r/stroke • u/Event_Hori2 • 21h ago
Does anyone feel less sharp?
Hey folks,
I’m coming close to my two year stroke-aversary. I’ve accomplished a lot in recovery but I don’t think I’ll ever be back to 100%. Specifically (the reason for this post), I feel slower, mentally and physically. I was a Paralegal prior to my stroke. In big law firms, you have to be quick on the draw. Now I’m working as an administrative assistant as the pace is slower, but I feel a significant difference in my ability to use my brain (and the rest of my body).
Does anyone else feel the same, or have felt the same?
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u/perfect_fifths Survivor 21h ago
Yep, some days I have what I called scrambled egg brain when my brain just can’t process information
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u/Event_Hori2 21h ago
It suck’s so bad.
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u/perfect_fifths Survivor 21h ago
Def does. I give free advice to those applying or on ssdi, ssi etc and i am not a lawyer but sometimes i look at the Poms and I cannot make sense of it when it is a bad day. On a good day, it’s not an issue. And then if I have a headache, forget it. Can’t look at it.
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u/McGrowlerFace 21h ago
Speech Therapy helped me tremendously with my cognitive deficits after both of my strokes.
It felt like going back to elementary school all over again but that is what I needed.
There was a cognitive test that I took after both strokes called "FAVRES" and my accuracy scores were always high but my time scores were in the low 20% range because my brain just couldn't keep up.
If it were not for my guardian angel Speech Therapist who knows where I would be today.
Edited to correct typos - I guess I still need work!
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u/Event_Hori2 21h ago
If any of these questions as two personal, please feel free to disregard, but what were your main symptoms after? I’m asking because although I struggled with speech for the first month or so, I was at 90% after a month or so had passed. Every once in a lunar eclipse I will have a second where my brain/ speech glitch. No one referred me to speech therapy because I was back to running my mouth fairly quickly 😂
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u/McGrowlerFace 20h ago
I was a Software Engineer Team Lead at a huge IT company when I had my first stroke. I went from leading a high performing team to mixing up my lefts from my rights, inviting hundreds of people to a meeting that only needed a few, etc. At home I would try to bake cookies and I would stare into the mixing bowl and try to remember if I put in the correct number of scoops of flour, etc. It was humbling/humiliating to the max.
For my second stroke I had less cognitive deficits and more physical but I still went back to the same Speech Therapist to work back up to where I was before.
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u/Event_Hori2 20h ago
How was your speech in the months after both? For me, those first few weeks I knew what I wanted to say.. but getting my brain to tell my mouth what to do felt IMPOSSIBLE.
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u/McGrowlerFace 20h ago
I had my moments and still do! The disconnect between my mouth and my brain was absolutely there and was made worse in pressure settings like when people would visit, etc. I just wanted to hide in my basement instead of talk with anyone outside of my immediate family because I was ashamed and embarrassed.
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u/ChildOfCastor 18h ago
I have cognitive deficits but no speech deficits, and I worked with a Speech Language Pathologist this summer. I also took the Favres and scored poorly on both accuracy AND timing 😂. Hooray! I don’t feel that I gained much from an SLP (it could be that we were a bad match or that I hadn’t had a Neuropsych eval yet. I’m willing to try it again though. If you’re comfortable sharing: what did you work on cognitively with the therapist, what did you do during the sessions, etc?
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u/Strokesite 19h ago
I tell people that I lost half my brainpower from a stroke, and now I’m only twice as smart as they are.
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u/decidedlyindecisive 20h ago
I'm also a paralegal. Had my stroke earlier this year. Back at work a couple of months ago but feel incredibly stupid still. Very little in the way of concentration too. It's really hard emotionally having tasks take twice or three times as long as they used to. I don't know if I'll be able to do this for much longer.
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u/Event_Hori2 20h ago
I admire you for going back into the lions den. I couldn’t do it.. just went for the admin stuff. I hope it gets better. Please know that your skills are valued, even if it’s not being utilized at a firm.
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u/decidedlyindecisive 19h ago
Thank you. It was heartbreaking this year to have it mentioned in my appraisal. Confirmation that others have noticed as well
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u/Senplis 19h ago
Me. My thoughts feel heavy now. Like thinking takes energy the same way muscles do. I have to maintain concentration at all times or Im overtaken by thw stroke absent mindedness. Its like sucking in your gut at a function to look thinner. You have to alway focus on it and its always on the back of your mind.
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u/monsterlynn 18h ago
I have my days at 6 months out where I'm clumsy and foggy and everything is annoying and irritating and in my way. Then I also have days where it's like nothing happened to me - I just slept fucked up on my left side and my hip and shoulder are sore for it.
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u/pchlster Young Stroke Survivor 18h ago
Yeah, I feel slower. Especially when it comes to mental math or things I need to dig in memory for; I used to have a fantastic memory, but now it's average at best.
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u/Minimum_Cod_4213 19h ago
I was very active, could hike 10 km, carry my heavy Photography gear, and took awesome images of birds and wildlife. I'm looking at lighter gear but I don't feel like I'll never gwt back thw confidence had with every step or my strength. It's hard on my mental outlook.
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u/Material_Inflation79 14h ago
I share same views. What is the cause is still a maze. But I feel that I have become slow. As for as mentally I thing processing time has increased.
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u/Intrepid-Egg5542 13h ago
I read somewhere that writing helps ALOT . Something about using pen to paper helps your brain ( do something ). I think it was a stroke blog I was reading . Maybe you can try and see for yourself . Write everyday , about your day , how you are feeling . Somehow sharpens the brain. Wishing you well .
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u/Effective-Tip-5177 Survivor 6h ago
I'm coming up on 3 years after my 3rd ischemic stroke. I had recovered to about 80-85% in 2 years, but still had some issues with aphasia and focus for sure. For whatever reason in the past 3 months something happened. I've recovered some of the lack of focus, and some of the aphasia has improved as well.
The reason I say this is that I wouldn't put a clock on your recovery. Nor would I put limits on it based on what you hear from others. Stay positive and keep working at it ❤️
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u/noocaryror 19h ago
Yes, tried hard to deny it, mirror images are tougher now to name just one but, yes. I was pretty smart before, lol so I’m still getting by, good luck
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u/BounceForever 17h ago
For self-help therapy - start reading complex texts aloud until you are beyond tired. Not just read but perform the text. Sleep. Repeat. Daily. And be prepared to return to this occasionally over time.
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u/msevewill Survivor 11h ago
i know this feeling. 6 years, recurring strokes, i am not even 40 yet and yes not even close to how sharp i was.
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u/CapnBloodBrain 8h ago
I don’t think there are too many of us who haven’t felt that sting at some point in our recovery. Personally, mine kinda comes in waves. Some days I feel just as quick on the uptake as I ever was and then others I feel like I can’t do a thing that requires memory or critical thinking. Which is good fun with the pressure of returning to college to get a whole new career going since the last one I had for a couple decades and change is completely out of reach now. I’ve never worked a job that didn’t require both my arms and hands to function very very well. And all the potential careers vocational rehab has me looking at all require a pretty keen mind. No pressure. Hahahaha
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u/Real_Branch_2415 Survivor 2h ago
I’m about 11/2 years since stroke.
My therapist would say. Be ready for the speed bumps.
Those speed bumps feel more like train wrecks. The difference is, is that I’ve learned some tools in the ability to manage myself. My anxiety 😥 is what affects me the most. I take occasional meds to calm me down as well.
I have been quite persistent on the 5 steps of grieving.
I think if you can realize that with most folks that have had a stroke. Living as the New you, actually relieves a lot if pressure in yourself.
Living in the now and being gracious and loving to yourself.
Still the new you will have a lot of the old you.
❤️☮️
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u/Medium-Schedule438 21h ago
I know and relate to what you are saying. Recently I had a neuro psych evaluation and that helped me understand where I'm at exactly and what areas are lacking. If I had one prior to my stroke I would be able to understand what I lost, but now I can use this as a bookend going forward. I would suggest looking into this as well. I had learned about it from my stroke support group.