Karen Marshall's Stroke
I am a 31-year old female.
Before my vertebral artery dissected, I was generally in good health. (I did have moderately high
cholesterol, however.)
One month before Easter of this year, I removed some suspended ceiling tiles in my basement. Since these
tiles were installed with as little clearance as possible to maximize the ceiling height in our basement,
removing them was a very difficult task. The project would have normally taken approximately 15 minutes,
but, because of the lack of clearance, took me over an hour to complete.
I remember I had a bad headache for a solid week after I removed the tiles. The headache went away by
itself after a week.
Then, the day before Easter, I took an Alka Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (which I later learned contained
phenylpropanolamine--I still have the packaging), and I painted the ceiling in my garage. The next day I
did some yardwork, which wasn't particularly stressful (I was moving gravel from the top of my driveway
downhill via a wheelbarrow and dumping it into a ditch). I quit this project after a short while due to
rain.
Off to Hospital
Shortly afterward, I was rushed to the hospital with stroke symptoms (numbness in my left side, inability
to walk, slurred speech). The hospital conducted several tests, and a MRI done after I was in the
hospital a few days showed a dissected vertebral artery. I was hoping that there was a connection
between my use of phenylpropanolamine and the resulting condition, but RAD informed me via another forum
that there wasn't.
If there was a connection, it would make much more sense to me what had happened to me. I have done much
home improvement work in the past three years (when I wasn't taking a product containing PPA) that would
have caused my neck to move in unusual ways, but I have never had any problems in the past. I have also
gone to amusement parks with my family on many occasions with no ill effects.
Anyway, now I am suffering from various neurological symptoms (known as Wallenberg's syndrome, I believe).
I cannot feel temperature on the right side of my body. Sharp items (such as push pins) do not feel
sharp on the right side of my body. I also suffer from dizziness and headaches, but they might be
related to the Aggrenox that the doctor prescribed to treat the vertebral artery dissection.
Hot Showers
Taking a hot shower used to be one of the best parts of the day for me, but it is not enjoyable anymore
because on the right side of my body the water is neither warm nor cold, just wet.
Can someone tell me??
Can anyone tell me how long the Wallenberg syndrome symptoms will last?
Is it likely that the six months of treatment with Aggrenox will resolve my problem? Also, is there
anything I should be doing (or not doing) to speed my recovery (such as either expose my right side to
hot and cold objects or avoid contact with hot or cold items)?
Is there a high likelihood of a reoccurrence?
Is there anything I can do to prevent a reoccurrence?
I know that recovery will differ for each person, but any personal experiences will be extremely helpful
to me.
