Today has been a bad one, by the afternoon I am always tired since my stroke in mid December. It is all so frustrating having been fit and active before, now a short walk and a couple of chores and Im done. No follow up at the stroke clinic until March isnt helping. I cant stop the tears today. Has anyone else experienced this emotional roller coaster?
2 Likes
I find that this is often the case with me. The last few years post stroke have been a learning process. I have learned how to plan my days to allow for this fatigue. My general plan is to do any physically active jobs in the morning then more sedentary activity (such as this) after lunch. If I am out all day (eg. hospital appointment) then I find I need the whole of the following day to be set aside for relaxing sedentary activities.
2 Likes
All sounds very normal based on my and lots of others experience on the forum.
Not all bad days,can be turned into good days so naybe just accept this one and look forward to tomorrowā¦
1 Like
@Ktrean60 yes it seems what youāre experiencing is normal for most of us. I usually do most of my activities in the morning then rest in the afternoons. Like @sunnyday if I have to go out then the day after is always a resting day & often the day before has to be too.
You will probably find on some occasions the need to rest comes from nowhere. Just go with it & hopefully the next day will be a better one.
You are in very very early days yet. 2 months after my stroke I found I was sleeping most of every other day. It should improve for you over the coming months. Stroke recovery requires lots of patienceā¦something iām rubbish at but have learnt I need to be.
Hope tomorrow is a better day for you.
Ann x
2 Likes
I completely empathise with what you describe. before my stroke last year, I was very fit , running 10k+ most days and am now limited to just long walks as my āexerciseā (as advised by my cardiologist ). In my case it is the frustration at not being able to do what I could previously (and having put on 12kg in the year since my stroke) which weighs on me emotionally. I also find that this has made me even āgrumpierā than I was before and so has had an effect on my family. I am having weekly sessions with a psychotherapist to talk these feelings through, which I find is a great benefit.
2 Likes
@KeithP63 welcome to the forum but sorry youāve had a stroke.
I was a runner pre-stroke too. Used to run 5 - 7.5k 3/4 times a week. Now I struggle to walk. It does take some accepting doesnāt it. Glad youāre getting some help with your emotions & maybe in time the cardiologist might give you the ok to run a little again.
2 Likes
Hello @KeithP63, It is very frustrating, especially when you have been used to doing more. It is a big adjustment.
1 Like
Thank you Loraine, you always give good advice. I need to be less impatient and accept the situation I am in now.
2 Likes
I having been feeling exactly the same way. My stroke was on New Yearās Eve yet in the past few days I have been bursting into tears for no good reason! I canāt seem to get a hold of my emotions. Itās worse whenever someone is nice to me or sympathetic - it just reduces me to sobbing!
Last night for the first time since my stroke I slept better than usual and for the first time the headache Iāve had every morning since the stroke had gone! It felt like a weight had been lifted. Itās afternoon now and Iām very tired again, my headache has returned but only as a shadow of its former self. Clearly sleep is what I need, though getting it is very difficult. (My husband has dementia and I have restless legs and back pain)
Iām told being emotional after a stroke is normal. Iām hoping this phase passes quickly! Though my overwhelming feeling at this stage is gratitude, I am thankful that I have survived the stroke relatively unscathed, compared to so many, especially my own closest relatives!
1 Like
Hello @Songbird1 welcome to the forum and sorry you have had a stroke. It is very hard to balance rest and activity and most of all getting enough sleep. I think the emotional effect is huge so its no wonder we are sometimes reduced to tears. I spoke to a lady from my local Stroke association group and she said the mental effects of a stroke can be under estimated and can affect you even if you have few physical effects. I am trying short meditations over the day which are helpful. She also said it is important to pace yourself and not overdo things (something I am not very good at). It sounds like you have alot on your plate already without stroke recovery. This is a good place to talk and get advice. Sending you best wishes for your recovery x
2 Likes
@Songbird1 echoing other comments it appears very normal to lose control of emotions post stroke. I cant watch sad adverts, or charity appeals or aeeing hospital programmes on TV etc.
Very strange but very normal after a strokeā¦ tissues are always close by and i was deffo not an emotional bloke before my stroke in may 22.
2 Likes
I donāt get that much more emotional - always used to cry at the cinema etc (and my grandchildren still laugh at the way I cried at āEncantoā ) anyway, but I find it more difficult to contain my emotions these days - including the giggles which I now get at inappropriate times
3 Likes
@Songbird1 welcome to the forum. Sorry youāve had a stroke. As everyone has said being emotional is quite common after a stroke. I was very emotional for first few months. I still get emotional but not as often now.
Glad a hood nights sleep helped your headache.
Wishing you & your husband all the best.
Ann x
1 Like
Sorry to read about your stroke in December, please please give your brain time to heal, the first 6 months your brain is working so so hard to repair, i know it is frustrating, and an emotional rollercoaster.
My stroke was last May, I was super fit before it happened, and little bit by little bit i have got better and better and fitter again.
This year I am training for the BHF london to Brighton cycle ride.
One step at a time, not the full mountain at once, try and listen to your body when you need to rest, it will get better.
2 Likes
Needed to hear this today, thank you, gives me hope. One day at a time. Good luck with your challenge.
Hi welcome to our gang of stroke survivors which you are you are explain what we all gone through over the years and it takes time to understand what your body can cope with as well as your brain and as time goes by you learn to understand that but I promise it will get better and you will get stronger and there will be plenty of tears long the way but you will have laughter to and joy you just learn to adapt and know when to push yourself and when you need to rest but as I stated at the beginning you are a stroke survivor and donāt you forget that so take each day at time and enjoy rest of your life to fullness you again take care stay safe stay warm and welcome to our family of stroke survivors kaz61
2 Likes
Iām now in my ninth year of recovery, Many of the major handicaps I faced initially have now been overcome or Iāve learned how to live with them. Unfortunately the damage to many parts is unrepairable. One of the most embarrassing was the bursting into tears. This happened whether the news was good or bad! This took a lot of controlling but even now the ālump in the throatā is not far away and great care has to be taken to avoid situations where it could happen.
Has anyone got a good answer to this problem?
Deigh
1 Like
Deigh thank you for your response! Itās good to know that even a bloke like yourself has found it difficult to control your emotions. Iāve always struggled not to cry at sad or deeply happy movies. However, the emotional frailty Iām experiencing post stroke is at an entirely different level. I am beginning to feel a little better and stronger. . Maybe there truly is light at the end of the tunnel?!?!
2 Likes