occassionally, but I would not call them full blown TIA's like they were before surgery. I can still use the effected area (whether it be mouth, arm or hand) when it is happening...

I hope this all helps. If you want to know anything else, please feel free to contact me.

Sara

Hi Cotadad!

Sorry to answer this so late . . . meant to respond earlier, but just didn't make it!

Tara's surgeries were at age 17.  She had had her license for about 14 months at the time.  She was told not to drive for about 2 weeks after surgeries.  Being nervous, we put her back to kind of a "permit" status for another couple of weeks just so we felt comfortable with her driving abilities.  Since then, she's been driving almost daily.  Tara's TIA's are mild and infrequent, and she doesn't lose use of her hands.  Hopefully your son's symptoms improve with time, and by the time he's driving age all will be well.

I hope your family is doing well.  Isn't this 65 degree weather great?  (I'm not kidding - eat your hearts out everyone!) ;;D

Warmly,
Jill

Mar,

I think I got it.  Thank you very much for the detailed explanation.

Sara and Jill,

Thank you for sharing your and Tara's cases.  Stories from those who have concrete experience are more convincing than any other information.  Sounds like I don't have to worry about it too much.  Sara, it is great that you are having a very normal life now, and I really appreciate you still kindly visit this site to give a lot of advise.  Jill, yes, Bay Area already seems to be nice spring season!  Thanks again!

Cotadad

Hi all,
 I spoke to soon about Mark driving.  He's doing fine right now.  We have to go see the original Doctor that diagnosed Mark in November tomorrow.  It appears that in New York you can't drive for 6 months from the date of a seizure.  Although that's not good for Mark I don't have a problem as a parent.  No inconvenience for us.  We'll figure something out.  Somehow I don't think it will stick.  But it's an insurance liability that I'm not ready to except.
 As for the 65 degree weather jill, it's in the 40's todat here.  Even though there is 2 feet of snow on the ground and I was bombing around the yard on the snowmobile this weekend.  Really miss everyone from Stanford.  See you soon.
                             Ron