A stroke is a sudden interruption in the blood flow to an area of your brain and can lead to significant neurological injury. A blockage or rupture most often causes strokes in one of the arteries supplying blood to your brain. Losing memory after stroke is one of the most common neurological injury, which is a sign that you are suffering from what’s called post-stroke dementia.
Losing memory after stroke isn’t inevitable, and no medicine is known to assist with turning around memory loss after a stroke. Specific prescriptions may aggravate memory, as per the American Stroke Association (ASA). However, where medications will not help, you can make strides with exercises, treatment, and restoration to recuperate your memory after stroke.
Also, there are steps you can take to get your memory back! We’ve compiled some helpful tips for getting back your memory after a stroke below.
Let’s look at these tips.
1. Stimulate your brain
The human brain is a fantastic thing, but when it comes to memory loss after a stroke, your brain needs all the help it can get. We use this page you’re reading right now by using our fingers and touching each letter of a word or sentence on the screen with one finger that’s called “fusion.” Fusing letters together with our fingers stimulates the brain and helps improve memory.
2. Leave reminders for yourself
Strokes often leave people unable to remember what they’ve been doing, how to use everyday objects, and tasks like cooking or driving. The good news is that there are many things you can do to help yourself out. One way of remembering if you have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning would be by placing your alarm clock, watch, prescription bottle, or cell phone by your bed.
3. Work with a speech specialist
Keeping a journal can help get back your memory after a stroke. You’ll need to write down what you did today and any thoughts, feelings, or events that happened during the day, so they don’t slip from your mind at night when you go to bed. It’s also vital for people with post-stroke dementia to write down their thoughts and emphasize what happened during the day.
4. Get organized
One of the most important things you can do is get organized, both in your home and at work. To start with your house or apartment, use brightly colored sticky notes to label items on shelves such as canned goods or pots and pans so that they’re more accessible for you to find when you need them. When you’re at work, use labels on your storage drawers and shelves to help organize items.
You’ll be able to get around more quickly in a space that’s organized because it will take less thinking for the brain than trying to find what you need in an area with clutter all over the place.
5. Stay active
One other thing that is important to do to get your memory back after a stroke and help with post-stroke dementia symptoms is staying active. Not only will you be able to focus better, but you’ll also have more energy which can go towards alleviating some of the stress from having a brain injury. When you’re feeling up to it, try some simple exercises like walking around the block or doing a few stretches.
6. Make up mnemonic devices
The brain is a miraculous thing and can heal itself. Even after a significant injury, your brain can relearn lost skills or regain abilities that it once had. It may take longer than you wish, and there will be some setbacks, but keep at it! A mnemonic device is an easy way of remembering something hard to recall because it incorporates some imagery, sound, word association, and repetition.
Summing Up
Blockages or ruptures can cause strokes in one of the arteries supplying your brain with blood. Losing memory after stroke is a common symptom, which may lead to post-stroke dementia. Brain injury after stroke isn’t inevitable, and no medicine has been shown to assist memory loss following a stroke yet. Specific prescriptions might aggravate memory, though, according to the American Stroke Association (ASA). However, recovery from strokes is possible with the help of above- mentioned steps.