u/gardenpaw91

I’m 35F and have been in hospital/now rehab for a total of almost 7 months. (C4 incomplete from a spinal stroke). My estimated discharge date is September 15, but they think I may be here still a couple of weeks past that date. Regardless, I finally get to go home soon!

I am so excited to go home to my husband, but am finding that I’m super nervous about sex after my injury. Our sex life before my injury was super healthy; fun, intimate and quite frequent. We are the best of friends and love each other so deeply. I’m finding that I am very scared to disappoint him. What if we can’t have penetrative sex anymore? What if I can’t orgasm anymore, or attempting to make me reach the big O results in AD? I am both super excited to explore this stuff but also sick to my stomach with worry…We weren’t shy when it came to toys & figuring things out together before, so I’m not sure why I’m so nervous now. The AD stuff does scare me as I’ve experienced it twice in hospital and it was a horrible time. I have a Foley catheter & when I asked my doc how that works for sex with my husband, he said we can tape it out of the way?

I guess any advice related to this from any perspective would be extremely appreciated and helpful!

Hi everyone! So, I had a stroke in my spinal cord back in February, around C4-C5. ASIA-C/incomplete. At first I was paralyzed chest down with some extremely limited movement in my arms.

117 days later: my arms have almost full range of motion back, my right hand is 90% back to “normal”, left hand doesn’t do much. Right leg I can move at the hip, and at the knee. Left leg is the same but a bit weaker, but I have ankle movement on the left. My core is strong and I can sit up in my chair and do exercises without flopping over lol.

As the title says: I’m fat. I’m a plus sized woman (350lbs if this is relevant.. was 370 when I had my stroke, but nasty Canadian hospital food means I’ve lost some lol). I lived a somewhat active life before my stroke (aqua-fit, gardening, yard work, playing with my dogs, etc… not running marathons or anything haha).

Is anyone else in a similar body size? What is your life like now? I had a spinal cord rehab doctor take one look at me and announce I’ll never walk again and will never be able to transfer myself.

I’m working as hard as I can in physio (I’m still in the hospital) while I wait for a bed to open up at my province’s only spinal cord rehab facility.

What are the chances the zero-bedside manner doctor was correct? If I work hard at strengthening my arms, shoulders and core… will I ever be able to transfer (bed to chair, chair to car, etc)? Or am I going to have to live a hoyer lift life forever?

BTW: I am accepting and loving towards myself and my body. Before my stroke I was all about moving my body for joy, not punishment. I have a history of disordered eating and unfortunately dieting of any kind sends me spiralling into that territory, despite a decade and counting of therapy. I’ve lost large amounts of weight in the past and gained it back in record time every time. Ozempic very likely led to a benign cyst on my pancreas. I’m just not super convinced there’s a safe AND sustainable way to lose weight and keep it off forever. With all of this in mind, please tread carefully when suggesting diets or weight loss! It’s not always for everyone.