Now at 9 weeks post right medullory (brain stem stroke).
Initially the left side of my body had loss of sensation and numbness after my stroke. However, I have noticed over the last couple of weeks an increasing occurrance of the left side either feeling hot or a burning cold. The whole of my left side has become very sensitive especially if I lie on that side, which is annoying as I prefer to sleep on my left side and am now finding it harder to settle at night.
I am also noticing feelings that I can only assume are pain in the left leg, although it fels very different to how I experienced pain before my stroke.
I wonder if this is my brain starting to reconnect with that side of my body. Has anyone else experienced similar, if so was there anything that helped and did it change over time? Was there anything you did to help your brain reconnect and interpret whether you were hot and cold.
I am trying to remain curious about these new feelings rather than anxious and not give them too much energy.
The feelings coming back would suggest (I am not a stroke survivor and donât speak from experience) you are healing and getting the sensations back. I am sure we will get some first hand experience based feedback soon.
Wrt to sleeping, I am looing at getting essential oils (sprays/drops) to help my Mum to sleep as she is struggling (perhaps like you).
Hi @Lizzie22 when i suffered my stroke of thalamus in Dec, i had altered sensation, tingling &numbness of my left side. As things started to improve i did experience burning cold sensation in certain areas but not all the time. I too found it was nerves trying to make reconnections. This did stop on the back of my hand and face but i still have it in the sole of my left palm, left ,knee,foot and toes, its become chronic for myself with stiffness in my knee too My stroke consultant told me that the fact its not fully gone away, ive been left with what is called thalamic syndrome and has prescribed pregabalin low dose to see if it helps. Ive only just got them, so will see how i get on.
Maybe you could speak to your GP or ask your stroke nurse for advice.
@ManjiB
Hi, I use magnesium salts and lavender oil in the bath and then soak for 20 minutes to allow the body to absorb the magnesium, it helps soothe some of my aches and pains.
Hello Ann - wrt to the above, if you are willing to give it a go, here is a natural herbal type remedy that may help you.
This is from YouTube, but my Mum has used similar herbal remedies to treat all sorts of ailments.
You may be surprised with the results.
Remember, these are complimentary medicines not replacements to what your healthcare professionals have recommended or prescribed, though it is your choice if you wish to use only the herbals.
I do know that the brain stem relays sensory information from the brain to the rest of the body, including temperature. So, it may be your system trying to regulate itself after damage.
Hi Rups,
I do hope so, I had something similar after going through cancer treatment which left me with neuropathy in both feet. Over a period of months I noticed changes in sensation and the burning feeling was very prevelant and I went on to regain most of the feeling back in my feet, so fingers crossed for a similar result.
Hi Liz@lizzie, I get a creeping sensation across my body when I was a child we used to say"someone just walked over my grave"like you I think this is my brain, nerves and sensations coming back âonlineâ. I get pain in my left leg and arm stroke-affected side especially when they are trapped under my body weight. What helps? Moving them as best as I can. The other day my left leg got trapped under the bed rail my leg hurt for a couple of days because of the lack of circulation. Some of my symptoms may not be stroke related but may be as a result of the menopause, I donât know where one starts and the other ends. Sorry after all that I havenât been of much help. Take care. Michâ¤ď¸âđŠš
I know what you mean about the creeping sensation and pain due to the menopause. Before my stroke I was already struggling with joint and muscle pain and part of the reason I was taking HRT was to help with that.
It helps to know that what I am experiencing is similar to others, so thank you for reaching out. It is so easy to let anxiety run away with you when you are not sure what is going on with your body.
I am allergic to aspirin and all non steriodal anti inflammatories so cant take much in the way of pain meds to help. I have always managed my pain through regular deep tissue massage and occasional osteopathic adjustment and to be honest they have helped me far more than pain meds. Since I stopped my HRT after the stroke, I have noticed an increase in my pain levels and I am thinking of going to see my regular massage therapist for treatment. My only problem is that I donât know whether I will be able to tolerate it on the side effected by the stroke as I experience pain very differently to what I used to on that side.
It could well be the new connections. I am over 3 years post stroke and I still get this. The sendations, pain and stiffness keeps changing, its good that new connections are being made, we are slowly recovering.
Hi Lizzie
I took had a brain stem stroke , but affected my right side. Struggling to do most things what made it worse was feeling pain which I didnât have the 2 months I had in hospital butttt a feeling is a feeling ,good or bad. I wanted my arm and leg to work before I got pain but what would happen if I had a fall and hurt myself with no pain to tell me somethingâs wrong. So I try to put up with the joint aches that I didnât have before the stroke and take it that my brain knows best. Hopefully the arm and leg will follow. Also it was 30degrees outside but my right hand was freezing. A feeling is a feeling better than none but different
Russ
@Russ1
Hi Russ,
You are right, it is good to have some sensation as everything was more or less numb whilst I was in hospital. I have noticed that the sensation eases somewhat after an epsom salt bath. The pain is worse if the affected area is cold as that is when it feels like it is on fire, so I try to keep my arms and legs covered a this also seems to ease the amount of sensation I get.
