Dear Yvonne
Very sensible to rest downstairs rather than go back to bed.
Thats very early to return to work, you are one very strong lady. At least its a phased return.
I think adequate night time sleep is essential otherwise the fatigue etc goes wild.
You are doing very well indeed.
Best wishes
Colin
Hi Colin, I'm glad that yoga is working for you, I'm not sure that I'd be able to persuade my husband to try that, we'll have to stick to walking!!
I went to visit a neighbour today, and she told me a funny story about when she did yoga. She lives alone, and decided to try one of the yoga positions where she sat in lotus position, then with her hand sort of over one shoulder and the other behind her back, with thumbs linked. She got stuck, and couldn't move!! Apparently this is a pose which you shouldn't try if you alone!! She thought that this was "The End" and that she'd be found weeks later, just a skeleton stuck in the yoga position!! As she was thinking this, she began to laugh, and suddenly found she was able to release the position!! So just be careful what you get up to, yoga may seriously damage your health!!
Easy tiger!!
Thank you colin I only went back to work after getting doctors advice otherwise would have carried on following his orders but was doing well as I'd packed in smoking after stroke went on healthy eating and went to the gym
The yoga class I take is specifically for, loosely speaking, disabled people. It is ideal for us SS that are still less than totally mobile. My yogi has released a muscle in my back which has enabled me to bend down much better than before. But better still she has unglued my lower leg/ankle/foot and the improvement to my walking is fab. Something she cant do is to get my core centred. Not sure where I go on the core.
There is just so much info she gives to us.
Just a small improvement is everything to me. I must ask her about SF. That might be interesting. But none of my fellow students have fatigue. Maybe a private hour or two would be good.
She is particularly well skilled for PTSD.
Lovely sunshine again. I amd admiring it before it disappears.
Colin
Dear Yvonne
One of the effects stroke has on me is that my memory and thinking are dubious.
I have noted how about nine months is a reasonable time to try a phased return. Why I thought you had returned after just a few weeks is a mystery. Maybe I thought April was just recent. I wish my brain didnt malfuncyion.
So a big apology. You are doing brilliantly.
Colin
Ah thank you colin but it was April 2019 I had my stroke and did return to work June 2019 as my doctor was pleased wit my progress so was off for 8 weeks so no apology needed??
Hi Colin, I think Pilates concentrates on building a strong core, also helps with balance. I think with most of these therapies, finding the right therapist is absolutely vital - there are good and bad therapists whichever discipline you choose!
It will be an afternoon of 6 nations rugby for me - I enjoy it more than the rugby world cup, it's a really great competition, and cheers me up at this time of year!! ? ? I once met Phil Vickery, he came to my school to 'open' a new unit, and I was desperate to have a 'selfie' with him - all I can say is I was totally star struck!!! HaHa, ?.
Have a good w/end, batten the hatches xx
Thanks for the info.
Pilates will be far too hard for me at this stage. My core is way off centre, which is weird. When I get it straight then I will work on the strength. I use a magnetic band but it doesnt seem to make any diffrence. How much is in my head and how much is real is an unknown.
I too like the 6 nations rugby.
But what do I do...listen to my soccer team as I do most Saturdays or do I watch Ireland hopefully beating Wales. I will do both.
Colin
Hi, first time in any discussion so please bear with me...I suffered my stroke at the end of November. My recovery has been very good, all weakness down my right side virtually back to normal now, still have a slight speech impediment, but returning to work is now on the horizon....with tiredness and fatigue a worry. Have already spoken to work who have agreed to reduced hours for the first few weeks, but reading about post stroke fatigue - am a little worried it could be a real issue for me
Hi Mathew I had my stroke 5 years ago. I work full time and find the only way I can manage my fatigue is to work 4 10 hour shifts and use the long weekend to recover I was also diagnosed with sleep apnea due to my stroke and have to wear a cpap mask in bed you may like to discuss this with your gp as I found this helped hope this helps
Thanks for your reply - so post stroke fatigue can last a long time...
Hi Matthew, You do not say how old you are. I am now 76 and had my stroke four years ago. Fatigue hit me on my first day home. It has eased, but still hits me every day. What is odd is that I get up at 7.30am and fatigue starts to kick in at 11.0am (after 3.5hrs)I last till about 1pm then have an hour's bed rest. After that I am okay till 11pm (9 hours).
In my case, age is probably a factor. Post stroke fatigue, however, is well known, but little understood. The Stroke Association have a useful publication on their website. Hope this helps.
I am 49,
My job is a grocery delivery driver, and while my employer has said shorter hours on my return, the job is fairly physical. Shorter hours to ease me back into work but their expectation is normal hours after four weeks.
Unfortunately it is in my case but every stroke is different you may be able to put things in action that suits you best as when I had my stroke I had to learn how to socialise without seeming to be aggressive or invading people's personal space also as my memory was shot I had to put things in place to a point of being accused of having ocd to function normally these little things made a difference and helped me
You have youth on your side compared to me. I hope things work out for you.
I had a stroke seven years ago and I was out of breath and had no energy at all to do anything whatsoever, all the time, I couldn't get out of bed in the mornings especially during my cycle but with adequate rest, gentle exercise and a partial keto diet, it is getting better. My brain still feels a little whiplashed when I'm travelling up to a mile away even in a vehicle so I try to pace myself and take it easier because it's not a nice feeling.
Thank you
Dear MAthew
Sorry to learn of the stroke that bit you. You are going very well with your recovery. My speech impediment lasted six months and got easier and easier during those six months.
I believe the medical term is "post stroke tiredness". What a useless term that is. About three years ago the contribtors to this forum described it as stroke fatigue or SF. The terminology seems to have stuck !
I can identify the difference between being sleepy tired and being stroke fatigued, although I am lead to believe many can not tell the difference.
SF in my case is particularly bad but every stroke is different. I recovered my mobility very quickly, but the SF is still going now, 4+years later.
SF did ease (a lot) over the first two years. After just ten months it suddenly ceased (what a fab day that was) but restarted the next day. I had one further day when it cleared for a few hours. But that was it. I am making the point that it can clear and when it does you really notice. Also, lots of SS do have the SF clear but no one has any idea if thats 80% 50% or 20%.
Medical support for SF is hopeless. No one knows what causes it. Science is, at last, looking in to this, probably due to the increasing number of ME sufferers.
I have observed that return to work is probably right from about nine months. A heavily phased return is much much better. When discussing your return, then politely ask if HR can have someone on their team with training in stroke. The perception and understanding towards us SS is just awful. HR are unlikely to have a clue. You will come across the idea that you look well so you must be well. Even worse that you must now be better. Of course we never "get better" in general parlance terms. Stroke damage is permanent. We become new people. The old us doesnt "get better".
Most of us get very satisfactory improvement sometime between 6 months and 24 months.
I am not medically trained, I have just listened to other SS for four years.
The vagueness is so frustrating isnt it. And the time scale likewise.
Whatever, if you smile a lot and if you look at what you can do rather than what you can not, then things will improve.
Colin
Dear Asaliph
Thank you for your very interesting post.
Those with several years experience post stroke can give so much wisdom to those of us who are further back on the journey.
I am especially interested in your disability with travel. I seem unable to travel for an hour or more. Train/bus/car/taxi/walking. Any travel slays me. When I travel the SF increases rapidly until I literally fall to my knees. Not something I can do on a train or bus ! I feel very much alone with this problem. Pre stroke I had no travel sickness etc.
I try to rest as much as I need, but find this so difficult. The rest of the world works differently from me!
I have adjusted diet slightly.
I did exercise gently for a couple of years. Perhaps I should try to revert to a stricter regime.
I always get out of bed. If necessary I sleep in an armchair or, in the worst cases, lie on the setee.
I am currently trying to make a fresh approach to see if any help is available for SF.
Best wishes
Colin
I had my stroke in May 2018, I spent most of the 'long hot summer' lounging in the back garden, with 'a head full of cotton wool' dizzy, weak and being exhausted after minor exertion, at times I felt like 'a dishrag'. It wasn't a severe stroke, just my left leg and to some extent my left arm, the prognosis was good, I should make a full recovery. I am continuing to recover but as with many stroke sufferers, I still suffer from fatigue, the 'cotton wool head' has gone and dizziness is now just a rare, mild and short lived irritation.
Fatigue appears out of the blue, I have just managed 2 months averaging more than 10k steps per day, this month it has dropped to 7k and I am finding that hard work, but it is improving, I try not to over-exercise, fatigue episodes are less debilitating and recovery is faster.
I was advised to keep a diary, which I have done since July 2018, looking back progress is quite clear and logging my steps and distance covered has also helped. Driving is an issue, I try to avoid heavy traffic areas and rush hour other than that I can drive up to 200 miles in a day, but it is tiring, it took me about 12 months to work up to being able to make a 60 mile round trip on my own. I am sleeping better but not as good as before I had my stroke
I am retired and was when I had my stroke but there is no way that I could have returned to work, even if the office wasn't over 35 miles from home, concentration and conversation are still tiring.
In short it gets better, it is a long journey but when I look around at my fellow sufferers, I have nothing to complain about.