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Stroke Community
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Amino Acids and Ritalin Helped Post Hemorrhagic Stroke
by joesi, Aug 02, 2006 12:00AM
I have found two things that helped my wife recover from her stroke 16 months ago. First, I put her on liquid amino acid supplements. Amino acid sup. is derived from Whey which is derived from cows milk. It's the same protein body builders use. She became more alert and was able to engage in her rehab effectively. Next and after much research, I found that Ritalin would be helpful. Ritalin is basically an amphetamine and has the ability to "awaken" the brain which, in my wife's case, is what she needed. It is sometimes used for inpatient rehab to help those become more able to participate in their treatment.
My 53 year old wife of 34 years had a major bleed and was totally paralyzed when she had the stroke. She was blind on her left side in both eyes. Today, most people can't tell she had a stroke. Not even her doctors can and they are simply amazed at her recovery. She walks and talks normaly and goes to work everyday. She drives but with me in the car. In my opinion, she has recovered over 90% to date.
Search the internet and READ, READ, READ. Take charge. Find a doctor who will listen and help.
NEVER GIVE UP! THEY NEED YOUR HELP EVERYDAY.
My 53 year old wife of 34 years had a major bleed and was totally paralyzed when she had the stroke. She was blind on her left side in both eyes. Today, most people can't tell she had a stroke. Not even her doctors can and they are simply amazed at her recovery. She walks and talks normaly and goes to work everyday. She drives but with me in the car. In my opinion, she has recovered over 90% to date.
Search the internet and READ, READ, READ. Take charge. Find a doctor who will listen and help.
NEVER GIVE UP! THEY NEED YOUR HELP EVERYDAY.
How long was your wife in rehab? My dad was taken out of rehab because he kept falling asleep. That was about 4 weeks ago, at that time we mentioned to the doctor about perscribing ritalin.
You might want to ask your doctor if they would allow adding liquid amino acid sup. to their diet to start. Apparently, stroke victims have a hard time with the uptake of food proteins. Next, find a doctor who will prescribe Ritalin for say, just a week to see if that will help "brighten" the patient up (20mg to 40mg depending on body weight, 12 hour time release). What I saw with my wife and others around her was that if YOU let them just sit, the stroke patient will do just that. They will do nothing to help themselves. YOU must take an active role in their rehab and it must be everyday. I admit, it's a long, hard road but then I found, no one else was going to do it.
Is there a specific type of amino acid my mom should ask about. SHe went to the heaalth food store today, but they said there were several types.
I am sad to say that, despite this country having the best medical service in the world, it lacks considerably when it comes to compassion, especialy for stroke patients. As you may have already felt, it seems it's all about the money and nothing else. Stroke/brain damaged patients are easily pushed asisde by medical world. I feel it's because their recovery is so time consuming and there is little money to be made with rehab. Yet, I firmly believe that some stroke patients can come back nearly 100%, depending on the amount of damage done. The brain CAN heal itself or find a work-around. It does take effort though. Lots of effort. Nearly every hour of every day they are awake. I've learned that change is best too. Keep changing the rehab routines. Invent new, simple exercises. Hand held video games can be a great help. Even doing croswword puzzles. Their brains need to be exercised daily.
NEVER GIVE UP!
NEVER GIVE UP