Hi, my mum is 2 year post stroke in April this year. She did have a bad stroke that effected her right hand side. She was having a lot of physio before lockdown last March but now I do the exercises with her on a daily basis. She practices standing up in the kitchen whilst holding onto the worktop with her left hand. She cannot stand for longer than 5 minutes and has to sit back in her wheelchair as she says its exhausting standing up. She does this exercise more or less every day. Has anyone else experienced this exhaustion whilst practicing to stand and did it eventually subside?
I find struggling to stand is difficult. i think its because I'm generally moving rather than just standing. I spend a lot of time practising walking and doing things with my hands in the kitchen and around the house but standing still is not something I practice.
Thanks Pamela, I can imagine it's better to keep moving than standing still. My mum cannot walk, so she practices standing up.
Ah. That makes sense. Sit to stand is a good exercise to do. And not just for the practicalities of getting ready to ove. its good for hip strength. I try and do at least 6 sit to stands every hour. Nose to toes and all that!!
That's fabulous Pamela it sounds like you are doing really well! I'll keep on encouraging mum to practice sit to stand and hopefully she will build up her strength!
Dear Tasha
stroke fatigue (aka SF) afflicts most stroke survivors. The exhaustion can be overwhelming.
It does slowly ease over the months and years. Best not to fight it, go with it.
Support and help is good, but to get recovery it really is up to the SS to effect recovery. You cant do it for us. If you think about it, Mums limbs were not damaged, just the messaging system.
I took seated yoga classes and this covered "grounding".
The SF(exhaustion) lasted four years, which is probably longer than most.
I never found standing exhausting. Walking yes, lifting yes and so on.
Does Mum walk ? Was it a bleed or a clot ?
best wishes
Colin
Hi Colin,
Many thanks for your reply and good advice. Seated yoga sounds like a fab idea, I will have a look into that. Mum cannot walk and her stroke was a clot.
All the best,
Tasha
Hi Tasha, my husband finds standing difficult, yet he can walk about 4 miles! Crazy really, almost doesn't make sense. But if your Mum can't walk she's doing the best thing, just reminding her body how to move from sitting to standing. Repetition is so important, keep believing that one day all her hard work will pay off ??
Keep us updated, it's always good to hear how folks are doing xxx
Hi Thank you so much for your positive reply and good wishes! Yes I suppose strokes do work in mysterious ways. So glad your husband is able to walk such a long distance! I will keep you posted, mum is able to wiggle her toes now which she hasn't been able to do for nearly 2 years!
The seated yoga was wonderful. I was in a group, about six of us, and l learnt so much. The Yogi was exceptionally good, she picked up things so quickly. Seated yoga wasnt actually sitting down, but two of the group sat and the rest of us opted to stand, and lie down, for part of the two hour sessions. I really miss those sessions.
when the stroke got me i was 90% paralysed. I couldnt even sit myself up. I also had aphasia. And hallucinations. I now walk a mile, tend the garden and even drive short distances. I can look after myself for a few days. Speech is ok and i can follow most conversations. Sadly, the hallucinations, which i enjoyed, have stopped. I lost some of my memory and my short term memory is rubbish. I was determined to get whatever recovery was possible.
i am not the same person as pre stroke. I think two years was a critical time. Any muscles that dont move for two years can start to fail. Recovery is prominent for about two years. The brain is probably still rewiring at two years.
being a carer must be so difficult.
best wishes
colin
Hi Colin,
Well it sounds like you are doing amazingly well, and have achieved so much! To think of where you were and where you are now is incredible and well done for not giving up! Some days are harder than others but I'm not giving up too, I encourage mum to do her exercises everyday, she gets fed up if me! Mum has aphasia too but has really improved with her speech. She enjoys bossing me around again!
Take care and keep up the good work,
Tasha
I think many if us tend to have a good day then a bad day. I liked the bad days as i knew tomorrow will be good!
mum really should not boss you around.
yes indeed, never give up, well said
Hi Tasha63,
My stroke was almost 3 years ago and affected my right side.
I am much better than I was, I looked up exercises on YouTube to supplement to ones the Stroke unit gave me. There's a lot there, including from other health trusts stroke teams in this country. I personally found ones from Rotherham NHS Trust very helpful. Also one from an American site Flint Rehab. The level 1 core exercises helps me exercises muscles I didn't know I had.
Might also be useful if your mum feels able to explore the side effects she can expect from her type of stroke. She might be able to use that knowledge to focus her energy in a more targeted way.
But all progress post a stroke is an important and amazing achievement. Keep up the good work
Kay
Hi, my stroke was five years ago and I still have times when standing is difficult. Ultimately, regular exercise is the answer. I was going to exercise classes for seniors three times a week before lockdown and although I walk and exercise at home, it is no substitute for my classes.
Unfortunately, prolong periods of sitting do not help as we need to use our muscles to keep them functioning. There are seated exercise programmes on line which may help, but we all have different bodies and strokes can affect us in very individual ways.
Fabulous thanks so much for the good advice Kay I will have a look online!
All the very best,
Tasha
Hi John,
Such a shame everything has stopped because of lockdown. Keeping everything crossed things get back to some normality soon and your exercise classes can start up again. Many thanks for the good advice. Mum gets fed up of the exercises but I tell her she needs to keep it up!
Take care,
Tasha
I also struggle to stand. no it never did subside!
My stroke was 10 months ago. And I walk every day. But I cannot stand for more than a few minutes or I fall over.
I do find that my affected side (left )leg aches and 'locks' into position if I stand still for 10 minutes or more - though I do not lose balance and walking daily plus exercises directed by my excellent physiotherapist are building my leg strength and stamina daily. Perhaps the best advice is to practice lifting each leg in turn and balancing on one legas long as you can - but build this up gradually from only a few seconds to begin with.
Regards
Chris Selway
I feel much the same way....I have also been very depressed and hardly any sleep unless I take a sleeping tablet...nightmare...both my hands are not good and I have a drop foot....I can't seem to get help from anyone...have you had any problems like this...xx