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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

A Bit More Independence and Perpetual Fatigue

On May 10th, my family and I went visiting some friends for the day.  We left my wheelchair in the car.  I sat in a chair at my friends' home (a leather recliner) and fell in love with it.  The next day was Mother's Day, here in the USA, so my husband and son brought me to Bob's Furniture store to purchase for me, the same chair that our friends own!  It wasn't delivered until the following Friday but now that it's here, I am so pleased; it's the best gift ever!

I am able to compute in the chair and nap in it too ( this is a bonus since I don't have to remove  my AFO (Ankle and Foot Orthosis) and shoes  as I do when going to my bed -since I need those and my arm sling to walk, I'm saved 20-30 minutes of putting them all on again when my nap is done).

My husband has made some furniture positioning changes in our kitchen (the table moved away from the wall to the center of the room -allowing me to use it as a sort of launching zone from all things in the kitchen...sink...fridge...cabinets...stove...microwave...counter tops) which has enabled me a great deal more independence so, this along with the new chair (which allows me to sit in real furniture from which I can get up to standing very easily) means that I no longer need my wheelchair in the house.  The wheelchair has now taken up residence in the trunk of my car.

I've been fairly pleased with my progress at home but I'm a bit annoyed that I also seem to have acquired a perpetual state of fatigue.  My doctors have done lab work to check my thyroid, iron, vitamin D, etc, but all are normal; yet everyday I awaken tired, as if I hadn't slept at all.  I linger in bed hoping to sleep more but can't always manage it.  The thing that finally prompts me to get up is either hunger or the need to urinate.  I know that it's normal to feel tired after a stroke but it's been 10 months since suffering the stroke (CVA) I'd expect to be past that tired phase by now.

6 comments:

  1. You will probably never get past the fatigue. I'm 8 years post and still get fatigued every day. And my cardiovascular health is great. Multiple mugs of coffee are used to keep me going.

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    1. Well that's not exactly good news but I thank you for taking the time to comment. I've checked out your blog too - thanks for sharing all that great info.

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  2. It's probably not this, but it sounds like sleep apnea, for which I now wear a CPAP, which saved my life, almost literally. CG

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    1. Maybe...that's a pretty common condition,I've believed that my hubby has had this too for many years. And since I can only sleep on my back since the stroke it's very possible that I'm not sleeping well because of it also, back sleeping gets me snoring. Thanks for the feedback my ol' friend. :-)

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    2. Ask your doctor about having a sleep study. It's just a sleep-over with a bunch of wires stuck to your head. And it is covered by insurance.

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    3. I'm familiar with it, I had a sleep study done a few years back. Thanks again.

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