Last post Tue, May 27 2008 9:59 AM by CNo64. 25 replies.
My mom had a brain hemorrage stroke in May of 2007. She was a very "youthful" 83, fully functional and living alone at the time.
We spent 2 months in the hospital where she had no use of anything but one hand, had a feeding tube and was not responsive enough to go to the hospital rehab program after 2 months in the hospital.
In July, we put her in a skilled care nursing home and she has made a remarkable recovery. She is now eating on her own, has had the tube removed for several months. We brought her home in January. She has total use of her body with the exception of weak knees and a dropped foot that we are working on with PT.
The biggest problem is that the short term memory loss (although MUCH better than when this whole process began). seems to be giving her problems in processing what to do each time she begins to get up to a standing position. If there is noone to tell her what to do, she doesn't seem to remember how to start the process. Once she is told, she can get up (with minimal assistance).
Now that it has been 9 months since the stroke, I am beginning to wonder if this is as good as it is going to get. I have undersood that brain bleed stoke is different and that some have full recovery. She has come so far, I am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the current level of dementia may be permanant. If so, will it get worse like alzheimers? I don't know what to expect.
The Nuroligist gave her a Echelon Patch to wear a couple of weeks ago and all the material on it indicated that it was for alzheimers and parkinson patients. She became so confused that it set her back 6 months. We had to take her off of it and she is back to normal (or what she was pre-patch). We havent gone back to the Dr. yet. I don't understand why this would have been prescribed for her when she has not been diognosed with alzheimers The Dr. did not say that he thought she had it when he perscribed it to her. This whole process scared me! Is this a normal reaction to this drug?
Does this sound firmilier to anyone out there. If so......any suggestions or help would be appreciated.
"I believe everything out of the common. The only thing to distrust is the normal."John Buchan
bonnie1: My mom had a brain hemorrage stroke in May of 2007. She was a very "youthful" 83, fully functional and living alone at the time. We spent 2 months in the hospital where she had no use of anything but one hand, had a feeding tube and was not responsive enough to go to the hospital rehab program after 2 months in the hospital. In July, we put her in a skilled care nursing home and she has made a remarkable recovery. She is now eating on her own, has had the tube removed for several months. We brought her home in January. She has total use of her body with the exception of weak knees and a dropped foot that we are working on with PT. The biggest problem is that the short term memory loss (although MUCH better than when this whole process began). seems to be giving her problems in processing what to do each time she begins to get up to a standing position. If there is noone to tell her what to do, she doesn't seem to remember how to start the process. Once she is told, she can get up (with minimal assistance). Now that it has been 9 months since the stroke, I am beginning to wonder if this is as good as it is going to get. I have undersood that brain bleed stoke is different and that some have full recovery. She has come so far, I am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the current level of dementia may be permanant. If so, will it get worse like alzheimers? I don't know what to expect. The Nuroligist gave her a Echelon Patch to wear a couple of weeks ago and all the material on it indicated that it was for alzheimers and parkinson patients. She became so confused that it set her back 6 months. We had to take her off of it and she is back to normal (or what she was pre-patch). We havent gone back to the Dr. yet. I don't understand why this would have been prescribed for her when she has not been diognosed with alzheimers The Dr. did not say that he thought she had it when he perscribed it to her. This whole process scared me! Is this a normal reaction to this drug? Does this sound firmilier to anyone out there. If so......any suggestions or help would be appreciated.
Liesl. thanks so much for sharing your experience with the memory loss......I am new to this, my brother experienced several strokes back in January and the problems he is having is his short term memory. He has come so far in his healing and I realize that it will take time. It is just reassuring to hear the progress that others have made......and I that it is possible for him too
I had a massive stroke(blockage) on 3-28-07. My brain began swelling bad. Drs. called in family and said I was going to die any moment. I hung on and drs, said I'd never walk again.THey ask permission of my wife to try surgery. She said yes. So they remove the right front of my head and cut me open and placed my skull in my abdoman to keep it alive,left it there 3 months then cut me open,took it out and with 4 metal plates put it back on my head. So, I can honestly say I had shit for brains 3 mounths. I It got my left side. Got my leg back but the hand is not doing so good. I have short term memory loss but I think it's gettting a little better. You said you more strokes. How soon after the first did you have the second. I to was a educator.I am unable to read replies from cisaboom But, my home e-mail address is onthecanadian@itlnet.net. Holler ate if you want.
Hi Deborah,
You're very welcome! You know, I could have sworn that until my last round of strokes my memory had improved. That would have been two and half years post stroke. So, it really does continue. Please feel free to ask more questions if we can help.
Liesl
Liesl....I do have a question for anyone who wants to reply or has any tidbits that might help me help my brother. Is there anything I can do to help him regain this memory loss, any exercises, mind stimulation, therapy......He can remember old memories, people or things, but he cannot remember any thing that he does or happens 15 minutes ago. It has only been 3 months since the strokes (3 to be exact). He was in the hospital for 49 days then released to a rehab center after I had to beg/pray that they not put him in a nursing home and give him a chance at rehab....he had made a lot of progress but had to leave rehab after 30 days....some stupid regulation/insurance thing and now is in a nursing home. As I have said due to some stupid insurance thing....the nursing home says he has progressed as far as can at this time that they cannot give him any therapy. He is able to walk, talk, eat with assistance (eye sight is a problem......I was told that he was blind....but he does see.....spatial distance is a problem and when he gets tired the eye sight seems to be worse) He can go to the bathroom himself but needs direction as to where the bathroom is, again a memory thing ( especially him not being used to the nursing home layout) There are many times we have good conversations and others are off the wall....too many thoughts going thru his head. Again, he may be tired and unable to focus. The other day we played the card game "WAR" he was able to tell me the suit of his card the number and whether or not he or I had won the round. I know he is there I just need to find him :) or help him to find himself......I just have a hard time just sitting on the sideline and watching....I want to help him......am I being too pushy??
Deborah, you are NOT being too pushy. The nursing home is dead wrong about your brother not being able to recover further. That's horrifying that they would just give up like that.Push, push, push for more therapy. Take them links (I'll post some below) and show them that the brain retains plasticity and it is NOT TRUE that we get to where we get and then we're finished. As for what you can do, play as many games as yoou can. I know his eyesight is an issue, so you might try verbal games. If he's able to see cards, I think this one helped me: http://www.amazon.com/SET-Enterprises-4098364-Quiddler/dp/B00000IV95 Games are an excellent approach to cognitive therapy. Also, Scrabble helped me. He may be a number person, though. It just depends on where his strengths are and building up those areas without neglecting the other areas. Good luck!
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s10302.htm
http://www.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainbriefings_brainplasticitylanguageprocessingandreading
http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2008/02/26/brain-plasticity-how-learning-changes-your-brain/
http://brandon-hall.com/richardnantel/2007/05/05/new-brain-plasticity-theory-to-create-a-population-of-life-long-learners/
deborahsparks: the nursing home says he has progressed as far as can at this time that they cannot give him any therapy. He is able to walk, talk, eat with assistance (eye sight is a problem......I was told that he was blind....but he does see.....spatial distance is a problem and when he gets tired the eye sight seems to be worse) He can go to the bathroom himself but needs direction as to where the bathroom is, again a memory thing ( especially him not being used to the nursing home layout) There are many times we have good conversations and others are off the wall....too many thoughts going thru his head. Again, he may be tired and unable to focus. The other day we played the card game "WAR" he was able to tell me the suit of his card the number and whether or not he or I had won the round. I know he is there I just need to find him :) or help him to find himself......I just have a hard time just sitting on the sideline and watching....I want to help him......am I being too pushy??
the nursing home says he has progressed as far as can at this time that they cannot give him any therapy. He is able to walk, talk, eat with assistance (eye sight is a problem......I was told that he was blind....but he does see.....spatial distance is a problem and when he gets tired the eye sight seems to be worse) He can go to the bathroom himself but needs direction as to where the bathroom is, again a memory thing ( especially him not being used to the nursing home layout) There are many times we have good conversations and others are off the wall....too many thoughts going thru his head. Again, he may be tired and unable to focus. The other day we played the card game "WAR" he was able to tell me the suit of his card the number and whether or not he or I had won the round. I know he is there I just need to find him :) or help him to find himself......I just have a hard time just sitting on the sideline and watching....I want to help him......am I being too pushy??
They had me do a TON of word puzzles.Something your brother might find helpful, if he has online access, is a site called jigzone.com. It's challenging if you have visual problems, but it's also rewarding.
A word of encouragement: Vision does get better.In my early days in the hospital after my stroke in early 2001, once I got to the point at which I could eat regular, non-pureed food, my vision was so impaired that I literally could not see what I was eating.With the food in this particular hospital, that was a really bad thing. Today, while I still have to sometimes consciously cue myself to pay attention to my affected side, I have NO problems whatsoever with eating.
deborahsparks: Liesl. thanks so much for sharing your experience with the memory loss......I am new to this, my brother experienced several strokes back in January and the problems he is having is his short term memory. He has come so far in his healing and I realize that it will take time. It is just reassuring to hear the progress that others have made......and I that it is possible for him too
How I wish I'd had this community early in my recovery, which began in early 2001.
That would have helped to "counteract" the "If-you-haven't-gotten-it-back-after-X-number-of-months-it's-gone-for-good-and-there's-no-point-in-even-trying" twaddle I was getting from some doctors and therapists.
I'd hate to think that some medical professionals just don't want to be bothered, but I have to wonder sometimes.
Some doctors and therapists I've encountered seem to like to talk about "never" and "neurological plateaus" and "waste of time."Others, however, with the same sort of credentials, are very encouraging, and rejoice in the patient's progress.Maybe it's just a personality issue, but the naysayers can certainly be a drag.
That's why it's so great that there's this community of people who have actually "been there, done that," and can act as encouragers.
CNo64:No, you are not being too pushy, in my estimation, anyhow. I think your brother is blessed to have an advocate like you.I hope you realize that the "He's recovered as much as he can, so therapy would be a waste of time" line is, to be delicate, a bunch of hooey.I get the feeling that you took that "prognosis" with the lack of seriousness it deserves.It's weird, but my massive stroke left my memory and other cognitive functions virtually unscathed, but once I got into outpatient therapy, nobody wanted to work with me on walking(I still can't do that very well), but wanted to focus on cognitive, cognitive, cognitive, which I really didn't need.
No, you are not being too pushy, in my estimation, anyhow. I think your brother is blessed to have an advocate like you.I hope you realize that the "He's recovered as much as he can, so therapy would be a waste of time" line is, to be delicate, a bunch of hooey.I get the feeling that you took that "prognosis" with the lack of seriousness it deserves.It's weird, but my massive stroke left my memory and other cognitive functions virtually unscathed, but once I got into outpatient therapy, nobody wanted to work with me on walking(I still can't do that very well), but wanted to focus on cognitive, cognitive, cognitive, which I really didn't need.
Apparently, you and I needed to combine our therapy. I needed both walking therapy and cognitive therapy but only got the walking part. Hey, I walk kinda ok now. Still need cognitive help. Or, maybe not...
Liesl: Apparently, you and I needed to combine our therapy. I needed both walking therapy and cognitive therapy but only got the walking part. Hey, I walk kinda ok now. Still need cognitive help. Or, maybe not...
On my own, I graduated to a quad cane, and progressed from walking about eight feet to about 25.But I digress.
I don't know exactly how it's determined what sort of therapy a stroke patient needs or doesn't need.
To my admittedly untrained eye, you don't write like a person who's got cognitive impairment. You do much better than many many so-called "normal" folks who post on the 'net.
Carla N.
Thanks, Carla! I do ok with writing, I just tend to lose words when I speak. I also have short term memory loss. Actually, the losing of words has helped me in my writing because it makes me search for better words. Oddly, the words I remember easily are the SAT type words; it's the simple ones, like refrigerator, that get me every time. My poor students sit there in class with their dictionaries scrambling to look up the words I'm using! "We can mitigate the idea of a priori knowledge with the allowance of a posteriori knowledge in our understanding of processes." Huh? Yeah, poor kids. lol
My Dad had a similar drug reaction with setbacks. Not the same drugs but same setbacks. Are her meds correct ? You can have the pharmacist check to see if their are interactions and those you dxefinitely cannot mix. You have every right to questions your Mom's doctor and get a second opinion. If he's a reasonable man he won't be insecure about your not knowing all these complex medical terms and jargon.
ALWAYS question authority, in this case the Doctor ! Ignorance is not bliss and knowledge is power !
mitskev: ALWAYS question authority, in this case the Doctor ! Ignorance is not bliss and knowledge is power !
I totally agree!
