Question: Hello,
Good morning. I hope you can help me.I am a 45 y/o non-smoking, non-drinking, low bp (90/60- my normal), great oxygen female w/ high cholesterol- 193 bad one, 60 good one on Simvastatin 40 mg daily- w/ long time hx of migraines. Total hyst in '05 for anemia, fibroids, pain. Recently after a prolonged, severely painful headache I went to my GP. Dx- viral infection- told to rest & drink plenty of fluids. After 1 week of no improvement taking my sumatriptan as prescribed- I mentioned the headache to my gyn @ a follow-up for hormone-related recurrent uti. (Other than headache, bp was 135/88) After my appt, she urged me to visit Urgent Care since her office is in a hospital. She was concerned. I went down & was in a room- within minutes- had an iv & was scheduled for a head ct. I was given reglan, toradol & zofran which slowly took the pain level down but never away. The non-contrast states "no acute loss of gray white matter differentiation. No mass or midline shift. Subtle hypodensity in left basal ganglia along the external capsule & pitamen of unclear chronicity. Moderate cerebral atrophy more than expected for patients stated age. No intracranial hemorrhage or extra-axial fluid. Cerebral volume loss- more than expected for patients age. Paranasal sinuses- clear; Mastoid air cells- clear. Orbits- No gross abnormalities visualized. Vessels: Minimal calcific atherosclerosis is seen. Calverium- no lesions seen. No fractures. Soft tissues appear normal." IMPRESSION- Hypodensity in the basal ganglia of unclear etiology or chronicity. Suspect a lacunar infarct of unclear chronicity given location and morphology. Further evaluation with contrast-enhanced MRI is highly recommended to better evaluate these findings. Generalized cerebral & cerebellar atrophy more than expected given patients age. Primary Dx Code- SIGNIFICANT ABNORMALITY, ATTN NEEDED.
I was discharged assuming it was just a horrible migraine & the next day was being scheduled for a neuro appt & an MRI for tomorrow. Can you please explain to me what this means in general terms?

Thank you kindly, Doctor, for your timely reply. I have spoken w/ my urologist who wants me to consult with a nephrologist about my recurrent uti & recurrent kidney stone hx. He read the CT report and concerned me as he mentioned a possible stroke. I left the appt confused as I was not told the report was abnormal. Is it true that I may have suffered a stroke from the available info? Please be honest. Thank you.

Dr. XXXXXXX
By clinical deficit, if you mean excessive fatigue, blurred vision in both eyes, a feeling as if my hearing was distorted- like my ears were full of cotton...plus the blinding headache (9/10) that never responded to sumatriptan- ALL of these symptoms I DID have on 7/3 at the clinic. Plus, my bp was high for me 130s/80-90s- no doubt from the pain. I have had on-going balance issues, assumed relative to my bradycardia. Memory isn't great either. No numbness or pain on either side of my body ever but I do get XXXXXXX horses regularly for no apparent reason. So I should not worry tonight and try to sleep? (because I am depressed and exhausted) Again, my best to you. Thank you for your expertise.
tlm in fl