Hi everyone, I had a left thalamic stroke 2 months ago at age 57. Still under investigation to try to find out the cause. After initial improvements I’m stuck feeling stiff on the right side from my waist up to my jaw. My shoulder feels like it’s being held in a vice and my fingers feel like they’re bound with elastic bands.
I’ve been reading the posts on this community which have been so helpful to give me hope that I can get better. I know everyone is different and our strokes vary greatly. The posts I’ve found from thalamic stroke survivors seem to indicate that the stiffness/numb/tingling doesn’t go away, if anything it gets worse.
I also feel out of balance, like my brain and body are disconnected.
Is there anyone out there that’s had a thalamic stroke that has made a full recovery? Right now I’m finding it hard to come to terms with the idea that I won’t get better.
@CurlyMo
Good luck going forward and remember you may not be like the textbook states for strokes or even other survivors of same type of stroke. Onward and upwards, Sending positive vibes 
Hello @CurlyMo - Welcome to the community.
As you have been reading the posts on this community, I suspect there is nothing I can add that hasn’t been already said, and so all that remains for me is to wish you all the best on your onward journey as a stroke survivor.
If you have a question that has not already been answered, then I am sure if you ask there will be a good response.
Namaste|
Hello CurlyMo welcome to the gang. I’m glad that you’ve found the posts helpful. I can’t comment on the ‘thalamic’ stroke but I hope that I can help to support you, like all of us try to do.
Your last line echoes what most of us feel after diagnosis. ‘Finding it hard to come to terms’ ; yes the clouds are here today, but who knows about tomorrow? Maybe you ‘won’t get better,’ but hopefully a steady recovery will help you to learn different ways to overcome these dark days. I’m sure that all of us will be with you to offer support and encouragement; possibly another member may have answers for you. Wishing you all the best to come, Norma
@CurlyMo hi & welcome to the community. Sorry you’ve had cause to join us but hopefully you’ll find it a useful place to be.
I think, as with all strokes, we have to take things 1 day at a time & try not to think too far ahead. Everyones journey is different & even if others don’t recover so well there’s still a chance it will be different for you.
Hopefully you will find a way to manage the tingling etc until it starts to improve.
I had awful balance issues initially but they have improved although as today has shown me they aren’t there yet.
2 months is still very early days even though it may not feel like so try not to despair yet. In time you will find a level of acceptance about what has happened.
Best wishes
Ann
Thank you for your responses. I guess I am at the beginning of a journey and still in denial that this has happened to me. It’s helpful to know that there are lots of people who are further down the road willing to share their experiences.
Hi @CurlyMo and welcome to the forum.
I too had a thalamic stroke at age of 58 nearly 9 months ago. They said mine was caused by my diabetes but im not so sure as i was having TIA’s soon after getting shingles on my face and ive read you are at a great risk of having a stroke especially when on your head. The jury is out with me too.
No two people are the same , i do still have issues with good and bad days, i can say that a lot of stiffness similar to yours has improved, i still get it at times in my neck but not all the time. I suppose ive got used to it. I do get increased pins and needles in my hand still some days but then i notice normal feeling returns days after. Just this evening ive realised the numb feeling in several toes has gone.
It is very early days for you. Listen to your body, pace yourself and rest when you need to.
Wishing you all the best in your recovery
For me, this Stroke Forum has given me more than all the NHS has tried since my stroke. I wish I would have joined sooner. I never feel alone anymore and always feel |I have someone to talk to @ManjiB (you will never realise how much you uplifted me, you should come on prescription) Thank you to everyone and God bless
Absolutely my pleasure Irene.
Any time you need to talk, just pop by.
I am so touched by your comment, I am welling up 
Hi @Anne221 I appreciate your response, particularly as a thalamic stroke survivor, thank you. It is great to hear that your stiffness has improved, it gives me hope that I might not always feel so tight. It sounds like you have more good days than bad, I’m happy for you and long may it continue.
I believe I may have had some TIAs too 6 months before my stroke. I had between 20-30 incidents (not sure if they were TIAs or not) over a 2 week period which were characterised by a tight gripping sensation in my right shoulder along with a feeling of dizziness /imbalance. My GP thought they were muscle spasms but didn’t understand why there was no pain. That made sense at the time as I work at a pc all day and thought it may have been caused by RSI.
I wonder if you also experience the feeling of disconnect between your brain and body? It feels like I’m drunk. I’m really hoping that this feeling will go away over time too. I used to be really on the ball, quick to work things out, problem solving, articulate. I still have these skills but now it takes me time to work things out and find the right words, and I need to write everything down that I need to remember. I will need to work on this to prepare for a return to work. Any advice, tips, or personal experience reflections would be gladly received.
Best wishes
@CurlyMo Dont rush your return to work. I did and it was wrong. Take it slowly as you will get better results. Don’t push yourself. One day at a time 
Good luck 
I would agree with @IreneFC about not rushing a return to work. Going back too soon might set you back a little bit. In relation to relearning/ improving your skills in readiness to return it is just practice. Keep doing a little bit each day and it should start to improve. A small example may be maling a jigsaw puzzle. I loved these pre stroke but after my stroke I could barely put a piece in, over time I then managed a piece then increased to a couple of pieces etc. It took a good while but I am much better at it again now. This is the same with my work tasks…the problem solving etc has got easier over the time I have been back. I do use any tools that might help though. Reminders, software etc.
Best wishes
Ann
Thanks @Mrs5K for your words of advice about gently introducing myself to activities to prepare myself for a return to work. A few weeks ago I logged onto my work pc to clear out emails. After 20 minutes my right side stiffness started to increase, tighten, followed by tingling in my face up to my jaw. I got a terrible fright, thought I was having a TIA, but it stopped as soon as I took myself away and rested. I took that as a warning and haven’t done it again. I have an appointment with the neuro OT in 2 weeks. I’m expecting advice on a phased return to work.
I do feel pressure to return to work, this may be my own perception, but workplace policies encourage ‘helping’ people back to work. I’ve never been one to take sick leave. Worked in the NHS for 41 years. @Bobbi recent post [quote=“Bobbi, post:6, topic:44293”]
Are those people who encounter stroke the driven, those who don’t know when or how to ease down?
Is this the answer, the big lesson? Do we just need to learn how to chill out?
[/quote]
This helped me reflect on the pressure I put on myself, even now as I find myself pushing to make a full recovery.
Hello @CurlyMo,
I was researching the Thalamic stroke before I reply, but it’s one of several strokes. Anyhow, first I’ll share my brain video, taken 3 years after the stroke…..
I can’t find the full video, but you can see the dead matter and a bit overwhelming. How do I survive and still breathing with that? Strange but wonderful brain!
So, no, not for me anyway this far. The numbness/pain/heaviness circular motion kind of thing remains in the right side. My shoulder is the opposite way round to you though so it is the muscles relaxing so much, it is dislocated my arm permanently.
So, my journey is one of time. It’s improving with a snail-pace slowness. My brain and my body says “hello” once in a while, but not currently working on the same bit.
But, I’m clinging on to the hope that it might get better, but being prepared that it won’t.
M
Hi @MattJC thanks for sharing your brain video. Wow, that’s amazing and terrifying at the same time. It’s so positive that you continue to see real improvements even years after your stroke. Interesting too that the effect to your shoulder is the opposite to my experience. I suppose it must depend on which cells have been killed off. I totally get your need for hopefulness as a naturally positive person. It also sounds like you balance that with realism. Thank you
Try not to feel too much pressure to return to work. I know that’s easy to say but I have been where you are. I didn’t go back for 18 months and I still found it really tough then. When you are thinking of returning try and do a phased return and ease yourself back in gently. Our workplace policies are also about encouraging people back to work but please remember your health has to come first. As you found out when you looked at your e-mails the other day it brought on lots of stroke symptoms for you. I found this to be the case even after 18 months. The first few weeks back were a lot harder than I imagined they would be and the fatigue I suffered was unreal. I built my hours back up gradually and even though I’ve been back 2 years now I still haven’t made it back to full time working. I take every Wednesday off as a rest day so I can get through the rest of the week. This works for me but is different for everyone. I hope your OT appointment goes well but make sure you are honest with them – tell them how you were after checking your e-mails. Ask for adjustments to be put in place. I have many like read/write software, regular breaks, flexible working, working from home, an amended role, no travelling, my own office for when I have to attend the office etc. Like you I never took sick leave. I considered myself lucky never to have really needed it but I’ve made up for it now 
I don’t worry about my sick record as much now. If I can’t do it today then I don’t.
You will get there just give yourself time and do things when they feel right for you.
Best Wishes
Ann
This comment reminds me of someone I used to work with. A lovely person who had what I thought was a peculiar trait/mindset. I am not sure if this applies to all employers but the company we used to work for (a high street DIY giant at the peak of the 80s and 90s DIY craze) had it in the contract (or it might be a UK wide social security policy) that as an employee you were entitled to x number of sick days. It was a while ago and so I can’t remember the exact wording, but basically your job was safe as long as your sick days did not exceed x in any annual.
So by now you might see where I am going with this, but just to finish the story, this person made sure they took their “annual sick entitlement of x days” without fail.
Consequently they managed to have more “holidays/rest days” than their colleagues.
I have also know people at the end of this extreme and they never took sick days turning up for work no matter what and they didn’t get any recognition for it. HR never said you never took a sick day in the last 30/40 years here’s a little something to acknowledge your dedication.
It’s a funny old word we live in 
I used to be a manager of someone who was moaning to me about how his staff are always going off sick and he had never had a day’s sick jn his life. I remember saying to him that he was lucky he hadn’t needed any sick leave and how not everyone is that fortunate. Not a month later he got diagnosed with cancer & needed some time off. I always remember that when I am about to moan about people who are often off sick.
I too know people who think their annual absence trigger point is a right and take the time off every year. My employer has recently reduced the trigger point & I know a few people who got caught out by it. I have never thrown a sickie because knowing my luck I would then need the time off for a genuine reason. 
Well, I was older than my years but grumpy at the same time. Now, post-stroke, finding my place in the new world, with an up to date smile hiding the real worrisome cloud as if I’m not doing enough because my ticking clock shines through and means I am near the end.
Or, is that rubbish?!
Jigsaw puzzles are amazing way to exercise your brain. I love them. Good luck