I am feeling fatigued, am I doing to much?

Hi Shaz,

Thank you so much for getting in touch.

We are so sorry to hear of your recent stroke and the ongoing tingling and numbness you are experiencing. It also sounds like you've had a challenging time with therapy.

As a starting point, I just wanted to clarify whether your doctors called it a minor stroke or (small) stroke? The wording can be a bit confusing sometimes; essentially when we say minor stroke (or Transient Ischaemic Attack, TIA) the stroke symptoms resolve in less than 24 hours. A stroke (even if “small”) is different as symptoms last longer than 24 hours. I just wanted to mention this in case others reading wonder.

It’s fantastic you are involved in therapy this early on – are you seeing a physiotherapist and/or occupational therapist? Have you spoken to them about your experience and let them know that your body feels heavy after therapy? This would be a great starting point.

Ask them to review the type of exercises you do as well as the intensity, frequency and rest periods in between. Everyone’s tolerance in therapy is quite individual and sometime it does take fine tuning to find the best fit for you – you really do need to be guided by your therapists though. Give them a call and ask whether to continue the exercises or wait till you see them again.

Let your GP know about your progress too and ask them to check if there could be anything else contributing to your symptoms.

If you aren't seeing a team of therapists, let us know and we can let you know how to obtain a referral.

Remember too if symptoms worsen or you are concerned, speak to your GP or call 000.

Best wishes Shaz. Please free to give us a call on StrokeLine too if you would like more support.

Lisa (StrokeLine)

1800 787 653

Hi Shaz,

Here are some answers from Facebook.

Laine Yates Be kind to yourself! That’s the advice we would give to our friends. Give your body permission to rest and remember that your brain (& body) have been thru a lot of trauma & needs time 2 heal.
Fatigue is a huge issue, so try & listen 2 your body. It’s a hard lesson, but 8 years on, I’m listening a lot better!! 😜
Sending u love & light,
Laine xx

Stuart Armsworth What I set my sights on was to do more/better at every rehab session.... yes it was exhausting but you’ll reap long term rewards from all the work you put in!

Corrine McLennan Shaz, I had a thalamic bleed on Boxing Day and have complete left side numbness and tingling and heaviness. I find when I’m fatiguing everything feels even heavier. This is the point to stop and rest.
Talk to your care team and seek advice, maybe you’re doing too much without enough rest in between.
Sensory problems can take a long time to come right again so I’m told. Hang in there, remember you’re only 3 weeks in, let yourself rest xo

Marcia Johnston Sharon take a note if the numbness and tingling happens more frequently. I had a Thalamic hemorrhage and ended up with intolerable intractable severe dysesthetic pain in half of my body. It used to be called thalamic pain, but is now called Central pain. A good neurologist can help a lot. And you have been given wonderful advice here.

Anna Tam I had a mild stroke two years ago. You just need to exercise everyday. Doesn’t need to be too vigorously. I believe time is the operative word. No matter how hard you exercise, still takes two years for the numbness to go away. Keep in mind , it will!

Tracy Staples Sharon 4 years on and i still feel like that. You just listen to your body u know it best. Small steps but dont stress. Enjoy the small achievments

Terri Kendrick All of these peeps have given you good strong advice for you it is early days soo don’t be too hard on yourself give it time nearly every stroke person I know suffers with over whelming fatigue listen to your body and take it a bit easier for a while maybe look to join a stroke support group if there is one in your are I found this a big help as I could ask other stroke peeps these sort of questions I belong to one in Windsor Sydney and I’m blessed to call all the peeps there my very dear friends good luck to you txxx

Jen Bee Take it easy on yourself. Some days you will be able to do more than others.
Stroke fatigue is something that doesn’t go away with rest. Some days you will feel like your limbs and brain have been filled with sand. And other days you will jump mountains. It’s just learning to adapt to your new normal xx