What it’s like to have a stroke at 29.

  Having a stroke on the precipice of a global pandemic wasn't one of my best moves in life; it meant that aftercare and support either wasn't in place or was drastically compromised. I found myself scouring the internet for help and support in other places.  One group in particular, Different Strokes on Facebook, provided me with a wealth of support from other people in a similar position to myself, it also gave me the opportunity to offer snippets of my experience to people at the start of their stroke journey which actually made me feel useful again.  I recall one day flicking through the group reading latest posts and seeing that a member had asked if anyone else felt like "the old me had died" and it struck a chord instantly with me. It was as if someone had put words to the way I had been feeling for so long and not been able to explain. I was grieving for my old self.  Being able to put a label on my emotions was a huge relief, once I was able to identify...

  My most prolific memory of hitting the 12 month post stroke milestone was the overwhelming sense of loosing control.  At this point, for me, was when the anxiety and depression came to a head, if you like, and became too intense for me to ignore any longer. I waved the white flag so to speak and finally approached my GP, initially I was prescribed sertraline in a low dose which over time increased to the max 200mg dose I am on today. Despite hearing a lot of mixed reviews about Sertraline, I felt like it was the right choice for me to give it a try rather than just flat out refuse, given the fact that I have an incredible amount of education and training regarding mental health and facilitating support for children who are experiencing problems in that area and having being unable to manage my own anxiety, I realised that maybe this issue was too big for me to carry alone and I needed help.  Since starting Sertraline I've also been given a low dose of Amitriptyline, whi...