Hi, my husband had a stroke just over 2 months ago (brain stem). He is in his early 40's. He is making reasonably progress they say, however he suffers from dizziness which seems to come in bouts. Does anyone know .... does this get better over time. It is really debilitating for him. He has been told that brain swelling can last up to 6 months. Is it related?
Hi, my husband had a stroke just over 2 months ago (brain stem). He is in his early 40's. He is making reasonably progress they say, however he suffers from dizziness which seems to come in bouts. Does anyone know .... does this get better over time. It is really debilitating for him. He has been told that brain swelling can last up to 6 months. Is it related?
G'Day Clab,
Welcome to the board, I'm not sure if I can answer your question but I can tell you of what has happened to me.
I had 4 bleeds on the brain back nearly 3 years ago and suffered terribly from dizziness & vertigo for nearly 2 years. My doctor said he couldn't understand why I was dizzy all the time as the bleeds were not anywhere near the brain area that controls balance. To me it felt like being at sea on a very rough day & feeling seasick. I tried a lot of different medicines but the only thing that gave me a bit of relief for a few hours was Oxazepam 15mg which is a mild valium type medicine, I don't know why or how it worked but it seemed to calm my left side which was & still is very sore and tingly all the time.
You can read my full story on a previous thread titled "Things I've learnt about myself since my stroke".
I still have some episodes of dizziness but usually only when I get overtired when trying to do too much walking or too long on the exercise bike.
But remember that each stroke is different and what applies to me may not apply to your husband but it can't hurt to try different things.
I also found that drinking a lot of ginger tea helped a bit with the seasick feeling.
Wayne
G’Day mate,
I suffered a clot in the brain stem on the 18 the of March 2010, paralyzed for about 10 weeks down the right side, my speech was slurred, had double vision and slight amount of dizziness.
Over time I have re learned how to walk; my balance has improved to about 60 % of what it was. I still have trouble balancing if I’m not looking straight a head.
I constantly tiring to balance on my bad leg whilst standing still, making sure there’s something to hold on to if I loose balance.
The doctors and therapist recommend exercise rather than medicine. I haven’t suffered any dizziness since September 2010. High repetitive exercise was most helpful for me.
I hope I’ve been able to help. Just remember as Emmgee said, no two stroke are the same…... I had to learn early in my recovery not to play the comparison game.
Never stop tiring or give up hope.
I know they say no two strokes are the same. But it seems that strokes affect certain areas (in some cases) and therefore the symptoms must be similar?
I note that your dizziness when after about 6 months. Which is certainly good. I'm really just trying to find out if it does actually go eventually and the likely timeframe.
When you said repetitive exercises. What do you mean by that? Was that to combat the dizziness?
I know they say no two strokes are the same. But it seems that strokes affect certain areas (in some cases) and therefore the symptoms must be similar?
I note that your dizziness when after about 6 months. Which is certainly good. I'm really just trying to find out if it does actually go eventually and the likely timeframe.
When you said repetitive exercises. What do you mean by that? Was that to combat the dizziness?
Thanks in advance
G’Day Clab,
I found that no one can give a time frame in relation to any part of stroke recovery. (I was a very fit 53 years old when I had the stroke}
I have searched the internet asked every Doctor, and anyone that would listen, in regards to the numbness I experience down the right hand side of my body. No one can tell me when the numbness will ease or when I may be rid of this condition.
I was lucky the dizziness disappeared by it self. The repetitive exercise I referred to was mainly to help with hand movement and walking. I found myself repeating the exercises given to me over and over again no matter small the movement. I felt it was the only way I was going to relearn.
I get tired very easily and fall asleep a lot, but I can only sleep for short periods of time. The important thing is never give up hope, because if you do that’s how you will stay.
Some times progress will slow right down, and then out of the blue you make some progress. I know there’s a lot of generalization in what I say, it’s exactly the way I received information. No one could give me solid answers to my questions, which me more determine exercise whenever and however I could.
The people on this forum give me hope and courage to solider on and made feel that I’m not alone in this struggle.
It can be very confusing; I hope that I have been able to help you.
Love and God bless
George
Last edited by goingtorun; 10-04-2011 at 02:58 AM.
Reason: forgot something
Hi Clab
I am 15 months stroke recovery and I can tell you the recovery and improvement is never over. I found my improvements came steadily for a while and then I would go a month or two with out any real improvement and then it was like a light came back on and I was improving again. I have made real improvement in the 15 months and Im not done yet.
Your husband is early into his stroke recovery so you will continue to see improvement. Dont give up on that. I had so many doctors say if you havent recovered in the first 3 months you wont. That is such a line of bull and I bet there is not one person on this board who would not agree with me. Slow and steady wins the race.
I have read on some posts where people had the dizzyness and it left. Your husband needs lots of rest. Sleep when he is body needs it. I still have an afternoon nap and I contriube some of my recover to the fact that I always made sure I got my rest.
His poor brain is still swollen, doctors like to put time limits on everything but its not clear how long it takes for the swelling to go down. And when it does go away so does some of the symptoms.
Stay hopeful and positive.
God Bless Mulchie
Thanks for your reply. Yes it is very helpful. My husband too has not been provided with any details about the likely time frame. Obviously this is very difficult when you want to gain an understanding of how far you have come and how far you have to go. There is often talk about 3-6 months post stroke. This obviously being a significant time when swelling decreases and most deficits are hopefully restored.
I'm glad to hear your dizziness just went. I was wondering how long it took for this to go post your stroke. This is one of the worst side effects my husband has alongside fatigue. Much of what I have read suggests that fatigue could stay with him a long time into the future in some form or another.
G'Day Clab,
The dizzines disappeared after about 6 months. I didn't how or why, neither do the Doctors. Mate I wish someone could give some information on the numbness I experience down the side of my body. I've had that since day one.
Love and God bless You and all your family.
George
Hi, my husband had a stroke just over 2 months ago (brain stem). He is in his early 40's. He is making reasonably progress they say, however he suffers from dizziness which seems to come in bouts. Does anyone know .... does this get better over time. It is really debilitating for him. He has been told that brain swelling can last up to 6 months. Is it related?
Mine was clot not bleed and vertigo didn't start for me until about 6 months later. I have to b careful not to move from lying to standing too quickly, and keep light on in bathroom (dimmed) at night. When walking I cannot turn or change direction too quickly or my balance suffers. It is better than it was but still needs to improve. I seemed to do better when I had physio twice a week.
Just my experience. Wish I had a magical cure for both of us.
My best to you both
Nancy
G'Day Clab,
Welcome to the board, I'm not sure if I can answer your question but I can tell you of what has happened to me.
I had 4 bleeds on the brain back nearly 3 years ago and suffered terribly from dizziness & vertigo for nearly 2 years. My doctor said he couldn't understand why I was dizzy all the time as the bleeds were not anywhere near the brain area that controls balance. To me it felt like being at sea on a very rough day & feeling seasick. I tried a lot of different medicines but the only thing that gave me a bit of relief for a few hours was Oxazepam 15mg which is a mild valium type medicine, I don't know why or how it worked but it seemed to calm my left side which was & still is very sore and tingly all the time.
You can read my full story on a previous thread titled "Things I've learnt about myself since my stroke".
I still have some episodes of dizziness but usually only when I get overtired when trying to do too much walking or too long on the exercise bike.
But remember that each stroke is different and what applies to me may not apply to your husband but it can't hurt to try different things.
I also found that drinking a lot of ginger tea helped a bit with the seasick feeling.
Wayne
Hi
I am a doctor and had a brainstem stroke 3 yrs back
Still improving. I read your story of dizziness. I was surprised about ur symptom of sea sickness as i have developed the same after 6 months of my stroke. Its episodic and getting more severe and frequent. Only thing which helps is diazapam- for a few hrs! I have tried vestibular stabilizers like stemetil and taken citalopram by medical advise, just in case its anxiety/ depression but no real help. I can not see a hope and dont know if its going to recover ever. How about your dizziness? Do you still have one? Did your keep on taking oxalopram? Did you get tolerance to medicine? Are you still recovering?
I am almost a year into my stroke recovery, and my dizziness was really bad at first. The first 3 months was the worst I would say. In the hospital even after I learned how to walk again I would sometimes need to take a wheelchair with me when I went down to the cafeteria etc just because I would get too dizzy walking around.
I do still get quite dizzy sometimes, but I am told that this is more related to the intense migraines that I have developed since my stroke, as opposed to being caused directly from damage from the stroke itself. Certain medications can also cause dizziness, such as beta blockers - I know those made me feel like I was always walking on a small boat. So that may be worth looking into as a contributing factor as well.
As others have mentioned, stroke recovery is a long and slow process. I am not a physician, but I wouldn't think there is any cause for concern just yet .
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Hi
I am a doctor and had a brainstem stroke 3 yrs back
Still improving. I read your story of dizziness. I was surprised about ur symptom of sea sickness as i have developed the same after 6 months of my stroke. Its episodic and getting more severe and frequent. Only thing which helps is diazapam- for a few hrs! I have tried vestibular stabilizers like stemetil and taken citalopram by medical advise, just in case its anxiety/ depression but no real help. I can not see a hope and dont know if its going to recover ever. How about your dizziness? Do you still have one? Did your keep on taking oxalopram? Did you get tolerance to medicine? Are you still recovering?
Anxious to know
Thanks
G'Day Mgupta,
Welcome to the board.
First of all my symptoms started about 6 weeks after my stroke when I was sent to rehab and continued for several years until my G.P. started me on Serapax a mild form of diazapam which worked wonders, I haven't increased the dosage as I didn't want my body to get used to the drug because as you would know they are addictive if taken too often or if you increase the dosage.
The dizziness has subsided but I still get a bit when I get overtired or push myself too much.
it has now been 4 years post stroke & i am still not able to travel too far without getting car sick.
If you wish to send me a personal message via the board & I'll tell you more.
Wayne
I had one 2 years ago. Mine was mild in comparison but I still do have little tweeks like coordination issues, some less feeling on my right side, hard time talking every so often and some minor dizziness every so often.
The brain stem is the thing that glues your brain to the rest of you body. Any of us who had one and lived to talked about it are very lucky. One big advantage is that memory and other things that happen to other stroke survivors have nothing to do with the brain stem.
It really helps to see these posts so I know what I'm going thru is not imagined.
I'm 10 months out from a small or mini stroke deep on the left side of brain.
I don't have any visually noticable issues but do still have dizziness that comes and goes but mostly comes.
I also still have times when my right arm and leg have the sensation that something is on my skin and tightness in my leg muscle. This also comes and goes.
One of the things that is hard for me to deal with is that it was a small stroke and I don't LOOK like there is anything wrong so I can't get over thinking I shouldn't FEEL like something is wrong.
I'm replying so that others might benefit the way I have from reading this message board.
Most common theme seems to be all strokes are different, no one really knows why we have some of the post-stroke issues and anxiety is sometimes hard to control.
Re: Dizziness Post Stroke 
