Just looking form some reassurance - had my stroke in July 2024
I am taking clopidogrel, Lipitor, lisinopril & amlodipine - I have been suffering with pains in my back - they are more like cramps / muscle pains - is this a common side effect and does it ever go if you have to keep taking the same medicine/dosage. - thanks
Neil,
hi ; are your kidneys usually okay ? Amlodipine (Calcium channel blockers) can put a bit of strain on kidneys, and make you pee more, especially at night. Maybe take a Magnesium Citrate at night or morning to help with cramps ?
Good luck, Roland
Thanks for your reply Roland - kidney function was fine when tested - just seems to come on during the day - feel it more when walking or sitting down at work
I get mid back pain sometimes now. I get it when walking or bending over a bit, like when doing the washing up. It may be a posture thing, i’m going to look at yoga type exercise to see it helps relieve it.
I had my stroke 13 months ago. 8 years ago I was prescribed amlodopine for BP and ended up in A&E after one pill. Severe pains in my upper stomach. At the time found a support group online and people were reporting the most horrendous side effects with amlodopine. Was prescribed Losartan instead.
Interesting, Manny.
What was the support group? Just curious
Roland
It’s so long ago I can’t remember Pando. It got really depressing so I gave up. What frustrated me most was people reporting these horrendous side effects but sill keeping on taking the meds! For me if something is affecting you so badly why keep on abusing your body? - just stop. The medical profession ensures obedience by scaring us with dire predictions about what might happen if we don’t obey them. 1/3 of people are in hospital with iatronic ailments. Iatronic means caused by medication! Fact you can check on the internet.
Hi @Neil51 & welcome to the community.
Have you spoken to your GP about your back pain? They should be able to check if it is meds related or whether it is caused by something else.
Statins can cause muscle pains but i’m sure other meds can too. As can many other things like posture, incorrect lifting etc.
There are many alternatives for different meds so if it is one of your meds the GP can change you over to something else.
You could try speaking to a pharmacist too. They know more about meds than some GPs.
Hi @Manny38 just popping by to say welcome to the community. Hope you are doing ok after your stroke.
Best wishes
Ann
Manny,
I am totally with you on that. Whatever happened to the natural world, and the healing power of the sun? Reading a few of my posts in between the lines reveals what I think about big pharma
Roland
I’m doing better now I’ve found a community that understands what it’s like to have a stroke. I think I’m lucky to have had it in the autumn of my life. I skied till I was 79 and travelled worldwide till I had the stroke. I meet peple at my local support group who are in their 50s and had a stroke 20 years ago.
Sounds like you made the most of life prior to your stroke. I had my stroke at 49 and it stopped me in my tracks a bit but come a long way in 3 years.
Best wishes
Ann
What kind of stroke did you have? I had a rare subarachnoid haemorrhage and a lot of people report back pain afterwards as the blood mixes with your spinal fluid.
I had lower back pain early on and was told it was the blood being broken down as the cerebro spinal fluid circulates up and down your spine (My bleed had intraventricular extension so mixed with the CSF).
Tend to only notice lower back pain periodically now when fatigued. No idea why.
Had a TIA. I’d already had an op on my back 8 years earlier for spinal stenosis, so not connected to the stroke.
Hi Ann, just wondering whether you hit a platteau in your recovery where you made no more ptogress. I’m asking because I made a lot of progress in the 1st 6 months but now seem stuck with 6 months of no progress.
@Manny38 it is very common to hit a plateau on your recovery road. After the 1st 6 months recovery does tend to slow & we think we aren’t progressing any more but we usually are but just can’t see it. I kept a diary where I noted how i felt, what I’d done, what i’d achieved etc & then when I thought I wasn’t progressing I looked back in the diary and could see the improvements.
Improvements do tend to be over weeks and months and not day to day so that may be why you think you’re not progressing. It also takes lots of hard work, patience and determination.
Keep going you’ll be doing better than you think. Try asking others too they can often see things we can’t.
Best wishes
Ann
@Manny38
Plateaus are the invention of those that haven’t lived with an affected side.
Every pause in progress is actually progress in ways that haven’t added up to a new visible capability, the consolidation of gains so far.
You have to keep working your way when a consolidation for more demotivating a decompensation arrives.
I found when I had little capability gaining capability was harder and now I have more capability gaining is getting easier but not quicker
If you can’t see your gains then keeping a diary may help you recognise progress you can do it by posting here, by taking photographs/ videos, having a benchmark activity - mine are things like cleaning my teeth, washing the cats bowls, putting on cloths - stuff I do everyday so see when a little progress arrives, gets easier/ stronger or ebbs (often a marker for fatigue)
Keep striving 
Is it only on your affected side? If so it could be central post stroke pain.
I and lots of others suffer with this on our affected side with pains varying from burning, freezing, stabbing, throbing, aching, cramping, pins and needles, numbness…
Thanks for the replies. Specifically to Oxley, It’s my right leg which was the least affcted bythe stroke. Stroke mainly affected my left arm and less so my left leg.
Has anyone found a solution for the throbbing and stabbing sensations?