It is a long road but with drive and determination....and support of loved ones you will get there.
Sorry to hear. I'm only 18 months post stroke, but also had a hemorrhage affecting my left side.
Do you find that mental tasks bring on your fatigue more than physical exertion? I certainly do. I'm not back at work just yet, but start volunteering for the Stroke Association in a hospital setting, soon. My sleep pattern hasn't been great since the bleed, so i'm currently working on it.
I've done a charity 5k fun run and been to many festivals over the past year, but have felt fine after them. Admin type tasks, lengthy conversations and distressing events, are my biggest fatigue triggers.
Hi. Sorry to hear of your stroke, obviously similar to mine so I understand all you say. I have for many years battled through but as I’ve said think the operation I had was a major trigger to the fatigue restarting very badly.
Any concentration is tiring including admin type tasks. I especially find driving in the dark very tiring.
my sleep pattern is once again all over the place. My smart watch tells me last night I had 3.24 hours sleep and only 14% of that was in a deep sleep. No wonder I’m tired.
I went back to work much too quickly due to financial and other pressures and have found it difficult to sustain a career and now just volunteer for the Association.
Take heart though as care now is much better a full recovery is very possible. Going back 25 years there was little or no concern about the mental impact of a stroke.
good luck in your journey. If you need anything I am here to give my input and help based upon my experiences.
gary
Hi, I am 90 years old now and had my stroke in 2007, I have written a book about it called Rag Doll for Christmas by Ange Hilstron... I suffered badly from fatigue and have had several ops since...One from having a cardiac defibrillator implanted and another from breast cancer... both a stroke and an operation are brain traumas but I wonder if you suffer from atrial fibrillation ? This means your heart misses a beat now and then so you don't get enough oxygen and also it may have caused your stroke by creating a clot. My ICD includes a Pacemaker to regulate that. It is not always picked up by GP or surgeons who only look at one thing at a time. Get an electro cardio gram done...
Angela
1 Like
Hi Angela. Thanks for the insight.
Hi there, thanks for posting about post stroke fatigue. Not quite sure about the real meaning and definition of fatigue here. Dizziness, headache, sore eyes, feeling weak/exhausted, light headed, nausea, etc. are the symptoms I am encountering nearly every day. I suffered from a minor stroke this March. Sounds like this kind of so called fatigue could be last forever; and can start again at any time.
Hi Gary, sorry to hear that. It's a blow, isn't it? I do feel my life won't be the same again. Surely, this so called post stroke fatigue is something I need to know more about.
Chris. Feel free to ask away anytime. I am sure that those within the group will only be too happy to share their experiences as I don’t wish to hog the floor so to speak. It is not normal tiredness and is frustrating when people say things like a good night sleep and you will feel fine, or but you look fine.
How have i missed your previous posts ?
the fatigue thing is an area that interests me and here you are with a million xperiences and i missed your posts.
i started to refer to the issue as stroke fatigue or SF. In 2015 Doctors didnt register fatigue or tiredness. At least thats changed.
it was the main problem for me throughout the first four years post stroke
I think your reference to the ME sufferers is spot on. I have followed an ME issue and it turned out to be the CFS version. Symptoms were pretty much the same as me, other than they seemed to get worse whereas i seemed to get better
The extra ME research might help SS in due course.
Early May 2020 i had open heart surgery. As the recovery from that has progressed, the SF recovered alongside. I am, at long last, free of SF.
Your theory about brain reaction sounds right to me.
best wishes to you Gary
Colin
Thanks Gary.
Thanks for your experiences Colin. In my case the surgery I had in January 2019 seemed to make the SF much worse. I could only put it down to the anaesthetic it it’s effect upon the brain.
My GP will not entertain SF and will use any other diagnosis.
Pleased thatyou you seem to be free of it now.
Gary