Hi all you stroke warriors! Just wondering how those who have had a stroke years ago feel about being “normal” again. So often you read that after a year or two your brain has rewired and you should be back to normal - “in your head” . But I’m not! I didn’t have any physical problems my head took it all, I have been diagnosed with squired dyslexia - that may have existed prior to the stroke that I managed to work round. Now I can’t seem to get through a day without struggling to think and form easy sentences - I have to shut my eyes to think and fumble my way through conversations - others say they don’t notice but I do, it’s so hard. I forget what I’ve said, forget what I was going to do - I have a thought and think I’ll look that up on google or do that now and by the time I pick up my phone or get out of the chair the thoughts gone. I hoped that the “rewirerinv “ would repair the damage but it hasn’t made a lot of difference to me - I feel broken and so very tired. Can anyone else relate?? Take care all - big hugs x
@Debchips nice to hear from you. I’m only 16 months post stroke but the fatigue can still get me big style. The 2 year thing is often bandied about by the medical professionals but I don’t think theres any hard & fast rule. For some people it seems to take longer. Fatigue can make us more forgetful.
I am very forgetful these days & i know some of it is stroke related but some I think is menopause too. If it’s an issue for you then speak to your GP.
Best wishes.
Ann x
You sound like me and the many others in my aphasia group and that’s what you really need to be looking into.
I’m lucky with how I handle it purely because of my very nature. I’m a quiet person in real life, a bit of an introvert and always the type of person who thinks what I’m going to say before speaking, so inevitably I miss my ques in conversation now and again 
I just don’t care 
And like you, no one notices.
So as well as getting a referral for speech and memory therapy, also get in touch with any local aphasia group going on near you. They can all relate to you and will be able to point you in the right direction locally.
Hope you don’t mind, I pulled this from your post last august
Did you ever get any help for this, have you tried the Dyslexia Association, they have a helpline you could also call for advice.
And lastly, as I’ve been banging on about nutrients elsewhere on here, so I may as well give it to you too
Not all symptoms have to be stroke related, and seeing as @Mrs5K has already broached the subject, it would do you no harm to start taking a menopause supplement anyway.
It’s a tough one @Debchips, our brain spends decades streamlining and honing it’s functions and then takes a hit and, bam, the whole structure comes undone like a game of Jenga. I seem to approach everything now at a completely different angle. It doesn’t make us lesser able or broken, in fact, it makes us uniquely remarkable because we have to find ways to cope with basic functions which others could not conceive not having. We are the special branch 
I have a bit of trouble with dyslexia similar symptoms when trying to read…I see a neuro opthamologist for nerve damage, take Gabapetin in the hopes of calming Nystigmus and Oscillopsia, and am considered blind, although not totally. I can read for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time, but when I do, recently, I am noticing letters moving around and some seem bolded, others seem a smaller print. I’m in US and have noticed some treatments, and definitely many benefit programs are way different in UK than here. Best wishes.
@Debchips Apart from slight weakness on my right side all of my issues are in the brain as well. My stroke was nearly 4 years ago and the fatigue is still really bad. I also have to close my eyes to remember what I’ve got to say and my speech isn’t good when I’m tired, anxious or due my meds. Short term memory is terrible but I’ve found since the stroke that I can’t remember long term things either, psychologist said when I had in-depth memory tests that I had mild cognitive impairment and not early dementia……my daughter said she thought I had that but was winding me up 
I’m in my early 50’s so menopause will be adding to it. Overall fatigue is main issue of mine as well but we are still here so we definitely are warriors 
Yep me too.
And the forgetting.
I make notes but forget where they are. When I find them again I can’t make sense of them.
I was like it pre stroke but am worse since
Others say I don’t sound bad but I notice
I just accept it’s my new normal and don’t dwell on it except in the context of how can I find ways to manage, ways to exploit the upsides etc.
2¢