Cholesterol and stroke Worried about my mum :(

[kirstynic]

So if I am not worried about me a I am worried about people I love which is actually more worrying.

A few weeks ago my mum had 20 minutes of partial blindness in her right eye. Her sight returned after 20 minutes and she had no more symptoms, other then her eye aches sometimes. She went to the doctor who ordered blood tests and also for her to have tests done by a eye specialist optometrist. She saw the eye doctor last week and her field of vision had completely returned and all other tests clear. Her right eye showed slight pressure problem meaning she could develop glaucoma.


Her bloods have come back and her cholesterol is high it's 7.5! Her breakdown levels are hdl level is 2.6 and LDL is 4.4.


She also smokes and after googling I am so so worried that sher vision loss was actually a TIA a warning mini stroke which means she will have a full stroke soon. She is otherwise feeling ok tho still getting a slight eye ache. The optometrist thinks my mums vision loss was a migraine or caused by the pressure in her eye but I am so scared its something worse much worse. The doctor is seeing her next week and will probably put her on cholesterol tablets but I am scared.

[nomorepanic]

This happened to my mum's friend and they were worried about a TIA but sent her for an MRI scan and nothing was found so they could find no reason at all for it.

I guess these things can happen for no reason at times so try not to worry too much please.

[kirstynic]

Hi Nicola was it the same sort of vision loss. I think I prefer having myself to worry about as I don't care about me as much as the people I love.

---------- Post added at 20:05 ---------- Previous post was at 19:20 ----------

Anyone else have any reassuring words?????

[nomorepanic]

My mum said that her friend went completely blind and had some sort of fit that lasted a few minutes then came round and then her vision came back not long after. It really scared my mum.

[kirstynic]

Oh I bet that was scary and they found no cause? xxx

[nomorepanic]

Nope - they did blood tests and an MRI scan and found nothing wrong and she has been fine ever since.

[nomorepanic]

Ok I asked my mum about this and she actually knows of 3 people that have gone blind temporarily.

1 - she could only see partially and it was all dazzles and flashes sort of thing - this was migraines

2 - she went blind for a day - this was a problem with her pituitary gland

3 - the friend I mentioned above - this was parathyroid causes by too much calcium in the body.

As your mum only had partial blindness in one eye it could well be migraines.

My mum said you need to get your mum to see the doctor so he can do blood tests, scans etc if he/she feels they are necessary

[Patsta]

Hi Kysrtinic,
I just read your post and felt I had to reply. Last week the same thing happened to mum, and it also got me really worried. I got a call from my dad in the morning saying your mum's not well call an ambulance. I freaked! She hadn't been feeling well the day before, felt dizzy, weak, and eyesight blurry. She rested for a while and was ok. The next morning is when I got the call from my dad. I called the ambulance and raced down there, got there before the ambulance did. She was conscious and talking, but dad said that for about 5 minutes she couldn't talk, just mumbling very loud as if trying to talk but couldn't get the words out. He immediatley thought she was having a stroke. My mum has a pacemaker, smokes, takes blood thinning medication and had stopped this medication 5 days prior to have 3 teeth pulled out. So ofcourse we all thought the worst. It turned out she was ok, a CT scan showed everything to be clear, and they don't know what caused this or even what it was, they said that it could have been a TIA (mini stroke), but that does not necessarily mean that she is going to have a stroke! My mother has been under a great deal of stress over the last few months and I think that contributed to her episode.....I like you was worried sick....and have since started back on my meds for anxiety as I can't cope with the thoughts going round in my head.
Its probably wise not to google what happened, it will only do your head in more, just stick to what the doctors and ask them all the questions.
I wish you all the best, keep us posted
Cheers
Patty

[kirstynic]

Thank you for taking the time to reply I hope your mum is doing ok now. Is there anyway they can diagnose a TIA or did they say what the symptoms would be? My mum literally had the vision loss she beant down to pick a box up then looked at the computer and had visual loss in part of her right eye it returned 20 minutes later and her only other symptom has been eye pain and discomfort

---------- Post added at 21:33 ---------- Previous post was at 20:47 ----------

Oh and high cholesterol and she smokes toI hate this health anxiety and as much as I don't like my ha being focused around me I prefer that then it being around others I would rather be poorly then the people I love

[Patsta]

Kirstynic, I know what you mean about your anxiety being focused around yourself rather than the people we love. My mum is doing well now, her blood work is great after starting the warfrin again, she has an appointment for an ultrasound next week, they just wanted to check the arteries in her neck etc.....but I seen to think that what she experienced was a result of the pressure and stress she has been under over the last few months. She has stopped smoking...(for now...with the help of patches) my brother and myself have made a conscious effort to do the same, if no one smokes around her, then she can't. My mum suffered with a headache for a couple of days after her episode, but she is doing really well now. I don't think there is anyway they can diagnose a TIA, my mums CT scan came back clear!
How is your mum doing now? What have the doctors said?

[kirstynic]

My mum feels fine she just had that episode with the vision loss but was fine after she just gets an ache in that eye sometimes she was referred to an optometrist who did eye exams and everything was clear part from her glaucoma test which showed a low to medium risk she is now being reffered to a opthromolist to have more tests on her eyes. They have said the vision loss was probably a migraine tho she don't suffer from these. The blood tests showed her cholesterol was high and she is getting tablets for that today and having blood pressure done next week. I just can't stop worrying tho and doctors never even mentioned a TIA. When I asked the eye doctor he said he would have expected more symptoms or something to have shown in her field of vision test. But I have of course been on google on am sure I know better reading that symptoms of a TIA dissapear within 24 hours.

[Patsta]

Its great that your mum feels fine now and taking the medication for her cholesterol should put your mind at ease a little. Try not to jump to conclusions about what happened by reading up on things on google, it only does YOU more harm than good. If you are happy with her doctor then just put your trust in him/her, if you are not happy with them, then look aroung for someone else that you and your mum are more comfortable with. If the doctors never mentioned TIA then where did you get that idea from? I know with my mum, her symptoms were that of a TIA, but the paramedics who came to the house said that it was very unlikely. Her CT scan came back clear, although she has follow up appointments at the TIA clinic, probably due to the fact that she has a pacemaker, is on warfrin and has an irregular heart beat. If your mums only symptoms were loss of vision in one eye, it very well could have been a minor migraine, as that too is a symptom of migraines. Has your mum been under a lot of stress lately? How old is she?

[kirstynic]

She is 53. She isn't under major stress but stresses out about silly things like work housework. I don't have faith in my mums doctor he has been her doctor for 25 years but I would like her to change doctors. I rarely feel reassured by doctors tho so am not the best to judge but I don't know I guess it's just because he reffered her to an eye specialist and did bloods when google told me she should have scans etc.

[Patsta]

Is your mum willing to change doctors? Maybe you should just ask her to seek a second opinion, just to ease your mind a little as well....there is no harm in that....I know what you mean about mums stressing out about silly things like housework....my mum does the same....and I find at times, I also do the same, although having suffered from anxiety for the last 10 years, I find at times I'll just say " stuff it...I don't care if the house is not clean!"
With my mum, the paramedics that came to the house were great.....they told her she was fine, but if she wanted to they could take her to Emergency Dept at the hospital to be checked out a little further.....we didn't give her a choice...we just told her she was going! At the hospital, they were unsure if they were going to so a CT scan, they thought it didn't warrant it, but they did one anyway, which eased our minds when it came back clear. With TIA though, I think.(not sure) scans usually come back clear as there is really no damage done at all....thats why they call them a mini-stroke.
My sister-in-law had a TIA when she was pregnant with her 3rd child, at the age of 35-36.....she was fine...never had any problems after that.
I'm sure your mum will be fine....just see if she can get a second opinion....just for peace of mind!
Good luck:D

[kirstynic]

Thank you again. Well her doctor is the only one in the practice so if she wants a second oppinion which I don't think she does but I do them she has to change practice which could take a little while. The optometrist did a thorough check on her eyes and visual fields and she is being reffered to an opthromolist another eye doctor so it seems that they believe it was nothing to worry about its just her eye pressure test showed low to medium glaucoma or risk. I just am awful at the moment constantly texting or ringing my mum to see if she is ok I haven't told her what I read on the Internet because I don't want to worry her. Do you know much about statins for cholesterol?

[nomorepanic]

I am on a statin and my cholesterol is perfect now

[kirstynic]

Hope it works her HDL was really good 2.6 but needs to get her LDL down 4.4

---------- Post added at 16:42 ---------- Previous post was at 16:12 ----------

Can it prevent stroke to?

[nomorepanic]

Strokes are to do with the brain not the heart and I would have thought that cholesterol doesn't have much to do with the brain (I could be wrong). Lowering your cholesterol lowers the risk of heart problems in the future.