Hello, my name is Kristy, I had my stroke on the 28th May 2019 (4 days after my birthday,am 36) I've got to go for an echo bubble scan soon....am scared and getting stressed (my stroke was caused by stress) as I don't know what to expect..please help,thank you. I'm a also getting a flood of angry emotions... snapping at very little,(I'm a single mum) and am still very teary. Thank you for reading xx
Dear Kirsty
Welcome to the forum. You are amongst friends here and, above all, we understand. Only another stroke survivor understands what we go through.
I am no medic, but I think the bubble scan is just the machine that looks at your heart. This is standard for stroke survivors. No needles, just the scanner pressed against the skin. It is nothing to fear. We get an appointment but many people its a "walk in" session and very laid back. Just precautionary. The worst bit was trying to get home when I wasnt too good at walking.
Emotionality is very common. Tears flow in buckets full. It eases over the weeks and will pretty much disappear in a couple of years.
Your brain has had the biggest shock of your life and it has to recover. It will play you up. But things do get better. If you can rest as much as possible then recovery will be better. Relaxation therapy is good. My local church povides this for free. You really do need to "de stress" and you have to get some proper deep realaxation.
Please dont think of it as "my" stroke. You didnt choose it, you dont want it so dont accept that it owns you.
The recovery is slow slow slow but it does come. You are very much "early doors".
Be positive
Smile a lot (that really does work wonders)
You are not alone, we are here for you
Best wishes
Colin
Sorry, I cant even read properly. Calling you Kirsty.
Best wishes Kristy
Hi, just read yr message. I no its hard but try and stay calm. I cant imagin what it is like being a single parent as well. It must be really tough. Try and talk about it as much as you can with friends or a family member or even come on here and let it all out. Here if you need to talk. I no how hard it can be.
Thank you so much, I'm sorry for the late reply,am shocking at this modern technology! Thank you so much, I'm learning to not stress/relax and it's difficult. I also have problems walking and with speech. Thank you so much x
Thank you so much for replying, am having to learn how to relax as my job is a carer as well as being a mum,always on the go,doing something. I also find it hard to ask for help or showing that im weak (always sugar coat things) but I'm getting better. Thank you so much x
Awe yr welcom. Glad you are learning to stay a bit calmer. Remember always here if u need to talk.
Thank you
Hi Kristy,
As everyone has said please reach out for help, this isn't somthing that you can sugarcoat, you will need emotional support and it often helps to just talk it all through, even if the person you speak to doesn't really understand. If you have a specific person supporting you, encourage them to register and have a look at our Friends and Family section https://mystrokeguide.com/information-family-and-friends which has advice on how to support someone after a stroke.
We have a whole section on emotions https://mystrokeguide.com/advice-and-information/emotional/emotions which might be helpful for you to read.
You can also contact our helpline on 0303 3033 100, they are amazing and offer fantastic support and advice. They are open:
- Monday, Thursday and Friday: 9am – 5pm
- Tuesday and Wednesday: 8am – 6pm
- Saturday: 10am – 1pm
- Sunday: closed
Let us know how you get on at the appointment.
This site is hard enough to use if we are fully fit. After stroke we are not fit so I totally understand your difficulty. Its an awful shame they changed the old forum which was easy for us disabled people to use.
I am pleased for you that you can manage a message at all, Shows you are making progress.
I reckoned that the important recoveries are
1) Get enough sleep
2) Get blood pressure reasonable.
After these two are OK then I reckon you will move on better.
Relaxing is very hard when you are stressed. There are CDs that will help you.
I bought a little machine that plays white noise with pleasing sounds over it. I use the crashing waves. Thirty minutes listening and I am much more relaxed. The machines are referred to as tinnitus relaxers and cost about £30 including delivery. Some NHS areas give them free to some patients.
I found my speech just slowly came good. After six months it was improved a lot. I do hope you are getting medical help with the walking. You need physio to tell you what you should be doing.
You must find dealing with this when you have a daughter, very hard. So its good if you get medical advice then concentrate on the essentials. Being a younger survivor you will in several respects get improvement faster.
I promise you that things do improve.
Be positive
Smile a lot
You are not alone
Colin
Hello. I am not certain if you had your bubble scan yet? I had one a week after my stroke as they were querying a hole in the heart. I was anxious about the scan before going (I had my stroke abroad) but it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. I had a sedation (normal practice) to relax me to allow the scan to take place and it was all over within minutes. Good luck!!
Hi kristy
I had my stroke on the 27th the day before you just a few days from my 55th birthday but reading your message, you have come through worse. You've given birth and had a stroke....i don't know what a bubble scan is but it couldn't be any worse than those!, I've never given birth and highly unlikely being a man so your one up on me! Its how we look at life that counts, Look at the scan as a good thing and good things can't harm you and if there is some discomfort, trust me, some discomfort is a short term thing
Steve