Feeling Tired, Feeling Dispondent/Disheartened, Feeling in a Funk

We all know these feelings well, specially in those first months to year after our stroke.

Recovery from any major trauma takes an awful lot out of you, burn an awful lot of nutrients!

Whilst its good the medical professionals all advise on the importance of eating healthy during recovery. What they fail to consider is just how much energy it requires in recovery mode. We use a lot energy, burn up a lot of our body’s vital nutrients during our rehab/physio sessions alone. You can only take in so much food in a day without compacting the digestive system, and we spend half that time sleeping, so we are not taking on nearly enough of the fuel that’s vital to recovery.

Doctors fail to even consider advising any form of nutrient supplements to boost that depletion. Hence we frequently feel tired/depressed/no energy/irritable, and generally make life harder for all concerned than it really needs to be.

Personally, I think a lot of SS would benefit from taking a daily dose of a vitamin and mineral supplement, certainly in those initial 6 months of recovery. And to help rebuild and strengthen the muscle atrophy maybe try a protein powder in the form of a shake or mix in with your food. You all need that boost!

And speak from experience, you experience some benefit from them. But, do consult with your pharmacist that they don’t clash with any other medications you are taking.

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You make some very valid points there. I’m not long into dealing with the after effects of stroke, about a year, so I might be experienced but I am by no means an expert. I’ve slowly been coming to the conclusion that I might need support but I have to find my own way.

I began my path through all this, in hospital and during the first few months at home, listening and waiting for instruction and guidance which in fact never came. I had been told by a doctor after a fall in hospital that if I was making progress I should expect repeats of the incident. I noted what he said but didn’t realize how relevant and important his statement was.

We have, these days, become very ‘risk averse’ and need to find someone or something to blame when things go wrong. Actually taking responsibility for our decisions is discouraged as we hand over our decisions to others who ‘know better’.
Well I’m going to kick against this. I got walking again, not waiting for someone to teach me, to instruct me, but by actually risking the consequences and doing it for myself. I blame no one when I sit down suddenly on my bottom, or when I wheel around, flailing about as I lose my balance. I put it down to experience and the bruises are signs of my movement in a positive direction. I’d rather be covered in bruises than sit or lie incapable of getting about.

I might sound ungrateful but I couldn’t have done any of this without support, for which I am truly thankful.

If you’re going to do the work involved in recovery then obviously you need nourishment to support that effort.

@EmeraldEyes Maybe you have a point. Treat it like a training regime, take the protein powders. You are building muscle in the same way the athletes and weight lifters do.
(I’d better get my order in to Holland & Barrett. Do they deliver?)

Keep on keepin’ on
:smiley: :+1:

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Thanks :Loraine, Hilary agrees about ordering and posting, that is good to know.
Lol, Hilary just told me she knows everything.

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@EmeraldEyes i agree with a lot of what you say. I have lost 4 stone since my stroke & last week was finally put on supplement drinks to tey & stop the weight coming off. I’ve been saying for ages that the energy needed to do things post stroke is far more than pre stroke. This is based on my experience & has no dacts to back it up. As you say there is a limit to what you can eat in a day & in my case clearly isn’t enough. Trying to get people to understand that you can’t just up the quantity of what you eat is hard work.

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COMPLAN

I couldn’t remember the name of this last night when I wrote this post.

image

It’s been going for many many years and you see it most chemists including the Boots.

I remember my sister used to always use it on her residents in the care home. Some would be very run down and lethargic when they’d first come in, either from home or hospital. She said you wouldn’t believe the difference in them after a week on Complan and 3 square meals a day. She did say they loved the taste of them when they first started on them, once they were up to fitness they hated the taste :laughing: That was always a good sign for the staff :grin: After that they would keep them topped up with daily vitamins in liquid or tablet form.

@Bobbi Aren’t all SS experts in the here and now of our stroke, no matter what stage of recovery we are at! No one else can truly know more than we do about it…not even the doctors! Because we are the one who have to live it, the doctors learn from us. The doctors can patch you up and ship you out, so to speak, give you all the right tools for recovery. But only you can do all the hard work of recovering. The trouble is, they fail mention that one vital bit of kit to do so. Nutrients

I’m tempted to say its like sending a diver down without enough oxygen in their tank but that’s not quite true, because it’s ultimately down to the divers themselves to check that there is enough oxygen, unless you are a newbie. And that’s what a lot what we all are, newbies.

And that’s what we should be doing, checking and making sure we’ve enough oxygen in our tanks to make the dive and resurface with enough residual oxygen left in your tank for an emergency along the way.

What damage would you do to a car if you didn’t if you never put oil in the engine, or cooler, or fuel. How much are we slowing ourselves down, hindering our progress by not taking on enough nutrients. How much are we starving our brains? That’s what we need to be thinking of! And if that means introducing supplement nutrients into our diet, so be it. We’ll only pee out any excess anyway :laughing:

Now tell me to stop preaching and get off to the gym :laughing:

@Mrs5K I too lost several stone in that first year, it’s not a look!
A lot of SS muscle aches, pains and twinges, restless leg, burning and tingle can all be due to the muscle atrophy and being starved of vital nutrients, protein for one, the big one for muscle growth. I’m no body builder but I go to the gym now every other day and I talk to them and take a leaf out of their books. They’re majority are great for advice and keen help with equipment your not sure about.

Another sign of a lack of nutrients in your system is loss of appetite as well as the low energy. That’s when you really do need a boost.

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During my 5 weeks in hospital/rehab last year my weight stayed stable somehow which is amazing cos I’m very picky and couldn’t stand the food. I basically lived off cheese sandwiches and jacket potatoes and butter

I’ve recently stared taking multivitamins and cod liver oil tablets hoping it will aid my long term recovery

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It’s funny actually, when I was in hospital for a hip replacement and then a broken ankle I loved the food.
But after the stroke, food was foul, and it was even iffy for me at home and that was all the foods I used to love…weird. So I put it down to yet another affect of the stroke. Over time I’ve managed to like them again :blush:

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Tired, despondent, definitely how I feel. Initially I was ecstatic to lose the weight but as I’ve been consistently eating it has gotten a bit worrisome as I don’t think I look strong per say. This is despite ten months of physio, walking plus supplements. I just wish I had some energy and could feel normal. I’m grateful for this forum though as I can see I’m not the only one.

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I never liked the hospital food & post stroke it tasted foul like you say. When i was in it came on paper plates with plastic cutlery too. When you can’t use your arm trying to cut food with plastic cutlery was impossible. Most of the time I was whisked off for scans or tests just as meals were delivered so cold slops weren’t really very appetising. I still find some foods taste yuck now but other foods I never liked much i eat all the time now.

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Yes, I’m sorry you are having to go through all that, a little vitamin supplement can’t fix autoimmune or lupus, they’re the ones that are draining you. I wish they could.

I’m grateful myself for this forum, they were there for me without even knowing it. Without the mental ability to actually join, I could at least read a few post draw hope from them. It was like trying to communicate through a sound proof bubble in the beginning. So now I want to give forward all the hope they’ve given me :slightly_smiling_face:

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