Fatigue after stroke - 86 YO

Matthew Scott
Matthew Scotton Saturday, January 4 2020
1 Comment

Hi there, 

My grandma (86YO) had an acute ischemic stroke that right side paralysis of her body. She has been alert since it happened and it is now the 12th day and we have seen some improvement. The speech therapist said she has made some good improvements and she is now able to swallow a bit but they still want to keep her on nasogastric feeding. She is still unable to move the right side and the physio has said she is not ready for exercise/physiotherapy yet. However, these two days she has continuously said she is tired - is this normal nearly 2 weeks after a stroke? Also, does anyone have any knowledge or experience with recovery among elderly stroke survivors? She was moved from the stroke unit to rehabilitation ward 2 days ago but we have been able to see the doctor and have made an appointment.  

Thank you!

1 Responses
StrokeLine avatar
StrokeLine

Hi Matthew,

 

Thank you for reaching out to the Stroke Foundation. I am really sorry to hear about your grandma’s stroke and the challenges she is facing. It is great to hear that she has such a supportive grandson in you, and that she is making some improvements.

 

It is good to hear that her swallowing has improved. The speech pathologists may be hesitant to upgrade her diet until her swallow is safe enough that her food won’t go down the wrong pipe. They would be concerned about causing complications if this happened, and this may be the reason why she is still on a nasogastric feed.

 

Yes, fatigue is very common 2 weeks after a stroke and is often described as a weariness that does not get better even after rest. There have been reports of half of stroke survivors experiencing fatigue post a stroke. You may like to visit our fatigue resource page on enable me that you can find here for more information. Some things that you could do to help reduce your grandmother’s fatigue is to have a family meeting with her treating team. If they haven’t already, the team can then look at the medication that your grandmother is on, any nutritional deficiencies, her sleep quality, and mood. They may even create a scheduled timetable including therapies and complete rest breaks to structure each day. After a stroke, even having social visits can be tiring for stroke survivors as they are having to use more mental effort to stay focused than before.

 

In terms of recovery among elderly stroke survivors, every stroke is different and recovery can depend on many things.

If you would like more information to discuss further, we are always happy to chat! You can call us on StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 (Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm, AEST) for one of our health professionals.

 

Thanks and best wishes to your grandmother

 

Warm regards,

 

Kath

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