On Friday I very temporarily lost the ability to write sense and to speak. Honestly it only lasted 15 minutes maybe?
I weigh 8 stone 7. Don’t smoke. Walk an hour a day 
2/3 times a week. Drink alcohol minimally and am vegan, low blood pressure.
7 weeks ago I had the works at the Drs. I was given a very low likelihood of a stroke or heart attack in the next 10 years (includes things like cholesterol which was really good) Doh!
I have however had migraines with aura since I was a child.
Yesterday I went to TIA clinic at hospital had scan, doppler etc
The consultant said it was a TIA based on the symptoms so given aspirin 75 for 3 weeks clopidogrel 75 and atoravastatin 40.
I think it just feels like the statin is a bit much.
My husband who is way bigger than me has only 20mg for his high cholesterol and heart issue.
Do you guys think that it’s ok?
I thought we needed cholesterol for every cell in our bodies???
Thanks to anyone who spares some time to read this and or reply(hopefully both 
Hi @Mabel1
Welcome (but sorry to see you join our ranks)
Stroke has many causes from congenital to lifestyle & age - even with vanishing small risk factors it still happens to some - you’ve been unlucky - 'cept if it REALLY is a Tia the effects will be temporary - that may ultimately be lucky for you 
The meds are a knee jerk.
If you search with the magnifying glass for statins and or you read thincs.org you’ll find lots of opinion. Yes cholesterol is vital to the functioning of the body - whether the statins do more good than harm or harm and good is a debate. Drug company profits are definitely a component.
The clopi and the aspirin both reduce your clotting risk.
It would be cautious to get checked for arterial fibrillation AF and for a PFO - hole in the heart (which apparently affects 25% of the population). If you never get a plausible cause proposed then you’ll join a great many of us here with no indication as to why.
Caio
Simon
Ps if you get any lingering the symptoms such as anxiety fatigue emotionalism confusion balance language and more then the welcome post might be appropriate
Hello @Mabel1.
Sorry to hear you had a TIA.
You are correct when you say every cell in our body needs cholesterol and from my own research, it’s absolutely essential for good brain function. Also, lowering it too much has shown heightened risk for haemorrhagic stroke. Here is a link to a study done on women ( there are more studies on the net) :
Again, from my own research, the only people who seem to significantly benefit from statins are those who have an inherited hyperlipidaemia.
I could write so much more but it’s probably better to do your own research and come up with your own conclusions. I also feel it’s a good idea to ask our docs to provide the evidence for the benefits of any drug they prescribe for us. Oftentimes, it would seem the potential benefits are minimal for the patient but gargantuan for big pharma!!
Interesting what you say about migraines and aura. This is something I’ve been thinking about as I recently remembered that I’d been having an increasing number of migraine auras in the few months leading up to my stroke. It’s given me something new to think about🤔.
Thank you @SimonInEdinburgh that was really helpful. I felt it was knee jerk sort of understand if the high level of statins is only just now where the risk of a repeat TIA or stroke are greatest. Bu tin the longer term I would like to see the dose reduced.
I am going to get an appointment for a heart scan they said so maybe that is for those potential heart issues you mentioned.
Thanks so much
Toni
@Trace57 thanks to you too.
Gosh statins sound to be extra scary for us women.
I did read something some time ago about brain function so I am not happy at all to stay on them long term.
I found out about the aura issue when they wouldn’t let me start on HRT because the risk of a stroke is greater, apparently, for women who have migraines with aura.
Interesting isn’t it?
Thank you so much I will do some research myself now,
Toni x
I was on 20mg Atorvastatin before my stroke and it was never increased after the stroke; I’m 62yrs and also type 2 diabetic. So I would have thought your 40mg was a bit steep in my view.
Thank you @EmeraldEyes I think the same my cholesterol is 4.3 so pretty good I thought too.
I am 60 so similar age. I spoke to my GP who wants me to bear with it atm but promised he will look at reducing it after the danger months have passed.
Thank you again
Toni
I don’t take the statins but I was able to determine why I had my stroke and I know it wasn’t due to high cholesterol. As this is my choice I don’t want anyone to suddenly stop taking them, I am not a doctor. Interesting to note you are a migraine sufferer, I was for many years and that was why I delayed doing anything about my stroke, thought It was just one of my usual migraines. I haven’t had another migraine since I had my stroke a year ago.
As to the misconception that stroke sufferers are overweight, chain smoking heavy drinkers, I think you only have to come across the vast majority of people on here to see that is wrong. Yet another myth, told by the medical profession, to excuse themselves from not identifying stroke sufferers early enough, or blaming them for why they had a stroke in the first place. Age is also not an excuse, they can happen to the young as well as the elderly. I’m climbing down from my soap box now !
It’s always been a bone of contention with me that conditions such as stroke, heart attack, type2 diabetes, lung cancer, etc, are automatically associated or misconstrued as being due to poor lifestyle choice.
They are not, anyone can get any of them at any age.
The healthiest of people who never smoked a day in their life can still get lung cancer, can still have a heart attack or stroke.
Poor lifestyle such as being overweight, too much alcohol, smoking, etc, increases your risk for any of these conditions!
But living a healthy lifestyle, even if it’s been all your life, does not eliminate the risk at all.
@Mabel1 Hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear you’ve had a TIA. Clopidogrel & statins are prescribed as standard following a stroke / TIA i think regardless of the reason for your stroke. I take 80 mg Atorvastatin but i have the genetic cholesterol disease…a name too long for me to remember it 
i think the idea is that it stops / reduces plaque building up on your arteries thereby lowering the risk of a full stroke / another stroke. If you’re not sure whether you need them then speak to your GP & get them to explain it to you.
I was told that cholesterol should ideally be below 4 although 5 is ok. But it does also depend on your LDLs which should be below 2.
Hope you’re doing ok after your TIA.
Best wishes
Ann x
Reading your experience sounds like a carbon copy of what happened to me, except that I didn’t realise it was a TIA and went on later to have a full-blown stroke. I had previously suffered migraines with visual disturbance and had my health MOT a few months before. They never found an underlying cause for my stroke either.
Yes, the meds may be a bit ‘over the top’, but they may also prevent you from having a stroke in the future (and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone) or even death. Take the meds, question the dosage if you feel it may not be quite right and undergo any tests they send you for. You have had a lucky escape this time. Hopefully that’s that’s the last time you’ll have a brush with stroke symptoms.
What a fantastic group of people you all are!
thank you so much @MinnieB and @Mrs5K and @EmeraldEyes and @clibbers1
I have had a tiny TIA which I could easily have ignored or brushed off as a migraine @clibbers1 .
I fully intend to take this as a very lucky escape and behave, but will hopefully get the statin dose lowered in time with GP support when they are happy the cholesterol is low enough. I wonder how much lower than 4.3 they want it.
As for all of you who mentioned that we are somehow ‘blamed’ for this happening to us (we are lazy/overweight etc) I could not agree more! I think this can happen to anyone.
@Mrs5K (Ann) thank you I am doing fine a bit teary I think but ok.
@MinnieB gosh yes that does sound similar. I actually thought how lucky I was that I was awake and knew it was happening.
Thank you all again you are just lovely I have tears running down my face at how much kindness you are all showing me
Toni x
Having a stroke is a shock and a bit of an emotional roller-coaster we’ve all been through. That will calm down over time as will the fear of having another one.
This forum provides us with the kind of support and insight the NHS just hasn’t the time to give. And the medical professions just don’t have the lived experience, some of that can’t even be put into words, if indeed the words exists.
But we get other here! And we can stay for as long as we want or need. We can rant or have a laugh, advise or sympathise, its all good and no one judges. And with all our different strokes there’s someone for everyone here 
@EmeraldEyes
Oh I can see that just from the replies everyone has so kindly given to me. The whole forum though has so much information I am finding out loads.
Thanks again I’m sure I will return to normal emotionally (for me at least!) very soon.
Take care ((()))
Toni x
Hi Toni @Mabel1 that’s a very kind thing for you to say. It is a great group of people here who all want to help each other.
Emotions being all over the place initially is very common. I know at the start if someonecsaid hello i’d burst into tears. I’m not that bad now but still have my moments 
My cholesterol is now 3.8 which they seem very happy with but different drs might have different views on it. My LDLs are still a bit higher than they’d like. Hopefully you can find the right dose for you once things have settled down
Look forward to hearing how you’re getting on.
Best wishes
Ann x
Thanks Ann my lovely pharmacist says they are happy if it’s under 4.
So fingers crossed I will be there quickly given I’m starting on 4.3
Take care yourself
Toni xx
Hi @Mabel1 ,
I had my stroke 8 years ago. Like you had low blood pressure, low cholesterol and was a healthy 9st 44 year old, but did/do suffer from migraines with aura. I have a hole in my heart - you may have one too - if so and you’re worried about ever having a stroke or TIA again, then ask/push for PFO closure.
As for statin - I started taking it after my stroke as prescribed, but recently asked to be taken off it as my cholesterol has continued to be low, the GP agreed it made no sense tobeon it really - I don’t know why I didn’t come off it earlier. I’d rather keep my cholesterol under control through my diet.
Good luck 
Thanks @RuOxley that’s great to hear you are now safely off statins. Interesting you are another person who has migraines with aura.
That makes 3 of us I think on this thread alone.
I am waiting to get called for a heart scan if it is a PFO I will ask for the closure.
Thanks again
Toni x
It gets mentioned generally enough that there is probably a link (26 relevant refs to aura on here)
I used to get the aura (pulsing writhing ribbons of black and white triangles that lasted 20 mins during which they grew from a dot to right across my vision) without any pain
Havn’t had one since the majority stroke (MRI says I have had multiple ‘silent’ ones) - maybe it’s the meds controlling the cause?
Caio
Simon
So interesting @SimonInEdinburgh There really is a connection possibly.
My Aura is like a opaque jelly like dot which grows and is usually a ‘c’ shape it gets bigger until it covers most of one eye (but can be seen through both. Then it also seems to shimmer? Gradually subsides and its totally gone within 40 minutes.
Thanks I will look into all the refs to aura out of interest.
Toni x