I am not an expert/medical professional, so what I say here is only from my own life experciences of caring for elderly parents, in-laws, my own family and my own personal health issues over the years, the most recent being my stroke.
A stroke is a life threatening experience, fatal in many cases.
And just like any major surgery, illness, trauma, such as open heart surgery, cancer, long covid or a hip replacement, it’s debilitating and takes 6 months to a year to recover from, and then some!
Recovery takes energy. Healing a scratch takes energy you don’t even notice or miss. But healing stroke brains take a heck of a lot more energy than that! And that energy comes from carbohydrates, protein, and fats. And just as with any other major illness, you can be off your food. Some people’s appetites are also hampered by diatery conditions and certain medications too.
You’d be surprised how much energy you can burn up from doing absolutely nothing! So when in the early stages of recovery post stroke, the smallest of activity will sap your energy level. Just going to the bathroom and back to bed or your armchair can drain you when you are in recovery mode. For some one in there 80’s for instance, they’ll barely be consuming enough to just keep them ticking over.
The less you do, the less you tend to consume but the body still needs it’s full quota of energy both to heal and function. And that healing process will take its energy from wherever it can get it. Hence people lose weight, feel drained, no umph, fatigued. If left unchecked it can lead to other health issues such as chest infections, pneumonia, etc.
So your body may need a boost! And it would probably do no harm to boost your diet with nutrient shake such as Ensure or Complan or whatever your chemist recommends, to cover all the bases. They are usually high in protein and vitamin enriched, also vital to brain recovery, and also boost the energy levels. Shakes are usually in powder form but also in liquid form, and can either be used as a drink or mixed into foods. They come in the usual flavours such as chocolate, strawberry, vanilla or even banana depending on brands. It might only be for the initial few of weeks or months and you may not see the benefit in the initial few days, it will be gradual. But it’ll also be reducing the risk of other health issues developing.
Just remember, starving the body is starving the brain of vital nutrients it needs to heal, repair, and function.
The older you are the harder it is to just bounce back because of the body’s natural deterioration with age. Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) drops as you get older because muscle mass decreases. An 80 year old won’t bounce back as well or as quickly as say a 60 year old. But it can get better, easier, as time goes on.
for anyone struggling to get enough calories these drinks are 330 calories per drink and whilst they aren’t the tastiest thing you’ll ever have they’re not that bad.