December 12. 2009 22:46

Interesting

Gayle

December 12. 2009 23:07

I enjoyed the articles - my husband is recovering from a massive stroke he had on July 4 of this year.  He is 61 years old, is learning to speak, walk and use his right arm again.  He was hospitalized for 5 weeks, went to private pay out patient therapy for 7 weeks, did very well, had carotid artery surgery and has had home health care since then.  We are currently working on state funds to get him back into out patient therapy.  In the meantime we have read three very interesting books - Stronger After Stroke by Peter Levine, The Brain That Changes Itself by Morman Doidge and Taking Charge of Your Stroke Recovery by Roger Maxwell.  I highly recommend all three of them.  He has joined a small gym close by and has a trainer and that is going very well also. We have learned how important good therapy is and how successful other forms of therapy can be if necessary.  It is a constant challenge to stay on top of this but we are encouraged!  The speech remains the biggest challenge - it improved the most as he practiced reading "Twas The Night Before Christmas" for a month to surprise our family.  It was relatiavely easy for him as it is not unlike music/song with a cadence and beat.  I will look forward to suggestions, comments and other stories from those who are experiencing post stroke recovery as we are.  Thank you.

Julie Urosevich

December 13. 2009 00:39

I welcome the opportunity to join this discussion. I survived a massive RT hemisphere brain hemorrhage and stroke (a hemorrhagic stroke) in September 2005. Following two brain surgeries, shunt installation, coma, loss of memory for 8 months, and months of therapy, I tried to resume a "normal" life. That was not possible and I retired early and disabled on two pensions.

My experience is that Aphasia presents in two main ways: Expressive and Receptive. Most of us are familiar with the "expressive" type of Aphasia, such as when we see a person unable to speak or slurring words, etc. This person may also be unable to write.

Less obvious is the "receptive" type of Aphasia. I myself have experienced this to varying degrees since my stroke. Incoming messages (words, lights, sounds, smells) become garbled and the brain cannot process this input adequately. I suffer from "photophobia," an unusual sensitivity to light and "visions." I also experience "phonophobia," and unusual and often annoying sensitivity to sound. Two anti-seizure medications have been prescribed for me that alleviate these deficits sufficiently for me to function.

Thank You!

Walter H. Steinlauf

December 13. 2009 05:40

I had a severe injury to the back of the head.It fractured my skull and the spinal fluid was leaking out.That went on for several months,without treatment.I ended up in Mental Hospital and was diagnosed and started recieving therapy and medication for Paranoid Schizophrenia.I was never treated for the original head injury.After decades of group therapy sessions,multiple types of medication And severe mental problems.I am very thankful and happy to announce that there is a Good God of some sorts.Because I was given some opportunities by way of the U.S. mail by some twist of fate[or whatever]to discover Alternative Medical Practitioners information about how to refurbish cells,including,Brain Cells,when I discovered there was some hope from the incessant moil and relief from the dogma of Behavioral Sciences.I was needless to say,beyond exuberance.As well as following some very prestigous medical advice of what supplements can help you achieve for prevalent health.I started researching specific information for cognition refurbishment and the supplements to achieve inhancement,the process has been insidious,almost to the point of giving up and quiting.But due to my dire need and desire for some sort of normalcy,I continued fervently.I now have a much better purview and have learned by my fortuitous position.That the standard medical dogma, which I have suffered tremendously by not really getting the treatment for the cause of the problem.But i'm sure there has been many $1,000.00 on conventional dogma.THANK YOU
                   Johnny J. Mong Jr.IV

Johnny J. Mong Jr. iv

December 13. 2009 06:02

Yes!  Neuroplasticity.  How else/what esle can accouint for the benefits gained through aphasia therapy.  I have been a speech pathologist for nearly 40 years(!) and have witnessed a wide range of recovery.  Those patients that seem to recover the best appear to be those with inner strength (?spirituality) and close family support that keep them from "giving up."  A speech pathologist's guidance is invaluable!

Walt

December 13. 2009 07:00

I take care of my brother who is 40 and had a stroke on his right side. He has been in therapy for almost three years. We were lucky enough to get help from the famous Loma Linda Hospital in Ca.  Phisically he does real good and has joined a gym and does most everything pretty normal, except for the fine motor movement in his right hand. This  does slowly get better all the time. We stopped going to Speech Therapy about a year ago. His speech is very slowly getting better. I am just wondering if I should get him some more speech therapy? We had reached a plateau  at one point and we stopped. Is there a window or something? Thanks

Steven Orr

December 13. 2009 19:00

My mother suffered from a hemmorhagic stroke on the right side of her brain about 3 years ago, and is no longer receiving therapy, she also has been diagnosed with Aphasia, we can understand her about 70% of the time, she understands us 100%...I was wondering if there are some things that I could do with her at home that could improve her speech. Thank you!  

Christina

December 14. 2009 00:55

My husband had a stroke 5 1/2 years ago. He has both expressive and receptive aphasia. Our neurologist says because he functions at such a high level, there is nothing that will help him.  He speaks well, but often reverses things (like he and she) and when he explains something I'm not sure if he has done it, is planning to do it or is just thinking about it??? With the receptive problem it is impossible for him to follow a normal conversation. It's like he has to take time for his brain to process and attach the meaning to each word. It seems to help if he can watch the speaker's lips... as though he can visually compensate for some of the auditory deficiency.  He reads well and does much better with captions for TV watching. We would love to know what we can do to develop some of those compensatory brain functions we read about.

Pat

December 14. 2009 07:16

Neuroplasticity- someone tell the health care reform decision makers quick! It's bad enough all ready that Medicare does not pay for any therapy that "practices" or reviews routinely - and managed care tells YOU, the professional, how many treatments/sessions you can see the fresh stroke patient for (regardless of how severe the deficit or how much they have paid for this great insurance coverage all ready )- Yes progress needs to be seen and measured but there is something to be said about systematic, appropriate complexity, appropiate amounts and types of exercises supervised and adapted by the professional as necessary for ongoing recovery!

Lisa

December 14. 2009 18:38

I would really like to see more reaserch on the Constraint Induced Model of Speech therapy as noted in Doidge's book. As a Speech Pathologist, I find this approach very compelling, however, under current Medicare law, grouping 4 people together is not allowed. This seems to be a promising area.

melissa zilberstein

December 15. 2009 09:14

Thank you for providing this forum. Two years ago, this coming Christmas, my wife (age 42) complained of chest pains while we worked together in the kitchen. Knowing she never complained about pain like this before, and that she had been on cholesteral and blood pressure meds for good reason, I took her immediately to the ER. She was subsequently mis-diagnosed as having a muscle skeletal imflamation called "Costi-chondroitis" (please excuse spelling errors) An X-ray showed only a slight enlargment of her heart, the EKG had 2 PVC's and the blood work results would not be readily available (again it was Christmas day). That afternoon we returned home thinking it was only a false alarm (and a big ER bill) with Dr.s instructions to take Motrin if the pain returns. Three days later, my wife drove herself to the Family Dr. and he (knowing she had just been to the ER) changed her perscription to a cholesteral med WITH a diahretic.  (4.5 Weeks later, Jan 31st.) The pain returned and would not respond to the motrin. After the pain radiated to my wifes back and her breathing changed, I called 911.  She arrested on the way back to the ER.  After 45 minutes of CPR and 9 shots with the defib, her heart was finally restarted but not before she had suffered a serious lack of O2 through her whole body. Her injury is called "Annoxic Encephalopathy." She was in a Alpha Coma(?) for 3 weeks and while in the coma and on the ventilator also battled Mersa and Acinobacter viral infections. My wife was heavily sedated at times because of uncontrollable spasms and posturing while in her Coma. We kept vigils beside her bed and I would put her MP3 player with our wedding songs and others she had recorded.... on her head in the hope that she would resond to them. On week three, she finally did. (She tapped her foot to Phil Collins) And she cried one tear during our wedding song (Only Time- by Enya). On her birthday, with her mother and sisters with her,... she came to. It's been two very long years. My wife is not independent and may never be (completely) again. I tell everyone that she is having to regain everything that she has lost,... only this time she has to do it with a damaged brain.  I don't know of what kind of help I can be with our experience but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. --LB

L.L. Brown