EnableMe | enableme - stroke recovery and support

My name is Jim, and my stroke journey started whilst on holidays in Cairns late in May 2016. My wife and I had been out for an evening meal, and just after returning to our accommodation I found the left hand side of my mouth and tongue becoming numb. My immediate thought was that I was having some sought of allergic reaction, after another 5 minutes or so, my left hand also went numb and I felt spaced out. By this stage my face had dropped and my balance had also deteriorated.

Off we went to Cairns Hospital, where I was diagnosed with a right Thalamic stroke. My recovery was quite quick, I had a week in hospital and then back home a fortnight after the event. Initially I found the tiredness, headaches and minor balance issues a challenge. My recovery included Tie chi for balance and as much walking as I could cope with. I also recommenced a brain training program called “Lumosity”. I had been doing this program for two years prior to my event and it was interesting to compare the before and after score. Initially my scores were down particularly the memory component of the program. After about 6 to 7 weeks my scores were back to their previous levels.

I have been a very keen cyclist in my later years, competing in weekly club races and annually at a national level. After about 4 weeks I was back to driving locally, and also back on the bike gradually building up rides of about 50 klm. I could do this without too much tiredness. At this stage I was also doing some light gym work.

The tiredness and headaches gradually diminished although I did find driving in the larger cities a bit of a challenge usually resulting in the fogy headache that others have described. These symptoms also arose when I would go to large regional shopping centres and when we have had large family gatherings. This reaction gradually diminished to the point where it was almost no issue.

About a month ago the symptoms described reappeared particularly when given any mental challenge. This came as a surprise, I guess I had naively expected a lineal improvement and it was disappointing to have this regression. It could be bought on by something as simple as reading Saturdays Age or doing advanced Tie chi (in the beginners group I was able to copy others, the advanced group was smaller so I had to think my way through it). My memory and ability to carry out complex tasks seem to be diminished.

Initially my expectations of recovery were probably unrealistic. I guess we all want our old life back. I have a great circle of friends who were very supportive and gave me lots of encouragement particularly with my riding. I have no outward signs that I have had a stroke and occasionally I feel that they don’t realise that sometimes while I look OK I feel like crap.

Being able to read other peoples stories has made me realize that I have been very fortunate to have recovered as well as I have, and that if I keep chipping away ( not to hard) at my issues then hopefully my rehabilitation will continue..

Thanks for reading this

Cheers Jim

Hi Jim, Your comments and experience will be very informative/ helpful for others. Thankyou for sharing. As an allied health professional, my advice is that 'every stroke is different' but what seems like a relatively 'mild' stroke can leave people with residual symptoms/impairments such as you describe, that only become apparent when people are challenged. Often when people return to work, driving or other activities, fatigue or cognitive problems that have not been apparent are more evident.

However....if symptoms such as limb weakness, or speech problems RECUR (ie the FAST criteria) or get worse, be more concerned and seek immediate medical advice. Worsening or recurrence of symptoms might mean that blood vessels are becoming blocked again, and another stroke is occurring or 'extending'.

Be assured that recovery from relatively mild strokes can take many months - particularly fatigue and slow information processing/advanced thinking/ cognitive skills.

Thanks for sharing your story Jim , I think a lot of people will benefit from your descriptions of how you found life before and after your stroke.

Having just finished my Lumosity training for the day I love to hear people talk about how they know this brain training helps them.

And your comment about "just keep chipping away " that sound helpful at those tasks which can seem monumental but are important.

Thanks for being honest :)

Enjoy your week

Sue

Sue I began with Lumosity January 16 , my chosen areas being memory and speed. I was happy with progress,evident to me during MahJong games. However since the minor Event of four weeks ago memory and speed have dropped off. I am aware that my general thought processing has slowed down.The Lumosity stats reveal the change. I will continue my daily training session and look forward to positive changes. JENNY