I will try it thankyou,feel a bit better today maybe the meds are kicking in now.Its so much better sleeping in my own bed.
My nurses come at midnight and 0800 for my IV meds.Have a great Sunday guys,so thankful for your support
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Hi guys can I ask how much you have had to change you life style with regards to eating and drinking.low cholesterol meals are not the most exciting,I think I will miss cheese the most
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@Chiz i have changed my diet a bit but to be fair because I have weight issues (as in underweight) I still eat foods that I probably shouldn’t because I need the calories. I am 80 mg atorvastatin which helps counteract some of what i’m eating.
I have made some changes though. I eat baked crisps instead od the fried ones ( i love crisps so they are my treat). I always preferred white meat so that’s no hardship for me. I eat low fat cheese & use cholesterol spreads etc.
I look for things that are lower in saturated fays when I’m food shopping & i eat more fruit, salad & veg than I used to.
Other than that I haven’t changed much but do keep the ‘bad’ food for rare occasions rather than all the time.
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Thanks Simon,I have cutout everything,eat a lot of fruit,such a variety of fruit here,switched from coffee to green tea,no sweets or alcohol.Most of my food is salad or arroz caldo,like a savoury chicken rice porridge,I have got normal porridge now.My Bp seems to fluctuate
Managed to walk with a stick today,hopefully gone beyond the walker.Have a great Sunday thankyou for helping me on this journey
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Thankyou Mrs5K,had a better day,the fuzz in my head was a lot less,I am getting more control with my left hand.Managed to walk with a stick instead of a walker
I eat mainly salad and fruit,no dairy,my BP seems to fluctuate randomly I also take the same 80 statin
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Good to hear you had a better day. Sounds like progress is being made which is great. Hopefully you’ll find some food that is both healthy and tasty. It does seem that all the tasty food is bad for is though 
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I haven’t really changed my diet that much, but I do eat more oily fish, nuts, beans and fruit. The main change for me was cutting out all the junk food like crisps, biscuits and chocolate. I still eat cheese.
It was strange in hospital, I was getting 2 puddings a day, and I did think should I be eating this, but I thought why not, save wasting it!
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Hello @wolfie.
Yes, the NHS diet is mostly unhealthy for a service that’s supposed to improve health. I was astounded by the menus during my stay. All those afternoon cakes and biscuits, processed breads, sugary desserts and drinks. I avoided what I could and got hubby to bring in fruit and seeds. It’s the sugar and processed foods that are killing us, for sure. I’ve always had a decent healthy diet, use butter, full fat milk and cheese, eat oily fish, nuts, pulses and beans, white and red meat, lots of fruit and veg. I avoid anything with ‘nasties’ in it like low fat foods which have loads of additives to make them edible. Never had any problems with cholesterol or triglycerides. Food is tampered with so much these days but a whole food diet has to be a healthier choice and even more so if organic.
Sorry. I do witter on🙈
Trace
SIG
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Oh yes the good old NHS diet. It always amazes me how they don’t cater well for people with dietary needs. There was a diabetic lady on the stroke ward when I was in & she’d pick her meals for the day only to be lectured or have the food removed by the nursing staff - for the right reasons but should never have been offered in first place.
I too ate the desserts in hospital. The main courses were generally inedible & that was all I ate
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Did you end up getting Pfo closure? Had stroke 5 week ago been put on warfarin while get it, Manchester area
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It was deemed not needed in the end
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Hi, I got my PFO closure about 6 weeks ish post stroke after being on the waiting list about 1.5 years after I had a TIA. A bit frustrating that my stroke could have been avoided, but I can’t think about that it will drive me crazy. Luckily I had an amazing stroke consultant who was on the ball and pushed it through quickly after my stroke and I ended up going to a private hospital in Bristol who rents out NHS surgeries. I don’t think there are many consultants in the South West who perform these procedures unfortunately.
I hope you are recovering well and taking it easy 
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Thanks for the reply Just in hospital switching from asprin to warfarin taking time, is there any any difference u can feel fr having it?
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Hi, who did your PFO closure in Bristol and which hospital?
I am on the nhs waiting list for a pfo closure following my stroke in november 2025 .. and thinking that I may go private.
Thanks
Hi @Jnov25 -This is just a quick hello and welcome.
I believe one of, if not the only benefit of going private is you can go to the tap of the queue!
And if you can afford it, or if your insurance company pays for it, why not?
Wishing you all the best.
Namaste|
Thanks - yes the other major advantage in attempting to go private is certainty on seeing a cardiologist / date for the procedure. However I do feel like lobbying the government as all nhs consultant employment contracts stipulate that prioritisation is to be given to nhs patients - therefore can someone explain why I cannot get an appointment with the nhs cardiologist following the referral in early December as he has no availability BUT he also works private and you can book to see him in under 2 weeks….? System seems broken to me.
Jay
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It seems broken because it is broken.
Quality of care private is better, there is no denying that, even though it’s usually the same people. I guess they do better jobs when they’re getting paid so much… as you’d expect.
Since I posted here I went private to see a neurologist who specialises in strokes, also works in the NHS.
He wasn’t happy with the conclusion on my A&E report, I went private to see a cardiologist who ordered another echo, and found a small PFO. I am getting it treated in February.
NHS had kicked me to the curb as ‘cryptogenic’. You don’t just have a stroke with no cause, this diagnosis infuriates me and even more so knowing you have to advocate for your own care.
I have no idea if I have grounds to sue them or not as signing me off with a PFO being overlooked could have literally killed or disabled me in the event of another stroke.
I had to pay out of pocket and look ‘crazy’ to some just to get seen and redo tests to find this.
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Jay - the system is broken and it is an absurdity that the NHS consultant can and does work privately as well. Although some have found they do a better job in private, that has not been my experience, with the only difference was I got the same outcome but paid to jump the queue.
Lobbying the government is something that we can try, but given this is not a new issue and no government has been able to fix it, I am not sure how far we would get. I am sure when it comes to elections and manifestos, the NHS is high on their “we will fix this” selling points. I haven’t read the current government’s manifesto to see what they said about the NHS, but I might try and dig it out.
It’s a shambles - doctors and nurses still not happy about their pay and remunerations etc. etc.
I wonder what he does about this when he wears is NHS hat.
I also wonder why those who work privately have the nerve to work for the NHS. Is it to further line their pockets?
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You said it yourself - not happy with pay!
Some do genuinely seem to care more about their expertise though to be fair
In that case, I think the NHS should ban their staff from working in private.
This does not sit well with me.
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