Hi all, great site ive been nosy all day⌠Where to start! Htn sufferer for years, always told borderline for treatment. Last weekend numbness and pins and needles with weakness down all left side and face, couldnt get blood pressure down from >189/115. Called 111 who said go to a and e if persists! I went to gp thurs with bp 200/ 120 who sent me straight to hospital, where i have spent 3 days, diagnosed clinical right lanucar stroke. Numbness continues but they are hopeful for full recovery with rehab at home, Home now on 300 mg aspirin, 40 mg atorvastin, 2.5 ramipril and 40 mg lansoprole with a change from aspirin to 75 mg clopidogrel in 2 weeks. I have follow up in stroke clinic in 3 months and been told not to drive or work for 4 weeks. Just having a really emotional day and keep reading about chances are Iâll have another stroke and die earlier. Am i just anxious, are the drugs going to stop that from happening? Also scared of the bleeding easily situation with all of the meds im on, will i have to stay on all of them forever? And do you think i can have a glass of wine? 
@Toni.p Hi & welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your stroke. Itâs a shock when it happens isnât it. Sounds lije your BP played a part being so high.
My advice is not to read too much on internet re chances of dieng early etc. None of us know how long we have on this planet & we just have to live our life as best we can whilst we can.
You seem to be on all the right/ usual medication now & that should reduce your risk of another stroke and along with a healthy lifestyle your risk will be as low as it can be. Thereâs never any guarantee though & we all worry loads about it initially. In time that worry should settle.
Being emotional is one of stroke side effects. I was very emotional at the start & cried for mo reason at all but it does settle too. I still have moments though.
You may find you bruise easily on clopidogrel particularly initially & we do bleed a bit more but i havenât had anything too drastic yet.
As for the wineâŚin moderation it should be ok. I donât drink but i know others on here indulge occasionally. Some find they canât tolerate it like they used to but until you try you wonât know. Try a small glass & see how you go.
Sending my best wishes.
Ann xx
Thankyou so much for the reply, its certainly overwhelming, so many questions that i forgot to ask at the hospital. Im hoping to hear from the rehab team tmrw and be able to speak to them and might see if i can speak to my gp and write down some questions when they pop into my head! I am really trying to be positive and telling myselfnit could have been worse but seems to be common that the small ones lead to bigger ones but they said we need to stop that happening so i guess the medication does that and the blood pressure is at an almost normal level now so thats reassuring.
Definitely write down your questions so you donât forget to ask them.
Sometimes small strokes lead on to bigger strokes but often it doesnât. If your BP is now under control this is a big risk factor that has been reduced & the other meds will help too.
Being positive is good but it is only human to worry. I went through all my concerns with my GP & she was great at settling my worries.
Take it one day at a time, try not to over think it & rest up as much as you need to.
Best wishes
Ann
Hi @Toni.p I too have had lacunar stroke just recently. Numb face arm and leg right side. Happened just before Christmas (thought it was a trapped nerve) was at hospital 28th after Gp visit didnât get kept in but on aspirin, Clopidogrel and Atorvastatin. On meds for HBP already. Still to have MRI and few day ecg tracing appointments. No permanent numbness but will get a tingle/numbness a few minutes during the day. Try and stay positive itâs all we can do. Take care
Wow thats exactly what happened with me. I thought trapped nerve, did a night shift Monday night! Wow and you were on meds already? Hope all goes well with your tests i cant fault the hospital, i had ct, bloods and ecg within 2 hours and mri the next morning. I still have the numbness but they said they are hopeful of a full recovery so i have to be positive and probably stop googling!!
Ye hadnât been reviewed for a long time though. can kick myself now. Hopefully it will ease. And thank you. Ye you can look too far into things. Got one of these links here hopefully they help.
Thankyou, really helpful. Hope all goes well for you too.
Hi sorry you have had a stroke but welcome. This forum IS very helpful.
Had stoke bank holiday august 22. Same drug 300 asprin first 2 weeks followed by 75 clopidogrel and the ubiquitous antistat.
My cause finally traced to heart hole which was sorted last year.
Emotions were shot at first. Would burst out crying for no reason a couple times a day at first but reduced over time. Year gone and although no busrting out crying i " feel" things more than i did. Wife thinks thats an improvement!
Stroke Association is where i got most of my info from. I phoned them, got loads of literature from them and frequent phone calls which were very helpful.
Stick in there mate
Welcome to the forum @Toni.p and nose away, thereâs plenty of information about the forum.
Try not to worry too much, the half of that is just raw emotions from the stroke and will ease over time. Iâm 3yrs post stroke, others 10-15yrs and we even have a gentleman on here who had a stroke as a young child and he must be in his 50s now. Itâs a hard one to predict accurately and those sort of warnings are geared towards those who continue to neglect their health regardless. If you are taking all your medications and living a reasonably healthy lifestyle you can reduce the risk of further strokes. Though none of us are ever out of the woods, we still have the potential to live many more years. Life is like a piece of string and you could be run over by bus in the morning. So rejoice in the life you have and let tomorrow take care of itself.
Thatâs as much as any of us can do if we are taking all the steps to reduce that risk.
Hi @Toni.p
Welcome 
Has your ânosyingâ turned up the Welcome post? - it will give you some context. Everything in your post is unsurprising too anyone whoâs read this forum for a while.
The meds you have been given are the standard set. Probably sensible if your med team do investigations to rule out a hole in heart, AF etc - the common causes that would be a ongoing and avoidable risk factor if not treated. Itâs not unusual to never find out the cause though. In which case you just have to trust in the meds.
If you fancy a glass of wine, I suggest you have one. I do. - start gently! & Donât overdo it & keep an eye on blood pressure
I donât actually see a blood thinner in your meds (Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet to reduce clots) . It is the one I take and I donât bleed excessively or bruise excessively either.
as others have said the emotionality is also common and maybe with you for some time and I can sympathise with those who say itâs an improvement!
Ciao
Simon
Thankyou for all youâre replies and kind words.
Its such a lot to come to yerms with, i have spoken to my gps pharmacist today who has explained a lot more about the meds and thats a little more reassuring - i think!
Have OP Echo and cardiac monitor requested so hopefully hear soon, still waiting to hear from community neuro team.
Blood pressure is still a bit up and down but a LOT lower than it was so thats good. The cigs have stopped and gone veggie so trying to be healthy. I have had a couple of glasses of wine and thoroughly enjoyedâŚ
4 weeks off work so hopefully will be feeling better somewhat by then. I guess its all getting used to a new way of living, just need the numbness and dizzyness to subside now.
Have booked a spa night for the end of the month so something to look forward to.
Simon, bleeding may not be in excess but you certainly âbleed more easilyâŚand bruise.â Thatâs why I keep a box of those little round plasters handy, because I can certainly bleed from a my finger prick to test my blood sugar. I even have to be careful about squeezing the finger because blood can easily shoot out like fountainâŚand I have managed to hit the ceiling with it 
Can I ask why youâve gone veggie?
Hi @Toni.p
You sound more upbeat which is definitely good for your mental state
If youâre back at work after a month then youâre doing really really well watch out for the fatigue as it can be debilitating. If you have a spa day booked that will give you some idea of how you cope with âthe excitementsâ.
Glad you enjoyed your wine. What did you have? With food or unaccompanied? I guess your stroke didnât affect your taste buds? Mine did -I still like unfashionably oaked chardonnayâs but im a little less fond of heavily tannic reds - apassimentos & ripossoes are my preferences now
Ciao
Simon
Not my experience !!
And I quite often cut my fingers, get scratches from rose thorns etc in the garden or when fiddling in my shed
How much do you take? I take a 75mg aspirin and 75 mg of Clopi
I dip in and out of meat eating generally as have crohns also which seems aggravated by meat for me, but always feel healthier when i dont eat it, and kinder to animals. So giving it another go!
Fair enough Toni, just be sure to keep your nutrients well topped up in your diet, the Bâs are good for the brain healing, so much needed 
Iâm 75mg same as you and donât take aspirin.
In fact it was far worse those first few weeks after stroke when I was also on aspirin.
I am really tring to be, i know it could have been a lot worse and in a way im lucky ive had a warning, its difficult at times but being optimistic.
Ah no, i have been signed off work for 4 weeks, only came out of hospital last Saturday. I work night usually so thats also another thing to think about going forward.
Ive just had a couple of glasses of pinot after dinner the last 2 days, doesnât seem to be a worry to the docs in moderation.
Having the spa to look forward to has lifted my mood, its a lovely place really relaxing.