My father just had a stroke which affected the left side of his brain, what can I expect?

Question

My father just had a stroke and it hit the left side of his brain...it just happened one week ago and he is being very combative and abusive which is very unlike his character. We are havinga hard time dealing with this .... will this "combative" nature clear up?

Answer 1

Stroke is the nation's third leading cause of death. There are different types of strokes, but regardless of type, surviving a stroke can have a devastating impact, not only on the survivor, but on everyone who cares about them.


The brain is an extremely complex organ that controls various body functions. If a stroke occurs and blood flow can't reach the region that controls a particular body function, that part of the body won't work as it should.


If the stroke occurs toward the back of the brain, for instance, it's likely that some disability involving vision will result. The effects of a stroke depend primarily on the location of the obstruction and the extent of brain tissue affected.


The effects of a stroke depend on several factors including the location of the obstruction and how much brain tissue is affected. However, because one side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body, a stroke affecting one side will result in neurological complications on the side of the body if affects.


If the stroke occurs in the left side of the brain, the right side of the body (and the left side of the face) will be affected, producing some or all of the following:

Paralysis on the right side of the body
Speech/language problems
Slow, cautious behavioral style
Memory loss




Brain injury from stroke sometimes causes muscles to involuntarily contract (shorten or flex) when you try to move your limb, creating stiffness and tightness.

Brain injury during a stroke leaves survivors prone to neuromuscular imbalances.


When the Pain Never Goes Away
It’s impossible for someone else to truly comprehend the experience of someone with central pain syndrome (also known as thalamic pain). Most of us simply don’t have a context from which to imagine central pain

Communication & Swallowing
Stroke may affect the ability to process language, reading, articulating or even the ability to swallow.


Aphasia.
Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to language centers of the brain. As a result, individuals who were previously able to communicate through speaking, listening, reading and writing become more limited in their ability to do so.

Aphasia vs. Apraxia
At times, it may be difficult to identify which of these conditions a survivor is dealing with, particularly since it is possible for them to be present at the same time.

Auditory Overload
Many skills are needed to translate sounds into meaningful language. Sometimes sounds become overwhelming, and our brains can’t decipher meaningful speech from noise.

Dysarthria (slurred speech)
Dysarthria can affect the precision of speech sounds (pronunciation), the quality and loudness of the voice, and the ability to speak at a normal rate with normal intonation.

Swallowing (dysphagia)
A swallowing disorder called dysphagia often occurs as a result of stroke. Dysphagia may occur in up to 65 percent of stroke patients. If not identified and managed, it can lead to poor nutrition, pneumonia and increased disability.

Working on Recovery

Assistive Technology for Communication
As computer technology has become more efficient and less costly, an increasing variety of hardware and software options are available that can help people recovering from stroke.

Rehab for Reading
Stroke often produces reading difficulties. This “acquired dyslexia” or “alexia” may occur with or without other language challenges and even when writing ability is intact.

Constraint Induced Language Therapy for Aphasia
Constraint-induced therapies (CIT) have received a good deal of attention in the popular press recently. Recently these same CIT principles have been applied to aphasia rehabilitation.



Common Effects of Stroke

Every stroke is individual, but there are a number of common ways in which stroke can affect someonone.


Communication & Swallowing
Stroke may affect the ability to process language, reading, articulating or even the ability to swallow.


After a left-side CVA; your father wil have motor paralysis or right- sided hemiplegia.

He has a weakness and numbness of his face , right arm and leg. He is confused; has trouble talking or understanding; and sudden vision problems. Because of his paralysis or weakness on his right side; and coordination and balance problem; he's unable to walk. He might be dizzy; and complains of headches. He has trouble swallowing and eating solid foods.


His confusion and combativeness are the result of his frustrations to communicate effectively and understand. He's unable to perform all the simple activities of living that we take for granted. He must not understand what happened to him nor what the future hold for him. This loss of his dignity as a vital and independent person is very realistic to him. He's afraid and resentful all at the same time. In other words, he's confused. Most likely, he's also depressed. There is also considerable memory loss.

So, a great deal of patience is needed to deal with him.Try not to be judgmental when he doesn't recognize or remembers any of you. Accept his use of foul language. In time with intensive rehabilitation, he will recover from these physical effects and the behavioral changes in him.

Answer 2

A personality change is common when suffering from a stroke. The amount of lasting damage however hinges on how fast he got medical care from when he suffered the stroke. If it took too long then there is a risk of permanent damage.

All I can say is that there is a chance that his behavior will return more to normalcy but it is hard to say without any medical data.
I'm sorry to say that there is a fairly big risk of it being permanent however.

Answer 3

My mom had it on the left side in 1988 and she is now 88 yrs old.
She lost her speech and is paralysed on the right side.
She lost certain appetites like foods and coffee she used to love she no longer cares for.
she began having seizures soon afterward and we had to get medicine for that.
Other than the seizures and some frustration of not being able to talk, it is pretty ok for now.
The hard part is for me. I have to take care of her but I cant ask her simple things like what do you want for dinner. She only says one word for an answer and sometimes says words that are wrong or uses numbers instead of words so I am about ready to go nuts sometimes.

Answer 4

Yes he can be aggressive due to stroke he has its not only hard for you and your family but fo you dad too. So its right time for you all to understand the depth of problem and be strong.
He will become better with time but not back to normal. He will have right side of his body weak, speech and swallowing problems. Its all depend on how strong stroke was? It will be beneficial for you and your family to sit and talk to your doctor. But tell you further medical treatment and rehabilitation will help improve your dad situation. Spartan

Answer 5

my dad had a stroke also in december he was grouchy for awhile. i think that was do too getting mad cause of things he couldnt do and always have .its affected his arm and hand . but now he can use them again. strokes work in different ways he may need time. is he getting therapy? you should really talk too his doctor about this he can tell you all what too expect, and maybe help your family understand this behavor more .it may pass and it may not. i wish you and your family the best!

Answer 6

The Left side of your brain controlls the right side of the body, so he may have to go through therapy, and he will have trouble doing things with his right hand. He may also have some trouble at first with thinking logically.

Answer 7

You should expect things that he has never done before or isn't his personality he will start doing them from what you said you are already dealing with that another thing is he might not be as smart as he used to so he will make bad decisions YOU HAVE TO WATCH HIM CAREFULLY!! HE COULD TRY TO KILL SOMEONE OR SOMETHING IF YOU DON'T WATCH OUT FOR HIM!!

Answer 8

aww i am so sorry but even if it is hard like just expect him to have a negative attidude and alway help him even if it is hard