Hi all . 6 months after stroke in cerebellum, which only affected my balance and gave me constant headaches. Am getting depressed cos I weave and sway especially if I do to much which I probably do as want to remain independent. It’s so frustrating that I struggle to carry shopping home and get to my second floor flat . My family are supporting me but do not want to ask for help in everyday tasks I could and should be able to do . It reduces me to tears some days when I have to force myself to do normal things that are now so tiring . Any advice on how I can pick myself back up will gratefully recieved.
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Hello Woody and nice to meet you.
My advice is simple, swallow your pride!
You are in a place where you should accept all the help you can get.
If you have had a chance to read some posts on this forum, you will have seen that being a stroke survivor is not easy and recovery will take as long as it takes.
There are no magic pills you can take and a lot of hard work will be required.
You will have ups and downs - this is normal.
You may cry and you may get frustrated, but you can laugh too!
You can celebrate successes and there will be many - you just have to acknowledge them.
You will have to learn to control yourself and your urges to do too much - your body and your brain will require more rest than might normally be needed. You may wish to have catnaps during the day.
Start slow, stay slow. There is no rush and if you rush, you risk pushback from your brain and body. Slowly build your strength and if there are days when it gets too much, cry a little and let it go.
Learn to listen to your body.
Be yourself - you are not in a competition.
Spend time with your family.
If you struggle to carry the shopping, see if you can make more trips with lighter loads. Go shopping every day instead of doing a weekly shop. Light exercise is good for you.
Whether this will help pick you up, I cannot say, but it works or me!
Other members will have their own offerings, but as I said, this is about you. You have to decide what works for you. We can suggest all sorts of things - these work for us, but they may not work for you, but you can try and then try some more.
Wishing you all the best.
Namaste|
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Cerebellar stroke, I had four of the blighters. The cerebellum is an emotional regulator in the brain, 
it is an integrator and equaliser for emotions. Weaving and swaying is because it also regulates the vestibular system which is balance. The tiring aspect is just neuro-fatigue which is, mostly, typical for many stroke survivors. That requires managing on a physical and mental level, while you think you haven’t done a lot, your brain has been thinking and that causes brain drain, not only that but movement is one of the biggest zaps on brain energy and cerebellar stroke affects visual and spatial awareness which is constant in movement. Fifty percent of your daily activity gets zapped because you are moving around. I can’t comment on your particular symptoms but it sounds like six months out of cerebellar stroke you are doing pretty well, cerebellar stroke has a higher rate of rehabilitation than other strokes but it also has a higher morbidity too, depending on the damage and where it hit. Have a look at my post cerebellar stroke in a nutshell, it might help you answer some niggling questions.
As for depression, well, stroke can bring on depression for any survivor. It’s life interrupted. As I aforementioned, the cerebellum is a key part of the brain regulating emotions. I acquired CCAS which is Cognitive Cerebellar Affective Syndrome which is more complex than depression and includes things like dysmetria of thought and prediction signal error mismatching, these can affect people with damaged cerebellums greatly. If it doesn’t resolve, it becomes a problem, and is fairly new research.
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Hi @Woody1967 & welcome to the community.
You are still early in your recovery journey & it sounds to me like you need to rest more. You may think you aren’t doing too much but in the early days after a stroke (& 6 months is still early) it doesn’t take much to wipe you out, Your brain is trying to recover & needs more rest than the average person. No one likes to ask for help but don’t be afraid too……..we have to adjust to our new levels of activity & build up gradually from there.
Emotional lability is common after a stroke & that may be why you’re crying. That will improve in time.
You say your family are supportive so please do ask them for help. Carrying shopping up to your flat would be hard work pre stroke after stroke even harder. You can still do these things but you need to build in rest breaks afterwards.
Best wishes
Ann
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Sorry to hear you’re struggling. After my stroke, I suffered from depression and fatigue. I had tablets for the depression in the early days, but things got better and I found I no longer needed them. Don’t fight fatigue. Your brain needs time to repair. Rest when you need to. I have “power naps” quite often. Do you really need to get the shopping yourself? I have my shopping delivered by Mr Sainsbury! (other stores are available 
). I find it also saves me money. Lastly, if you need help, ASK! Friends/family often feel helpless & would love to be able to do something to help out. Be kind to yourself.
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There is no ‘could and should’ to stroke recovery. Your brain healing sets the pace and has no timescale. I have to remind myself of this too, because I get frustrated and discouraged by what it all involves. Rest is the healer, so feel good to give in to fatigue; this is your brain talking. It would be super if we could take charge of it but we can’t. We have to be gracious about our limitations, then the barriers stretch and we can move a little further.
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Yes recognise all you say, I am 18 months down the cerebellum stroke road. I look and operate as “normal” until I don’t. Then it’s rest rest rest sometimes for a couple of days as I am always busy….thinking, moving about, trying to do the things I used to. I came a cropper by falling in the street and ended up a day in A&E by doing this, so I learnt my lesson….i can’t carry the shopping either, but hey so what….i use Mr Tesco to deliver, he came just on Saturday actually and we had a wee conversation about Peaky Blinders cos he was from Birmingham, (irrelevant I know). It’s hard to manage the depression, be patient with yourself, try and sit with the thoughts until they wane and then try to find a distraction if you feel able. That’s what I do anyway. Lots of reading on here you may find comfort from too x
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I totally get the point of not asking for help with some tasks. I was the same but I also new it wasn’t doing me any good not asking. My wife was having to help more but she suffers with health issues also. So together we managed and eventually took any help what was offered. Now just over a year from the stroke day I’m coping better I’m back part time at work and getting about more. But things like the weekly shop are delivered and other large tasks are done with daughters help.
It will get better but don’t push yourself. It’s not worth it. Even now if I do the fatigue hits me and knocks me up. So I try not to.
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Hi @Woody1967
Welcome to the Online Community, and thank you for being so open, I can see you’ve already had some lovely replies from our members.
You’ve had a lot to deal with these past six months. Wanting to keep doing things for yourself makes complete sense, and lots of people here have felt that same pull between staying independent and asking for help. You’re in good company here. 
If you have any questions about the Online Community, feel free to tag me or my colleague Anna with @ and our username.
Best wishes,
Alex
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