My moms lefthand has swollen like a Mikey Mouse hand and her left side is tingling....her face, arm, and leg -

My mom had a mini stroke 3 months ago. She has very high blood pressure but she is on major meds for that. Her blood pressure is 147/85 . In the last three months my mom has under gone every test that Kaiser knows about to figure out why she is tingling in her her left side of her face, arm, and leg. They finally said they can do nothing more for her and to just come back in six month. Meanwhile, my Mom is constantly tingling in her legs and it sometimes goes into her arms and face. I am VERY worried about my Mom. She is 55 and has a history of hypertension where it reached 210/109 and she has high cholestrol too. I want her to be seen at UCLA but I do not know if Kaiser will pay for a second opinion. Has anyone being dealing with these health issues or have known anyone that have had these similar issues. Any help or direction would be greatly apprieciated. I am sooooo close with My Mom and I am very worried about her. Thank you so much any help you can give me.

If you live in the United States, you can contact the Insurance Commision of you state to help you with Kaiser. Call ANY insurance company (but Kaiser) and ask them about the state insurance commision where you can make complaints against insurance companies. DON T give them ANY more info than you absolutely HAVE to to get the phone number you are seeking. DON T name names or anything like that and up to the drs to make sure the meds don t react to each other. ALWAYS ask the pharmacist about ALL of her meds to see if they can react. Sometimes pharmacists know MORE about meds than the drs who are prescribing them. I, too, am very worried about your Mom. She DOES need a LOT more testing done to get to the bottom of this. In the mean time, have her review ALL medications she is taking with ALL of her doctors to see if some of this is medication reactions. If it turns out that that is what it is her medications should be changed, but it s up to her to tell ALL of her drs what ALL of her meds are. Hope this helps.

I think she should see a physician that, knows about strokes

Has she been checked for MS? Tingling, especially in legs, is a commom symptom.

Diet and exercise, watching what she eats may help and she may need to get a second opinion.

I don t know anything about your insurance situation, and I may be naive, but I thought everyone is entitled to a second opinion. I know that even if you have an HMO you can make a case to have medical care from a doctor not on their plan, if your doctor has not done the job. All that swelling is particularly disturbing as it could indicate peripheral edema or congestive heart failure. I wpuld insist they have a look at her right away, so it doesn t get dangerously worse. It s wise of you to trust your own instincts on this. A lot of doctors are fine, but many just see their patients as an assembly line producing cash for them. They don t really bother to try to help them. It s very sad. Does the UCLA hospital have an ER? Do they accept Kaiser? Is there anyone you can call who helps people deal with medical insurance issues? We have a woman who helps us here in New Jersey for about $800 a year. It is a specialty business, well worth the money. In any case, I wish you and your mother well. I hope it is nothing more serious than needing an adjustment to her blood pressure meds. I don t want to panic you, but I would get going on this now.

You are wise to seek a second opinion if there has been no resolution to this problem!! You have to be aggressive and firm with these health care companies these days especially when your mom still has these trobling symptoms. I have no personal experience with these specific symptoms but you really should get her to UCLA if you can. You might also consider alternative medicine. IF the hypertension is the root casue of the physical symptoms then perhaps there are some regimes like accupuncture that would help. Not trying to diagnosis here! I am not qualified, clearly. BUT I can feel your concern and anxiety and think you are a wonderful daughter to be so proactive in the care of your mom. Prayers and best wishes!

sounds to me like she is not having just 1 mini-stroke, sounds like she is having series of mini strokes, that could possibly leading to a big one, and surely kaiser will pay for a second opinion because that Dr sounds like he is quot;offquot;... check out her heart, or blood clots, her a damaged nerve even (the more i think about it, the more possibilities are coming)... get a second opinion definitely.. good luck with your mother, God Bless

Oh my goodness. I know you must be scared. Let me give you a hug. It is going to be ok. I had one thought. If this becomes a case where you need some support to get that second opinion, then try your local Congress representative. Call their office. Ask to speak to them. Tell them you live in their district and need help. It is a long shot, but sometimes these politicians like to do things to help people to show that they care for the folks back home. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease: so don t be shy in speaking up. And if you all are religious, by all means go talk to your priest, minister or rabbi. They can sometimes make referrals and offer help, perhaps to help you get some other local physician to at least look over her medical records.