How do you stop the worry that you’re going to have another stroke? I’m 17 days post and 9 days out if hospital and every time the numbness/pins and needles I’ve been experiencing flare I’m so scared it’s another stroke. I’ve already been back to A&E once where they confirmed nothing more had happened.
I feel too churned up to eat, how do you keep yourself calm?
I appreciate I’m using the Forum like a helpline and do apologise I’m just still so scared.
DMHH
DMHH this Forum actually does try (successfully I believe) to act as a help line. The posts are put up by people like yourself who have experienced stroke.
We pool our experience and throw up answers when we have them. You are in the right place. There are good hearted people here who will share what they know and also offer comfort.
You are enduring a scary experience, but its nothing new. Lots have been through the same, fear is a natural reaction to trauma like this. If you have been in hospital I imagine you will have been prescribed a group of medications which will greatly minimize the likelihood of a repeat.
Stroke brings with it a huge raft of sensations, lack of sensations and so on.
Wanting to be in control is a first response but largely, if you can good or bad just let it happen struggling with fear, strange sensations and so on will just wear you out and to no good use.
After the initial reaction you will begin to settle into some sort of pattern as you discover exactly how you have been affected.
There is no one type of stroke. The similarity is just that an area of the brain has suffered a trauma. However the brain is large and different parts control different area of our existence as a living being. So though we are talking about brain damage the areas that are affected vary considerably from one individual to another.
You don’t need too much of this sort of information right now. what you need to know is that properly medicated you will gradually settle into an awareness of how things are. You are struggling with fear and lack of understanding, be patient and the fear will subside and you will begin to see more clearly.
This is a good place to unburden, share your fears, ask questions. I hope you will come back and find friendship and useful stuff to here.
Bob (its 3 months since I had a stroke and I’ve stll far to go)
@DDMH what you are feeling is natural. I think we all had the same fear to start with. I ended up back in hospital as I thought my symptoms had become a lot worse to be told that it is just part of the healing process. Try to find things to occupy your mind so you stop thinking about it too much. Something you enjoy.
As time goes on & you’ve found that despite all the symptoms & sensations you haven’t had another stroke, you will start to relax a bit more. It just takes time. You’ll learn that patience is required a lot through your stroke journey.
Go easy on yourself. Best wishes
Ann xx
DDMH, I would agree with Mrs5K’s comment:
In psychology terms I believe thay call it diversion therapy. It is something I try to do and is often beneficial to me.
Most of us find this anxiety eases over time. Stroke makes the brain acutely sensitive to any change it the body. I assume this is part of the body’s defence mechanism. Relaxation classes might help, but you might need to learn to live with your anxiety. If it becomes too bad, please talk to your gp.
All good advice here. A lot of us have had same experience. I first went to GP, anxiety and depression the cause, then a month later A&E, same diagnosis. I learnt NATO alphabet and when stressed repeated it , periods of deep breathing helped and after a few months it slowly disappeared. My stroke was caused by HP was told stick to the medication. Exercise and eat and drink sensibly. Post here as often as you like we all learn and benefit from other SS stories Pds
Thanks everyone, you are such a support to a scared newbie!
Doesn’t help that I feel nauseous either through not eating much or my new meds, all of which seem to have nausea / lightheadedness as a potential side effect!
@DDMH I lost my appetite following my stroke & whilst I’m eating a little more now I still don’t get hungry & would happily give meals a miss. I also got nausea a lot. Its eased a but now bit still comes when I suffer neuro fatigue.
I think everything you feel is normal & should hopefully ease over time.
Best wishes & hope you start to feel less worried soon x
Hiya, my stroke was in March last year and I found an excellent book called ‘Had a stroke? Now what ?’ by Tom Balchin. It’s very readable and clear (even though he doesn’t shy away from a few scary facts) and I’ve found it very helpful and comforting when I’ve had doubts about my recovery- which has been frustratingly slow at times. Keep taking the tablets and keep contacting this forum. We’re all here to help each other !
A very valid worry but as long as your blood pressure is low and medicated along with cholesterol levels you should be fine, I am 16 months into recovery and get a numb face occasionally but only when I stress over something or get upset so message to myself is calm down you are creating a problem with the wrong approach. Take your BP regularly any blip talk to the GP or stroke nurse.
Ah. We had all put this to one side while the focus was on recovery of critical functions lost to the stroke. Now you mention it…it is a concern, but still not a primary one. As above, you will be on medication to prevent it, and stressing about it won’t help.
Its quite a shock to the system having a stroke. Emotially too because a lot changes in that event, and you start to rely on care.
Try to resolve to beat it (like cancer) and never lose hope.
It is understandable to be worried
I am 2years post stroke and still worry but it does get a little less and you know what?
You can’t do anything about what might happen so just keep on keeping on.
My new mantra is Hakuna Mattata ,dont sweat the small stuff,we are still here and live to fight another day.
This forum is good for questions, gripes,help,advice,general chat with fellow survivors who know and understand more than anyone else who hasn’t experienced stroke themselves so keep asking,sharing and maybe you can give some advice 
easy to say try not to worry but worrying won’t change anything so distract yourself if you can,have some easy achievable goals and yes you might have a setback or like me four or five but as long as we are still here make the most of it.hopefully you will be getting stronger everyday.Best wishes Bernadette x
First of all it’s normal to feel like that and it’s ok. Thegood newsis u are on the right meds and therefore the chances of having another’s one is less. As time goes on it will be easy to handle with kind regards des
DDMH
The aftermath of a stroke is trying and bewildering emotionally and physically but time does help in accepting the changes. I found discussing my nausea with my pharmacist incredibly helpful. She suggested taking the meds in slightly different ways and I found that her recommendations were really effective. Also time (3 months) has helped diminish the nausea. This forum is so useful with kind and generous people to help you understand the changes you are experiencing. Magga
Time is a healer I agree it’s not easy there’s been times I’ve felt funny which has scared me abit but I’ve taken deep breaths and felt better after six months recovering it’s been hard it was more the first months I was really scared family and friends have really helped too bless you
Think of your stroke as an earthquake, you will get aftershocks but try not to worry. Worrying and getting stressed isn’t good, eventually, if you follow the rules and take your meds, after a few months they will go away. The first year you have to be careful but take each day as it comes and like most of us you should be fine, b I understand at the moment it is terrifying. It will get better your stroke nurse will help. Mine explained everything much better than the doctors ever did. Hope this helps and good luck. Marilyn
Thank you very much I find everyone’s words so comforting.
I don’t have a stroke nurse - is that someone I could have access to?
Hi don t be scared. it happens to most of us. The tingling and pins and needles can be attributed to the most common element of stroke recovery, it’s likely they are from your nerve endings reconnecting to your brain (my stroke physio told me this)
Shwmae @DDMH, a year and a half on. I still get anxiety flushes. During the first year, I went back to hospital once and had paramedics check me out once by visiting me. I have found that observing continuous symptoms useful. If certain sensations are relieved by rest or distraction. If I am fatigued, symptoms become more acute, so watch out for that. I tell myself, I have felt like this before and nothing has happened apart from feeling vile. It’s good to get in touch with your body and mind, observe the feelings and let them do their thing. Noticing is part of control, what you notice and can observe becomes less menacing. It’s a bit of exposure therapy really. Start to recognise when the brain says, no more. It will defend itself with anxiety if it feels threatened, and this threat is usually having to deal with too much.
It’s completely natural to feel like this. As others have said, no one stroke is the same as another. I used medication to begin with to help control the anxiety, I’ve done yoga on line and deep breathing techniques can really help. Fatigue can be a crippler but listen to your body and try to recognise the signs. Writing things down really helps - when I look back at my notes after my stroke, I realise how far I’ve come.