In mid-February, 2013, an intense headache began in the back of my head. The same day, I had a sinus cold and found myself sneezing a lot. No matter what kind of medicine I used to help the headache out, it went untouched. Some would call it an unforgettable headache - with the "whoosh-whoosh" sound at every heart beat and pulsating, sharp-stabbing feelings. 10 days passed by with no letting up. On the 10th day, I threw up (sorry for that detail) - which led us to realize this was starting to feel more serious than we thought. We visited an urgent care facility --- and after a CT scan, X-rays, blood work, and EKG, the doctor prescribed me steroids and strong pain meds and diagnosed me with occipital neuralgia (inflamed nerve in neck/head). The pain meds didn't work and steroids made my brain never shut off, but the headache subsided and left me with a stiff neck and some neck pain. Eventually the stiff neck went away.
On March 5th, the day started out normal. A friend called and asked how I was feeling and I replied by saying I felt great! Was the best I had felt in a long time. I took our girls to the grocery store and got half-way through shopping when I started to see spots in my peripheral vision. While thinking that wasn't normal, I continued to the next aisle to realize I couldn't focus down the aisle (tunnel vision), my lips/fingers/hand, etc on the left side were tingling. At this time, both our girls were in the grocery cart - but Macy was standing up and wanting to get down. I quickly grabbed her and set her down on the ground and realized my left side was going limp/numb and I was feeling light-headed, so I sat myself down on the floor. I had no movement left on my left side at all...including my face. I was able to call Loren and alert him that something was definitely wrong with me and I needed him to come get me. Once hanging up with him, I called my mom --- who could hardly make out what I was telling her (slurred speech). During this 20 minute period, Macy thoroughly enjoyed plucking sale price tags in the aisle without her mother stopping her (couldn't). It was amazing to me that only 1-2 people came down that aisle during all this time - the 2nd being a store employee, young lady, who asked if everything was okay. Since I was physically sitting on the floor, I said there was something wrong and my husband is coming for us! She politely got the girls a balloon each for entertainment and went around the corner and kept an eye on me. She had no idea, nor did I, what was occurring!!! With the quick scramble to get the girls off to safe-keeping (thankful for good friends!!), we went back to the urgent care facility where no tests were done. Here's a prescription for steroids again, and a referral to a neurologist! Since I experienced one more tingling/vision disturbance an hour later, we rushed to the ER! During the hour wait, I had slight vision trouble. After a battery of tests there, too (MRI/CT scan/Xray/etc.), they found nothing wrong with me, except ONE doctor (out of 2), felt I had a TIA. The 2nd dr released me after about 9 hours of being there, and said he felt I had migraine activity going on. I was taken off birth control pills (forever) and started on baby aspirin.
This led us to my first neurologist. I was given migraine meds (found it ironic that the 1st symptom listed is headache) and told I had complicated migraines. The doctor was very sure of himself and said "I see this all the time - Trust me - I know what I'm doing!"
In mid-March, we decided to get a second opinion. Doc felt I didn't fit into the migraine category and said that if we wanted answers, it was going to cost us! He ordered a battery of tests - from blood work to TEE (scope down the throat to check my heart)---which was good, to a CTA (CT scan with angiogram which checks blood vessels). The CTA was the only test the insurance didn't want to approve, yet the ONLY thing that proved worthwhile - we were getting answers. Doc said I had 2-3 areas fully blocked in my right Vertebral Artery (artery in neck that supplies blood to the brain). Yes, I HAD A STROKE! I am only a few months in to being 30 years old!!! Yet, we were unsure of the cause/reasoning! This led to getting a lumbar puncture (without sedation - but was able to get 2 valium pills thank goodness) to test for vasculitis. While the test results came back negative, there was the slightest of chances that I could have it, so I was referred to Augusta, GA to see a vascular neurologist. He felt a brain biopsy was not needed - that all my test results showed negative signs of vasculitis - so we now had a diagnosis ---- RIGHT VERTEBRAL ARTERY DISSECTION. Dissection is a tear in the artery lining - and the torn piece collapsed into the artery itself, blocking any blood from flowing through. With there being so little known about dissection, I was a case study at the university/hospital. With some restrictions (no heavy lifting, running a lot, push-ups, sit-ups, etc.) and baby aspirin every day, I was told to return in mid-July for a follow-up appointment and another CTA scan.
The good news that could come out of this:
1. My body could create a whole new blood vessel.
2. The artery could heal itself.
Bad new that could arise:
1. A blood clot could form and release to the brain and potentially kill me - or-
2. A blood clot could form on the outside of the artery, creating a bulge. Not sure what would occur next.
During this waiting period, I only felt a slight pain in my neck that would resemble an ear ache/infection to "headache" in the neck. Literally a "pain in the neck". Just an irritation - not a horrible pain.
LATEST REPORT
Yesterday (July 19), we went back to Augusta to see the vascular neurologist. After having another CTA scan (contract injected) - the results were the same as before. Fully blocked. Now, many are getting confused with the word "blocked". Technical term is "occluded". Meaning no blood is passing through the right vertebral artery. It is not clogged - from too much butter, cheese, fats, good stuff!!! You can think of it as collapsed artery! So, if it hasn't healed in those few months, doc does not feel it will ever change. I can ween off of the baby aspirin, if I desire, and eventually get back to a "normal" routine. I have mild restrictions for life - refrain from whipping my neck, etc. Thankfully, I have no permanent damage from the stroke (minor memory loss possibly). I am thankful for experiences in life, like this, that helps me realize the purpose to life itself, not for life here on this earth! Also thankful for all the help we received through this ordeal. It has been an interesting journey. So, should you hear of anyone experiencing similar symptoms, please alert them to follow through on some important tests. Should we have stopped at the first diagnosis, I would have to assume I had migraines!
PS. Should you or someone you know experience tingling/numbness on one side of your body, slurred speech, or visual disturbance, get to the nearest ER!! Becoming dizzy or light-headed warrants a phone call to a doctor! I hope this information proves helpful to someone else! Enjoy life!
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