Hello everybody!

My daughter had MM surgeries on last year 9/2007.  Since she loves to play in the water, we started her swimming lesson since July 2008 with lots of concern.  I watched closely when she is on lesson for 30 minutes twice a week.  Because of breathing issue, I was worried a lot.  However,  she is having TIA often since November.  Does anybody try swimming after surgery?   I stop her swimming lesson last week.  After she got lesson,  at least I felt she got healthier but, I guess not.  She ate more after swimming exercise.... She didn't have TIA for August, September,  and now  :'(  

Hi Sunnie,
I started swimming laps about two months after surgery with no problems, but then I breath regularly between strokes and a young child may not have learned to do this yet. Do you think she is holding her breath for too long? Could Alice learn to use a snorkel while swimming so that she can take regular breaths? Probably wouldn't hurt to give Teresa a call. She told me that Dr. Steinberg wants to know if any of his patients are having problems. It's comforting to know that he and his staff are there to offer advice.
Kim

I don't think swiming is bad but your daughter maybe shouldn't be in lessions yet. She needs to know how much her body can handel before she gets to tierd and her blood pressure goes up to high. I started working out strength training and arobics classes. I whould have to stop once i felt dizzy and very out of breath. the best way to recover is excersise, I feel.
I hope this helps.
Becky

Thank you for replies.

I am contacting Dr. Steinberg staffs for updating my daughter's status.

I tried to contact our neurogist in CHOC about her episodes, it is not easy since two weeks ago.  We just went to withdraw her blood today at CHOC ( requesting by Hemotalogy). When the nurse finish the needle parts, she started crying and it caused her another TIA.  I tried her to do the "BEAR Breathing",  but this time, doesn't work.   :'(


Huuuuu,  
Life is not easy...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day,, everybody..

I am so sorry to hear this, my dauhter molly is the same way. She just can not do since surgery. She has not even been able to handle the stress of school.I think everyone is different and i have adopted the saying when trying to explaine to people"Molly has moyamoya and she has these limitations as a result... Because that is (just the way it is for molly since surgery)."my point find her safety zone and keep her in it learn as you go as to what she can handle, my daughter can not since surgery.As to the needles my daughter does this as well, she was diagnosed withPtsd and anxiety as a result of surgeries.
best wishes'
amiee & molly

When I was a child, I would experience paralysis on the left side of my body after I blew up a balloon or cried heavily. Later I learned that this is a known symptom of Moya-Moya. Some Japanese children would have paralysis when sucking up noodles from their bowls. So hyperventilation can cause symptoms to arise. I've had the EDAS surgery on the right side and will get slight numbness in the left arm when working out.

Russ

My daughter had surgery with Dr. Steinberg when she was nine, August of  2007.  It's been over a year now and she continues to have mild TIAs almost every week, for the past year.  She loves swimming.  In fact, she got back on the swim team about 4 months after her surgeries.   Interestingly enough, I don't recall her having a TIA on the days she practices or had swim meets.  In my daughter's case, I believe swimming has been a benefit.  She swam in the summer league and she's now swimming in the fall/winter season.  Her practices are very strenuous, swimming back and forth for an hour, with dives, and lengthy underwater swimming.  I don't believe she holds back in practice and certainly not in her meets.  She's one of the top swimmers on her team and she dreams of making it to the Olympics one day.  

Dr. Steinberg has been unable to explain her TIAs.  We've taken multiple SPECTs, MRAs, CT Scans, EEGs, and multiple visits to Neurosurgeons and Neurologists at the Washington Children's Hospital.  We've taken her to therapists/child psychiatrist, thinking that the TIAs were not physiological, but I think we were proven wrong.  However, she did overcome her fear of I-Vs and needles and she's learned to 'manage' her TIAs.  In the past, the TIAs would frighten her causing her to cry, hyperventilate, and exacerbate the TIA.   Hence, the effort and dollars were well worth it.

My wife is taking her to see our family doctor tomorrow to determine if Keppra (anti-seizure med) is right for her.  I'm not convinced that it's seizure related and I not comfortable with the side effects.  Nevertheless, I'm worried about her TIA one day leading to a stroke.  Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.  

Michael

Thank you so much for all of your replies.  I am so envy your encouragement.  About swimming, I stopped her swimming lesson.  However, I tried to give her lesson by myself.  I trained her not to hold breath too much under the water.  Lately, she has several TIAs related with stress.  We are going to meet one of radiologist in neurosurgery dept. today.  The neurogist referred my daughter to see him.  I hope to hear good news.