DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’ve just hung up the phone after talking to my doctor. He has me scared out of my wits. This morning while reading the newspaper, I couldn’t hold it up. My right arm became weak. In about five minutes, everything returned to normal. I thought I had better call the doctor to see if this was serious.

The doctor thinks I had a ministroke and wants me to have someone take me to the hospital ASAP. I told him I was fine. He said that doesn’t matter. I thought I would drop you a line for your opinion. I trust your judgment. What should I do? — T.R.

ANSWER: I hope you listened to your doctor. You should do exactly what he told you. You have an emergency on your hands. You most likely had a TIA — a transient ischemic attack — a ministroke. Investigation should be taking place as soon as possible — immediately. A part of your brain lost its blood supply for a short time. Even a brief occurrence like the one you describe can cause permanent brain damage. Worse, it is often the foreboding of a complete stroke.

You have to be checked for a blockage in one of your carotid arteries, the large neck arteries that deliver blood to the brain. You have to be examined for a clot in other body locations like the heart. Pieces of those clots can break loose and be carried to a brain artery, where they stop the flow of blood permanently. Atrial fibrillation, a common heartbeat disturbance, is often responsible for such clots.

Numbness, weakness or both of a hand, arm, leg, side of the face or tongue can be a sign of a TIA. Trouble expressing oneself is another sign. So are disturbances of vision. None lasts long, but they are quite significant and serious warnings.

I don’t have important background information on you. I am counting on your good sense to get you to the hospital quickly.

The booklet on stroke, one of our most feared illnesses, covers the topic in detail. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 902, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Does chocolate cause kidney stones? I was told it does. Lately everything I read or hear about chocolate puts it on a par with health foods. Is the stone link true? — B.F.

ANSWER: The most common kind of kidney stone is calcium oxalate. Sources of oxalate include nuts, beets, spinach, tea and chocolate. Doctors might tell their patients who had this kind of stone to go easy with oxalate foods. They don’t have to abstain completely from them, but they might have to cut back a bit.

In the past, people with calcium oxalate stones were put on a calcium-restricted diet. Dietary calcium has little to nothing to do with contributing to these stones. Doctors don’t restrict calcium now.

None of this applies to you. It applies only to those who have had a calcium oxalate stone.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: There’s a swelling behind my left elbow. It’s soft and doesn’t hurt. People ask me what it is. I don’t know. What is it? — K.D.

ANSWER: This is a guess. A doctor has to see it to make the right diagnosis. I’m reasonably sure it’s bursitis — olecranon bursitis. Bursas are round, flat disks about the size of a nickel that lie between tendons and bones. They reduce friction when tendons move across bones. Overuse is one of the reasons bursa fill with fluid.

A doctor can remove the fluid with a needle and syringe and then wrap an elastic bandage around the elbow to prevent the fluid from reforming.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.