Hi. I am quite new here although have posted before regarding Accupuncture for stroke.
I had a bleed 3 months ago and after 5 weeks in hospital came home. The bleed has affected my left side and affected my leg and arm. My arm behaves very erratically I.e. will suddenly jerk and my left hand will be holding something then suddenly drop it. My leg was very weak. I am doing “wobbly walking” in the house but need someone with me in case I fall. My foot turns over sometimes but the Community Physios are arranging for me to have a splint in the hope it will help. I am having physio twice a week which I am very grateful for. My question is has anyone else had an erratic arm which has gradually improved and if so what help did you have? I’ve been given exercises which I do every day but no noticeable difference. My fingers are stiff and spastic - has anyone had Botox on their fingers?. I know I will be told it’s early days and to be patient but my arm hinders my walking as I cannot use it to get up from a chair or hold onto anything to steady myself. Sorry for long post but just looking for advice. Thank you
Hi, I’m nearly 6 years post stroke following a hemorrhagic stroke which paralysed my left side. Unfortunately I still have very little functional movement in my arm and hand. My left hand is also very tight and in a ball most of the time despite regularly stretching it out and wearing a resting splint at night. I have been having Botox in my wrist since I was in rehab but I’ve never had the regular injections, every 4 months, which I was told are important for it to be beneficial. Botox is a specialist treatment and therefore acess to this is very difficult to get. On occasions I have gone a year between treatments , which is like starting from the beginning again. I’m in the South East (Kent) and post stroke services are practically non existent unfortunately. Hope services are better where you are.
Regards Sue
Welcome to the site Simon
Sorry to hear of your stroke
A lovely city indeed you come from I did all my schooling in Edinburgh & lived in Morningside
I’m now living in London for past 10 year and frequent Edinburgh every 2nd month I was there for Xmas & of course the Hogmanay (HOOTS-MON) 
Yes. My left arm was very erratic and jerky. It has calmed down but can still have a life of its own. Try to utilise it as much as you can. After 7 years it has improved but is still not fully functional.
That’s very near Musselburgh . ?
& that main road takes you to Dalkeith/ Prestonpans . It’s been so long since
…
Hi Sue, I’m in Kent too and had practically zero help from the NHS 9 years ago (including not diagnosing my TIA until next day when I had my stroke). Botox didn’t work on my bicep, which still rules everything my arm tries to do. I had to pay, but I have an ARNI trainer once a fortnight who works with me to strengthen my other arm muscles and this has helped. I still can’t quite raise my arm above shoulder height, but it’s improving all the time and I reckon another year should do it. My hand still isn’t great, but stretching helps (and going to the gym).
Minnie x
Hi Minnie, sorry to hear that your botox wasn’t successful. It’s so frustrating when you try something new and your hopes are dashed. We have purchased a number of pieces of equipment over the past 6 years and it upsets me to admit that nothing has been particularly successful. I also worked with an ARNI physio but their way of working wasn’t for me.
I’ve just volunteered to take part in a research project for Upper limbs and I’m just waiting to get my dates to commence this, all very exciting.
Keep up the good work.
Regards Sue
Research projects are always interesting to do (I’ve done a few for UCL) and they can be really useful for future treatments. Good luck!
Hi Minnie, yes I agree, I’m always keen to tpart in research projects and have done 2 at tbe National Hospital Queens Square in London. Looking forward to see how this goes
Regards Sue
Hi Anne, I haven’t got a link but it’s the Power Bead Garments Research Project that I found through the Different Strokes website.
Hopefully this Research will be useful to SS in the future.
Regards Sue
Thanks. I’m working hard on my arm and hand and I’m lucky in that I am getting physio twice and sometimes 3 times a week from the Community Stroke team. Think I might be seeing a slight improvement but it’s hard to tell thanks for all the encouragement
Im 3 months post stroke and can raise my arm but have to concentrate to stop it waving around! I pick up marbles as therapy and transfer them from one box to another and also place them on a solitaire board - not easy. Walking wise I am using a stick in the house to go to the loo etc but darent do it without my husband behind me as I am quite wobbly and its hard to left leg with feels very heavy and is still quite numb
Hi @Apple I’m nearly 18 months post stroke, my arm used to have a life of its own if I raised it out it would have a wee dance about, it was a weird feeling. It doesn’t do it anymore, it’s not fully normal but it just slowly improved, picking up the marbles is a good idea that was the kind of thing I was doing all the time also for stiff fingers my physio told me to gently brush between my fingers with a toothbrush each morning it can help waken the nerves. It is early days just keep exercising and rest when your body tells you.
Best Wishes
Thanks Sharon. Good to hear your arm is ok now. Take care
Once my mother regained use of her affected hand, she still favored her left hand, because she was forced to use it for almost a year. It took her a few months to get used to using her right hand again. It was real work! But, all of sudden, something clicked in her brain, and she went back to using her right hand almost like she did before the stroke. It was weird how strong her left hand and arm were 1 year after her stroke. She got use of her right hand for about 5 months before she died (80-90% recovered). Sadly, she never appreciated how well her hand came back because of her mental state.
You just repeat over and over and over. That’s how you retrain the brain, as you all know very well. My mother used the green flexbar, which did wonders to bring her hand back. It doesn’t work for everyone, but my mother’s stroke was a 17/42, which is considered a moderate-severe stroke. I think that is why she had an easier time recovering physically than a lot of other people. Not sure what happened to her mind, but that’s another story.
Thanks but I’m ok!!
A year on how is your arm now?
Gosh Kevin is that a year ago? How scary! My arm is better but obviously still not 100% and probably never will be. I have more control over it now but still working on trying to get food actually into my mouth and not up my nose!! My hand will now hold relatively light objects but not heavyish objects i.e. dropped the cats tin of treats! Dreamies - cat lovers will understand Dreamies! - all over the floor and said cat hoovering them up as quickly as possible! All in all I suppose its improving but not as quickly as this impatient person would like. Same goes for walking. 
Thanks for the update ayear can go quickly I’m in a similar place 20 months in but not at motor control yet would like the arm to be functional have you had any finger movement?