Hi all, it’s been a while since I’ve been on but I’ve enjoyed catching up tonight!
I’m now 4.5 months post stroke and am finally starting to feel more myself! Fatigue and anxiety are my biggest concerns at the moment.
I have my first occupational health meeting tomorrow from work and must admit my anxieties are heightened! I’m thinking I’ll be back at work next month but have no idea how I’ll cope.
I’ve been trying to lose weight ( have been for about 35 years!!) but I’ve noticed since my stroke and an increase in my medication it’s really slowed down. I’m eating what I ate previously and could easily lose a couple of lbs a week now it’s maintaining or a gain. I just wondered if anyone else has found this too?
I’m on Clopidogrel, statin, Ramipril, Amlipidopine, Mirtazapine .
Hope you’re all keeping well.
Sam 
x
I wish I knew. I have done nothing but gain weight! And I don’t think my food is the cause, possibly lack of enough exercise. My appetite is lighter than ever and the food choices could be better, but aren’t over the top at all. Mostly veggies.
The best way to find out about the meds is to check them in an online search. I have not bothered as I have omitted all medication that is not necessary for blood pressure and blood thinning. Perhaps I will remember to check tomorrow on mine. Too late for tonight.
I hope you find your answers.
@DeAnn Thank you, My pharmacist has said Mirtazapine can but my Slimming World consultant is adamant the club say only water tablets can cause weight gain. 
@Sammy1 it’s possible that some meds can cause weight gain but i wonder whether you’re less active aince your stroke & that is contributing to the weight gain. I hear a lot of stroke survivors saying they have gained weight. Fatigue probably means you are resting more at times when you might have previously been pottering.
Hope your occupational health appointment went well & they’re able to help facilitate some adjustments for your return to work.
Best wishes
Ann
Mirtazapine can cause weight gain and is an effective one in the treatment of anorexia nervosa .
One of the less common side effects of statins is also weight gain and the same goes for Amlodipine.
As Ann suggested, inactivity due to fatigue is a common cause of weight gain, particularly if you are still eating the same daily food portions as you did before the stroke.
That combined with say one more biscuit/potatoe/spoon of rice/or whatever than your usual daily food intake can quickly mount up to too many more calories onboard to burn. Like smothering a coal fire when you put too much coal on top, the fire goes out. In the body, that fuel still has to be stored somewhere until it gets burned, hence the weight gain.
Might be worth speaking with your doctor about it to work out which medication is doing it…IF that’s the reason. Or get your doctor to refer you to a dietician, they can give an awful lot of useful advice. Very helpful for me when I was first diagnosed with diabetes.
Hmmm, that’s odd. My water tablets (diuretics) help keep weight down (from fluids, anyway). I am reminded now to check mine online.
Thanks, both real thanks and sarcastic…let’s see. You have listed two of my medications, and Nigelglos has mentioned my lesser exercise, and I have been waking in the middle of the night unable to sleep because I am hungry… Unfortunately, I doubt they will allow me to give up Atorvastatin or Amlodipine, so perhaps I will have to try even smaller amounts of food, but more often, and to get my tail in gear to exercise more frequently. Who is going to help me light the fire under my feet now?
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contentid=DM300&contenttypeid=56
When your Weight Gain Is Caused by Medicine:
list of some meds that cause it, good advice for what to do.
So you do won’t want to know about BP medications severly lowering the libido then 
which undoubtedly detracts from any fitness regime 
Hey-ho back to the treadmill🤣
Omg I thought it was the menopause!! 
Oooh interesting, my amlodipine has been upped from 2.5 mg to 5 mg but I’m on 10 mg of Ramipril too.
Well I’ve got the drs this morning and I’ll be asking about side effect!! X
I should certainly check that out as well…or maybe not, come to think of it. I find one of the good things about stroke is my sudden disinterest in a relationship. I think that was much more dangerous to me than some silly ole’ strokes!
Thanks Simon, yes I’m going back to work next month but on a phased return for 8 weeks, luckily it will then be the 6 weeks holiday so I can rest again.
I think tiredness is the biggest issue now, and sleep is becoming a joke again! It’s mad how you can be sooo tired yet wide awake!!
Hope you are well x
Fifteen weeks here and worse than I was throughout February. My aphasia/ dyslexia is worse than it was since January. Struggle to do any reading or writing for days. Struggling to speak at times. Low energy. Beginning to get very concerned. Took 15 mins plus to writing this.
I’d advise you see your gp and ask for a blood test to check your vitamin levels. You are on a new regime of medications so just to rule that out before concluding its just due to the pattern of recovery.
At around the same point in my recovery, I had annual blood tests done for my diabetes, and they found I was very low in folic acid. Once started on that it was like a new lease of life for me. That may or may not be the case for you, I don’t want to raise any false hopes, but it’s worth checking.
You also burn through nutrients in recovery; and B vitamins, in particular, are water soluble so can’t be stored in the body…and the B’s are vital a vital food for the brain, particularly in recovery from trauma.
Thank you for reminding of the dance steps! And especially for bringing in the other factors, aside from medication. They usually are the bigger culprits.
I had, and sometimes still have that type of experience at 2.5 years. I wish I had @SimonInEdinburgh and @EmeraldEyes advisement they shared with you. It would have been so much better, I think. That ‘diary’ most especially. But I still haven’t gotten to the pharmacy for the B’s and I highly suspect I could use them. I did have prescribed vitamins, but I think my insurance wouldn’t pay for them anymore, rather than the physicians stopping them. I definitely second the idea of speaking with your GP about a blood test to check.
@DeAnn @EmeraldEyes @SimonInEdinburgh I have blood tests booked for Monday, I think it’s thyroid, liver and cholesterol mainly being checked this time.
. X
I am hoping it is a complete blood culture that can tell even more.