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Cerebellar Stroke - experience/treatment/recovery
Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases | Last Active: May 5 11:27pm | Replies (515)Comment receiving replies
@avmcbellar, thank you for your quick and kind reply. I hope you continue to persevere and your recovery progresses. My husband’s PCP’s nurse summarized his issues as a decline in executive function. He expresses unprovoked anger at me, has a conversational style that is a monologue, is occasionally giddy, and shows much less empathy for hurting people than before the stroke. So, in that sense, the issue is affect rather than cognition. From what I’ve read online, there is mention of a drug therapy that is at best speculative. The only other option is a psychologist. But, my husband doesn’t see a problem and hasn’t listened to input from me or his siblings. I’m hoping someone here may have insight and experience, or be aware of emerging treatments and/or the best people in this area.
Replies to "@avmcbellar, thank you for your quick and kind reply. I hope you continue to persevere and..."
It's been a while since I have been out here, thought I would check in today and saw your post. I'll start off by saying this is my opinion only based on what I feel, and still feel to some extent. I had some issues with anger and empathy towards others for a few months following my stroke. As with your husband, I was able to progress fairly quickly getting to a point where people didn't notice the effects of my stroke. That being said, most things that were simple prior to my stroke were much harder for a while after the stroke. That had a way of making me angry and I probably took it out on my family at times. My opinion is, unless you are a person that has experienced a stroke, you really don't understand it and what it takes to get better. It's a life changing event, for some more than others, but you deal with the effects every day and life is more challenging than in the past. What I noticed is that you really are alone out there with dealing with your challenges. I get the feeling at times that people either think what you deal with is no big deal (you are not dying) or they just don't want to engage when you want to talk about the challenges. That had a way of impacting my empathy for others, unless you were in my direct family, I really didn't care what you were going through (my mother told me I wasn't being very nice on a few occasions!). In my case, that has improved over time as things get easier and life has gotten more normal for me. Having someone to talk to that has gone through a stroke and can relate helps.
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@cerebellarstrokespouse I am so sorry for all you and husband are going through. It is common with cerebral stroke victims to have personality changes. Perhaps seek an evaluation from a speech therapist or occupational therapist. If they cannot offer help with exercises they may be able to direct you to a professional who can. I don’t know if a doctor using neuroplasticity can offer assistance. You may want to research neuroplasticity in your area. I believe that a psychiatrist will treat with drug therapy. Use extra caution when experimenting with drugs.