Left side neglect

[PennGwyn]

I've been sure that mine was getting better, that the various new habits and exercises I've been doing have been making a difference. But I failed rather publically yesterday.

 

I arrived at the monthly meeting of our "Central Services Classified Senate". (Central Services is the division of our college district that includes things that aren't broken out by campus to a specific college, and that includes our IT organization which I work in. Classified employees are those who are neither faculty nor management. And senates are the bodies which make up our "shared governance" mechanism....)

 

There was a sign-up sheet for those wishing to (a) be listed as attendees in the minutes, and (b) receive credit for participation. A couple of columns of miscellaneous unimportant stuff, a column of names sorted by last name, and a column of signature lines, some of them filled in.

The name at the top of the list began with "N", so I asked around where page one was, since my last name begins with "G". Everyone insisted that there was only one page.

 

After several confused minutes, I discovered that the "miscellaneous unimportant" stuff to the left consisted of two preceeding columns of typed names and signature spaces, and there was my name in column 1, right where it belonged.

So I got to explain to a roomful of people that this was a known effect of my stroke (a few hadn't heard and didn't know why I had my rollator there), and I learned that my boss's predecessor (whom I've never met) had had a stroke after retirement that had left her with no peripheral vision to the left....

 

(To get from my office to the meeting room, I have to cross campus by either of two routes, each of which involves two descents by elevator since my office is near the top of the hill and that conference room is near the bottom. It's not easy to get my rollator (or a wheelchair) there, but it's far enough that I'm reluctant to rely on just a cane.)

 

David

[fking]

We all learn from different things we run across in life after stroke. So you got to see some of that first hand. I know about getting from office to office, especially when having to use an elevator. I know you must have felt something using your rollator!

[merichsen]

David,

Everyone does things like that from time to time, at least we just have a legitimate reason for our faux pas. Learn to laugh it off and don't give it a second thought. Odds are most people are so self absorbed they don't even notice.

 

Just so you're in the know ~~

A little more info on left neglect beyond just the visual...

Left neglect is also when your brain begins to disregard the left side of your body and no longer acknowledge it even exists. This happens when due to our deficits we become solely reliant on our fully functional side and no longer even bother to make the effort to try to incorporate it as part of ourselves. That is why it is important, even if your left arm is not functional, to involve it. Use it as a tool, place things in it to hold. Also the more you use it, the better chance you stand of getting it back.

 

Maria

[mikev]

David, I'm a caregiver to my wife, and it's amazing the things that she does not realize are there to the left. When she walks she even turns slightly to the left. She has many small bruises on her left arm from hitting countertops and tables. Like you she will not see things that are nearly in front of her if they are left of center. She does it all the time. I wonder if that is why she drools like a waterfall out of the left side of her mouth. Dave, even when she comes out of the bathroom she makes me check that she has pulled up her slacks on the left side enough. I remind her all the time but she forgets again and again. She is only 4 months post right side bleed and craniectomy so things get better and worse all the time. The left side neglect is sad and strange to me, my wife thinks everything is fine. I wish you the best, and your friends and co-workers will understand once they understand. Mike

[PennGwyn]

David,

 

Just so you're in the know ~~

A little more info on left neglect beyond just the visual...

Left neglect is also when your brain begins to disregard the left side of your body and no longer acknowledge it even exists. This happens when due to our deficits we become solely reliant on our fully functional side and no longer even bother to make the effort to try to incorporate it as part of ourselves. That is why it is important, even if your left arm is not functional, to involve it. Use it as a tool, place things in it to hold. Also the more you use it, the better chance you stand of getting it back.

 

Maria

 

 

Thanks Maria, a good reminder. Once, while I was in the hospital, I dropped a bowl of cereal (and milk!) all down me because I had it in my left hand and just sort of forgot to hold onto it. I haven't done that again! And I've mentioned elsewhere about keeping stuff in my left pocket, although I originally did that for the tactile sensation exercise -- it's just a happy added benefit that it makes me use that hand pretty often, too.

 

I was always extremely right-hand dominant; it's entirely possible that my left hand gets more regular use now than it did before my stroke. I use my right hand for handrails or a cane, so if I need to carry anything without a shoulder strap, it's in my left hand, too. (I have some pain in my left elbow when the arm is fully extended -- nobody has been able to figure out if this is a stroke effect or a strain injury, but it does ensure that I don't OVER load that hand....)

 

Generally, I can see things to the left IF I remember to look for them -- it's just that when I don't remember they get hard to notice. I had one strange day when I could see my left shoulder and hand, but not the arm that I knew must be connecting them! Usually I just notice that something I'm reading doesn't make sense, and I go back and find the additional letters/words at the left edge that I had missed. This time, I didn't do that until I had raised the question of where the missing page was, and so I couldn't really pretend everything was normal.

[PennGwyn]

hi david yes i to have been diognose as having left side neglict and it does make life very interesting while i am eating in the resturant and if my place settings is on my left side i will always ask the waitress where is my place settings and it is always on my left side so it is quite embarising but you do start to learn that if i can"t find then i just lookleft and it is usually there so like fred says we all have to learn how to deal with learning how to get by with some kind of deficits, but you do usually learn how to get by just takes a little time and a little practice

 

One of my early clues was that I would set down my utensils and be unable to find them again; now that I know about my deficit, I know where to look for them. I thought I had gotten pretty good at compensating and so to flub it publically was a bit of a disappointment. So I mentally pick myself up, dust myself off, and remind myself to check to my left before assuming there's something wrong with the rest of the world....

[Sudz]

David

Hi, I, too, have severe left-side neglet - due to extensive damage in the right side of my brain I, too, have done some real stupid things & have n learned - if I can't find it look very well to left -- it took a long time to learn that.

One of my funny stories : after I finally passed my swallowing test & got to remove NG tube from stomach one of my first meals was a sandwich cut into quarters divided on each side of plate -- I ate the two right pieces, told my daughter they were good & wish there were more : she told me to look left, Lo & brhold there were 2 more quarters. I soon learned , esp when food was good to really look left - moving my head & not just eyes if need be .

Those of us with damage to the right side of the brain do have a few unique deficits.

Besides left neglect, spacial & perceptual problems

ie. (I can't invision where my body, legs are in relation to chair or toilet for sitting and I have been known to misjudge the edge of the table when putting a drink down

I'm a chronic info junkie - have to understand things

Iread a book by a Dr that I would whole heartedly recommend to anyone -- he truly explains the weird things for rt side damage It was an easy , not text read

 

"stroke & the Family"by Joel Stein M.D.

By

 

David, I want to eholeheartedly commend you for your taking time to try & understand this weird condition of your wife'.some of the most frustrating things for me is not being understoodie why I am afraid to physically try something, to him it itshould be easy.

Hint : seeing as our brains no longer tell our legs& body what to do what

Early on I developed a coping skill that helped me - sounds stupid I talk to my affected leg telling it what to do.

Ie

Going out door slight step down I have to position my feet just right & look at then cuz I don't know where they are

When I'm ready I sayLeft OUT& down so I remember to get it far enough to clear Threshold & not catch heel at first it takes 100% brain power.

When I climb stairs holding on to railing my command is left ( stand on left) up ( move right up) back (put left back enough to not catch toe) very frightening ,I am quite physically disabled - not just weak on left but paralyzed keep asking questions get that book if you can

 

Susan

[jackfeld]

My husband has the same thing going on with his left side. You can barely touch his arm or leg and he says it hurts,like a burning sensation. I keep reminding him too,to look to his left. Sometimes I even put things on his left,so he will use his left.

[merichsen]

Jackie,

We've touched upon a variety of issues throughout this thread. It sounds as though your husband may be experiencing some of the symptoms of central pain syndrome as well for which there is treatment.

 

You may like to check out the following:

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/central-pain-syndrome

 

[Farrell]

Hi David ~

 

You are doing wonerful if you can return to work. In my case my right side

was effected due to AVM hemorage. The funny thing is after all the years

I had the bleed in 1996 of Dec. (somewhere around that yr.) Over the years

I have to use my left side if I want to do inticate things like pick up

a spoon or fork to eat as right hand has tremor. And in the mornings when

I have most energy or sharp( :juggle: never sharp as a tac mind you) but

I do try & never give up! I can do my best(if you can read it at the time)

handwriting with my right side which came out of parayzation first in nursing

home, starting w/ finger tips up armthen the therapist retrained brain to

work rest of paralized rt .side. But lower rt. leg still partailly paralized

therefore walk w/ cane & brace. :happydance: drive w/ left ft. gas pdal.We

all find way to make this life work for us with the help God & our friends

and I forgot to mention exercising weak side, never let that go for one day.

 

Sounds like your on the right road~Keep going forward w/ a smile & all you

can do is your best which sounds like your doing. Folks who have never walked

in the shoes of having a stoke don't seem to understand. But here you have

found an abundance of love, acceptance & help & I don't want to forget the

word encouragement from your friends on the strokboard. Take care & Blessings

Nancy :gym: No I don't lift wights(jk)

 

 

 

 

to you

[catcrone]

I am sorry for your left side neglect. I had a major bleed on the right side 17 months ago at age 56. I ended up with the same neglect amongst other problems. My doctors advised me it would never go away and increased my chances of falling and further injury . I too missed allot of things , broke many things and was always battered and bruised on the left side .

 

I did some on line research and found that the only help for left side neglect was for me to be continuously reminded 100's of times a day that I had a left side. Yeah right ! I toyed briefly with the idea of a parrot on my left shoulder " Squawk ! " Remember your left ..........Remember your left" But felt the pirate look was not quite me, not to mention parrot clean up issues :yeahrite:

 

What I did do that helped tremendously was to start wearing slightly heavy bracelets on my left wrist. I increased the weight of the bracelets over time. I wore them 24/7. Sometimes the metal clanked or I added small bells that gave me auditory stimuli also.

Now 17 months later I very very very seldom have unilateral neglect problems. Sometimes when I am real tired it comes back but not anywhere near as bad as before .

 

I can see that I will probably have to wear these forever but they are not an inconvenience they are actually quite stylish and its better than walking/limping into walls ,or sitting on cats.

I would assume you would get the same results from those light Velcro wrist weights .

 

I hope his may be of some assistance

 

“A jug fills drop by drop.”

 

Buddha

 

 

[PennGwyn]

My husband has the same thing going on with his left side. You can barely touch his arm or leg and he says it hurts,like a burning sensation. I keep reminding him too,to look to his left. Sometimes I even put things on his left,so he will use his left.

 

 

I think the burning sensation is different from neglect -- but I have had that too. Pressure, even fairly light, on my arm or leg feels like WARMTH, and on my hand especially it felt like burning. (I think I may have burned a couple of fingertips taking a dish out of the microwave, but I couldn't tell for sure.)

 

One of my doctors called the pins and needles + burning sensation "numbness with hypersensitivity", which at first glance sounds pretty strange.

 

My mental picture of what's going on is that my nerves syill try to carry messages from my hand and foot to my brain. The cells that for almost 53 years have been receiving those signals are on some kind of extended vacation now -- but the cells around them are screaming "Hey! Somebody answer the damned phone!" As I understand it, my prospects for long-term recovery are that other brain cells will, indded, learn to "answer the phone".

 

I had a bit of progress in this area last night, but since I don't think it's "neglect" I'll post it under its own subject....

 

David

[PennGwyn]

One of my funny stories : after I finally passed my swallowing test & got to remove NG tube from stomach one of my first meals was a sandwich cut into quarters divided on each side of plate -- I ate the two right pieces, told my daughter they were good & wish there were more : she told me to look left, Lo & brhold there were 2 more quarters. I soon learned , esp when food was good to really look left - moving my head & not just eyes if need be .

 

I did that a few times, too! It has been a while -- I may have acquired the habit of scanning left on my plate without having to think about it.

 

 

Early on I developed a coping skill that helped me - sounds stupid I talk to my affected leg telling it what to do.

I did that even before my stroke I think of it as describing my action as I would if I were writing it in a story -- I just never get around to sitting down and writing the story....

[PennGwyn]

David, I'm a caregiver to my wife, and it's amazing the things that she does not realize are there to the left. When she walks she even turns slightly to the left. She has many small bruises on her left arm from hitting countertops and tables. Like you she will not see things that are nearly in front of her if they are left of center. She does it all the time. I wonder if that is why she drools like a waterfall out of the left side of her mouth. Dave, even when she comes out of the bathroom she makes me check that she has pulled up her slacks on the left side enough. I remind her all the time but she forgets again and again. She is only 4 months post right side bleed and craniectomy so things get better and worse all the time. The left side neglect is sad and strange to me, my wife thinks everything is fine. I wish you the best, and your friends and co-workers will understand once they understand. Mike

 

Thanks Mike.

 

Please be patient with her. I'm sure it feels very weird to be with someone whose *eyes* work fine, who is looking right at something, and who swears it's not there. It's just as weird for her, and probably very frustrating too.

 

One trick my O/T suggested was scanning -- turning the head from side to side while walking, so that stuff that isn't too far left of center gets a chance to enter the right side visual field and be seen. And a good practice challenge is to find things in the grocery store -- we have several nearby, so it hasn't been to hard to find items on our shopping list that I'm not sure where they are in *this* store and have to really look for them.

 

David

[CagedBird]

I know exactly how you feel. Today (twice) two different gentlemen tried to open the door for me but I had already began opening the door right next to it and got scared to death when the door on the left came into vision opening right in front of my face. One guy even said he was trying to get the door for me. I just sighed and walked through the door I had already opened for myself. I hope he doesnt think I was trying to be rude. I just didnt feel like explaining

[mikev]

I know exactly how you feel. Today (twice) two different gentlemen tried to open the door for me but I had already began opening the door right next to it and got scared to death when the door on the left came into vision opening right in front of my face. One guy even said he was trying to get the door for me. I just sighed and walked through the door I had already opened for myself. I hope he doesnt think I was trying to be rude. I just didnt feel like explaining

 

Dear CagedBird, Your last comment "I just didn't feel like explaining" hits home. I think I have my wife's Bleed/Stroke story so memorized that whenever I have to tell it I don't even hear myself talking. I could read a book simultaneously.

[moonrocket]

David

Hi, I, too, have severe left-side neglet - due to extensive damage in the right side of my brain I, too, have done some real stupid things & have n learned - if I can't find it look very well to left -- it took a long time to learn that.

One of my funny stories : after I finally passed my swallowing test & got to remove NG tube from stomach one of my first meals was a sandwich cut into quarters divided on each side of plate -- I ate the two right pieces, told my daughter they were good & wish there were more : she told me to look left, Lo & brhold there were 2 more quarters. I soon learned , esp when food was good to really look left - moving my head & not just eyes if need be .

Those of us with damage to the right side of the brain do have a few unique deficits.

Besides left neglect, spacial & perceptual problems

ie. (I can't invision where my body, legs are in relation to chair or toilet for sitting and I have been known to misjudge the edge of the table when putting a drink down

I'm a chronic info junkie - have to understand things

Iread a book by a Dr that I would whole heartedly recommend to anyone -- he truly explains the weird things for rt side damage It was an easy , not text read

 

"stroke & the Family"by Joel Stein M.D.

By

 

David, I want to eholeheartedly commend you for your taking time to try & understand this weird condition of your wife'.some of the most frustrating things for me is not being understoodie why I am afraid to physically try something, to him it itshould be easy.

Hint : seeing as our brains no longer tell our legs& body what to do what

Early on I developed a coping skill that helped me - sounds stupid I talk to my affected leg telling it what to do.

Ie

Going out door slight step down I have to position my feet just right & look at then cuz I don't know where they are

When I'm ready I sayLeft OUT& down so I remember to get it far enough to clear Threshold & not catch heel at first it takes 100% brain power.

When I climb stairs holding on to railing my command is left ( stand on left) up ( move right up) back (put left back enough to not catch toe) very frightening ,I am quite physically disabled - not just weak on left but paralyzed keep asking questions get that book if you can

Susan

 

 

Reading that made me want to cringe. :yikes: Somehow, I've gotten phobic about going down the stairs. Sometimes while going down the stairs, my brain will suddenly forget how to direct my feet. I will freeze for a moment while my mind scrambles for instructions. It freaks me out everytime and more so recently. I hope I can get better with it....rather than go backward. It is worse now than it was right after my stroke. Maybe I'm missing something in my recovery.... :uhm:

[HostBruce]

David,

 

 

I suffer from a diffrent side my right side. I don't have thoughs problems. But I do forget some things. I just chalk it up to having a stroke. You should consider your self lucky!

 

 

 

Bruce Schwentker

[PennGwyn]

David,

 

 

I suffer from a diffrent side my right side. I don't have thoughs problems. But I do forget some things. I just chalk it up to having a stroke. You should consider your self lucky!

 

 

 

Bruce Schwentker

 

I do, I really do! I've gained some insight into how my brain and body function, and appreciation for walking and tying my shoes and binocular vision and reading and ....

 

David

[jackfeld]

I do, I really do! I've gained some insight into how my brain and body function, and appreciation for walking and tying my shoes and binocular vision and reading and ....

 

David

Oh yes David. You are one lucky guy. I would be so thrilled if my husband could just get up and down by himself. Walking would be wonderful.

[PennGwyn]

When I logged in today -- first time since the Hallowe'en theme was switched out -- and saw there were only 11 seconds until Christmas, I had a moment of panic. Then I scanned around and found the 45 days and 11 hours, and relaxed....

 

Dave