You will know when it is the right time to give work a try. Getting your mental health right is a must I would say before returning. My mental health is usually ok but it suffered when I returned to work as returning reminder me of a lot of the things I couldn’t do because of my stroke. I didn’t let it get me down for too long as I told myself just returning was a massive achievement in itself as shortly after my stroke I didn’t wver think I would get there.
Best wishes
Ann
Thanks Ann,
I have a few sessions with the counsellor planned and they will overlap with my return to work
I know from past experience that going back too soon for me would be very bad, as did that after my cancer treatment and ended up overwhelmed and unwell very quickly.
Hi Lizzie,
I had a similar stroke to yours at the end of August. My left side being the issue. I struggled to distinguish hot and cold, couldn’t swallow anything. I had 3 weeks in hospital because of the swallowing problem. I also suffered with fatigue.
I was making really good progress until last week. Started with left leg pain, which progressed into severe pain. I really struggled to put any weight on it until today. The doctor put me on amitriptline,( which can take weeks to work). Yet today the pain has reduced, and I can move around. Not sure if ive been diagnosed correctly (nerve pain). I think it might be something else?
Anyway good luck and stay positive.
Mike
Hello Mike @JoeFabulous11 - just a quick welcome to the community and a thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Hope things improve for you soon 
Namaste|
I just wanted to welcome you to the community, I hope you’ll find this community helpful for your recovery.
If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your stroke, its a shock when it happens and dealing with the after affects can be challenging.
I am also struggling with leg pain, but I believe this in part due to problems I was having prior to my stroke.
The first 3 months after my stroke weren’t too bad as most of my left side was numb. However once I started to get sensation back in the form of an intense cold burning feeling, I also started to get shooting pain in my hip and up my shin when walking.
I have been using a combination of using a tens machine at night, a percussion massager, epsom salt baths and amitryptaline to mannage the pain. Mostly this combination works. I have now added fascia work done by my excellent osteopath.
Not everything works all of the time, and it is trial and error to find what works each day.
I wish you well with your recovery, make sure you give yourself time to rest as I have found that to be the most effective remedy. Your brain will be working extra hard at this point in your recover to build new neural pathways. Try to eat healthily to get the best nutrients into your body to help it repair itself. Equally important is looking after your mental health, don’t be afraid to ask for support.
Liz
9 Months Post stroke - back at work.
Hi All,
It’s been a while since I last posted, have been getting on with life with my new normal. I returned to work at the start of Dec 25 on a 3 month phased return. It has been challenging! fatigue, cognitive problems and frustration have all played their part.
I am now back to working 6.5hrs out of a normal 9.5hr day 4 days a week, quite an achievement. I have managed this by having an hours lunch, so that I can take a 40 minute ‘nanna nap’ in the car every day. I can get through the work day ok now, but can’t really do much once I am home as fatigue sets in. This is frustrating as I would love to have the energy to pursue my crafting hobbies.
I always used lists for work to help prioritise, but find I need to use them even more now so that I don’t forget things as my memory is worse since my stroke. Thankfully my employer has been very understanding and does not put me under any pressure. I find it very frustrating not being able to work at the pace I was used to and things having to be done more slowly, but I am slowly learning to accept this and dare I say to enjoy the slower pace.
I still have loss of sensation down my left side, but have noticed that the sensations change in intensity in different areas as time has gone by, so have concluded my brain is still working away in the background to make sense of what my body is trying to tell it. I am still taking amitriptyline to help with the burning cold sensation, which is much more noticeable at night but have stopped using the TEN’s machine as it stopped being helpful. My left side has become stiffer in recent weeks, especially my hand, arm and shoulder and I wondered if this is the natural progression after having a stroke. I have been doing stretching and some strength exercises which seems to be helping.
I am still having regular counselling support as I find it really helpful in dealing with all the frustrations and worries that having a stroke and cancer brings. I use mindfulness apps such as Calm and Headspace to help with stress and sleeplessness as that is a daily problem.
Despite all this life is still good and I am doing my best to live each day, I am so grateful that I get to do this. Having a stroke is scary and not knowing how life will be afterwards can make you feel depressed and anxious. If this has happened to you, just remember ‘one day at a time’ ‘one hour at a time’ one minute at a time’. When i am struggling, I take a minute to breath, an hour to rest and remember today is another day I get to live.
Keep on keeping on. 
Well done Lizzie - this is wonderful news. It is so good to read and see how much you have achieved and how you have done it.
I feel it deserves a new post as it is new phase in your stroke recovery and it might help those returning to work what can be done and how it can be done.
I hope you don’t mind, if I take the liberty to open a new post for you and link this to it. Sometimes when a post becomes long, it can lose track of the main message and in this case I feel this could be a new standalone message but it is still linked to your original post.
I hope you don’t mind and my apologies in advance
Hi Manjib,
Thank you for your kind words, I have no objections to you creating a new post especially if it helps others.
Lizx
Hi @Lizzie22 it’s great to read how you’re getting on. Everything you describe about returning to work is very similar to how I felt when I returned. You haven’t been back very long yet so as time moves forward you may find that the fatigue lessens and you can get back to doing more outside of work.
I still get fatigue and never made it back to full time work but I am happy enough with my part time hours. There are many benefits to being able to work that I can put up with the downsides.
Best wishes
Ann