Stroke and Losing Hope!!

[westie26]

Last Nov. 7, my stepdad, 50yrs old, had a massive hypertensive stoke. He spent many weeks in the hospital and rehab, finally came home on March 10. This left him without any movement on his left side. He has regained a little movement in his foot, a little in his fingers but nothing else is improving. How long is the avg. rate of improving? He is also having multiple seizures a month, the doctors don't seem too concerned. He is in a lot of pain. Is there any kind of experimental help, should that be an option? Any great reading material? I know this is a lot of questions...any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[bobswife]

Hi, Iam am new to this forum, but also want to say"dont lose hope" and donot stop doing any of the therapies you have been taught. Even the slightest neglect will cause a "backslide"We have found that the simplest things, like chewing gum, can stregthen the face muscles, and a tennis ball, or nerf ball, held in the weak hand(contantly)will make you aware of your "neglected "side. My husband had a massive stroke 9 months ago, and is walking, talking ,driving , and has regained much of his life back, but there are times when you can definetely tell he has had a stroke, and that is when we realize we(he) has let his therapy lax.Recovery is an ongoing battle, but it is worth minute. My husband is only 46 years old, we have 2 daughters to raise,and I sometimes have to NAG him to keep up the therapy,or he will start to lose what progress he has made.

[Tressa999]

I got confused in my previous comment.  I meant to direct it to miracleman.  Here goes again:

Miracleman, could you tell us what specific parts/activities/services of hope4stroke you have found most helpful?

[Tressa999]

Westie, could you tell us what specific parts/activities/services of hope4stroke you have found most helpful?

[miracle man]

Never lose sight of hope.I am 54 and had a stroke at age 51 from a blood clot on the right side of the brain. At the time I was I had the stroke I was taking the drug Bextra. However I had already had two heart attacks. My left side was effected and at the present time I can move my left arm but have NO strength in it. I cannot even roll the wheel on a manuel wheel chair. My left leg is like a dead piece of wood with NO movement at all. I am either in a motorized chair or on a walker that has wheels a seat and brakes. The only thing with the walker is you really get pooped out quick. Prayer and God will beyond a doubt pull you through. There is a web site you need to go to called ,  www.hope4stroke.com  
This is a tremendous site and the leader can help you a lot. Please let this man open you up to a brand new world beyond stroke.

[joesi]

Some may agree or disagree with this but I found that with my wife, Ritalin SR, 40mg brought her personality back to normal and greatly improved her cognitive skills. There does not apear to be any side effects either. Is it right for you? Ask your doctor. It doesn't take long to know if it will help either. In my wife's case, I noticed a huge improvement 20 minutes after she took the first pill. It's now been six weeks since she started the medication and I can hardly tell she had a stroke 17 months ago. Please keep in mind that I am not saying this is a magic pill or the ONLY thing I have done to help her. I do feel that Ritalin has played a significant role in helping with my wife's condition. A condition which is more than likely different from yours. It's been one part of the big puzzle.  All I'm suggesting is that you at least ask your doctor for his/her opinion regarding the use of Ritalin based on the specific patient needs and overall condition.

[westie26]

I am sorry to hear about your dad. i know what you are going through. Is he in a rehab program yet? We do have a lady that sits with my stepdad during the day. We have had a problem with insurance. They only allow 20 visits to physical therapy and we are in the middle of our 5th appeal to the board. (Doesn't look too good) I hope that you and your family are coping with everything okay, it's times like these that you find out what you are made of. thanks for your support.

[westie26]

Yes he has had many problems with memory, we have had to re-teach in some areas. His personality was greatly affected, he was so dry in the beginning. Slowly this has gotten better. Now when we tell a joke he knows to smile or chuckle. He was such a great dad and husband and now he does not ask how work or school has been. It's really hard to see him this way and I know it is even harder on him. Thanks for you help. We all need friends.

[lahinva]

We have had the same problems with insurance.  He was in therapy then the insurance co. denied him to continue because he wasn't making enough progress.  So after alot of fighting and 6 weeks time, we got him back into therapy.  He seems to be doing better this time, but his major problem is in his cognitive ability.  He can't remember from day to day that he had a stroke and he thinks he can walk.  Hopefully the therapy will continue for a while and he will get strong enough to go home.

[lahinva]

One more thing.  You may want to read comments below from tressa on the VASA at home rehab program.  It sounds like she is having great results with it.  I am looking into it for when my dad comes home.

[lahinva]

My dad's stroke sounds very similar to yours.  He has lost movement on his left side.  SOme movement has returned, mainly in his hand.  His leg is still so weak.  He is still in rehab (his stroke was May 10th) so we are still hopeful that he will improve.  Do you have home care helping with your stepdad at home?  We would like to get my dad home soon and am looking for ways to get help for my mom at home.

Everything I read says to never give up hope and improvements keep happening.

[joesi]

First, never give up. The human brain is absolutely remarkable. For the most part, recovery from any type of stroke can be long and will require patience. It will be a daily thing. You stated he had a "massive hypertensive stoke" which effected his motor skills.  Did it effect anything else like speech, eye sight, memory or cognitive skills?
The Internet is a great place to research for ideas which you can bring up with his doctor(s). As you will find, many doctors are not as up to date on the cutting technology as you would think but don't let that stop you. The one thing I did find is that there is no one magic pill or therapy.  There are lots of small things one can do though and in combination, may provide improvement. What works for one may not work for another as, it would seem, every stroke is different.
I am aware of one experimental drug being developed at MIT however, it's only had some success in lab rats to date. It might be ten years, if proved successful, before it could be approved for humans. And then there's Stem Cells, a touchy subject for many and probably this is not the place to debate that issue.
Best of luck and NEVER GIVE UP.