I am now week 8 into my recovery and still waiting for my follow up appointment at the stroke clinic.
I am doing well walking without assistance etc. Fatigue is a problem and still emotional
I still have some pins and needles in my left arm and leg but can use them fairly well.
This feeling in my arm and leg is getting better slowly. When I exercise or get tired the feeling of pins and needles gets more intense. I am assuming this is normal and has something to do with the use, repairing/ rewiring process?
From my experience (seven months on), you'll get all sorts of tingles and internal tangles you may have never experienced before. The mind is in a state of metamorphosis, handing over responsibility to other parts of the brain that are not accustomed to the prior job. Fatigue is tough, but remember the more you push, the more it makes the fatigue worse, so best to rest when limit has been reached.
Jane. Yes, completely normal. I am five years post stroke and still get periodic odd sensations. Just after I left hospital and came home, I had all sorts of odd reactions as my brain re-wired itself.
Hi I am 3 months on from the stroke I had, and my experience sounds similar to yours. I too can walk quite well, walk my dog twice a day for about 3 miles total. I also find I get pins and needles when I get tired. I get all sorts of weird feelings from time to time which is still fairly worrying. It's reassuring to read on this forum that is not unusual. Fatigue is still a problem but have more good days than bad. Good luck to everyone with their recovery.
I'm new to the forum, and it's so good to read all your comments. It been a year since I was discharged from hospital, virtually all functions have returned, but I do get a pulsating sensation and tingling feeling in my head. Doctors have told me that it's normal.
one year on, thats splendid. Your brain will continue to find its way for about another year.
Hope you are getting good sleep. Bad sleep will hamper your recovery.
nice thing about this site is that you are amongst people who understand what you are going through.
I am in Week 5 of my recovery, and checking out this page for exactly the same reason. I occasionally have pins and needles, sensations, but other other sensations that I too can only describe as "weird" as well. I get nervous when I start to feel something unfamilar, worried that I could have another stroke, or something else is wrong. So, that is what I am looking for in this community, some relief to my anxiety. Seeing many other similar posts is helpful.
I am at week 12. I still get pins and needles on my left side. I also have what I call tingling on my left. It is getting better slowly. I gets worse as I exercise more, or when I am getting tired. I think is to do with the nerves mending?
I had what they called a serious stroke but am recovering well and can do most things I could before but a little more slowly.
sorry to learn of a stroke biting you, but welcome to our forum.
the first four weeks post stroke is a danger time. You have passed that time. You are no longer barred from driving and you are now no longer likely to have a relapse nor anther stroke. Also, your medications are titrating in to your system and will be more effective.
so well done ! You have got past the first hurdle. Think how positive that is.
all the strange aches and pains are weird, arent they. Mostly these are your brain messaging bits of your body to see whats not working too well. If you gently exercise every limb, use every muscle then you are letting your brain know whats what. When a weird feeling shows up, think of it as a good thing. Your brain is identifying what it needs to do.
please remember, your body parts are not damaged, its only the messaging system that is broken. Your brain is amazing. If it cant work one part of you, then it will busy itself working around another route. You will be extremely tired whilst it does this. I think it is closing down other functions whilst it repairs stuff.
work at getting good consistent nights sleep. Rest when your brain tells you.
drink extra water, your brain is overheating with the extra task, but it doesnt know how to ask for more water.
be positive. Let your brain know you will help it recover all parts of you.
Smile dozens of time every day.
you are not alone on this journey, lots of us are here for you.
i too have left sided weakness. One professional explained that the nerve endings might be burnt.
our brains do get tired and i have gone with the option to rest when my brain tells me.
it certainly needs extra water. Brain has no feeling so it cant ask for water, it just nicks it from other parts of our body.
things improve as the months tick by. I keep a stroke diary and that reminds me how much things have improved. Recovery is so slow its easy to not realize just how much things are getting better.
Welcome. Colin has given you wise advice. After a stroke our brain is on high alert and notices every twinge and oddity that,normally, we would not notice. In the early days after my stroke, I had involuntary leg twinges, pains in my fingers (stroke side) and odd patches on my face that felt numb or tingly. Many of these vanished as my brain re-wires and health improved.
However, the fingers of my left hand lack sensitivity and my left shoulder feels frozen, despite the fact that I can use both. I have learnt to live with this and any other odd sensations in my body. Good luck in your recovery.
Thanks so much for your response and advice. It makes me feel much better to know I am out of the danger zone and my experiences are probably normal. Over the last week, I've had a new issue, which I don't quite understand. I've been waking up with very stiff muscles and pain throughout my body on BOTH sides, even in my fingers and toes. As I get up and move around, everything begins to loosen up, and I am functional. However, my muscles remain a little stiff and achy throughout the day. I've read that is common, but starting 6 weeks after over my whole body? I never spent much time not using my muscles. I was mostly mobile right after the stroke. Any thoughts on this?
You have done what you need to do....keep everything moving. You will benefit from your mobility as your recovery makes its way on the slow slow journey.
your body has been moved in ways it did not move before stroke. Your brain is trying to get control, but some parts have not fully reacted. So yes, you may well ache from top to toe.
some of my leg nerve endings have been "burnt" and it is taking years to get my legs back in to good action. I only know this because i had sessions with a really brilliant physio. This was not NHS.
it is very early days for you.
It would be good if you got professional advice to reassure you.
in the meantime just think about how your brain has had to reassess everything you do.
no two of us are identical. I think you are unusual in having all your muscles complaining at the same time.
You have done what you need to do....keep everything moving. You will benefit from your mobility as your recovery makes its way on the slow slow journey.
your body has been moved in ways it did not move before stroke. Your brain is trying to get control, but some parts have not fully reacted. So yes, you may well ache from top to toe.
some of my leg nerve endings have been "burnt" and it is taking years to get my legs back in to good action. I only know this because i had sessions with a really brilliant physio. This was not NHS.
it is very early days for you.
It would be good if you got professional advice to reassure you.
in the meantime just think about how your brain has had to reassess everything you do.
no two of us are identical. I think you are unusual in having all your muscles complaining at the same time.
I know what you mean, after nine months of all sorts of odd sensations, I've come to find them mostly inconvenient. The only thing that will give a hot flush is if I have any sort of dizzy spell or visual disturbance, as those things are closely connected to how I felt when my stroke happened, but my body should be fine, it was okay before my stroke, so it's only my brain that is confusing things. Strokes are hard work, any other injury and the brain can isolate itself to think rationally about the injury but with a stroke, it's the brain itself, so it doesn't have that luxury.
I've had to rationalise with my heart instead of my head now. That's been of great benefit, we are good, we are fit, we are capable, and we are brave. It's only our minds that think otherwise until proven otherwise. This could be seen as the most challenging form of exposure therapy, others have gotten through it, we shall too, and the memory, although painful, will have had enough time put between it and the present. Having said that, I too get worried, nervous, and anxious. Every day is pushing a comfort zone slightly further.