So I thought that everyone with cerebral AVMs that bled had a stroke. I recently discovered this isn't true [?] Can someone explain to me the difference between a bleed and a stroke? And, what characterizes a massive stroke compared to a non-massive stroke? And since I'm asking questions....what characterizes a grand mall seizure and/or a petite mall seizure? I know I could Google it, but I'd rather hear real people's descriptions of the differences....also, it's easier to ask than to research it. Thanks.
Well a partial shot about seizures:
Grand Mal seizures are one of about five (IIRC) types of seizures, being the most violent. On TV, if they show a seizure, it's the grand mal, falling down, body flailing, convulsing, etc. I went to the epilepsy foundations website and found this--
"There are many different types of seizures. People may experience just one type or more than one. The kind of seizure a person has depends on which part and how much of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance that produces seizures. Experts divide seizures into generalized seizures (absence, atonic, tonic-clonic, myoclonic), partial (simple and complex) seizures, gelastic seizures, dacrystic seizures, non-epileptic seizures and status epilepticus."
I have no clue what most of those are! If you go to http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org, you can click on each of the types to see more info. My wife had gand mals when her AVM showed up; our son (no avm) had complex partials. We called his 'zone out seizures'. He literally had seizures and if you didn't know him and watch him closely, he could be having dinner with you and you'd never notice he had one. (That happened at a church meal once--our daughter leaned over and whispered "Dad, he's having a seizure." No kidding. The other 5 people at our table eating never new it!
As for the stroke/bleed, not really sure. My guess would be you could have a bleed without stroke if blood wasn't deprived from a vital area. If you don't get blood to a vital area, or if blood flow put enough pressure on critical nerve areas, it would be a stroke.
Hope this helps and those with more knowledge will set me straight.
Ron, KS
LOL Ron, it doesn't help as much as it should! Granted, I did not click the link yet. On my paperwork from my (one and only-that I know of) seizure, it only says non-epileptic seizure condition. My husband says on the night of my seizure, he was awake as he had just put the baby down from his 3am feeding when he heard me talking very loudly. He turned around and said I "literally did a spring board jump out of bed" after which, I laid back down and began convulsing violently. He was a security manager type person at a resort/hotel either in is teens or early twenties and was required to take classes for CPR and other medical emergency situations like seizures and overdoses. So, he tried holding my tongue (something they now say is unnecessary, you cannot swallow your own tongue), I'm not sure how, but I bit him pretty good. I didn't wake up until I was in the ambulance more than halfway to the ER. I didn't know my name, where I was or the last thing that happened. As far as I knew....there was no last thing. Then the EMS guy asked if I had kids. It took me a minute but then I slowly nodded my head. He asked me their names and I began to cry. I didn't know my first son's name but that wasn't the worst part....I didn't know I had two kids. They gave me a script for Keppra (the generic of course) and sent me home (I think I had a CT scan, not too sure). For the follow-up, I got almost no answers except that it might have been a fluke since my brain was going through so much (i.e, stroke 5 or 6 months earlier, 2 embos within the first month post CVA, a crani the 2nd month post CVA and then a baby 3.5 months after the crani.) So, my brain had been a little strained LOL. Plus, they said that considering my "situation" the fact that my hormones were trying to get back in check might have been the main factor/cause of the seizure. So, I'm not sure what kind of seizure I had:( I was just curious. Complex partials....before my stroke, I have always had moments, like seconds, of my life that I don't remember. BUT, admittedly, I've always been a very heavy stoner/pothead and just always said "I think I just lost another brain cell" "Why, Kristi?" "I think I just zoned out, I don't remember what I was just thinking about." Maybe they were seizures [?] I've always wondered before I knew of my AVM but never said anything because I kind of just blamed it on the pot I refused to quit smoking until my second pregnancy, which oddly enough, is when I had my stroke. Related? I'd hate to speculate.
As for the stroke....I had read recently "Cerebral AVM's bleed, which can/may lead to a stroke. So that made me curious LOL. I, without a doubt, had a stroke:( at 27:(. I know this because there was brain damage, as to its extent or state of permanence is completely unknown to me and every doctor I have seen.
Last night I was looking online for some PT exercises to do at home, either passive or not, and I discovered that not all hemiparetic cases caused by stroke are permanent and even if they are permanent they are not classified that way and are titled as "chronic hemiparesis." This disturbed me as if I was an MS patient hearing DR. Oz telling people MS does not exist. I really dislike that clinicians think and treat every disorder/disease as if they are all the same when they do "research" and write reports. When people like myself have limited resources and rely mostly on the internet for information, it creates confusion. And to be frank, I'm very easy to confuse nowadays.
My apologies for my long response:)
This link might answer your question…http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TYPE
Thanks Barbara! I can always count on you for a good link! I know my stroke was an intracerbral stroke because I remember seeing the word on the paperwork they made me hold while they wheeled me up to my wing where I would spend the night before my crani. I only had a couple of minutes to glance at the many very large/long words before I handed the packet over to the nurses at the station of my wing. And I know it was a Hemorrhagic stroke because I was given Motrin for pain after I had the baby months later. There's a stroke warning with Motrin that I asked my Dr. about. He said I had a Hemorrhagic stroke which meant that I was at no bigger risk for stroke with Motrin than any "normal" person would be.
While your link is very informative....I'm still not sure of the difference between a "bleed" and a "stroke." The way I see it....any bleed in the brain is a stroke but I guess Ron's response makes sense. I had bled enough to form a 3x3cm puddle near the basal ganglia which means some part of the brain was deprived of blood...meaning a stroke (by Ron's description). In the hospital, they said that anything touching the brain is traumatic to the brain, including brain surgery which is why they try to avoid touching the brain as much as possible. So I assumed all bleeds are a stroke as (the way I imagine it) anything bleeding into/on/from the brain would have no other choice but to touch the brain to some degree. Wouldn't that make it traumatic? And wouldn't that cause a stroke??? This is where I get confused!!!!!!!!
I was told i had a brain hemmorahage and that is a 'type' of stroke. Luckily thank God i didnt have any stroke like symptoms after my bleed. I know when i was in hospital i was in the Stroke Wards so from what i was told its a bleed that occurs inside the brain vs a bleed outside the brain. The inside of the brain bleed is a stroke...both are life threatening none the less. God bless
Barbara's link offers the best expanation. I was told that all bleeds are hemorrhagic strokes.
I saw where the link explained the different types of strokes but the thing I read that got me to thinking about the difference between a bleed and stroke was the whole "may lead to a stroke" part. It makes sense how Adrian explained it but I guess it's how you view it, Idk. I had a stroke in my teeny brain, I have the effects, though not on my face. I think it was massive because unlike sooooooo many others on this site....I am still left with more than just mild weakness on my left side and it's been over a year. I can twitch my big toe, curl my fingers though not very tight and when I cry, my left face cries first. So, I think it was a massive bleed. I think it was a grand mal seizure because I was convulsing, had no recollection of anything for about an hour after I was once again conscious, and then slept for a day and a half straight, was in bed for about 2 days total. I guess I should ask my neurologist next visit LOL