Well Hello everyone, I hope you are all still well.  We have just heard back from Timothys neurosurgeon.  We were just going to monitor Tims condition for a while and see what progressed.  Dr. Iskandar and Dr. Scott feel that we have caught Tims MoyaMoya in the earliest stage that either of them has ever seen.  They feel that this is due to the ability of UW Madison to do a functional MRI, and other advanced tests.  His call yesterday brought different news however.  We were expecting a follow up MRI appointment and instead are going November 3rd to set up an appointment for surgery.  They both feel that this would be the best line of defense to avoid all negative outcome.  They both feel that this is a great case in that it was caught so early.  Tims neurlogical deficits that were being caused by the inadequate perfusion(not a stroke yet) have improved with aspirin therapy.  I will keep you posted as to the outcome of all!!!

Best of luck to Timothy!  My docs have pretty much said the same thing.  Because I have not suffered any deficits from - well, I actually did have a stroke - and I am otherwise healthy that this is a good argument to be more aggressive now before something debilitating happens.  My visit with Dr. Scott is in a few weeks - will keep everyone posted.

Smiles!  :)

Hi Tom!

You, Timothy and your family will be in my prayers. I hear that Dr. Scott is a wonderful doctor; you're in good hands. Thank God it was caught early,   :) we don't hear enough of that here. Please keep us posted.

Thank God you persued it further I love these kind of posts not that Timothy has to get sugery of course but soooo many people want to wait and ride it out and sometimes its just to late when later comes or damage is done before later comes. I could not be happier to here this as my daughters wasn't caught in time we had no previous signs unfortunately and she suffered many strokes. Good Luck to Timothy and please please keep us posted.  :) :D

Nancy_Mc - I have noticed that taking just low dose aspirin has helped me.  When I had to go off of the aspirin to have my angiography done that was when I had 3 TIAs.  After the test, I went back on the aspirin and, although I've had a couple more small TIAs, they have been less frequent and haven't lasted as long.  This doesn't mean I'm only relying on the asprin - it's helping me while I get the rest of the tests done and talk to all the doctors - but the aspirin has indeed helped. - Shari

Nancy,
         It was explained to us by Tim's neurosurgeon that his symptoms have totally disappeared because he has not yet suffered a stroke.  The parts of his brain that were not receiving adequate blood flow were just "sick".  The aspirin with its blood-thinning capabilities increased flow around the stenosis(blockage) in his internal carotid artery, and therefore caused better blood flow to the areas of the brain that were "sick", making them "better".  If you have suffered a stroke, aspirin will not make those deficits better, but could help you avoid another stroke and also, if there are parts of the brain that are just "sick", there could be improvement in those areas.  I would suggest however, before you or anyone else start an aspirin regimen, you consult with your neuro as this could also cause problems with bleeding and such.  Timothy takes only one baby aspirin a day, but as I mentioned, his neurological deficits have totally disappeared.  He was basically unable to use his right hand and he had difficulty walking because his right foot dragged.  It was amazing to watch the progression of his recovery.  unfortunately, this just solves a small problem caused by a much bigger problem, which as I stated in my latest topic, we will be correcting on November 21st.  Hopefully this answers some of your questions about aspirin therapy!!!!