Is it Brain Damage or my Damaging Brain? (Need some insight please)

[Tempered Tense]

Disclaimer: I know this post is irrational, absurd, and possibly a bit childish; and I probably sound like a hyperchondriac, but please hear me out.

Question: Is it possible to have a stroke even though you were conscious and fully aware of things throughout the whole event?

Recently, during a disagreement gone sour, my boyfriend strangled me (he was pressing my {carotid?} arteries on the sides of my neck), and I felt dizzy and weak in my right arm afterwards, with a tremendous headache, and was stumbling and incorrectly pronouncing simple words when relating the incident to my mother over the phone about several hours afterwards. ( I also took Ibuprofin which I recently found out is bad to take if you're risking a stroke)

In the course of the next few days, I felt weakness and tingling in my arms and recall having trouble lifting one of them while doing laundry. (it felt very heavy and would only lift so far) I went to the doctor and she said I was fine, and that although I was experiencing acute symptoms, I did not have a stroke, yet how can she be sure? All she did was look at my pupils and test my strength and reaction. Where were these symptoms stemming from if in fact I did not have a stroke? My arms and legs occasionally still have soreness and weakness/tingling sensations which were not there before. She said oxygen was still getting to the brain during the whole incident and that the soreness in my arteries afterward was internal bruising. Is it possible I could have had a minor stroke, and suffered even minimal brain damage that perhaps is undetectable as a result?

I recently asked a question in a medical forum about whether or not it was possible for a person to incur damage to their thought processes and lose their capacity for thought and problem-solving skills due to stroke and a professional responded with this, which really worried me:
"Damage and the subsequent problems with speech, language, and cognition rely entirely on the site and size of the lesion.
Tissue does not regenerate significantly enough to affect functional recovery, unfortunately.
Yes, it is entrirely possible to have damaged reasoning and problem-solving skills. Typically, in the absence of a language deficit, the lesion in that case would most likely be in the frontal lobe of the right cerebral hemisphere."

I acquired no language difficulties or slurred speech after the incident,(nothing that wasn't present before - due to stress) and her answer implied that if there are no language issues, then the damage is most likely present in the frontal lobe and now I am really worried. What functions are associated with the frontal lobe? I do have OCD and tend to ruminate over things like this. It seems my OCD is still intact by the way, (if not more severe) if this this means anything.

All in all, my thoughts have been disconnected. I'm experiencing a flatness of mood, and cannot focus on anything, much less a steady stream of thought. I'm also having problems with memory retrieval (remembering words ect). Could this be brain damage or a psychological issue? And is it possible these symptoms can be psycho-somatic?

 

[Daniel E.]

And is it possible these symptoms can be psycho-somatic?

Certainly. Even blindness can be psychosomatic.

 

[ladylore]

I'm not a doctor so unfortunately I don't have the answer. Did you see your doctor or go to the hospital after this happened. It sounds like it would be a good idea to be checked out, to be on the safe side.

 

[Daniel E.]

Did you see your doctor or go to the hospital after this happened.

Yes, she did see a doctor, as mentioned in her post. Of course, one can always get a second opinion from another doctor.

 

[Tempered Tense]

Thank you for your replies Daniel and Ladylore. I did see a doctore, yet unfortunately I am still not satisfied or rather, relieved. I am experiencing these physical symptoms and cannot get over the magnitude of what happened and the possibilities of damage. I've been researching the issue, and nothing I've read has been comforting, only frightening. I also just don't seem to have the energy or concentration I used to. I feel ,like I lost a part of myself.

 

[Daniel E.]

and a professional responded with this, which really worried me

Of course, that person was not a medical doctor. There are lots of "health professionals" that think they know what they are talking about, but what they are saying, even if true, is often not relevant to the case at hand.

 

[ladylore]

Sorry Tempered Tense - seemed to have missed that detail.

You may be having a reaction to what happened. It must have been a very frightening experience, to say the least. After a trauma or abusive incident, in your case, many people feel unreal or not quite the same as before the incident. Its the body's way of trying to deal with the trauma.

 

[Daniel E.]

Also, since you didn't lose consciousness, I think it's only reasonable what your doctor is telling you. My layman understanding is that even fatal strangulation usually does not cause a stroke per se.

Regarding tingling in the arms, I think the most common cause is something mundane and temporary like a pinched nerve. Personally, I will sometimes get numbness/tingling in my pinky finger from sleeping on my sides, and it sometimes takes several days to go away when a nerve has been affected.

 

[Into The Light]

i am so sorry for what happened, it sounds really frightening.

i think your worrying over this is a very natural reaction. if you are still worrying i would get a second opionion or even a third if necessary.

i would also speak to your therapist if you have one to talk about the incident. it sounds very traumatizing and it quite likely is affecting you physically.

i am also really concerned for your safety. have you considered pressing charges against your boyfriend for assault? i understand that is something that is scary but maybe you could consider it. what are your options for getting out of the relationship? i know that isn't easy either but a boyfriend strangling you could one day be a boyfriend killing you.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I agree that there's nothing wrong with asking for a referral to a neurologist and that may help to relieve your worrying about the symptoms.

However, as has been suggested, all the symptoms you describe could be the result of an acute stress reaction, especially combined with OCD. That doesn't mean the physical symptoms shouldn't be checked out. It may be that your doctor, knowing you have OCD and are a worrier, may be trying to downplay the symptoms as a way of countering those tendencies in you.