I’m humbled by the postings from others who are still finding after effects some long time after a stroke.
I had a stroke in late August 2025 which affected my right side, but not speech nor cognitive ability. It was a month before I could stand and start to re-learn how to walk.
After 15 weeks I can walk unsteadily, stand on one leg briefly and walk up and down stairs. But I am very unsteady - have a balance problem - and feel tingling and some numbness in my right leg, arm and hand. As everyone says is “normal”, I find I need to sleep for at least 10 hours at night and 1 - 2 hours in the afternoon.
I’m finding the lack of balance very frustrating. I can live with tiredness and the tingling for a while, but would really appreciate some tips on exercises which will help the brain to re-train my sense of balance. My excellent physio has suggested walking backwards and sideways, doing squats, practicing standing on one leg and various exercises of legs and back whilst lying flat. But I’m frustrated at lack of progress.
Hi @brissle and welcome to the forum. They are all good exercises to work on your balance with and I’ve used them all myself. That said, it still took nearly a year to get that sorted out. I’m not as 100% as I’d like to be, but at 63yrs I think 98% will just have to do…and I’m in the gym most days of the week I’m 5yrs post stroke and I still have some deficits but nothing that’s robbed me of my independence.
We are indeed the more fortunate ones. And you just need to be patient and give your brain more time to recover, that’s usually about 6 months for the mop up, healing and repair where it can. Slow and steady wins this race
I only told @nerrad67 in his post earlier that I would pinch this clipping he posted, but I didn’t think I’d be reposting so soon
Some extra nutrients wouldn’t go amiss as this kind of healing is draining and some medications can deplete certain nutrients in the body far quicker too. So you might be in need of a bit of a top up. My gp gave me a blood test for that and found I was seriously low in folic acid. After a couple of days on a prescribed high dose it seemed to invigorate me quite a bit. The heaviness in my legs disappeared, it did also help with my balance issue some and also improved the fatigue. So it might be worth having your vitamin levels checked, and just exaggerated your symptoms if you think your gp is going to be difficult about it
My gp is not that good I have tablets for b12 and vitamin d. Besides those I take 1 for depression and 1 in morning and night for blood pressure and baclofen at night for spasms and that’s all.
Use your imagination. I learnt Qigong from zero.
Feet together, stand, close your eyes ; have something nearby to grab hold of ; time how long you can stand , and let us know !
You know what Lorraine since my physio after rehab stopped coming end of April and community physio told me to do it myself I’ve had no help since beginning of may. So you and Anne are a godsend.
I have botox every 3 months which has opened my fingers but they have no strength. My leg is slowly getting stronger with squats and 1 leg stands and as you probably read I’m practicing walking around in the place with my stick in my hand instead of using it to help my tennis elbow.
I have started electrode treatment which has been paused till after my latest botox which was 2 weeks ago so should get a appointment soon.
Do you know what - it’s just helpful to know that there are others out there finding the same fruistrations.
I’m 86, so i guess I can’t expect recovery at the rate of young people.
Thanks for the tip on getting a blood test - I’m having a routine one next week for Diabetes, so will ask the nurse to take an extra pint to check out nutrient levels.
Thanks for the clipping from @nerrard67 - good thoughts in there.
I managed 20 seconds standing with my eyes shut - must do better - will keep practicing.
I’m grateful for all your support. I’ve been getting frustrated at lack of progress.
I take the point about needing to allow time to heal fully.
Chris - welcome to this forum and so glad you are finding it helpful and being able to relate to others.
You will get excellent support, tips and advice from the members and of course any tips and advice you are able to share will be much appreciated
Age - forget about it. Stroke affects all and in the same way. As per the “borrowed” clipping that Lorraine shared “What you put in, is what you get out”. Roland has pretty much intimated the same.
Make full use of your physio instructor - they are like gold dust and if you can find a good one, they will help you recover better. Based on our experience, physio and mental attitude are very much the key to how well or otherwise you move on from your current predicament.
You are 86 and have come off “lightly” from your stroke. There are others on here who were older than you when they had their stroke and are noe even older and they are still going strong They put in the effort, had the right frame of mind, fell down and got up again, they fell down again and got up again even stronger and pretty much any one can do this. Again I refer to the clipping that Lorraine shared.
*Just in case, I always give credit to all and I am aware the origins of the post and mindful of crediting the original poster for reasons I cannot go into in this post, but it is nothing sinister I assure you, but I am sure Lorraine knows what I mean *
These exercises are good for everyone, not just stroke survivors and so you can already see from that where your physio thinks you’re at and your potential
Lack of progress is a perception and you may wish to rethink your goals and expected target dates. Don’t go rushing as your body will only force you to stop and if it does that it will take you longer to progress - always listen to you bady.
@brissle just popping by to say hi & welcome to the community. It is still early days yet and things will improve in time. It just takes longer than we would all like. All the exercises your physio said about are what I did too. They should help but it will take a while.
The fatigue will hopefully settle too but for now go with it & rest when you need to. Your brain has to do some repair work and it needs all the rest you can give it.
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke. It sounds like you’ve done incredibly well so far and have some excellent support with your physio. As others have said, lots of things after a stroke take longer than you would like and it’s still early days but having good support will be good for your recovery.
I can see you’ve been given some good advice from our community and I hope you’ll find this space helpful for your recovery. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
I’m 5yrs post stroke and I still have some deficits but nothing that’s robbed me of my independence.
