Hi, Thank you for letting me, tell my story. I had a TIA 5 weeks ago, droop on right side of face and so much pressure on my left shoulder and not using my arm. I was told it was a tia . I have had the mri scan at the stroke clinic. I am due to go back to work in 2 weeks, I am a hostess so lots of running around. I have depression and anxiety, so the fatigue is really bad. Just wanted to ask how long you where off work.
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Hi @love welcome and sorry to hear what has happened, without being rude I think it may be a little too soon for you to return to work. I’m basing it on my own experience and then hitting a major bump in the road. This set me back around another 2.5 months in a second recovery after being blue lighted to another hospital from work.
First thing to do is make sure your ok, you and your recovery are vitally important just now and I do understand the financial pressures or that of a demanding employer or job. There are many wise heads here who will pass on their collective wisdom and lived experience I’m sure they will all agree there’s no such thing as a stupid question.
Again both anxiety and fatigue are more than normal and in varying degrees one thing that will not help is stress. Have you had MRI results and a discussion with health professionals yet?
I would speak with HR let them know your issues and how you are feeling, also they need to know how different your life is now and that you are still recovering, if you are absent longer you may well be entitled to PIP/ ADP to help- it’s a minefield though so good luck if you have to do this.
If you are currently on a fit note GP’s can extend this for you especially if you are not ready/ fit too work, Again please look after you talk here or rant/ vent you will have people who understand and will support you. I work with the public in a hectic and chaotic environment at times and hurt me rushing back I have learned through here and now feel better for it. Best wishes on your recovery and hoping that it’s a full one for you.
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Thank you Jbob so much for your advice and support. It is so nice to chat to people in the same situation .
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Sorry to hear about your TIA. I had one last September. At the time I didn’t know what it was until my neighbour found me and called for an ambulance. I was in hospital for a week. After I came out I took my time to get back to the things I did before. I knew it would take a little while and so it proved. It took me around 3 months to get back into a routine again. Whilst you may feel the need to get back to work listen to what your body is telling you. Take your time and continue to look after yourself. No one will thank you for not taking your time.
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@Love You have enough to cope with as you stated you suffer depression and anxiety. Do not return to work until you feel fit enough to carry out your role. I am talking from experience. Take care 
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@love hi and welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your TIA and your ongoing issues as a result of it.
My advice regarding returning to work is not to go back too soon. It is better to take a few extra weeks now than to rush back and then find you need to take time off again. I returned to work after my stroke but didn’t go back for 18 months. This is different for everyone though as all of us are impacted differently.
My advice would be to get an occupational health assessment done if at all possible and this will advise on a potential return to work and also if any adjustments are needed to help you return. Most of us return on reduced hours for a period of time and build them up gradually.
Ask away if you have any questions there’s usually someone around who can help.
Best wishes.
Ann
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Thank you everyone for your support, I will see what work says about going back slowly. 
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Hi
I have been signed off for a month. The fatigue is really tough. I have learned so much through this experience. You must show yourself the love you would show other people and give yourself plenty of time do recover. Don’t put pressure on yourself. You need to heal. The anxiety is natural. Try not to obsess over it and use the techniques like grounding etc (see you tube). Obsessing makes anxiety worse Imo. Don’t give it your time !
Best of luck 
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Hi @love
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your TIA and the difficulties you’re facing with anxiety and depression.
I can see you’ve already been given some great advice about returning to work. Please make sure you only go back to work when you feel ready. We have some information on our website about returning to work which you may find helpful to have a read of.
I hope you’ll find this community helpful for your recovery, there is a wealth of knowledge here from our members which you can tap into.
If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
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Good morning Love,
Im sorry to hear about your TIA & welcome here - it’s a remarkable community and- in my experience this is where to find much sage advice and help - and sharing your experience will also help everyone.
Depression, anxiety, fatigue. Maybe you have never experienced these before. It seems to come with the recovery process. You have had a traumatic event (it certainly shook me to the core) and your body and mind will be putting up defences - not surprising when you think of it. I have found anxiety incredibly hard to overcome but I think I’m getting there thanks in no small part to the wisdom of others on this community (thanks again everyone). Please Keep talking and sharing- others experiences will help - and yours will help others too. Take the best of each day try not to expend too much energy on future uncertainties (easier said than done i know). Be kind to yourself take time out as you need - as much as you need.
There are far wiser people here than me - this is just what I try to do some days more successfully than others. I personally have already wasted too much time worrying so I hope you can avoid this. Please keep sharing your journey and say how things go?
Thanks again.
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Hi @love and welcome to the community. It’s nearly Christmas, give yourself the best Christmas present anyone could ever give you, don’t even consider going back to work until the new year. It takes 6mths to recover and then some. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who recovered entirely, so you will need that time to learn how live with your new limits…in a stress free environment.
I don’t want to scare you, but you are still at risk of having a more searious stroke because your brain is not fully healed yet. And that can take up to 6 months so you should be taking it easy. Think about it, it takes 6-8 weeks for a broken bone to knit together but it can take 6 months to a year to get it back up to full strength.
Just because you can’t see it or feel it, doesn’t mean you haven’t got a major physical trauma! It may be a minor stroke, as all TIAs are stroke, but its major trauma to the control centre of your very life. Don’t let anyone take it lightly or decide for you.
I’ll be 5 years recovered from my stroke (TIA) come Christmas day and I do still have deficits including fatigue, albeit mild. I certainly couldn’t couldn’t go back to work full time, but I’m 63 and retired and have no regrets about not working, life is full enough for me 
See how you feel in January and then decide if you’re ready.
And I wish you nothing but the best in your recovery.
Lorraine
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Just to add my experience after being hit with 3 TIA’s in quick succession some 30 months ago and it very much chimes with all the other excellent advise already posted. The common thread and one that I fully endorse is not to put pressure on yourself to return to your previous full on existence before your mind and body are good and ready. I had few physical problems post TIAs apart from a bit of residual stiffness here and there but the mental issues were significant. Anxiety, depression and fatigue were quite crippling and I needed lots of support and assistance. I was lucky enough to be introduced to meditation and CBT early on and it has helped me enormously but it is far from a quick fix. I’m pleased to say that things are much much better now and life is good. I wish you the very best recovery and continued good health
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Hi I had my TIA 12 weeks ago now I was signed of for 3 months now. I go back to work Tuesday on a 10 hour shift I’m a hostess in a care home so on my feet all day. The noises in my head and my fatigue is the issue I’m facing, I do housework at home and then my body sort of gets heavy and I have to sit down I do try and carry on so I can get back to work. But the next day I struggle. I haven’t had a meeting at work about going back they have just put me down for my shifts. I go to doctors tomorrow, so will see what she says. But I don’t want work thinking I am stringing the illness out.
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Did you not have a meeting with work?
Is there possibly some mis-communication between you and work? I can’t think why work would just put you down for a 10 hour shift. Also, if you work in a care home, I would expect them to have a better understanding of stroke survivors and their capacity to return to work?
Hopefully your doctor will offer you better guidance than I can.
I wish you all the best.
Namaste|
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Thank you Manjib,
I will see what doctor says, and hopefully work will understand. I think because it’s a Tia and not a full stroke they think I should be back to normal.
But my body doesn’t think so. Fingers crossed 
work will be OK.
Thank you.
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Just going by the experiences of others on this forum who have returned or tried to return to work, I think it is fair to say you as the person going back to work have to take control of the situation. By this I mean, you have to listen to your body and you have to say how you feel.
Your body will tell you when it’s ready to and your brain will help you manage the body and how it feels. Doctors and employers don’t know how you feel or when you are ready. It seems stroke us much misunderstood and by stroke survivors “accepting” what they are told or following the guidelines without thinking if they really work for them, sometimes run into trouble.
Back to normal or not, you can achieve a level lifestyle that is acceptable to you or that you are able to tolerate.
There is no right or wrong and as individuals, we should not necessarily look to achieve what others may or may not have achieved.
Just as a silly example, I’d love to be a professional footballer (I haven’t had a stroke), but with two left feet that is a near impossibility. Now in theory I could have tried to train for it, learn the skills, get fit etc. etc. but the reality is I will never achieve that goal, so I have to accept I will have to find an alternative profession.
Stroke recovery is similar - you have to find out what you would like to achieve and what is realistic. People and professionals will tell you all sorts of things, but only you know what you are capable of and would like to aspire to.
Wishing you all the best.
It sounds to me like you aren’t ready to go back yet and especially not straight jnto a 10 hour shift. As someone who has returned to work after a stroke I would advise that when you are ready to go back that you do so on a ohased return. Maybe ask your employer for an Occupational Health assessment which will help you & your employer understand what reasonable adjustments may need to be put in place for you. A phased return being a minimum requirement I would suggest.
Hopefully your GP has been able to assist.
Best wishes
Ann
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I went to doctors yesterday and she has given me 2 more weeks off the go back to work to start with 2 hours a day 3 days a week to ease me back to work . Which I am really pleased about. Work is fine about that as well, has the doctor put it on the sick note. x
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@love Don’t even think about what you think work thinks. Only think of you. I stayed on in my job over a week agon and ended up working 12 hours. Way too many and I will not do that again.
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Well done - but don’t rush even now. Don’t think two weeks is a hard and fast start date.
You start when you are ready,
And when you go back, make sure they are aware that you might need to take rests even if you are doing two hours a day.
A five minute walk for you might be the equivalent of running a marathon.
This is no exaggeration - only you know how you body feels and only you know when and how much you can do.
Don’t risk your health, but don’t be too “soft” either.
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