Problems with speech

Thanks everybody I had a message from my cousin today and she thinks that yesterday she might have forgotten her medication. She seems OK today and won't be contacting her doctor. If it was me I certainly would but can't persuade her otherwise. Not sure what they could do in case of a TIA.

It needs investigating, if it was me I’d have a word with the dr

I was very fortunate after my TIA just to have vertigo---for about 6 months in all but I battled through okay and hadn't realised I'd had one until a scan showed up. Possibly because I'm on blood-thinners and statins which saved me from a fate worse than death, which I'm forever grateful for.

TIA's can happen frequently without you always realising.

My nephew as a child used to suffer from petit-mal seizures and went through all kinds of tests etc. I don't know what the end result was but I know there were no warnings and down he went for minutes, no shaking or any other symptoms and when he came to he hadn't remembered anything. It wasn't diagnosed as epilepsy.

The specialist had said at the time he'd grow out of it which he did for most of his adult life then a few years ago, they started up again and at 6' 6" a hefty man to go down. He wasn't allowed to drive for a year and had another in the mean-time. Not sure what medication he takes. He's now 50.

A TIA can cause dysphasia. (Aphasia would be total loss of language.) It happened several times to my grandmother after TIAs. Worrying at the time but resolved fairly quickly until the next time. Its a pity that it's not so easy to be assessed right now.

Cherry your answer is very I formative. She's been on anti epilepsy medications since she was a teenager. She has the minor sort, i.e. She doesn't collapse to the ground just absent for a short while. Yes it was a written message as she lives abroad, it didn't make much sense. Hoping to hear from her today and hopefully she has called her doctor. Thanks all.

I could be a TIA but there are other possibilities that I can think of but more information is required to assess whether this is the case.
You say that your cousin is on epilepsy medication. May I ask whether she has epilepsy or whether she is on that medication for another reason?
May I also ask how long she has been on this medication?

Besides a TIA two other possible reasons spring to mind:
a) she may be experiencing a side effect from the medication, either an early reaction if the medication has been recently prescribed or because she has been on the same medication for a prolonged period. It can be a side effect of some epilepsy medications.
b) if she does have epilepsy it is possible that she has developed aphasia. This is not uncommon, although the % of people with epilepsy who are affected is not high.

It does worry me when you say that she left you a jumbled up message. You do not say if it was a spoken or written message. If it was a written message it is less likely that she was experiencing a period of aphasia since it can be "worked around" in writing. If it was in writing it is much more indicative of a TIA.

I do suggest that medical advice be sought as soon as possible.

She sounds exactly like my Dad who had several TIA's on the way to developing vascular dementia.
He never became terribly confused, but lost his words, and would whistle when he couldn't remember the word he was searching for.
A GP needs to be consulted.

Certainly sounds like a TIA. She should speak to GP