Energy Level


TBird

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I am interested to hear how your energy level is after your stroke. I am only 5 weeks post stroke, but am experiencing a great deal of fatigue all the time. It is difficult to do light housework without becoming exhausted and I find myself falling asleep throughout the day. I'm sure this is normal and part of my body healing itself, but I am curious to know how others managed to cope with this. I have a six year old son and find it very hard to keep up with him (playing, doing homework, etc.) Anyone have any advice??

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Hi Tara, welcome to StrokeNet. Unfortunatly being tired is part of the deficits one suffers after a stroke especially so soon after. 5 weeks is not a long time. It takes 6 months to reduce the swelling from a brain injury like stroke.Here are some links that will be very interesting for you and will explain about what you are going through. Pay attention especially to the one called "A letter from your brain″ I am looking forward to meeting you in chat sometime. We have a new chat for Newbies scheduled sunday evenings 8pm EST. You will meet many members who are where you are now coping with recovery. To access the chat room click on chat from the menu under the heading. Once the chat rooms load up, you are in the lobby. You can then hit Roam from menu at the top of the chat window. A new window will open up where you will choose the Newbie room. Hope to see you there sunday evening. All the best,

 

mc

 

A survivor's Bill of Rights

 

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=2094

 

The Five Stages of Grief

 

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=857

 

A Letter From Your Brain

 

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showtopic=83

 

Classic Postings and Advice

 

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?showforum=23

 

misc. info

 

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/stroke/stroke_recovery.html

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Hi,

I'm 14+ years post stroke, and I still have to make sure that everything I "have" to do, (Be it appointments or whatever) be taken care of in the morning. I have learned that I am completely useless in the afternoons. That's me though; other survivor's may be different.

 

Susan :cold:

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Welcome to stroke net.

 

I'm very tired. I wake up in the morning with my son for school and when he is off to school, I have to go back to bed. I never really feel rested. I have vestibular issues which makes me feel dizzy drunk all the time so to rid of that feeling I go back to bed. I really hate it. I used to be so active and now Im ready to go to bed by 5pm.

 

Everybody os different with how they feel. But you're not alone with feeling tired. I stay away from coffee and caffine ( due to balance and eye issues) so its hard. But take vitamins. drink plenty of water and rest if you have too.

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  • 4 months later...

Energy? What's that? ;)

 

I'm 4 weeks post stroke and I spent the first week after my stroke sleeping most of the day!! My PT appts. were rough -- being awake enough to GO and then making it through them, back to the car, and inside the house so I could sleep again! But everyone kept telling me that the sleep was how my brain would recover. I have more energy now, don't sleep through my days, but I still get worn out really easily and often nap after justbeing awake/online/reading, etc. I feel a little lazy, but just remind myself that this is part of my recovery :)

 

I'm going back to school in alittle over a week, and I'm concerned that it's going to be too exhausting, but I think that I can do it. I've found that if I let myself get too worn out, that's when I'm going to have crying meltdowns and be cranky, so I try to just get as much rest as I can. I'm sure it must be hard having your son and wanting to do things with him -- Not sure if it's possible for you to maybe get up in the morning, do a little lighthousework, then take a nap to be ready to spend time with your son (I'm guessing he's probably in school during the day?) -- I think the best thing you can do for youself is try to plan in those naps, get plenty of rest overnight, and remember that even as you feel better, you need that rest and getting it is the key to improvement :)

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hi taea oh yes i am very tired as well tary my energy level is always low unfortunitly that is a symtoms of thestroke and i cant really say what to do except when you are very tired don"t try to add a new exercise goal as you won"t do well and you will get very frustrated with yourself so get loys of rest and then try

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  • 1 month later...

A lack of energy seems to be the norm after a stroke. I think I have just about everyone on this board complain about it. I am told that in the first year, it is worse because it take a while for the swelling in the brain to come down, for new pathways to form, for all of this healing to take place and that takes energy.

 

At 4 months post, I can say that I am not as exhausted as I was in the first couple of weeks after my stroke, when all I wanted to do was sleep all of the time. It's still very easy to get tired and to do too much.

 

Weekends are now made for rest and realxation where they were set aside for chores/errands/entertaining/and anything else I couldn't get done during the week. If I sleep through the 9:00 am church service on Sunday, then I sleep through it. God understands. If I feel like I can make the 11:30 service, then fine, I go to that service. If I don't, God understands.

 

Every day is now spent listening to what my brain and my body need me to do, instead of my trying to convince my brain and my body that they will do what I want them to do. If something doesn't happen, then it just doesn't happen.

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hi tara and welcome to stroke net not alot of advice for you but just to let you know that being tired all of the time is very norm,al for stroke survivers as your brain is always working and working very hard to try to make new connevtions soeven though you areen"t doing anything your brain is and working double time the only advice that i can give you is to get lots ofrest and don"t start anything new if you are tired as you won"t do well and you will get very dissapointed with you

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  • 3 months later...

I totally agree with everyone here, it takes a long time to get a ton of energy back. I had my stroke 5 years ago and still find that mid afternoon I am exhausted and yawn constantly. I got to bed early and try to get at least 8-9 hours of sleep, and yet it never feels like it is enough! Take your time with recovery, and focus on the positives that are happening in your life laughbounce.gif

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Tara: welcome. I am Debbie, caregiver to Bruce, stroke March 2009. My Bruce was and still is a morning person. I still "lose" him after lunch. Doctor tells me he is not getting enough sleep. Well, he a a farmer, up with the birds. I have taken to medicating him at noon. He always got a Baclofen, which causes drowsiness; but now I have added an Ultram-pain. See it is not productive to lie in bed and channel surf just to get pressure off his back-spinal stenosis. The stroke-affected brain needs sleep.

 

Work around your son's schedule. Up with him, off to school and then you must sleep until he gets home. Then you are refreshed to deal with dinner and homework, bed time and still be able to get to bed relatively early. House stuff will suffer, but you will adjust. Best and know you are all in my prayers. Debbie

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Tara, Regardless of where or what kind of stroke we had, fatigue seems to be one of those "common denominators"-or one of the effects of a stroke that many of us share. What has helped me sometimes is to think of my brain as being"under construction", and in need of minimizing traffic so that it can complete the job at hand. In this way of thinking,then,sleep can be seen as a good and necessary thing. But, there are times when your brain has to wait. For that, I gradually increased the time my brain had to wait until I slept,so that now,4 yrs post, I can go without a nap all day,and stay up later at night.IF You decide to "train your brain", wait until you are at last 6 mos. out.For now,when you feel fatigued and like you need a nap, take one, and try not to feel guilty- It'll get better! Becky1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

y

 

our brain"

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  • 1 month later...

I'm so relief after reading all the answers! Because I feel sooo tired in the afternoons, after 5 pm I just want to relax and do nothing. It's been 4 years since my stroke and I was starting to think that it was because my lazy brain!

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