glaidice

Bless you Leah, I can certainly empathize.

THANKS SUE

Thank you all for your very helpful insight. My best friend in North Carolina also suggested that whatever equipment that I may need in the future or not need for that matter, get it while I can. Who knows how our insurance might change. I thought that was an excellent point also. Anyway, much love to all of you.

I have home health care except for going in for electrical stimulation on my foot and leg for neuropathy. I am not diabetic but developed neuropathy from the damaged nerves when I had my stroke 7 years ago. I've come a very long way from being completely paralyzed on my left affected side to walking a mile around the park next to where I live. I've always lived alone (my preference) from day one when I came home from the hospital. I figured I'd have to learn to do things on my own anyway so I decided to start right away. To make a long, long story short, I still live very happily alone, drive, cook my own meals and so on. That's why my feathers got a little ruffled today when this doctor told me that it's been 7 years now and you know that people never return to themselves 100%, so I should maybe sell some of my furniture and think about getting rid of my library (though he likes it very much) so that I could use a rolling walker because as we age our balance naturally gets worse and I could be subject to falling easily)! :yeahrite: He said this because I told him I tripped in the kitchen and fell (anybody could have done this). I was fine though. His advice would have been taken a little better had I had a history of falling, but I don't. And I always have a phone on me for safety purposes anyway. He further asked if I intended to keep my apartment for any length of time and that maybe I could live with one of my daughters eventually if necessary. I know that he meant well but I was fuming when he left. I've taken care of myself all this time, grocery shopping, cleaning, socializing, exercising my body and mind. I've taken all of their tests and I have no blockages, no diabetes, no heart problems, no high blood pressure, and I'm a pesto/pollo vegetarian been told I'm healthy. Some drs. can be so discouraging. Thanks guys for letting me vent. :Tantrum:

Hi Jamie, I'm a 7 year survivor and at this point I no longer make excuses for anything, I'm just very honest. I noticed that after an outing or two during the week, say a party and then a date on the weekend, I'm absolutely exhausted. I feel like I have people-lag, you know, like jetlag. LOL - I have physical therapy twice a week, play cards twice a week, exercise 3 times a week, see my doctor once a month, not to mention just doing everyday chores like cooking, washing, etc., etc.,. I developed a mild case of claustrophobia after my stroke. My doctor said it was quite common to develop phobias after a stroke. So, I also noticed I don't like crowds because they make me feel closed in. A lot of the time, well-intentioned friends don't understand that I just don't want to go to a crowded concert or the exhaustion you may sometimes feel even if you haven't done anything. I'm happy with my life though and note that all of us continue to improve no matter how slowly we still progress. :Clap-Hands:

Hi, I'm 7-1/2 years post stroke. I have cps and neuropathy from the nerve damage post stroke. At first the burning was in my face and I was put on neurotin - but the side effects were horrible - I had echoing in my ears and the sensation of not being able to breathe when I would wake up. They then put me on Lyrica but It was not affordable although it did help some. Now I'm on tramadol and a low dose of xanax which seems to work most of the time. The bottom of my foot burns tremendously so they are giving me electrical stimulation (not the Tens unit) twice weekly. I'll have this treatment for 8 weeks to see if it helps. I go to a pain doctor so her intent is to get me off of these meds and pain free. It just seems that it's trial and error for all of us. Bless you. And as you can see, you're not alone.

Although I never smoked, I asked my doctor if I could have 2 glasses of red wine a night. He told me that since I was not on any blood thinning medications, it was ok. That was 7 years ago. I asked him that because so much had been taken from me, I wanted something to look forward to. I wanted to be able to light my fireplace, read and sip on a glass of wine if I felt like it. I know being able to just look forward to that was very theraputic in my recovery. I think you've been very good in helping your wife to quit smoking and allowing some white wine. By the way, white wine has resveratrol in it too, just not as much as the red. Remember that she's grieving for her old self right now and would like to have some control somewhere in her life. Recovery in itself is sooooo difficult and trying to stop bad habits are hard even without having health problems. So, don't be so hard on yourself and maybe think about these things when you're having a rough time. Hope this helps.