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Original poster

Talk to me about stroke please.

42 replies

Lostnafraid · 04/10/2018 08:30

DF has had a stroke, he’s in hospital at the moment. He’s improving but speech is jumbled or words just won’t come.
He’s an otherwise fit and healthy man in his 50’s, just wondering what he/we can expect going forward, if you have any experiences yourself or family members I’d really appreciate your input.

OP posts:
lovesugarfreejelly63 · 11/10/2018 06:25

Lost - I do hope he continues to improve, have been in your situation myself and I saw slight improvements every day, so keep your chin up, he is in excellent hands.

Yonijust · 11/10/2018 06:31

Have a look on the Stroke Association website. Lots & lots of amazing info on there.

Flowers
Yonijust · 11/10/2018 06:32

www.stroke.org.uk

Soontobe60 · 11/10/2018 06:41

Op, try not to panic. A stroke will take a very long time to recover from. My sister had one at 45. It took her 3 years to get to a point where she felt strong enough to go back to work. Things like speech therapy and OT will kick in soon, and certainly once he leaves hospital. It will be a long journey so don't expect him to be back to his old self any day soon. Wishing you both well. X

Original poster
Lostnafraid · 14/10/2018 22:01

Dad has been home a few days now, he struggling to sleep as he keeps getting a buzzing sound in his ears when he turns on either side, he’s also got awful diarrhoea and everything he eats is going straight through him. Does anyone know if this is normal? He and mum say they don’t know who to contact for advice about these symptoms. Does anyone know if they should ring the stroke unit he was in or go to his own GP?

OP posts:
flippit81 · 14/10/2018 22:13

I don't think it's normal to have diarrhoea after a stroke- so keep an eye on that. Don't let him get dehydrated ,that's really important as dehydration increases risk of stroke and affects recovery. The noise in his ears might be worth phoning the stroke team about. If he's on clopidigrel I think that can cause tinnitus though so it might just be that.

Original poster
Lostnafraid · 15/10/2018 08:57

Thanks, I’m not sure what meds he’s on but I’ll ask them to calm the ward and get some advice x

OP posts:
flippit81 · 15/10/2018 09:41

If in doubt call the stroke team. It's just not worth risking a second event and if they say not to worry, you've had advice from the best people. There is an increased risk of a second stroke in the first month after stroke. This decreases over time, a key point is three months when the risk drops again. After a year it's almost back to normal. If you or your Dad is on Facebook there's a group called "different strokes" which is a group for stroke survivors of working age. There's loads of info, advice and support available on there. Stroke after care is a bit of a post code lottery I gather. In addition to OT help (who can help massively with managing fatigue amongst other things) and a SALT, neuro physio can support help with sensory difficulties. Hopefully the community support will kick in, if not I think you can go through your GP to access it. I recommend the Facebook group for all sorts of info. He might not be keen to join but there's a real range of people on there who have had all sorts of strokes (hence the name of the group) but at some point it could provide the support and advice you all need.

Original poster
Lostnafraid · 15/10/2018 19:09

Thank you, mum called the stroke unit today who told her to call their GP who fit Dad in for an appointment this afternoon, he thinks that the antibiotics dad was taking caused the diarrhoea so he’s told dad to stop them, I’m a bit concerned though that he didn’t really address Dads sleep issues, he’s getting only 2-3 hours a night which can’t be good for his recovery! They’ve got the local stroke services visiting them tomorrow who will hopefully help.

OP posts:
dontcallmelen · 15/10/2018 19:23

@Lostnafraid I would make contact with the stroke association they have nurses you can speak too, also have lots of written information they can send, which is very helpful.
I had a stroke five years ago, the first few months I was quite confused & had lots of difficulty with words & numbers, also would search around in my head for the right words, this has improved over time but my SPAG is still very hit n miss, also have a residue of right sided weakness, but again this has improved over time, for me the worst symptoms were the tiredness & dizziness, which took a long time to improve, it’s only now when I look back that I realise how far I have come in my recovery, it takes time though.
Feel free to ask me any questions etc am happy to help.

flippit81 · 15/10/2018 19:56

Good that stroke services are coming in hopefully they'll come up with something to help. You're right, sleep is so important for recovery. I had a stroke just over a year ago and feel like I slept through most of 2017. I hope your Dad is ok. As dontcallmelen says it's a long recovery process, rewiring your brain is a slow process!

dontcallmelen · 15/10/2018 20:02

Flipit81 I think you posted on a thread a while ago & I meant to reply to you, but then couldn’t find the thread, apologies if that was you.

Original poster
Lostnafraid · 15/10/2018 20:04

Thank you, everyone for your advice I’ve been looking at the stroke Association website today, will call them tomorrow.

OP posts:
flippit81 · 15/10/2018 20:12

Hi dontcallmelen- I may have done - I forget 😬. My memory is a bit hit and miss! Nice to meet a fellow stroke survivor 👋

dontcallmelen · 15/10/2018 20:21

😂 me too Flipp

flippit81 · 15/10/2018 21:07

😂xx

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