Post-Stroke Fatigue: Fatigue following stroke is a multidimensional motor-perceptive, emotional and cognitive experience characterized by a feeling of early exhaustion with weariness, lack of energy and aversion to effort that develops during physical or mental activity and is usually not ameliorated by rest.
Regarding the duration of fatigue after stroke, acute fatigue can last up to 6 months, whereas the chronic type can persist in 40% of patients after 2 years. Another study reported fatigue to be still present in one-third of patients up to 6 years after stroke onset.
The physical impact of the stroke on your brain and body can trigger fatigue. In the early weeks and months after a stroke, your brain and body are healing. The rehabilitation process can involve trying to do things in a completely new way, or learning and doing exercises which can be very tiring.
Fatigue may improve with time but it can also be persistent and some patients may never be completely free of it. Tasks that may have come easily before the stroke may be harder and therefore require more energy then they previously would.
Let your family know post-stroke fatigue can be overwhelming. Try to eat healthy and exercise to prevent other health problems that also can affect your energy level. Talk to your physical therapist to understand fitness, balance disorders, uncoordinated movement and walking related to fatigue.
Characteristics of post-stroke fatigue may include: overwhelming tiredness and lack of energy to perform daily activities; abnormal need for naps, rest, or extended sleep; more easily tired by daily activities than pre-stroke; unpredictable feelings of fatigue without apparent reason.
Benefits of Quality Sleep After Stroke
While the brain normally uses 20% of your total energy, that percentage increases during stroke recovery. This means the brain has less energy left to keep you alert and awake. Aside from helping the brain heal, deep sleep also offers other, fantastic benefits to stroke survivors.
Even after surviving a stroke, you're not out of the woods, since having one makes it a lot more likely that you'll have another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke this year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a prevalent symptom among stroke survivors. This symptom is an independent risk factor for stroke and may reduce stroke survivors' quality of life, cognitive functioning, and daytime functional performance.
Weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, usually on one side of the body. Trouble speaking or understanding. Problems with vision, such as dimness or loss of vision in one or both eyes. Dizziness or problems with balance or coordination.
Additional symptoms of stroke may include: vision troubles, in one or both eyes. numbness in limbs, most likely on one side. overall fatigue.
The most rapid recovery usually occurs during the first three to four months after a stroke, but some survivors continue to recover well into the first and second year after their stroke. Some signs point to physical therapy.
Some people regain full use of their arm in the weeks after a stroke. Many others still have some weakness, pain, or other problems with their arm. You may continue to benefit from arm therapy. Your medical team can tailor your treatment plan to your needs.
The practice of ≥24 hours of bed rest after acute ischemic stroke thrombolysis is common among hospitals, but its value compared to shorter periods of bed rest is unknown.
Unfortunately, blood thinners can reduce the risk of clot-related stroke only to increase the risk of stroke related to bleeding and blood vessel rupture. To prevent unwanted complications from blood thinners, patients may need to make lifestyle and adjustments moving forward.
After six months, improvements are possible but will be much slower. Most stroke patients reach a relatively steady state at this point. For some, this means a full recovery. Others will have ongoing impairments, also called chronic stroke disease.
Those who reported sleeping nine or more hours each night had a 23% higher risk of stroke than those sleeping less than eight hours each night. Stroke risk was 25% higher among those who took midday naps for at least 90 minutes compared with those napping for less than 30 minutes.
Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
The signs and symptoms of a TIA resemble those found early in a stroke and may include sudden onset of: Weakness, numbness or paralysis in the face, arm or leg, typically on one side of the body. Slurred or garbled speech or difficulty understanding others. Blindness in one or both eyes or double vision.
Recovery time after a stroke is different for everyone—it can take weeks, months, or even years. Some people recover fully, but others have long-term or lifelong disabilities.
The short answer is yes; the brain can heal after acute trauma from a stroke or brain injury, although the degree of recovery will vary. The reason the brain can recover at all is through neuroplasticity, sometimes referred to as brain plasticity.