Hi I’m 6 months after stroke, my walking is very limited I have no stamina I can’t believe people are doing kms as I can only manage about 20 yards. I wear an orthotic splint on my left leg and have no use in my left arm so wear a sling all the time. I cannot imagine going to supermarket or walking my dog again. How do I make progress? I know I am impatient always was
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Hi @Janet1 welcome to the community that no one wanted to join. But it is a friendly & supportive place to be.
Recovery is different for everyone & whilst some people get back to walking long distances quickly for others it takes much longer. For most it is about practice to build up that stamina & improve the distance you can go. You can try adding an extra few steps each day & see how you go. Also, try doing exercises like sit to stand to help build your core strength. Initially i used to practice walking holding on to furniture. I started with just a few steps then added to it a bit at a time. Then i tried a few steps without holding on. It wasn’t pretty at times but it all helped in the longer term. You could also try seated marching to build leg strength.
Do you have a walking aid other than your orthotic? I use a stick others use a rollator to help with the confidence.
The stroke association do some online exercise classes which form part of their online activities which you can find more about at this link.
https://www.stroke.org.uk/stroke/support/materials/stroke-news/online-stroke-activities-hub
You can also look up exercises on YouTube. There’s loads out there & you can find some that suit your current level.of ability.
One thing you do need though is plenty of patience as recovery is a marathon not a sprint.
You will get to the supermarket again & put walking the dog just give it time.
Best wishes
Ann
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Sorry to hear about your stroke. Mine was 6 months ago as well.
What rehab exercises are you currently doing? There is so much info out there on YouTube etc.
Maybe if you let us know what you’re doing every day someone can advise what they recommend from personal experience 
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Hi thanks for your message, I have physio visits 3 times a week at the moment, plus I try to exercise daily on my own but I find just exercise boring.i use a 3 prong stick (sorry do t know all the correct terminology)
I live with my frail husband of 83 and my adult son of 58. I do manage without other carers as I prefer to try to take care of myself. I do as much prep of veggies etc for meals, I can do dusting and hoovering in a fashion and have just had a stairlift fitted so am now sleeping and washing upstairs which is more normal. I load and unload dishwasher and washing machine, which I consider exercise. I do seated marching, straight leg extensions and bridging. Need to stabilise my knee. Manage to do front door step (4/5 inches), to get outside but very short distance on drive once outside. Only nice days as feel cold quite a bit. When I write it down it doesn’t seem so bad but hate asking for help from family. Hey ho things can only get better but oh so slow!!!
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Hi Janet, a big welcome to our community. Please don’t despair at your lack of progress, it’s early days in your recovery. I completely understand that you are impatient and wanting to get moving again. Stroke recovery is a long and difficult journey and is exhausting at times.
I’m 8 years post stroke and like you I walk with the help of a leg brace or my FES machine. When I was discharged from therehab unit I was struggling to walk with a quad stick.
In the early days of my recovery, my husband took me to the supermarket in a wheelchair and gradually as I became more confident, I used to walk for a little while and get back into the wheelchair when I felt I’d done enough walking. Gradually I increased the amount of time walking and I’m pleased to say that I haven’t used the wheelchair in the supermarket for years. I now walk from the car to the lift, around the supermarket (a Tesco Superstore) and into Costa for a coffee then back to the lift and back to the car.
Weather permitting, we sometimes do a slow walk up our road and back again, not sure how far that is but it takes about 20 minutes.
I don’t think I will ever be walking the distances that some of the contributors can do but considering where I started I’m more than happy getting around the supermarket and grabbing a coffee. If someone had told what I would be able to achieve I would never have believed them.
We use this as my physiotherapy most days. It has been a godsend as it has an underground carpark so we can go there whatever the weather.
I’m sure if you slowly increase your walking you will soon be walking around the supermarket and back walking your dog.
Take care and try not to overdo things. Keep us updated on your progress.
Regards Sue
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Hi glad your husband is able to help you get out, my supermarket is about 1/ 2 mile away easily walkable before but unfortunately all uphill. When summer comes I hope to try a mobility scooter. Have a park (green) area which is next to our drive but the footpath is very rough,full of puddles and poorly maintained I hope I can take my dog out there when weather conditions allow
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one step at a time and the 3 Ps ; patience, practice, perseverance.
Good luck to you, Roland
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekGYDKocAxZUANcv9P_fYw
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@Janet1 you probably can’t see it at the moment but you are doing well with lots of things. The others will come in time. You’ll need plenty of rest too right now so don’t push too hard.
You’re right about sone of the things you are doing being exercise. That’s the best way to do it - incorprate it into activities. Less boring that way. Physio can be a chore but is important.
I would highly recommend a mobility scooter if your walking is still an issue. I, & some other firum members, have recently bought them. They are a game changer & have opened up a whole new world for us.
Your dog is beautiful xx
Best wishes
Ann
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It’s all down to hard work and determination. I class recovery as my job now. And I work hard at it. Progress is slow but it is happening. I’m 9 years into my recovery. my latest achievement is being able to use a knife and fork to eat a meal.
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Hi Janet
I just wanted to say welcome - i am on the same road as you at the moment - 5 months on from 2 strokes 52. Came back from a holiday to Rome walking 30,000 steps every day!! To tne next day at work hitting walls and feeling unsteady to being in a hospital bed that night.
I have made progress by doing the exercises and anything i could that was movement in the house and i am making progress - when i
I havent done the excercises or indeed when i havent rested when the fatigue hits basically when i havent done my recovery job in the day is when i feel i havent progressed - i am also going to try and get some therapy its taken me 5 months to really appreciate the gravity of what has happened
And like you i think i want to get on with life as best i can so i am trying to take the help,get the help,be positive and adapt where i have to.
Progress will happen 
Julie
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Hello Janet @Janet1 - Welcome to the community.
It seems to me, you might be being a bit hard on yourself. From what you say, this might be your natural self (impatient as always
You are already doing a lot in your housework activities and you are going upstairs to wash and sleep. I would say this is quite amazing
If you are not happy about the 20 yard barrier which you attribute to low stamina, perhaps you can work on building your stamina. I am no expert on how to do this, but perhaps your physio or someone else on this forum can offer you suggestions.
I can offer you a suggestion on how to move from the 20 yards though. I am not sure if this might work, but when I hit a wall like you have, I try to edge out just a little. So in your case, when I hit the 20 yards, I set myself a target of 21 yards and then I give myself say a week to achieve this. I start by going a few inches beyond the 20 yards and then a few more until I move 1 foot above the 20 yards and repeat until I hit two feet and then the extra yard.
If it takes be a week to move a foot, I revise my target of a yard in a week to a yard in another week - I just adjust the goal and I reward myself for the success of having travelled that extra foot. Stamina can be built up slowly by repeated exercises and strength building exercises.
Maybe this will help you.
There is nothing wrong with being impatient if you are prepared to do what it takes to get the result
So noe instead of being hopeless, you have more hope
Takes care and wishing you success in going the extra yard.
Namaste|
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That was, Janet, about the same as me 6 months after stroke (the lowest point in my recovery)…In my book, I recall, “In almost the same spot, 9 months ago, I got out the car, did 39 steps at the most, got overtaken by an 85-year-old couple, subsequently had a cry and came home after nearly falling over twice. That was Valentine’s Day”
After 6 months the ‘old muscles’ have withered away, and the ‘new’ muscles that replace them are in their infancy. By old and new I mean the neural pathways and nerves that access & innervate an old / new set of muscles.
Good luck, Roland
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekGYDKocAxZUANcv9P_fYw
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You should try sit to stands, great for strengthening the knees and hips.
Just sit in an upright chair, stand up, sit down, stand up again. Try doing say 5-10 repetitions at a time to begin with. Maybe 3 rounds of 5-10 reps with a 1 minute break between each.
If that’s too easy try 10-20 reps, or whatever variation suits.
The beauty about it is, you can be strengthening your pins (legs) whilst watching tv, waiting for the kettle to boil, chatting on the phone, waiting on the microwave or the wasing machine to stop spinning.
Dont’t make it a boring old exeercise, make it bit of a challenge to see how many you can do before the microwave pings, for instance.
I’ve always found exercising at home a bit of a drudge. I can find all sorts of jobs around the house to do. But they are also exercise! And then I have various fitness classes to go out to, which also have the added benefit of a social side to them too.
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Hi @Janet1
Exercises can be boring but they are so important, repetition, repetition, repetition is the key to getting those neuro paths working again. Can you have somebody come and exercise with you? It makes it more interesting plus they can see your progress even if you can’t. Also keep a diary, that way you can track and see how far you’ve come.
Have you joined the exercise classes on here?
Unfortunately recovering from a stroke is a long process but improvements do still happen long after the stoke.
Best wishes
Linda
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Well done Sue, those suggestions are such a good idea, I’ll pinch the one about in the supermarket as I’ve been worried someone might bump into me…confidence iguess
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Almost 2 years since my stroke, May 2033. Followed by 6 months in hospital. I used to lie there in my hospital bed thinking this was it for the rest of my life. I got home in October 2023 and was home a couple of weeks and fell down and broke my left shoulder. Back to hospital for a short stay to get my confidence back.
I am still only managing short walks. I try and aim for 500 steps a day but fall a little short most days. My left arm seems to be responding and in the last few weeks I have seen an improvement in my finger movement. Still a long way to go.
I tend not to focus on my progress daily. This is soul destroying. I do look back on how I was 4 or 6 weeks ago and can see the progress more clearly.
I am impatient too. I have exercises I do when I get up, around lunchtime and through the day when it looks like I am just sitting. I often think I should be doing more but have to remind myself that I do get tired more quickly and it is important to rest.
My frustration at not being able to do the easiest things sometimes get the better of me and I have to sit quietly while my impulse to do something to vent my frustration passes.
I don’t know of any magic tricks to make you feel better. Just keep trying to get better. It will happen eventually. If you don’t try then nothing will change. Andrew
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I’m 2.5 years down the line and my left arm just hangs my left hand is useless not able to use at all and it weighs a ton
My leg is so heavy to it’s not much use I have learnt to walk with it but it’s literally one step at a time and I have to watch every step as I walk . I get constant hip pain dragging the leg around and manage about 5 steps then have to sit down …. If I leave the house I’m in a wheelchair either that or seat at home 7 days a week
I feel like the whole thing has left me abit simple !!! I tire so easily and as the day goes on my arm and leg get heavier …… I hate this life 
My left shoulder aches constantly cause of the weight of my arm and my right side hurts so much having to do everything my body needs
I spent 4 months in Hosp in 2022 and I died …. They had to use the full works to resuscitate me and believe me looking back I wish they hadn’t 
It’s times like that you wish you’d got a DNR in place as living my life like this is hell !!!
I have no independence can’t cook for myself can’t go out on my own can’t drive any more basically can’t manage the simplest of tasks for myself
It’s like living a prison sentence but in stead of prison my home is the prison and I hate it more and more each day and in 2023 I spent 2 months in Hosp as I had another small bleed and full blown epilepsy has set in …. Great 
I’m almost blind in the left eye now I also have what seems like permanent Tinitis in the left ear
I long for the old me and my old life every day I often wonder what I’ve done to deserve what’s happened to me …. I’ve got a heart of gold always put others first not got a bad bone in my body but now my life is ruined and I think I must have done something bad on a previous life !!!
It’s sometimes very hard to think of the future in front of me and in honestly I wonder if I really want the future being like this scares me
It’s almost like I’m grieving for my previous life
I don’t have a life I literally just exist !!
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Hi @Sharonm, welcome to the forum. I’m so sorry to hear of your struggles, that must be so hard on you 
You’ve certainly found the right place to talk this through with fellow stroke survivors and maybe even get a little help or advice. There will be plenty more members along soon enough to share with you.
Have you spoken to your GP about how you are feeling? Or even just help with support for your arm to relieve your shoulder and some of the pain that goes with it.
Your GP can also get you some physio, I know you say your arm is useless and a heavy leg, but they could be improved upon with the right exercise programme to better support you. One small example would be shoulder strengthening exercise in order to support and take the weight of that arm.
Nutrient deficiency can also be the cause of heavy limb syndrome, vitamin D, B, Iron to name but a few. And after all that you have been through, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were lacking in one vitamin or another. I had a very heavy leg for several months after my stroke and my GP discovered in a routine blood test that I was seriously low in folic acid. He put me on a 2wk high strength course of folic acid and that heaviness disappeared within days. And that’s when my walking ability really started improving. I feel you should definitely be sitting down with your GP and discussing all this.
There is life after strokes and you are not getting to live it yet. You could certainly do with a boost of vitamin D, but any supplements you might take should be with your GP’s approval to avoid any possible conflicts with other meds you are taking etc. Your life doesn’t have to be this bleak! And I think with your lack of mobility, your grieving could very easily slip into deep depression if your situation is not addressed.
Just know that you don’t have to feel this way, things can be done to make your life more worthwhile. I think at the moment you are stuck in wicked cycle that needs to be broken. See your GP and don’t them to assume this an effect of your stroke that can’t be fixed, don’t fobbed off.
I very much look forward to your hearing your progress and improvement in your walking. Never give up, never give in, it can get better, it just takes a lot of hard work and effort. You’ve made here today, and well done for that 
Now take it that one step further to getting your life back
Lorraine
Stroke Improvement Group
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Hello @Sharonm - this is to welcome you to this community and to say well done for sharing your story with us. You have taken a very important step towards getting the help and support you need.
I can’t even begin to imagine what you must be going through, but I feel that you have made it through two and half years and that must have taken some doing, so well done on that. It seems you have hit a rocky patch in your recovery and you could benefit from some help.
I echo everything that Lorraine @EmeraldEyes has said in her response to you. Please contact your GP or anyone, family, friends and talk to them. The GP will be able to get you some professional help such as physio or counselling or whatever you think might be able to help.
You are a good person and with your heart of gold, you have done much good. What has happened to you is in my opinion and belief nothing to do with what you have done in a previous life. It is an unfortunate event that happens to people and it is totally indiscriminatory - you were just unlucky that it happened to you.
Please do get in touch with someone who can support you. You will get more support soon from this forum but it will help you to get some in-person help and contact.
You have done well to get here, please don’t start thinking bad thoughts or blaming yourself.
I wish you all the best and as Lorriane says, please do take the next step and keep us updated.
Namaste|
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