Your Stroke Recovery Plan
Your Stroke Recovery PlanAfter you’ve had a stroke, your healthcare team will review your condition and develop a recovery planespecially for you to help you regain any lost function and prevent another stroke.Your recovery plan may include: taking medications, rehabilitation, making lifestyle changes and gettingsupport.Your healthcare provider may prescribe medications to reduce your risk factors for another stroke such as:high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, high cholesterol, and atrial fibrillation or an irregular heartbeat.Depending on the type of stroke you’ve had, your healthcare provider may recommend taking Aspirin oranother blood thinner to help reduce the risk of clotting. Clotting could cause another blockage and lead toanother stroke.It is important to take all of your medications as directed. Never stop taking them without first talking to yourhealthcare provider.You may need rehabilitation to help you relearn certain functions.There are different types of activities that can help you after a stroke. You may work with different healthcareteam members called therapists on these activities.A speech therapist can help you work on any communication problems you may be having. For example, youmay have trouble forming words or saying the right words after a stroke.“A lot of people will say, "Well, my speech is fine. Why do I have orders for speech therapy?" but that isour main deal, is speech and language skills. But also, we're working on swallowing and cognitiveskills, too.”A physical therapist can help you improve your movements and muscle control.“In PT we're mostly working on their functional mobility, their ability to move in bed, getting in and out ofbed, their ability to get in and out of a chair, their ability to ambulate and climb any stairs that they mightneed to climb. We're also looking at their balance, and we're looking at their strength and all the motorcontrol of their lower extremities.”And an occupational therapist can help you relearn everyday life skills like dressing and feeding yourself.“Occupational therapy is helping people to get better and regain their independence in everydayactivities. So as simple as brushing your teeth to combing your hair to going to the bathroom, tocooking, to cleaning, helping them get that independence back.”It’s normal to feel overwhelmed or frustrated by your rehabilitation progress but keep at it. Continue workingwith your therapists, sometimes progress may be slow but other times you may see progress quickly.“I couldn’t move my right side at all. They had me up and walking the first day, trying to climb stairs,which I thought was very, very strange, when you can’t really move your right leg, so it progressed fromthere.”This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG10007B EN YourStrokeRecoveryPlan.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 2Your Stroke Recovery PlanYou and your healthcare team will determine what lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your risk ofanother stroke.These lifestyle changes can include: quitting smoking, becoming more physically active, and making healthyfood choices.Making lifestyle changes all at once can be overwhelming, especially because you are also focusing onrecovering from your stroke.So, take it one step at a time and make gradual changes to see long-term success.Your healthcare provider can help you start to make those changes today.Stroke recovery is a slow and steady process. You will have exciting moments of success and moments ofdisappointment. You may need some emotional support along the way.Talk to your healthcare provider about ways to get support. Family, friends, caregivers and support groups areall good options and will help you through the ups and downs as you recover.Having a stroke can change your life. And stroke recovery is lifelong.But with a recovery plan specific to your needs, you can begin to take the steps you need to regain your lifeand your health.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.PRG10007B EN YourStrokeRecoveryPlan.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 2 of 2
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