Unimportant

Oh Shadow, 

You are sounding totally overwhelmed which is understandable. One month in means your brain is still recovering and you are still adjusting to post stroke life. Your family are also having to adjust to this situation. Please give Strokeline a call 1800 787 653 and talk to them. Be kind to yourself and know that you can vent however much you like on here.

Take care

Toni

Hi Shadow,

We are so sorry to hear about your recent stroke and that you’re feeling this way. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. As Toni has mentioned it is early days and it can take some time to adjust to life after stroke. Having good support and feeling heard is important. I’m sorry you’ve not felt your medical team have been very responsive to your concerns.

Many stroke survivors experience fatigue and it can have a significant impact on your ability to do everyday activities. It’s not uncommon for people to find keeping up with the housework, running the family and other previous roles challenging. I imagine it must be frustrating if you feel your partner isn’t stepping up and is avoiding you. Do you feel he understands enough about stroke? You may find some of these conversations on cognitive fatigue and practical ways to manage fatigue helpful. If your partner is open to learning more about the impact of stroke we also have a list of helpful fact sheets and a podcast. The one on fatigue may be of particular interest.

Would you be open to calling us on StrokeLine so that we can provide you with more support, advice and information? You can call 1800 787 653 Monday – Friday 9am-5pm or message us your number and we can call you. You are not alone and we are here to help. Many people find having a chat to one of the health professionals in our team useful.

Thinking of you,

Simone (StrokeLine)

I am sorry to read your post. Like a stone thrown into a pond, your brain is still dealing with the ripples of your stroke. How long they continue no one knows, so please continue posting your thoughts, problems, and anxieties. People here will understand what you are going through. 

Marcus

Hi Shadow, 

Your situation sounds totally overwhelming. With good reason - the lack of support for you and your family is a very hard situation.

Sorry that it is like this for you - yes give Strokeline a call and I hope that some of that "support" everyone is mentioning to you can be directed your way.

Sue

It's a really weird thing to deal with after a stroke. People keep telling me I'm still in recovery but it doesn't feel like that. I had a series of strokes in April, 2 decent ones and 3 they classed as mini strokes. Before that I was fairly busy at work as a project officer for a disaster management team in local government and on a rotating roster for after hours emergency response. After my strokes the symptoms seemed to fade relatively quickly, I regained the strength I had lost in my right arm but I just feel different. I ran a martial arts school and have tried to get back into that without doing any of the heavy stuff and sparing but I've lost interest. I'm really lucky in that I have a loving and supportive wife and family but the effects of post stroke depression can be a real bugger to get your head around. I never use to think much about depression and anxiety and would think of them as a sign of weakness. I have a different view of them now. It's the little things like pulling back from social outings and not being able to respond as quickly to situations as I was. If I can recommend anything to you, the value of being able to talk to a counsellor about what you're going through is huge. A very beautiful lady who has kind of taken me under her wing once said to me that just because I've had strokes, that doesn't define who I am. It just changes some of the things about my life so I can work around it. Don't give up. You're still you.