Hi everyone I'm shaun,just turned 50,and on 11 January 2021 had a middle celebral artery stroke, Was on my way to work that morning and just felt so sick as though I was going to vomit,walked into work an mate said yiu look grey,had terrible nights sleep, so just presumed was tired,with in 5 mins started slurring my speech an wobbling as though drunk,had a headache,and couldn't put words together,walked into a door,felt confused an spaced out,was sat down as my left arm went like jelly an loss use of it,my left side of face dropped, as did my eye,and lips,was angry an agitated too,horrible feeling,was arguing with work mate who said your having a stroke, I said am 49 that's not possible, anyway after half an hour managed to take me to hospital, by then most of symptoms subsided and hospital were disbelieving id had one,it was crazy, anyway had various tests an a ct scan,then let me go,had arranged a clinic appointment for me,so had mri scan next day which confirmed diagnosis, due to covid has been a long process,and finally saw a consultant face to face last week, have various tests, scans etc,coming up, alot of heart ones to check blood clot didn't travel from there to the brain, still off work, have headaches daily on an off,severe tiredness , pains on right side of chest on an off,recently developed bad pain in right foot with trouble walking occasionally, told its nerve pain from stroke,does anyone else have any of these pains, and do they get better? Am lucky no disabilities, just the pains, an recently allowed to resume driving am sure most of you feel how unfair this has happened, also very teary and do get very low at times,nice to share my experience with ,people who understand what's happened ,
Hi Shaun, similar to me I'm 59 have got left side weakness which is improving slowley. Managed to walk into A and E and walk out a week later. Lucky to have all the scans and mri when I was still in. Was told I can drive again which was Nige for me. I do feel down and why me sort of thing. Get angry with myself but as people have said it's not our fault. The worse for me is the tiredness and fatigue and waking up with a hangover feeling. I'm beginning to realise a good walk clears my headache and makes me less mentally exhausted. But slowly slowly is the way. This site has some really great people with brilliant advice. Have to have a 7 day heart monitor fitted soon to close my case off as the doctor put it. Good luck with your recovery.
Hi thanks for the reply, when did you have your stroke?like you said slow process,am quite fit,dont smoke etc,not overweight but makes you feel why me,I know now its just life and am lucky to survive an no disabilities, just accepting it an trying to move on wishing you a speedy recovery too,great being able to relate to people in same position as myself,stroke association has been a lifeline especially due to covid, take care
Dear shaun
so sorry to learn of the stroke. But welcome to the forum.
Although no two strokes are the same, many of us have common problems.
Most of us get severe tiredness, or post stroke fatigue, which i call SF.
pains in the joints and muscles are common, although i would want to keep an eye on chest pains.
Wobbly walking is common, eg a loss of balance.
emotionality is common, hard for us blokes.
a lot get depression, i would urge you to work at this with positive thoughts and smiles.
the stroking is over. The danger period of a month has passed. Now you are in a lengthy period of recovery.
yes, things do get better. Slowly. Months not weeks.
I do have extra sympathy for fellow stroke survivors who stroked in the past twelve months. Stroke support is very poor, but now covid is dominating its even worse.
stroke gets all ages. In the stroke ICU my neighbour was a lass of six years. Even babies can have strokes.
my mantra....
be positive. Smile. Lots of us are here for you.
colin
Many thanks Colin its tough but good to hear it takes time,thanks i do try being positive, and am very lucky,just a wave of sadness an tears come outta nowhere,as you probably know,how about yourself when was your stroke and how's your recovery process coming on? Great chatting to people on this forum, best wishes ,thanks for replying
I had my stroke in January this year, started I think the 10th with a massive headache and through the week just sort of developed. Arm felt funny then my back and leg. When to the doctor who took blood and did the FAST assessment then dId said he didn't think it was a stroke. Booked me in for a head scan as semi urgent, his words. Told me if I was worried to go to hospital, which I did later that week and they confirmed a stroke and kept me in for a best part of a week. Just had a six week follow up and got to have a heart monitor fitted for 7 days. When I was first home I couldn't lift my left leg to put on the clutch pedal in my car. But now can really good. So can still drive manual car. He confirmed I can drive. Because I had a HGV and bus licence I have lost them for at least a year but not that bothered to be honest. My work have been brilliant and when I feel ready to go back they will make my position office based. I didn't drive HGV that much anyway. Too fatigued to go back at the moment but hopefully will soon. One of the best pieces of advice I was given on here was the stroke has happened so look forwards to a good recovery.
I was struck down December 2015.
my tears have continued, but at an ever reducing rate.
my recovery was waylaid by serious heart problems. I didnt notice the change.
can i tell you the plus points ?
i was pretty comprehensively paralysed. Only had the use of my right hand, nothing else. By day five i had got up and walked. Miraculous.
by august 2020 i felt good and could move.
i got a lot of success with gentle yoga. Looking forward to restarting when covid eases.
so much of recovery is down to you (and me). Being positive. Batting depression away, smiling false or forced or fake smiles will do.
i presume your stroke blocked an artery, is that right ? Mine was an infarct, which is the common stuff, being a bit of brain killed off.
best wishes
colin
Dear Rich
thats a good positive outlook. Nice that your employers are being helpful.
it took me several months before i got to your stage. A very wise friend then said to me...
....so now your goals are to get back to your voluntary work, drive to see your family, get your garden back in to shape and visit friends. So how are you going to achieve it ?
that made me think. I had relied on others to guide me through the first weeks of trauma, get me up and walking. So now it was for me to make all the next stages.
that jolted me to realize i had a pathway to follow and so i got on with my own rehab, with huge support from people who were on this site in 2016.
i could take classes in gentle yoga, relaxation and physio. Thats where pre covid was easier. What was harder pre covid was that no one had a clue about fatigue, or SF as i call it. Now the media talk about fatigue,dizziness, brain fog. They are even recognizing "you look so well " What a revelation.
keep smiling. Keep positive, lots of us are here for you
colin
Partner had a stroke 12 days ago. Suffered a bleed to the brain so brain tissue injury. He is extremely determined, can talk to a point, move his right arm, they tried to get him to take a few steps the other day, but he passed out :( Early days suppose. He is extremely tired and sleeps a lot. Lost all 4 parents last year, so possibly stress related, but the are still doing investigations. Hope you are all doing well. Much love. xx
Thanks Colin, at this moment my goals are to take my dog to the beach on my own. The wife wants me to wait a bit longer before I go on my own, I get what she means but sooner or later I will have to do it for my own confidence. I feel ok driving but can't do more than about 30 minutes at the moment. Walking I can manage about a mile so I'm getting there. Do you think there's a safe time post stroke to venture out on your own? Or is it just a confidence thing, letting people know where you are going and what time you should be back.
Wow Colin i am lucky then,compared to you, glad your recovering amazingly by the sounds of what you actually went through,didn't realise the recovery process takes years, yes mine was a blood clot on the brain, but am very lucky, just takes time to accept as you know ,that's what I struggle with apart from the pains,have been off work 11 weeks,just hoping can go back in a months time, at the latest, many thanks for your reply, take care,il stay positive, does get better weekly
Hi rich you've done amazing job recovering, I had my stroke 11 jan,glad u can drive again,I've just resumed too,also waiting to have 7 day heart monitor, also ct angiogram, have a bubble echocardiogram,in a week, like Colin said all here for you, try an stay positive, an keep smiling, that's all we can do,best wishes, an speedy recovery, Shaun
I can give you my experience, maybe you would adjust to your circumstances.
i live in a large rural village with decent pavements and mostly flat. This is more conducive than my second home in the london suburbs which has steep hills.
from the first step outdoors i did it alone. And i dont use a mobile phone.
i once did more than i could manage. I walked too fast on the home leg of my walk, and had to hang on to fences before i got back. If my wife had accopanied me then it would have been just the same.
i recall when my max safe drive was, just like you, 30 miuntes and when i could walk a mile.
i would measure this in achievement terms and not in months. You are doing so well to drive and walk. Just increase ever so slowly. If your dog behaves for you then i would think his company would be great. If he might run off or get excited then you shouldnt take him on board yet.
dont rush it. Its hard restricting walks to a mile, but its a right set back when you pick off more than you can manage.
best wishes
colin
Every stroke is different. One conntributor on this forum goes back 32 years. As a generl rough guide, most people get decent quality of life before two years. But we all differ
please take it slowly. A lot of us tried getting back within about three months and it was too soon.
i could not go back to work. But thats just me and i have developed other medical issues that might have happened without stroke. Also, i have enough money not to need to work. It took me 50 years to earn those funds.
its good that you see your success, although it isnt purely luck, you must have put in a lot of effort. Well done.
colin
Thanks colin, great advice. I do worry I will walk to far our beach is miles long. The dog is only 8 months old and is quite lively but as I said the beach is huge and quiet thankfully. I am going to take it easy as you say.
I think Colin is referring to me, but it is actually 31 years.Despite being a mathematician i am not good at sums. I was in hospital for 7 months, it took me 10 months to return to driving and to work.
You cannot wish yourself better and if you try to push too hard you will pay with fatigue.
Janet
I am an FCA so have a good grasp of numbers. Then stroke and i now cant even do my tax return.
and i cant recall that stroke was in 2015 so now it's five and a bit years.
i have had my memory partly blanked. At first i thought it was three months wiped, but now i realize more than three months was wiped. What is rather nice is that any week now i will get lots of asparagus from my garden, and i cant recall planting them. It was clearly abig task to clear the ground and plant out the asparagus. I also use my semi professional weather station but i cant recall making the substantial stand nor setting the station up.
hope you didnt mind me mentioning your case.
colin
Many thanks for your advice Colin, and encouragement, means a lot,best wishes, Shaun, take care
Many thanks Janet for the great advice, it's really helpful ,especially as everyone understands what I am going through i wish you well too Shaun
I saw my face "falling" on the iPad screen, whereas as I live alone I might not have realised my voice was affected and odd.