Stroke help

19 years ago

On May 10th. hubby fell and broke his left hip ( 64 years old ), they did a partial hip replacement on the 11th., had him up and 'walking' on the 12th., on the 13th. they told me they were going to send him to a rehab facility, on the 14th. they sent him home and on the 15th. he had 2 mild strokes... Well they said mild but...

Right now he is in a rehab facility, his left leg, ( from the knee down ), and foot is swollen... He's not complaining about any hip pain but he says he can't move his knee and all the leg muscles are very tight but they are working on that... Since he's on a water pill he has trouble getting to the bathroom or use the urinal on time but he's able to hold his bowel movements until they get him on the pot... He had no speech problems, his peripheral vision is better on the left than the right, I was told the stroke damaged the part of the brain for the emotions.

My biggest concern is his mind... I've been told it's 'normal' for stroke patients to have mood swings but something just doesn't seem right... Last week, for about 5 days, he was on the slow side but more or less normal for him... He would answer questions but had to take a bit longer to think about it first... Before that there was a period of depression, thinking he was in a nursing home, that he'd never get out or walk again ( he knows different now but thinks he should be up and walking)...

Excuse me for bouncing around... Ok, he was normal for about 5 days then his moods would change so quickly I couldn't keep track, one second he's himself, the next he's just 'silly' like he was drunk or something, the next second he's angry or cries, all in a space of a minute...

Now, for the last two days, he's just been 'silly', telling me he's going to surprise them all by walking out in the next few minutes, shaking his fist and making a mean face behind the backs of a few patients or aids, wishing he could go to the casino just one more time, telling corny jokes, telling me his sister is going to take him to an 'all you can eat palce' so he can eat everything, kissing me on the neck while I was fixing his bed ( the man hasn't kissed me in 25 years! ), and acting like a child, overly happy when I give him a snack, proud of the fact they gave him two helpings of oatmeal & he ate it all up, humming & swinging his hands to his 'music', making up silly songs ( the man NEVER sang in his life ) about everything he does then giggle like a girl...

I've checked out quite a few web sites about strokes and I understand the reasoning behind the mood swings but none of them mention such extremes.

Have I lost my husband?

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Comments (2)

agnespuffin
19 years ago
These mood swings are most likely due to the area of the brain that was damaged. The emotions do lots of things for us. There is no way of knowing at this time whether or not he will settle down. Just try to take it as it comes and don't worry about it. The brain may or may not manage to heal itself. Everyone is different.

You need to think about leaving him where he is. It sounds as if his condition will make him difficult to care for at home. When he starts talking about going home, change the subject.

No, you haven't lost him. He's just a little different.
marry
19 years ago
(((ritaotay)))
My husband had what they called a mild stroke just about this time last year. His emotions and responses were pretty much all over the map for quite some time. He was acting pretty much like you are describing your husband. He's much better now! He's still very emotional though and cries very easily. But he's back to work! That probably did more for him than anything else!!
Some things might never be quite the same as they were before, you just don't know. It just takes time! Try not to let yourself get too discouraged.
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Stroke help

Comments (2)

agnespuffin

marry

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