Wife Has Had a Slight Stroke

Hi, new to the forum, my wife had a “slight” stroke just over a week ago…she is now at home, and is feeling cold all the time, and is eating like a horse…she is very frustrated, and bored, as she was always active, but now has no energy to do much…hopefully time will be a great healer ?..

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Hi sorry you are joining the club no one wants to be in.
My husband had a stroke last year and still feels cold all the time and wears 5 layers while the rest of us are in t shirts.
Apparently the temperature sensors can be damaged in stroke.
Of course not moving much makes it worse too.

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Thanks for the reply…in the 40 years or so that we have been together, she has virtually lived on soup, and toast…NOW she is eating everything in sight !!..

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Could be the blood thinning meds causing her to feel cold - a common side effect

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Thanks…yes I did wonder, I’ve been on blood thinners for years, and feel the cold myself…

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Hi @Del80 and a big welcome to our community. We are a merry band of stroke survivors and their families and carers and we have a wealth of information and experience of many different types of strokes and recovery.

My body thermostat has definitely changed since my stroke and like your wife I really feel the cold, even when everyone else is complaining that they are too hot !!

I have the opposite with regard to my appetite. Before my stroke, I was always hungry where as now I very rarely feel hungry and have to force myself to eat. I lost over a stone in weight whilst in hospital and although I have since put that back on, I still don’t feel hungry and could quite easily not eat at meal times and would be happy with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

As others have said, these things are quite common following a stroke and they may return to normal as her road to recovery.

Best wishes to both of you.

Regards Sue

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Thanks for the reply…it really is like a sauna in our front room, but the wife (her name is Martha) is freezing cold !!..also she has taken to having an afternoon nap, something that’s never been known !!..

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Hope your wife improves soon Del. Sleeping a lot is completely normal. My husband is just behind me snoring his head off in bed! :rofl:

He seems to be the exact opposite of others on here. He is always warm. Since he got out of hospital in Feb all he has worn day and night are T shirts and shorts. I offer him fleecy tops and trackies but he says he is plenty warm enough.

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Thank you…yes it’s strange how it affects people, a lot say that they stop eating, but Martha is just the opposite…not a bad thing, because she ate very little before…

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Hi @Del80 - Welcome to the community.

Wishing you and your wife all the best as you travel the new path you find yourselves on.

I am a firm believer in time being a healer and surely this will apply to your wife Martha.

40 years of living together - very impressive :slight_smile:

Maybe living off soup and toast has left a left a sense of missing out on some of the foods that offer pleasure as well as nutrition and so she is now playing catch up? I guess we may never know :slight_smile:

I am curious though as to how she managed to get all the nutrition we are told we need off that diet. I eat all sorts of foods and am still deficient in certain things and require top-ups and supplements. Your wife Martha seems to be quite a remarkable person :slight_smile:

Namaste|
:pray:

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Hi @Del80

Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear of your wife’s stroke.

It’s early days in Martha’s recovery but having no energy is common for stroke survivors. You may find it helpful to read our webpage on fatigue. This is something that lots of stroke survivors suffer with. Hopefully over time this will lessen.

I’m sure you may have more questions over the coming weeks so please do come back here and ask anything - there is a wealth of knowledge here!

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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Thanks for the reply…she did eat other things, but only very small portions…if we went out for meals she would have kids portions…she is/was a very stubborn person, and is not the easiest patient to look after, but it’s got to be done as it’s payback time…you are right, she is indeed a remarkable person, and I thank you for your comment…

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@Del80 hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hearvof your Wife, Martha’s stroke.

As others have saud stroke can affect all sorta of weird & wonderful things. I am 3 years on & still feel the cold. Temperature issues seems to be a common affect.

My appetite reduced loads after my stroke but some people do get an increased appetite. It’s good that she is eating. Might want to watch her weight if that starts to become a problem but for now it’s probably just what she needs.

Fatigue is very common so her afternoon naps will be essential right now. Her brain is doing some healing & gets tired very easily.

Most things with stroke improve over time. The first 6 months is where the biggest improvements are made but they can go on for many months/ years afterwards too. 1 week is no time at all.

Wishing you both all the best.

Ann

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Thanks for the welcome…it’s good to know that there is support out there…

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Thank you for the reply…I am sure she will fight this, but it’s good to be able to talk about it…

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Just had a very nice lady, from the Stroke Team, here to see Martha…she showed her some exercises to do, to build her strength up…I must say that the follow up team are really good…

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Hi @Del80, just popped in to welcome you to the forum. So sorry to hear of your wife’s stroke, it’s such a distressing experience for you both. And I hope she continues to make good progress in her recovery🫂

One tip I can offer while she has such a healthy appetite is to be sure to get extra protein into her diet. Protein is food for the brain and recovering from any major illness or trauma burns a lot of fuel in our bodies. And a stroke is a trauma that will take 6mths+ to mop up and repair the damage caused.

But take good care of yourself too and dont’t feel guilty to take a little me time to break away from all things stroke related :slightly_smiling_face:

Lorraine

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Thank you Lorraine…it means a lot…

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@Del80

Welcome to the group.

Martha is at such an early stage of recovery. I had a significant stroke in July last year. The fatigue was present for a few months but wore off so give her time.

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Thank you…she is very tired all of the time, and gets very frustrated that she can’t do all the things she used to do…I guess time is a great healer…

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