Fatigue / Post-stroke Fatigue

[ManjiB]

Greetings Membas!

This post is informational and it is about fatigue.

I have been reading quite a few posts about fatigue and how it is/might be different for stroke survivors. I may have missed the help that is available to stroke survivors, but in my mind, the impression I get is that this something that (all) stroke survivors experience and there is not much that can be done about it.

If the last part of the previous sentence is true i.e. “**there is not much that can be done about it **” this could be my misunderstanding or it may be the view/experience of stroke survivors.

Assuming it is true, I find this unacceptable and would challenge this belief. I am of the opinion, there are always things that can be done, just that we may not always know it when we need it.

I am a carer for my Mum who is severely impacted both physically and mentally by the damage the stroke did, but in caring for her we treat her as a “normal” (non-stroke affected) person. We don’t think she is a stroke survivor and so this can be done or can’t be done. We try to understand what is bothering her, what she needs help with and try to give it.

The idea behind this is to be non-discriminatory. She has already been discriminated against on various levels by the healthcare professionals and they continue to discriminate, but we do not. We do the best we can sometimes with some token help, but more often than not, by ourselves.

This works for us and it works for Mum. Any guests, visitors are encouraged to do the same i.e. not treat Mum as a stroke survivor, which sometimes they (guests) find difficult, but nevertheless that is what we encourage.

Following on from the above and having seen a few posts on stroke fatigue, I did some research and found some articles on the internut and I have selected a few that I believe might be from reliable sources. These are for information and they may also help those who are plagued with fatigue.

I would also recommend having a blood test done to see if there might be some deficiency that is causing or contributing to the fatigue.

In addition, I would not want to worry about the term “stroke fatigue” - I have seen several posts that say “my GP does not recognise Stroke fatigue or does not accept stroke fatigue exists”.

OK, so it doesn’t exist by the name “stroke fatigue”, but fatigue does exist and no doctor however ignorant they might be will try to deny that. So when you see a GP and he/she says Doctor: “There is no such thing as stroke fatigue, or words to that effect”,
your response "Fine, treat the normal fatigue that I am experiencing - you call it what you like. I am experiencing fatigue and I would like you to treat it.

Don’t get hung up on terminology - discuss aliment and symptoms and get the help you need instead of being fobbed off.

Articles to read for professional help.

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UK NHS

fatigue-after-stroke_nov23.pdf

Fatigue management – Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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OTHER ORGANISATIONS
Fighting Through Fatigue | American Stroke Association

fatigue-following-Stroke.pdf

More than tiredness - what’s really behind post-stroke fatigue? | Faculty of Biological Sciences | University of Leeds

Why am I so tired after my stroke? - PMC

fatigue_after_stroke.pdf

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Namaste|

[Mrs5K]

Thanks for sharing all the links etc. Management is the key to fatigue however that is easier said than done sometimes as life has to continue.

We should however ensure we get our bloods tested regularly as what might start as post stroke fatigue could turn into something else. We have to be careful not to blame everything on our strokes as we are just as likely as the next person to get other illnesses and conditions too.

I do get fatigue, I have had many blood tests ans have rules out other things but I know I don’t manage my fatigue as well as I should do. Partly because I don’t want to give in but also because I have to work.

Fatigue in general isn’t great whatever the cause.

[Rups]

In my view, people without brain injury can get neuro-fatigue, just with brain injury it is more pronounced with everyday mental tasks. I once had a partner who had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and while there were ways she could manage it, it was still there at times. There are ways to manage fatigue but whether or not there are ways to get on top of it completely, I am ignorant to say. As our brains are all wired differently due to DNA, nature and nurture, I would say neuro-fatigue affects those with brain damage subjectively and it would take millions of individually tailored remedies and recommendations for each individual. As an example, if I feel energetic enough to do an activity, I feel great, if I start to think about some stressful problem or emotional situation in my life, fatigue can set in, it can even do this if I am relaxing in bed. Fatigue can be simply the heavy burden of something the brain finds difficult to rationalise or settle with. I can mind blank to reset my brain one minute and then walk into the kitchen and start worrying about something, only to have the fatigue regain its hold. I think it’s about the brain ‘s limited power, and some people can manage it more effectively than others. We see this with with people who might have a higher pain threshold than others. It’s psychology and physiology all entangled in personality and genes. That’s a taste of my view anyway.

[Jbob]

I totally agree with this Rups, before stroke and lifelong have been dyslexic in a time where dyslexia did not exist, coupled with an uber strict Catholic education I was no stranger to abuse for being stupid. The truth was revealed when I had an adult diagnosis , I was shown a model of the brain and how mine is. It takes so much more effort and output to compute coupled with a frustration of knowing things but not being able to see them.

It turns out I was almost exhausted in class all the time the additional pressure of waiting to be exposed as a clown again didn’t help . I learned to cope but know how brain fade and fatigue left me exhausted, still does at training days as can have too much focus but now just ask for 10 minute break and nap then back and ok.

Anyone suffering from fatigue(I’m lucky it’s only very mild) has my deepest sympathy as it is so hard to try and explain anything like this as it can consume you before you know it.