I totally agree with the topic today of Stroke.  It happened to me at the age of 39. The feelings had started 3 days before the actual speech defect of the stroke started happening.  I had boiled the dizziness and episodes as head cold / ear infection and I was taking anything from cold medicine to gravol hoping it would help with the dizziness.  That Monday I went into work went outside for a cigarette – tried to get up and walk but couldn’t.  The feeling was like being in a deep end of a pool and being sucked into the water from the right side.  I waited outside till one of my co workers came out to see if I was ok because I was gone for awhile — I asked her to help me to my desk because I wasn’t feeling well.  When I got there someone came up to me and asked what was wrong and said that the color of my face was grayish blue – I still denied that something bad was wrong but wanted to go to the Dr`s – ended up in emergency as my speech was gone and was diagnosed with a stroke on the left side of my brain.  I had the inclination that it was happening but didn’t want to admit it.  I was lucky as it was caught in the first three hours and they were able to dissolve the clot before getting to the MRI if it wasn’t for going to the emergency room when I did I could have been paralyzed on my right side and speech would have been gone with it.  Bottom line is know your body when something is wrong and don’t ignore it as it could be deadly or paralization!!  I am 98% better as I can fully walk n talk but when I get tired I start to stutter a bit – with physio I learnt to recognize not to push myself to that point and to stop n relax!

I’m glad that you are doing better since your stroke. When I feel tired, anxious sometimes I worry because for a woman thats a sign of a heart attack. My doctor says that my heart is good, but I still worry because I’m diabetic, and I have also suffer from hypertension, sleep apnea, and I have hypothyroidism too. One good thing is I don’t smoke or drink.

I am glas that you brought this up..4 years ago i has a stroke…the only sympton i has was a tingling in my cheek..I had no weakness in my limbs, no vision problems, no speach problems. They did tell me that my smile wasoff a slight bit.  I drove myself to the hospital, (the whole time…how stupid was I) I was smoking a cigarette.I walked into one of the first designeated stroke centers in San Francisco.  4 years later..no smoking, more walking, feeling good, but people look at my like I am not telling the truth.  Except that i have the scare on the side of my neck to prove it ….If you don’t feel right call and get it checked