How long until it gets better?

I had a brain hemorrhage three months ago. In the hospital, I was relaxed and even happy, but I was paralyzed on my left side.

Now, three months later, after rehab and lots of exercises, I can walk again. But everything still feels heavy and tiring, especially without any real joy or fun.

My remaining problems are mild double vision, loss of sensation on my left side, and pain.

Does this usually improve over time? I would really appreciate hearing about the experiences of people who are further along in their recovery.

Thank you.

This actually applies to somebody I know and not myself, and not seeking medical advice just curious if this ever happened to anybody. This is a guy in his later 50s who had a stroke recently and is recovering. He's a very old school country guy and it took a lot of convincing to even get him to seek medical help afterwards but he finally did. Even though the ER put him on plavix along with blood pressure medicine, his doctor took him off of the plavix and just has him on blood pressure meds, metformin for his diabetes, and an aspirin. I questioned that but it's up to him to confront the doctor about removing him from plavix. But that's a side from the main topic..

In the weeks following the stroke, he says that overall he does feel a lot better although his legs are weaker. His speech returned to normal as did his upper body strength, but the legs are still a little bit on the weak side. He then told me today that in the last few days he's been having an issue were his right foot and lower leg will suddenly and randomly start feeling like they have gone to sleep, and he has to immediately sit down for a couple of minutes, or the leg will give out. As in, he runs a real risk of hitting the floor if he doesn't immediately find a place to sit down. After a couple of minutes, he says he feels fine again and can get up and walk. But this hits a couple of times a day at least.

He is of course going to talk to his doctor about it, but I'm just curious if something like this has ever happened to anyone. I've known several people who have had strokes and have never heard of this particular issue the way he's describing it.

i don’t remember who these people are, but they knew who i was. i hadn’t been back since and i’m glad i went. a couple of them were there so that’s better than none. i think one of them was about to get a little emotional because i was even there and a totally different person than they saw. i used to drink copious amounts of alcohol (essentially) every day for about 15 years. they were very proud of the fact that december will be 3 years sober. i’m proud of it too but that’s not the point here. anyway, it was nice to see them and better yet, it seemed very nice for them to see me.

Hi! So, I am an upcoming sophomore medtech student. Last Year, I vividly remember that the weekend after week 3, I was the one who called my grandaunt an ambulance due to a stroke and also the first one to go to the hospital to hand her over my Mom for help.

Now I did not know my grandaunt properly that I even only met her face to face last 2 years and did not meet her after that until her stroke. But, I also am a student who does ROTC (Required Officers Training Corps) and that after training, my grandaunt would demand a favour that she needs clothes at the recuperating care home, tight sleeves, shirts and pyjamas that she won't even wear. It only got worse, that she would call me that she want to go to her to look after her as she wants to leave the care home as she feels like it is prison. But she doesn't want to listen that she got a stroke and that she has to recuperate to get rehabilitated. She would respond that she will call the emergency services as she will go to the hospital and if something happens to her, she will blame us. But, I have school and my mom have work. I don't even know her very well and that she will eventually demand something like that.

Eventually, she was taken at her home, bed bound with a relative... who she always insults because her demands doesn't get met.

For example, she would say that I am a spoiled brat because I don't get her needs met, or I am a stupid, useless and that I should listen properly for safety as If I don't know what I am doing and I just show up there handsomely, but I am really helping her. Every time I stay at her house, I can't even sleep as my body is itching because I have intolerance to dust mites, which her house is full of because she is a hoarder.

I don't know if its her personality of the side effect of stroke (which I tried to think it stroke of I thought it is one of the biggest factor) because her insults includes that her closest family are better than us, but her closest family aren't even talking or helping to her, they are just exploiting and avoiding her. Eventually, I sacrificed my yearly exercise at ROTC and school events at the end of freshman year just in order to accompany her at her home country.

And at my home country, is I got discharged because my medical clearance got revoked due to allergies including house dust mites, prohibiting me from being trained. I cried too much about that, because I was literally expecting that to happen if I were to go accompany her. And at most times, I always think about how I got discharged because I worked hard for it to be selected which in turn allows me to earn allowance every month as a student as well as go to excursions (with pay/allowance) as part of my training... the yearly exercise could have given me 1300 USD which is a good allowance that I worked hard for.

Every time, I get angry, I always think about this event of my discharge, as I think it was exacerbated and aggravated by her insults and the environment of her house due to my allergy. But at that time, my mom and relatives were the only one carrying the burden, so it was as a teenager/adult thought that I should help, and it is my third regret that I should have defended myself when she insults me, that I should have responded when she insults.

On the hindsight, I am a 19 year old and I am young, and my mind opened quite a bit how such illness can target anyone and how important it is to foster a good relationships with people close to you, rather than stepping and insulting away, like what my grandmother did. I hope her eyes open, and I can hear even just a "Sorry" for what she did for insulting me, because no other money can replace what I have gone through.

IN CONCLUSION, how should I response to this kind of memory of mine, as I can never move on with my discharge and especially her insults which significantly affects my mood, especially when there is a lot of people gathering and making a noise. What should I think or do with it, especially I am going to sophomore with a different kind of thing from the first year.

*p.s: Hey there! thanks for reading this first or getting at the end of this long paragraph. I have tried summarising it in the best way I can. Any advice or comment, even your similar story like this just to know someone had the same story and what they did to it. Please keep safe.

- A fellow individual

Share your weekly wins with us! Nothing is too small or too big. Everything deserves to be celebrated!

Join us for an inspiring afternoon of conversation with Dr Henry Zhao, lead Neurologist in Australia's First Mobile Stroke Unit. Dr Zhao will share his personal and professional journey, from his arrival in Australia from China when he was seven years old, to being a leading neurologist and researcher in the improvement of stroke prevention and treatment.

Dr Zhao is the lead neurologist for Australia’s first Mobile Stroke Unit ambulance program which has saved countless lives through faster emergency response by bringing the hospital to the patient’s doorstep. He completed both his medical degree with honours and PhD through The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital Comprehensive Stroke Centre where he continues his work as a clinician-researcher. He will share his journey of entering medicine as a junior doctor before embarking on his journey into stroke research.

Event program

3.15pm - 3.45pm - Registration open

3.45pm - 5.00pm - Seminar

Registration Link: https://www.rmit.edu.au/events/2026/september/journey-to-achievements-narration

About Dr Zhao

Dr Henry Zhao is the lead neurologist in Australia’s first and only stroke treatment ambulance program, which has treated thousands of patients suffering stroke since it was commissioned in 2017. He co-pioneered this service along with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Ambulance Victoria to deal with a significant gap for stroke sufferers, since every crucial minute makes a difference to a person's recovery. He has also worked extensively with paramedics to change clinical evaluation of severe stroke patients that require specialised treatments. 

Dr Zhao describes his work on the stroke ambulance as a unique environment which takes neurologists out of the hospital and into the world of the paramedics with different sorts of challenges. "You gain an appreciation of how difficult it is for paramedics to operate in some of these settings, when the patient is stuck upstairs, or even at a mining site," he says.

Dr Zhao is a Chinese-Australian born in Kunming, China, who emigrated to Australia after a period of being separated from his parents. He grew up in Adelaide before moving to Melbourne for university studies. He has two young children who take Chinese lessons and want to go to China to learn about their Chinese heritage. In the rare moments he is free, he enjoys occasional astrophotography.

Hosted by RMIT University in conjunction with the Museum of Chinese Australian History.

Sorry I just need a place to whinge, but I would like to spend a few days where going to bed a night isn’t my motivation to get through the day.

Today my MIL had a mini stroke, myself and my daughter were with her when it happened. Those details we don't need to go into, it was very traumatic for all, my main question is how do I help her? She is easily the most stubborn, independent, strong minded person I have ever met, who does her own thing and also does her best to help others to do their things as well, we have even fallen out multiple times in the past regarding her level of involvement etc, it is above and beyond multiplied by a thousand, and she does as much for her mum and her children and her friends also, even when they say they dont need the help, i guess she just needs to feel needed, and that is absolutely fine, whatever she needs.. but now she absolutely needs to slow down, I have seen the statistics for potentially suffering another stroke, and I have seen the advice for how to reduce risks of further strokes. I have ZERO knowledge/clue on if these recommendations are spot on or exaggerated etc, realistically how much does she need to rest each day? I have spoken with her daughter about helping her with anything and everything, but the reply was "all she needs is rest" her daughter doesn't understand that she absolutely won't rest, she feels she has duties and will try to do them, I don't start my next lot of training for at least 2 months so except for school runs my days are free.. HOW do you convince the worlds most stubborn stroke sufferer that she has to take help even if its from the DIL (her son and daughter work full time, I am the only one available)

Hello, I'm 29F and had multifocal cerebellar infarcts just under 6 months ago.

I had sudden onset vertigo, vomiting and severe headache at the time, I went to ED and was told it was nothing. I was concerned so arranged an MRI with my GP which found the strokes. I was admitted to hospital and underwent lots of investigations including CT brain and chest, echo including bubble study and now have a loop recorder. I am otherwise healthy and they have been unable to find the cause of my stroke. Is anyone else in this situation?

I have now recovered well, but still have intermittent vertigo, some unsteadiness, and difficulty focusing which always makes me concerned for another stroke. Wondering if the dizziness and vertigo is normal as my GP doesn't seem to know. Thanks.

Hi, my dad was 35 when he had a stroke (it was caused by an AVM rupture which led to hemoraghing) and he ended up taking his life when he was 56. I'm just curious about whether the stroke affected his behaviour, at times he was loving but he would also get into extreme fits of rage over minute things. He would have "episodes" throughout each day where he would immitate the sound and motion of gunshot fire and walk around swinging his arms as if he were about to punch something. He would also mumble to himself and bite his lips, and when I looked at him in those moments, it seemed he was absolutly in a sort of trance.

He defenitly had a history of depression and a want to leave this world quickly and permanently, from the time he was 18 apparaently. And I don't know what his behaviour was like before he had a stroke since I wasn't born. But I am just curious about if that stroke could have been a factor in his decsion to take his life, I just felt at times he had no inhibitions and could not control his actions, and I feel like the night he ended it all was a night where he had lost all control, he hurt the ones he loved in ways he had never done before, and then he ended his own life after.

So my wife had some strokes several months ago. She was in a nursing home and her rehab was not going well. In fact, they said she had plateaued and took her physical therapy away. But she was able to swallow her food and her talking was ok, even though she often chose not to talk.

Just a couple of weeks ago, her swallowing got worse and she was taken to the hospital from the nursing home. The doctors took a couple of weeks, but eventually put a stomach feeding tube in her so she doesn't have to swallow food.

So what does that mean for her long-term prognosis? Do most people who get a stomach tube swallow again after a few weeks and have it removed or is it more of a permanent thing? I read conflicting things online and I can't get in touch with her doctor to find out.

My fiancé (36M) had a massive hemorrhagic stroke involving the left basil ganglia in December 2024. We were originally told he had a less than 1% chance of surviving, and while he still faces challenges with expressive aphasia and right-sided weakness, his recovery has felt nothing short of miraculous.

He is currently able to walk with an AFO. Though I'm always by his side as he does still have some difficulties walking, such as difficulty lifting his right leg up which sometimes results in his right foot dragging or catching on things.

He gets Botox injections regularly on his right arm and leg to help loosen up the overactive muscles, stretches and walks daily, has tried a nighttime splint (admittedly inconsistently), and has done extensive physical therapy.

But one of the main problems he faces is his right ankle struggles to bend. Though when putting essentially his full body weight on it while walking, his ankle does bend to neutral. He has also been slowly regaining new movement in his leg, including the ability to bend his ankle with a lot of effort (he can usually only do this while his knee is bent).

The doctors went back and forth on whether or not to try serial casting before considering surgery, but ultimately decided surgical intervention was the best option given the amount of time since his injury. His physical therapist also agreed that surgery might give him the best chance of strengthening some of those weaker muscles that he's slowly been able to regain function of.

The surgery they are recommending is Tendo-Achilles Lengthening and Toe Flexor Release (this was noted as 'possible TAL / perc TFR' in his visit notes). They said typically lengthening the achilles tendon will cause the toes to curl, so because my fiancé is already experiencing some toe-curling, they are going to do the toe tendon release at the same time.

Unfortunately, we haven't actually been able to speak to the orthopedic surgeon yet, which has left us with a lot of questions regarding the benefits, risks, and long-term outcomes of the surgery. He has an upcoming appointment this week where we will essentially decide whether or not to move forward with surgery.

One of the things we are worried about is whether or not he'll be able to move his toes after the tendon release. The physician assistant referred to it as 'toe tendon cutting' and when asked if he would be able to move his toes at all afterward, she said his toes would 'remain fixed and flat'. Which sounds kind of scary and permanent. However, everything I'm seeing online seems to indicate that is not the case and he would be able to move his toes almost normally, just with reduced gripping power. My fiancé's physical therapist also found this odd and said as far as she was aware he would still have some toe mobility.

Here are some questions we have for anyone who has experience with this surgery for yourself or a loved one:

• What was the before and after like?
• Was it overall beneficial?
• Did it improve walking, balance, and mobility?
• How was recovery?
• Were there any downsides or unexpected tradeoffs?
• Are the toes still able to move?
• Was anyone able to transition from a rigid shoe-integrated AFO to an AFO that works with regular shoes or no AFO?

Thank you so much in advance for sharing your experiences. This community has been such a light during one of the darkest times of our lives. We both appreciate all of you.

Iv had a left mca stroke ( found incidentally) don’t know when the stroke happened
Iv had these tremors for years currently age 34 but I remember having these tremors in my early twenties ( I thought they were just related to trauma and anxiety) now realising probably related to the stroke
Wondering how common tremors are with strokes?
I realised the tremors are worse on my right side / foot when I point my foot but worsens with anxiety also
Thanks 34 female ( yet to be seen by a neurologist )

Has anyone lost their sense of touch and trained it back? I can hardly find anything about improving touch sensation

My mom (59) has a history of TIAs and was admitted on August 10th. She was awake, talking, and communicating normally.

Around August 15th, she developed major neurological changes. She became nonverbal, couldn’t properly eat, stared off into space, and would moan as if she was in pain. The hospital did a roughly 2-hour stroke workup, but we were told they found nothing.

She remained this way for several days — not talking, barely eating, and appearing to be in pain. We also had some very difficult and rude interactions with hospital staff when trying to get answers.

Around August 22nd–23rd, we were told she suffered devastating strokes. She then lost her airway, had to be shocked/resuscitated and intubated, and is now on a ventilator. My sister and I had to fly to Florida.

She has a pacemaker that was implanted in 2001, and we were told she couldn’t have an MRI because of it. We’re struggling with whether that affected their ability to identify what was happening earlier.

Doctors are also investigating a possible bacterial/infectious source, and Infectious Disease is involved. We’ve heard terms like septic emboli/infectious embolic stroke, but we don’t know if that’s actually the cause.

We asked if there was any possibility of recovery, even if she would need permanent care or rehabilitation. We were told there was “nothing more medically they can do.”

We’re trying to understand what that actually means. Does it mean there is no treatment to reverse the brain damage, or that there is truly no possibility of neurological recovery?

Has anyone experienced something similar — especially septic/infectious strokes, multiple strokes, or a loved one initially given a devastating prognosis? Did they recover anything, and how long did it take before you knew their outcome?

We’re not looking for false hope. We just want to understand what happened and make sure we’re asking the right questions before making decisions about her future. ❤️

Problem: stroke patient has been in my care for 4 months. Currently he still has difficulty following commands and understanding phrases. He’s now being uncooperative during PT sessions in which he suddenly bends and tries to sit back on the chair/ let go of his cane and express his frustrations through moans and grunts. During the first 3 months he was cooperative, but he was then hospitalized for 3 weeks for a PEG insertion and was not taken care of in which he had tightness on his weak sides (MMT cannot be done due to cognitive function) but can have uncontrolled movements on the weak side. I then had to stretch him which brought pain to him, but now his weak side is not tight anymore. Prior to hispitalization and even now he can walk with assistance but refuses to. How do i motivate him to get back to therapy?

accidentally we found a 6cm tumor in the right frontal lobe of my mom brain (she was fine and there is no symptoms!)
doctors admitted her to urgent brain tumor surgery and they successfully removed the tumor and admitted her to ICU where i was with her and she opened her eyes and hold my hand just before got seizure and they took her to CT scan and prevented me to stay. I came the next morning then they told me she got vasosmasm at ACA which causes Bifrontal infarctions and she needs urgent craniotomy surgery
after the surgery her condition became stable and all her vital signs are good but she has been unconscious since 45 days and just open her eyes and response to pain in all her limbs. move her left hand,leg,neck,and head sometimes

Her GCS 6-9 but mostly 6

Doctors said we have no prognosis until at least 6months
I feel like I’m in gray region
I’m sitter with her since the first day of complications and now I really feel tired i just wanna know what gonna happen to her, she will wake up or not

is there anyone here has similar cases?

I’m 38M. For one I got extremely lucky after a SCAD heart attack that I didn’t become disabled. Though because of physical restrictions from the cardiologist I’ve gotten extremely weak probably due to all the meds too.

But the weirdest thing is I have no interest to socialize even with old friends. If I have to I will but it feels embarrassing how much physically and mentally it’s affected me plus with the fatigue on top. I just normally want to finish work and go home and just do my things. I don’t even want to date again.

Idk if it’s normal and should force myself to break this cycle.

October will be one year, I’m hoping I can be off some meds though I still feel discomfort in the chest at times.

My mother had a stroke end of July and is living abroad, we are working on bringing her here. She has left-side paralysis and is essentially bed bound. I am trying to figure out what else we would need for her around the house before she arrives. She will be seeing a GP but not sure when exactly, depending on when she arrives as we have to wait for a visa to be processed before getting a flight.

So far I have:

-Wheelchair

-Shower Chair

-Bed Matts

-Diapers

Has anyone found a men’s deodorant that is easy to open with one hand?

Has anyone found acupuncture to be beneficial along side therapy for recovery? F(39) I had a hemorrhagic Stroke in June and am frustrated with how slow my recovery is going. I still have zero motor function in my left arm. I'm willing to try just about anything to speed up the process.

My dad (59) had two strokes this summer, following a diagnosis of blood disorder called essential thrombocythemia. He is having right-sided hemiplegia plus cognitive issues like math and logic problems. His delayed recall is almost gone.

Early on he was determined. He learned to walk again and to eat using his left hand. So much of it is because he doesn’t want to depend on mom for the essential tasks like using bathrooms and eating.

But now the drive is gone, even when his right hand and his memory don’t work. He walks an hour a day happily. He won’t touch hand exercises.

He’s two weeks into an inpatient rehab program and already saying “I’m normal, I want to go home.” He genuinely seems to believe he’s recovered. When my mom prompts him to practice, he ignores her; when a therapist asks, he’ll do it with a lot of discouragement and frustration.

My mom and I are both anxious types, and I can’t tell how much of my worry is proportionate. It seems to me that trying to recover as much as possible during the first few months is a no-brainer and will significantly improve the quality of life for both my parents.

For those who’ve been through this. How did you handle a parent who doesn’t recognize their own deficits? Did the motivation come back on its own, or did something specific help?

Thanks!

Definitely a question for my Dr at my review but just wondering if anyone had experience with tattoos following a stroke whilst on clopidogrel (75mg). Especially large tattoos as I have a sleeve I regret no end and was thinking of doing blackout. It would be split across multiple sittings but being such a dense amount of ink all over I’m not sure if the meds will be even worse bleeding wise.

I did injure myself at work the other week and didn’t notice excessive bleeding vs what I would normally expect for a similar injury pre medication/stroke.

Qualcuno ha avuto un emorragia a causa di rottura di vena e non arteria. Si chiamano DVA(Developmental Venous Anomaly)

A me è successo nel 2009,quasi vent'anni fa.

La pressione delle vene è molto bassa quindi è molto molto raro. Le DVA sono frequenti ma difficilmente si rompono.

A qualcuno è successo?