hello everyone, does anyone have problems with flashing lights,? we put a fibre optic Christmas tree up yesterday , it is brightly coloured and changes colour quickly, , I couldn’t stand it , I felt dreadful. A bit like the same feeling I get with too much noise. Just wondered if anyone has experienced anything similar ? Regards Lyn x
No I dont get that problem. Surprising that I do not, as I had a lot of migraine pre stroke. I know stroke can affect eye sight and I imagine it is controlled by which part of your brain was zapped by the stroke.
I am lucky that I can watch TV and use my PC without any bad effects. I cant read a book, but then I struggled with whole books pre stroke. I have mild dyslexia. I guess the stroke worsened the dyslexia a little bit.
Do you travel OK ? Some others have trouble with the movements when in a car, which I have guessed is sight related.
We do get overwhelmed, dont we. I can fully understand that flashing lights could easily be a trigger. My trigger was any echo, including public address systems. Took me a while to work out the problem. Then once I knew what was triggering, then my brain started to learn its way around,. Now echos are OK.
Hope all will settle down for you. Things do ease as the months go by
Best wishes
Colin
,Hi Colin , thank you for your reply, I don’t have any problems with travel, I am ok in a car, I can read ,watch the tv to a point , the noise sometimes get to me. I haven’t really had any visual problems until the flashing lights, my stroke was a cerebral infarct, which affected my speech , which has greatly improved, and my cognitive skills are not what they were, but as you say we are survivors, and we must always be mindful of that. Best wishes, Lyn
Hi Lynne, yes i have same issues with lights especially when they are falling. Its the same when people move fast, for example when my kids are jumping up and down in front of me i cant deal with the motion and ask them to stand still. Weird!
Sorry spelt your name wrong. Also meant to say FLASHING. ..not falling lights
Tsk the gremlins in cahoots with predictive text??
John finds movements, especially children jumping around, difficult to cope with. The OT (all those months ago) explained it was his brain processing new experiences. We don’t often find ourselves in young children’s company now as our grandchildren all live away. When they visit he knows to escape to the bedroom. However, a few weeks ago we travelled to our son in Derbyshire. Bren was messing about on the floor with G 16 and J 14 AND the dog! Noise and movement! I saw the panic on John’s face and he signalled to leave. We’d booked into the local Travelodge so we left immediately. Always on the alert, but it wasn’t until I climbed into the bed that I realised it was only 8.20 pm! That’s when I cried☹️?. I explained to my son next morning and he was mortified. It’s not just the SS getting used to the changes but also those around them. Yes, I could’ve said something straight away but,,,,,
We’ll, it’s Christmas time again so we’re escaping on holiday and hope John has his batteries fully recharged when we return. On 4th January we’ll have the young ones up from Devon for another ‘Christmas time’ lol!
I wonder if Santa will make an extra special trip to us? He’ll probably do it very quietly,,,,,
Aaaaw bless him, i can fully empathise. Yes, sometimes we forget that it affects the people around us in so many ways , everything changes . My hubbie does so much for me as i cant cope day to day and the kids help best they can, but dont fully understand . Whole family dynamics have permanently changed.They think its like having a broken arm and wonder why im not better yet. Bit young to really understand. Hope u have lovely Christmas ?
Although that wasn't a great experience, you now recognise the signs, probably before John realises himself. We become hypervigilant, so that we can protect our SSs and diplomatically get them to sanctuary!! It's quite a responsibility innit!
Well lucky you heading to the sunshine for C'mas! I don't care what we do for C'mas, I'm just glad to have a break from school (and all the colds, tummy bugs etc ?)
Have a great time xx
Dear Sunshine, my heart aches for you and your family. Bless them for their support and care. I’m sure they would rather have the new you than not at all. It is early days for you and we hope things improve quickly. When we talk to people several years post Stroke, we’re amazed to learn how badly the Stroke bit them as their recovery is astonishing. Let’s look at you six months from now and see how you’ve progressed. Sending massive hugs to you all. V&J ????
Ah, Nic, your posts always hit the nail on the head! I loved teaching, especially as it was fulfilling a dream egged on by John. I didn’t teach until I was 42 and he was behind me all the way. I have to look out for him now. Yes, Christmas in school is tiring but I mostly taught in primary school so different stresses. Feet up with a nice ?. We’ll raise our glasses to you.?? ,,, or a few ??
Aaw thank you x yes absolutely and you too ?
Hi Sunshine, as Colin says "you have survived, you're here for a reason". You have to believe that things will get better. Give your brain plenty of rest, and time to heal - brains are truly amazing. As the wife of a SS, I'm so glad that my husband is still here - it has taken its toll, and he still has tricky times, but 15 months post-stroke, I know he's come such a long way.
If the situation were reversed, you know you would be there to love and support your husband, it's just what folks do!! Children are very adaptable, they will love you just as much as before ?
Take care, never give up xx
Thanks sunshine , I know it is weird and difficult to understand sometimes , it’s good to share and you do feel better when you know that someone else understand. Best wishes x
Hi Lyn yes I know how you feel, I get that and it can make you feel really sick too. My stroke has left me with 'extreme light sensitivity' as well as other visual processing problems like depth perception. This makes walking a challenge as I tend to stumble a lot and get lost easily. I also see visual hallucinations, not scary, it's just your brain trying to fill in gaps in what you are seeing. I have been prescribed tinted glasses and am having specialist neurovision rehab. I go to a charity for that as it's not on the NHS and it's great. Maybe you could try even ordinary sunglasses and if you're outside wearing a hat or cap can shield your eyes. Hope you find a way to enjoy the lights, I love them but have had to give some of them up. It's a bit trial and error. Good luck x
Hi Colin I'm interested reading about your dyslexia getting worse. I didn't have dyslexia prestroke but have acquired it now. As I said to Lyn I'm very lucky and getting specialist rehab so learning lots of techniques as well as getting to try out technology for when / if I go back to work and driving x
Thanks Mo x
Hi, thanks for the kind words, yes u r absolutely right. Its been hard coming to terms with the long and bumpy road ahead but so fortunate to have my husband and kids around me. One day at a time.... ?
It's a cliche, but true, one day at a time, what more can we do xxx
Dear Mo
Pre stroke the words wouldnt stay still and would appear to me in the wrong order. Ech word could be spelt out as say splet. I read along a ruler, this helps, but its always been hard work. I didnt read many books, just special favourites like Flora Thompson or IKBrunel.
The stroke adds to the "hard work" and I just get too tired to read more than afew pages.
It is the least of the problems. I know plenty of non stroke people who have far more trouble reading than I do. Also, there is a silver lining. I am very good with numbers. I read numbers like other people read words.
Can I suggest that, whichever recovery ways you opt for, that you should try and take the reading easy. Dont let it bug you.
Best wishes
Colin
Hi, just wondering whether SS have ever been assessed as needing coloured overlays to assist with reading? These are frequently used in schools to correct text 'jumping around', blurring, etc It's just a thought but they may be appropriate for SSs experiencing disturbance when trying to focus on text? However, Colin, you seem to be ok with numbers.
The overlays are just that, a thin, coloured layer placed over the text - I've temporarily forgotten the names of some of the conditions - it's like a flimsy piece of laminating plastic.
I'll try to find out more info
Nic