Hi,
This is my first message on the site.  I was dx'd with atypical mm on 4/27/04.  My mca on the right side is totally occluded.  I have been to Col. Presb. in NYC and Stanford for testing.  I have good blood flow in the normal state and flow is good when compromised with co2, or zeon gas.  Surgery has been an option, but not strongly recommended at this time.

Within the last two months, I seem to have become more symptomatic.  My neurologists have said these symptoms are "non classical".  I am wondering how many others have experienced the same symptoms, and were they before a stroke, and if so, how long before? 

Specifically, I will get a sudden lightheadedness that then effects my entire body with a slight nausea, sometimes chills.  This is followed by a headache for 3-14 days, and then the headache will just dissapear, usally upon awaking in the morning.  The headache is not unbearable, just gives me a very heavy head type of feeling.  My vision is not impacted directly, but I feel my eyes are strained.  When I have a headache, my tracking things from side to side is horrible, and I find myself subconsciously adjusting what I focus my vision on.  I will also have weightlessness in both arms and legs when I go to sleep.  In the mornings I will sometimes experience numbness in my left thumb and trigger finger and sometimes these fingers are more purple than the others.  This seems to go away once I get up and moving.  I have only had one episode where I was reading the paper and although I did not pass out, I did have a total "disconnect".  That is, I felt like I couldn't read or process any information with my head.  This lasted for about 2 seconds and the headache that followed was bad and long.  Also, my neck on the left back side seems strained/stiff when I have symptoms. 

I have had numerous tests... eye, stress, ekgs etc to rule out other problems, and all have been negative.

Any of these symptoms sound familiar?  I am concerned that I am heading toward a stroke.  Were these warning signs for anyone out there?

Thanks,
Mel   

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for the response.  I saw Dr. Steinberg in Oct 95 and had a zeon test done.  He recommended not having surgery at that time as I had good blood flow.  He did recommend further testing if I was symptomatic or at the 1 year interval. 

What type of side effects do you experience after the surgery?  Did it improve your quality of life?

Mel

Mel,
                 Did you have the testing at 1 year intervals are have you not been tested since 95? You absolutley need to see someone ASAP. They are symptoms you are having like Mar said everyones are different but I'm sure you realize something is going wrong. You need to address this before you have a severe stroke like my daughter did and have to rehab back for years, that too is an individual thing as far as the time frame but trust me you don't want to go there. PLEASE call Dr. Steinberg or Dr. Scotts office immediatlely, it is a very progessive disease and time unfortunately isn't usually on our side with MMD. I don't mean to scare you I just want you to know how important it is to not put this off.
Hope everything works out and we're here for you for any questions or support you need. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
                                            Nancy