Hey, you’re only 12 weeks, give yourself a break, you’re just recovering from a major blow to the head. Don’t try to run before you can walk. That’s a life threatening injury, you can’t just bounce back from it in a matter of weeks.
The first 6 months is basically about healing and repair from the damage done. The fatigue is there to stop you from putting too much demand on your brain before it is ready. It’s just not running at full capacity so you can’t put the same demands on it as you did prior to the stroke.
Give it a year and you’ll be in a much better place. Also try a few multi vitamins to give you a boost and a bit more protein in your diet, food for the brain, it’ll help with the heal.
You will get there, you just have to be a bit more patient and learn to pace yourself. And just don’t try to pack as much into your day.
I’m 5yrs recovered now. Today I’ve been to the hairdresser, now I’m off to a body balance exercise class and then I’m going to the gym for an hour. And I drive to them all. But 12 weeks after my TIA I could barely walk to the end of the street and back again. And that was with my hubby’s support.
You will get there, have a little more faith and be a little kinder to yourself. This is a marathon not a race
Hello @EmeraldEyes Thanks for the reply, do you know your message has really hit home with me. I am in a rush and wanting to get back to normal and I think I expect other people are wondering why I am not, although they probably aren’t.
I need to “Let Them” think what they like. It’s confusing to others as there are no visible signs of a stroke, all internal ie vestibular, auditory overload. If yours was a TIA you will understand this.
My mind has been racing, we had to cancel a gorgeous long distance holiday and I’m bothering myself wondering when I can rebook? When can I exercise? What about work/family/friends? When really I should be focusing on giving my brain a rest and a nice calm mindset to heal.
You’ve summed it up well there. Let others think what they want. They’re probably not thinking as much as we imagine they are.
Your holiday, exercise and everything else will come in time, you’ll know when the time is right to start these things again. For now rest your brain and enjoy doing less than usual. It’ll all come back soon enough.
You’ll probably have a better idea of where you are at after six months, within that time the brain can sometimes hallucinate and feel as if everything is okay suddenly, this is not the time to then go pole vaulting over fences as it can do more harm in the long term. The infamous boom-bust cycle which, in my haste to rehabilitate, ignored and thus I might have repaired a little better five years on.
Yes, we don’t go around with a bandage on our head, we have no battle scars to show for it.
One of my gym mates had a stent put in her heart last October. She’s still on a very strict exercise programme with in rehab, that being very light exercise, no high impact activities. That’s what we need to be told for the first 6 months too because just like putting strain on the heart in that condition, you can put strain on the brain and risk another stroke. But the experts don’t to fully understand or appreciate the affect of brain fatigue.
As to the holiday, just give it 6 months, see where you’re at and then decide whether you need to book or postpone again. You have to listen to your head not anyone else. You’re brain is now in charge for the foreseeable future and it will only hand over controls to you a bit at a time. So the more you push it, the harder it will push back, then you can feel useless for a few days.
That’s why you need to pace yourself. If you go for a walk, don’t walk until you tire. Turn back home long before then because you have the same distance to walk back. But you also have to reserve enough energy both for emergencies as well as to get through the door, make yourself a brew, have a biscuit and put your feet up for half an hour so to recharge yourself. That’s how to pace yourself
And don’t be worry what others might think, because their thoughts can’t make you better, so they really don’t matter. And don’t be afraid to talk about your stroke with others. There are a lot of people out there who can relate, your truth can also be far more informative, and educational than any of the adverts we’ve seen about it. You make people more aware as well as alert to the signs should they or anyone they’re with have a stroke.
@Mrs5K Thanks again.. the site wouldn’t let me answer earlier as only on day 2 (too many msgs). You’re all so good on here and it offers so much reassurance and comfort knowing there’s somewhere to turn. Xx
@IreneFC , yeah, I get what you mean. It’s just seeing her (my mum) fade away in front of me… not nice. Hard to believe it’s been 8 days now since she died. That’s why I said stroke victim.
I am so sorry, I did not know your mum passed away. I would be so bitter as I was when my grandmother died..I was 20 years old she was my best friend. She survived her stroke, recovered well. Went to bed. Was banging on the wall for my grandfather to help her. He hears her too late and she she was gone. I remember it like it was yesterday. She died of blood clot that went over thr front of her brain. You are in my thoughts I am still bitter as I never talk about it.
Hi @JohnnyBoy81 My deepest condolences to you and your family. I’m sorry that I did not pick up on how sudden it was in your post. Hope you are ok, may your mum rest in peace. Xx
Relate so much with this thread, the understanding here is truly comforting …just gave myself a boom and bust situation….thought I was doing so well, almost forgot I was ill, overdid it through my various activities and then rushed out with dog and fell over…rest of day in A&E…I am ok physically but it has wrecked my emotional and mental health well being which had improved since having acute right medial cerebellum infarction Feb 4th 2025. Complete bummer!!! Duvet day turning into duvet week…but now I realise I need to stop with the always trying to go it alone….i was trained in CBT and Mindfulness through my work so feel I should know how to deal with the panic/anxiety/depression …(at one point I was a Mental Health Officer) so also feel guilty I am now such a wuss….but for now my strategy is to hide from myself with a view to opening the door again when I feel ready, if that makes any sense! This too will pass xx
@IreneFC , I don’t blame you. My anger is more towards the social workers who forced mum into the care home in Salford. I think mum gave up. It wasn’t just the stroke that messed her up, the social workers kyboshed everything I tried to do for mum. Watching mum fade away in front of my eyes, it was the straw the broke the camels back. Thanks for your kind words. Sorry to open up an old wound for you.
From what I’ve read, the cerebellum is a very dense network responsible for balance and coordination. We normally take it for granted because the brain quietly synchronises all our movements.
Walking a dog is actually quite complex — pulling on the lead, stopping, meeting other dogs and people, uneven ground. It’s a lot for the brain to process while it’s still healing and looking after our own balance, so it’s not surprising it can feel overwhelming or lead to a fall.
I’m 12 weeks post cerebellum stroke and can walk further on my own than when I’m with the dog — probably because there’s less to think about.
Please don’t be hard on yourself. Even when we understand the theory, it’s much harder when we’re the one going through it.
Wishing you a steady recovery. I’ve also had to take a quieter week after doing a little too much the week before, I feel a lot better today so pacing definitely seems to help. You’re not alone in finding it frustrating.
I am still bitter as I never talk about it.
