FICO 2008: Better, But Not Good Enough

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Wonderin---I'm the little old lady just coming home from having a stroke...........survived.  How you doing?

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Oh .... damnit, really?!! How are you doing?!!!! What the heckfire are you doing HERE (unless this is relaxing for you)??!!

I had a mild one nearly two years ago ... it ain't easy to recover from. But I've seen your posts for nearly a year now and you're one tough cookie. If anyone can kick the effects' butts, it's YOU.

A "little old lady" you ain't.

Unless you're like the little old lady from that Madagascar 2 movie .. yes, I could totally see you beat the crap out of a lion with a purse!

Seriously, though .... jokes aside, how ARE you doing??!!!!

[Anonymous]

Like I said I just came home a week ago.  Still a little shaky on my legs but getting around.  I had it in my sleep.  Noticed when I got up my speech was funny (tried to tell my cat he was a good boy and couldn't say boy.)

What happened with you when you had yours?

NOW THIS IS A THREAD JACK.........LOL

Message Edited by casinoannie97 on 04-29-2009 08:01 AM

[Junejer]

Annie, you might be right about that.

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casinoannie97 wrote:

Byrd man:  maybe that's why the banks are in trouble..  Too many hotshots and not enough little old ladies.  LOL

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And yes, this thread is extremely jacked.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Like I said I just came home a week ago.  Still a little shaky on my legs but getting around. 

Damnnit, Annie ... I am so sorry! It gets easier to deal with, though. Are you on the blood thinners?

I had it in my sleep.  Noticed when I got up my speech was funny (tried to tell my cat he was a good boy and couldn't say boy.)

What happened with you when you had yours?

I honestly  didn't know what the heck was going on. Just sitting in my chair when all of a sudden the right side of my face went all .... funny. I couldn't even remember my hubby's name (I called him "Mister" - that's what he tells me at any rate - I really don't remember WHAT I said). Then, my entire left side (that's what I remember, at least) went all limp and numb. DH tried to talk to me, but I didn't understand a fricking word he was saying. And my head hurt SO fricking bad. Finally, I got up out of the chair (struggled, really) and just ... fell. That's all I remember. The whole thing lasted (as DH tells me) about 2-5 minutes.

I didn't even go to the hospital until weeks later. I told my doctor about the whole thing and freaked out (which freaked ME out). I was *honestly* convinced that I had been asleep and it had ALL been a dream. Wasn't though. Too many witnesses. :/

 

NOW THIS IS A THREAD JACK.........LOL

*That's right! This is a thread-jacking! EVERYONE! Against that wall!! Now, now, now!!



(sorry ... I spend a LOT of time watching crime shows -- too much, maybe?)

Message Edited by casinoannie97 on 04-29-2009 08:01 AM

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The worst part is, 2 years later, *still* having to think sideways and feeling foolish. I'll forget stupid words ... like if the word I can't remember is "shovel" : If the sentence is "The sh_vel is over there" I'll say something like "The glove is over there" - then I'll realize how stupid that sounds (that it's TOTALLY not right) and then have to think sideways -- make connections, like hoe, rake ... ah, shovel! while picturing it in my head.

That might not make sense to you though. My doc said that everyone copes and recovers in their own way. I was actually lucky ... my balance was marginally affected (still REALLY clumsy, though), I still suffer from constant nausea and headaches. BUT I can walk, talk (maybe too much) and drive (though I'm supposed to pay close attention to how I'm feeling before I get behind the wheel). So while I'm not as "good as new" or good as I used to be (but I blame that more on the health problems that *lead* to the stroke -- AKA, blood clots -- I'm not as bad off as I could be.

And what's important is, neither are YOU!!!

[Anonymous]

did you have to get the ok to drive?  Yes I was on heparin.  Now it's plavix.

Message Edited by casinoannie97 on 04-30-2009 02:28 AM

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
did you have to get the ok to drive?  Yes I was on heparin.  Now it's plavix.

Message Edited by casinoannie97 on 04-30-2009 02:28 AM

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Yeah, after about 2 weeks or so, I got the go ahead to drive again. I tend to be more nervous about my driving than my doc, though (go figger). So if I'm stressed out, excessively nauseous (a symptom of another stroke sometimes), or headachy, I don't drive. I'm scared stupid of hurting anyone else.

(Oh, I didn't *have* to get the okay to drive. I really don't think anyone would have stopped me (aside from me or my hubby) -- to be honest, my doc and the people at the hospital didn't seem to care -- go figger. *I* cared, though. So I asked my doc when I might be *ready*)

I did lovenox in the hospital. Stuff was like *battery acid* injected right in my tummy. Twice a day. After a couple of days of that, they let me go (direct subcutaneous shots of Lovenox is like Hep on speed) home. I now take at least 10mg of Coumadin/Warfarin a day -- and go in for my pro time twice a month. I took something else when I first came home, but for the life of me, I can't remember what. I'll ask DH when he gets home. He was my "nurse."

Like I said, it's been two years. So after a while, my meds got adjusted, adjusted again, some pulled off, some added. Then after a year or so, it's just been the Coumadin. Doc says I probably will be taking it for the rest of my life. Since I'm "only" 40, that's a long, long, long time -- I hope! o_O

Behave yourself. If you don't, they'll up the treatment -- any major change in your diet, lifestyle, etc and they will give you meds that SUCK bad. Lovenox being one of them!!

You ever need to vent, holler at me via PM. And don't miss out on support groups. They do more and mean more than you know. They sure did for me!!!!

{{hugs}}

[Anonymous]

I'm like on 6 different meds in am and two more at night.  dry mouth and trouble swallowing (bad)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm like on 6 different meds in am and two more at night.  dry mouth and trouble swallowing (bad)

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I don't remember having *that* much trouble swallowing ... I think that might be because my big issue was the Lovenox.

I did have a *LOT* of vomiting (hence being on the Lovenox for a long time -- since that's an injection - almost everything I took orally just ... um ... came right back up). Dizziness was a biggie, too. Just getting up from a chair would be almost enough to knock me out completely. Headaches were up there on the list, too. Despite the fact that I was already taking scrip meds for migraines.

I did get dry mouth a lot ... and weird freaky restlessness. The kind of restlessness where you're absolutely EXHAUSTED, yet you feel like you have to do ... something?

Now, I don't know if the meds-combo is another reason why I don't remember being on many meds at one time. I've always gotten migraines so I was still on two different meds for that. I dunno.

I *DO* know that it *DOES* get better. If you can get through the immediate recovery without going insane (that's why I had to do a support group -- and therapy for depression), you'll be more than fine. It's the beginning that's the absolute WORST. Basically, you're going through the worst of it right NOW.

The most important thing is that you feel like you trust your doc (always important, obviously, but trusting him helps your body AND your mind). I didn't trust mine. Always gave me answers like "we'll see." And "we can't tell for sure right now." I never asked him for absolute answers ... just .... hope. Finally, I found a doc (the FOURTH one) that would try to relate to me as a person, rather than just an HMO claim. :/

Seriously, though, rest and think about a support group. Even an online one. Even if you don't choose to talk or "open up" about how this is affecting you (I spoke very little -- believe it or not, on personal issues, I'm not a sharing person), it REALLY helps to listen to others' experiences. It gives you hope.

And I mean it about hollering at me via PM. From there, if you wanted, we could talk via email or phone.

Just please, please, please don't feel like you're the only one (I felt that way -- even knowing I wasn't) and please don't lose hope. Things might not be the *same* since having a stroke (they've not been for me, at least), but things DO get lots BETTER.

Okay?

[Anonymous]

Oh, and you probably already figured this out, but do NOT compare how you feel one day vs another. Like, yesterday I felt like crap and today I felt like crap.

Recovery will come in teeny-tiny steps - but they WILL be there. If you compare how you feel NOW to how you'll feel a year from now, there WILL be a HUGE difference. It's kinda like watching grass grow. You might not be able to see it happening in "real time." But it does and it will.

My DD explained it perfectly when I was having a hard time explaining it to my DH: It sneaks up on you.

[Anonymous]

Listen, This threadjacking is very annoying. My inbox is being deluged by your continual postings about your health, or lack thereof. WAY off topic and for anyone who has an interest in a discussion about FICO scores, very annoying. Please use email to communicate or at least start your own thread and stop filling my inbox! Where is a Mod when you need one?