The ER doctor is not sure if I had a mini stroke. It happened at night when I lay on my right side to go to sleep. After about 5 mins lying there, the sound in my left ear started to go and it got ‘full’. When I touched my left ear and neck on the left, it was numb. Then it felt light it was spreading down my left side into my arm and somewhat the leg. I could stand and walk, and my face was ok, although also somewhat numb (no drooping). My speech was fine. This all happened within a min, actually more like less than 30 secs.

I went to the hospital immediately. They checked my strength and noticed my left was weaker than right. Eye responses was equal- no issues with smiling or speech. Bloodwork was normal. Blood pressure was ‘high’ for me but within normal range. I was very weak and lightheaded but then I think that I was also tired as the night went into the morning. I have been dealing with fatigue.

I had a CT scan in the morning, which cane back normal. The doctor was hesitant to say much for a diagnosis but said it was like I had a partial TIA. I guess I’m wondering if that’s possible if the CT scan was normal?

Could it be something else? I have extremely tight neck muscles on the left, and I now almost constantly find tingling in my left hand and arm. I also find my left leg- muscle aches primarily. My ENT recently diagnosed me with an eustician tube dysfunction with my left ear. Could the fullness in the ear and then numbing be attributed to muscles and not TIA?

I’m 34 years old, slightly overweight, am a casual smoker (I may have 1 a day when stressed) and I do have a lot of stress in my life at the moment. My job keeps me moving, however I have been neglecting myself in terms of exercise and taking better care. This is a wake up call and I am now taking the right steps- lose weight, no more cigarettes (even if it was just 1 or less a day), and exercise.