3 weeks post stroke

Hi everybody, I’m 60 and I’m 3 weeks post ischaemic stroke left corona radiata and have recovered most of the power in my right side but i am still troubled with balance issues. When tired I notice the weakness more. Speech was not affected. If I go for a walk or do any light exercise I feel tired and headachy afterwards which creates a lot of worry. As I see lots of people are dealing with the anxiety of another stroke. Finding it hard to get a handle on that to be honest. Would appreciate your feedback. Many thanks.

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Hi @flo99 , welcome to the group, although sorry you have a reason to be here. 3 weeks is very early days for you, try to get plenty of rest. Your body will need time to heal and recover from the trauma. Fatigue and tiredness are very common side affects, your brain is working hard in rewiring itself. Listen to your body and be kind to yourself.

Anxiety and worry of another stroke is a hard one for me too, 3 months post stroke. Ive found it does calm down but the thought is still there somewhere. Hopefully you are on the right medication to prevent another stroke from occuring.

Best wishes :slightly_smiling_face:

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Shwmae @flo99, croeso, many of us are haunted by this fear. Two years on, my brain still flinches whenever I sway off balance or have a moment. It’s the fight or flight instinct very well embedded in our primitive wiring. My youngest son is eight. When I go to tickle him he flinches. That’s our brains reacting to what it perceives to be another threat whether one bearing a physical presence or a mental one. At this time, three weeks, it is a beneficial idea to incorporate some Mindfulness or equivalent meditative techniques you can use to keep anxiety at bay.

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@flo99 welcome to the forum. Sorry you’ve had a reason to join us but hopefully you’ll fund it a useful place to be.

You are in very early days & i suspect your balance & headaches are caused by fatigue & the after effects of your stroke. 15 months on I still suffer both at times & especially if i have overdone it.

Try & find a balance of exercise & rest to allow your brain time to recover.

The feae of another stroke is normal. It should fade in time.

Wishing you all the best on your recovery journey.

Ann x

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Thank you Anisa, Rups and Mrs5k for taking the time to reply. Your kind words are re-assuring. Quite a surprise to realise just how tired I have become with doing so little. I now know if I overdo it today tomorrow I will pay.
Anisa yes on the usual protocol blood thinners and cholesterol drug.
Rups the fight or flight is most evident first thing in the morning I assume with the cortisol getting us up and going.
Ann it’s difficult to know what to expect and to assume these headaches and other issues are normal, they are not very sore just a nagging pressure.
I wish you all well in your journey to recovery.

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Hi @flo99

I consider myself relatively new to all this, but have learnt and adapted well since having a TIA just before New Year 2022. I’m 49.

My speech got knocked but has come back well. But the fatigue is/was a big part. Upon discharge, I was told to ‘rest’ - and for a month. Even whilst resting, I was often busy doing something - but not too much. But since my phased return to work at the beginning of February, I feel the fatigue! Daily sleeps were a must, but which have shrunk. And in the last few days I haven’t felt tired enough to want one - but by bedtime I’m done!

Not aware of things in life which are extra challenges, but rest. It’s still very early for you. Listen to your body and don’t fight anything. Sleep when you need to as well. Small steps all the way.

Jonty.

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Hi @flo99
Welcome to the forum, sorry you had to join us.
3 weeks is very early I’m only 6 weeks post stroke myself.

Sounds like your doing well so far recovering some of your strength in your affected side.

Anxiety seems to be the thing that gets us all on here, you aren’t alone, I came looking for reassurance.
It’s nice and warming to hear others feel the same.
Doesn’t make it go away but helps a little, I’ve found my local mental health team IAPT Sheffield are running an online course called how to manage health anxiety and I’m going to give it a go. Ask you GP or health professionals if there is something in your area too maybe?

I also take great reassurance in knowing that our feelings are totally healthy and expected, I’ve said this before on other posts and I’ll say it again, I think I’d be more concerned if I just shrugged it off and didn’t actually care, as opposed to worry about it.

Take Care
Gem x

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@Jonty @GemA @Mahoney thank you all for taking the time to reply. Rest seems to be the recurring advice which i am taking. At first because i was gaining power and strength back i imagined the rest would follow. But thats really not the case at all. I will follow up with gp to see what there is available locally for the anxiety and fear is for me the worst bit and the foggy brain. Keeping occupied reading and puzzles etc. Physio exercises as well. Funny how there were never enough hours in the day when working now its very different in a positive way. You are quite right @GemA I came here for re-assurance and indeed everybody has been very kind and thoughtful. @Jonty I can empathise with you on the need to rest but keep doing something to pass the time, I think that’s a good thing, stops the rumination. @Mahoney great idea to plan the day instead of doing too much and then paying for it later. Thanks everybody hope you all remain well and will be in my thoughts.

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@Anisa @Rups @Mrs5K sorry i didn’t realise I needed to put the little @ sign before the names in te reply.

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I’m three months post stroke and just a couple of years younger than you, and hopefully can reassure you that, while progress slows over time, it still happens. Like you, my right side recovered quickly, but balance issues persisted. Even three months on, I find any activity that involves anything more than walking is a challenge. My abiding emotion, however, is extreme gratitude for the effects not being worse.
But yes, the fear of a recurrence is front and centre. It does become less of an issue, however, as I do and experience more. It’s just something stroke survivors learn to live with over time.
You’ll be fine, @flo99, just be kind to yourself and keep taking the medication!
Kev

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Hi @kevpartner thank you for your kind words, reading your post I agree entirely I’m also so grateful that this episode has given me a warning to clean up the act. So many others do not have that chance and have to work very hard to recover. Very thankful. Balance is a strange thing, not dizziness just a sense of being a bit wobbly especially on turning even slowly not too bad on a straight path. Thanks @kevpartner your post came on a bad day and I appreciate your time. Taking the tabs!! Keep well on your journey.

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That nagging pressure is quite normal. Same as any other part of your body when it’s physically traumatised in any way, this is how your brain conveys its trauma…well, that’s my interpretation of it. Your brain is also working frantically to correct itself and adapt, it has a lot of work to do, it’s working awfully hard behind the scenes to get your show back on the road.

To do that, your brain is taking in vast amounts of information during your waking hours, learning and relearning old and new, while you’re awake. It’s eaten a huge meal of information and it needs to lie down to digest.
Or a bit like how Microsoft likes to install all new updates overnight while the computer is not in use. So yes, it’s literally under pressure. Unlike you or I, it doesn’t have a waistband to pop the button on to relieve the pressure :laughing:

You’ll be taking frequent naps and long sleeps, and sometimes you might just feel the need to sit and just do absolutely nothing but stare into space! And that’s all good! That’s just your brain making you do what it needs to do, not what you want . . . I want, never gets :wink:

My pressure diminished over time, hopefully yours will too over the coming weeks/few months. I say that as I can’t recall exactly how long it took but I know it was within the early months. Same with the brain fog if you have it.
If the pressure develops into full on pain, or you have any other pain in your head then mention it your doctor.

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Well put @EmeraldEyes :grinning:

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@EmeraldEyes love your analogy
“Or a bit like how Microsoft likes to install all new updates overnight while the computer is not in use. So yes, it’s literally under pressure. Unlike you or I, it doesn’t have a waistband to pop the button on to relieve the pressure” makes perfect sense. Thank you for your helpful post. Take care.
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Thank you Flo, it’s a habit I picked up from my hubby :laughing:

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