headaches = stroke?

[Portia]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/74107/

Good sleuthing. The story alarmed me because the symptoms sounded an awful lot like a stroke (numbness, unconsciousness). Anyone else wonder?

[NerdGirl]

Could have been a stroke (or a TIA), or possibly some kind of seizure (in which case dude should have been seeing a neurologist and doing things like not driving while they sorted it out) or even a brain tumor. That is a really concerning set of symptoms and if someone looses consciousness and it's never happened to them before, they should go to the ER. And a new onset of headaches like that in someone who has not had them before is a huge red flag. It's a nice feel-good story and all, but this guy should have been getting medical attention (and he makes no mention of doing so). I really hope it is a story that happened to him a long time ago, and not a story that happened recently, because if it is recent, he could actually have a serious medical problem.

[Eirene]

Yeah, a TIA was my first thought as well, but after thinking about it, I might lean towards a provoked seizure+headache type thing, caused either by a tumor or by an acute-to-chronic bleed. I also think it's pretty concerning for a nonepileptic spell. My long shot guess might be an atypical migraine, which can present with occasional hemiparesis and inconsistent auras with the headache and whatnot. I want a better history! And some head imaging!

But really, I hope the guy got some kind of medical evaluation, because his story is more than a little suspicious for a big ol' brain tumor.