signs of a stroke?

[filthiestfis]

A couple of days ago my mum went to visit my grandma and found that overnight she had changed all her medicines from their boxes and switched all the plugs off and also placed the fan heater next to the toaster. When asked why she did all this she could not remember and was feeling very confused.
Could this be a sign of a mini stroke? Has anyone heard of such a thing happen before?

[Mamyalynne]

Sounds more like confusion, difficult to say, what is her age and is she on any new meds?

[Mamyalynne]

Sorry you already mentioned confusion, has she lost any mobility or power of speech?

[ELVIS68]

Doesn`t sound like a stroke, sounds more like alzheimers

[rachael88]

my great nana forgets things and it sounds like something what she would do

[filthiestfis]

But this was com pletely random. Yes, she is 93, but she is alright in the head except for this incident. No loss of mobility or power of speech. We think it may be dehydration.

[Clanad]

A simple test for stroke detection was described here in the U.S. recently. Doctors described three things to do to recognize someone who has experienced stroke:
1. As the person to "see their teeth"... in other words, smile. Stroke victims cannot smile in a coordinated way and one side of the face always droops.
2. Ask the person to close their eyes and raise both arms straight in front of them. again, stroke victims cannot raise botha rms equally level.
3. Lastly, the suspected victim was asked to repeat simple sentence, such as, "Don't cry over spilt milk". Stroke victims can't cope with the multi-syllables.

97% of untrained individuals were able to accurately detect stroke in victims using these simple tests.

The confusion can be the result of senile dementia, but the symptoms of that malady are usually diagnosed well before a sudden onset.

[crisgal]

my nana had alzheimers, and i'm sorry to say, it started with the odd unexplained incident and unusual behaviour.
i really hope your grandma doesn't have it, but I think you should maybe ask to speak to her doctor, when you get chance. ♥

[karenmac60]

My grandpa used to have wee turns where he would suddenly forget things (once he forgot who my auntie was and couldn't remember anything about her). It turned out he had ischemic heart disease and pernicious anemia. I'm not sure which was causing the turns, but they were both diagnosed at the same time. He had a pacemaker fitted for the heart problem and got vitamin B injections for the anemia and he was back to his old self after a few years of these turns.
http://en.wikipedia.o...schemic_heart_disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pernicious_anemia

[ELVIS68]

No loss of mobility or power of speech means it`s not a stroke, my nan was 84 she was "right in the head" if you include walking the dog at 2 in the morning in her dressing gown, she thought it was normal

Keep an eye on her

[filthiestfis]

but could it not have been a "mini stroke"?

[karenmac60]

It could also be dehydration. A friend's mum started telling my friend she's been talking to her dead husband and wouldn't be convinced this wasn't possible. She was admitted to hospital for a few days on a drip and was fine. She had a urine infection and dehydration.

[Mamyalynne]

Dehydration can indeed cause confusion and is very common in the elderly

[crisgal]

my mum had a mini stroke and found it difficult to say simple words.
Her eye drooped and remained that way.
it doesn't sound like your grandma had any of the physical symptoms.
I would do as Elvis says x

[ladyalex]

It might be an infection.
Often the first sign of an infection, say a urinary infection or a chest infection, in old folk is confusion which comes and goes.
I'd get grandma checked out.
These symptoms really don't sound like a stroke....her movement is OK, her speech is OK.
Clanad has given you an excellent checklist for stroke and it sounds as though Grandma can do everything she should be able to.

[Sqad]

Not a stroke, mini or otherwise:

Dehydration is a good bet, followed by one of the senile dementias.

The question is:Is she safe to live alone?

See your GP

[angiealf]

There is an ad on TV running at the moment showing what to look for.
F.A.S.T
Face. Does one side of the face droop, can they smile?
Arm. Ask them to raise both arms. If only one goes up - indicates possible parlasis.
Speech. Ask them questions. If they find it difficult to talk - another indication.
Time. Time is the essence, 999 ASAP. the quicker they get medical treatment more of the brain will be saved.