Hi everyone, I recently had an MRI after having ocular migraines and was told it showed two small old strokes, in the past few years I had vertigo badly and the eye problems double vision, OM, irritability, lethargy a couple of falls/trips but all were dealt with as individual problems, could these have been stroke related? Also because they were called old? does that mean no treatment now. Hope you are all ok 
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Hi Asher,
Welcome to the forum, and hopefully you will find it all useful/supportive/entertaining as most of us do.
I’m not a medically trained person but through lived experience i would say it’s quite possible some of those symptoms would have been stroke related. People do sometimes, like yourself, only find out about previous strokes when undergoing tests for other things and then look back and see that these things fit with previous issues. It’s probably difficult to say how “old” they are, but there is always hope of improvement especially now they’ve been diagnosed.
There’s no hard and fast rule for recovery but the most significant improvement generally occurs in the months immediately after but there are many on here who are still seeing improvement several years on. There’s a lot of support articles on the Stroke Association website. If you have ongoing issues i would recommend approaching your GP unless you’ve been referred to a stroke team. The Stroke Association helpline would be a good placed to start, they’re very understanding and, I am sure, will help explain what’s happened. Details here: Stroke Helpline | Stroke Association
When i was on the stroke ward a guy was admitted with some classic stroke symptoms including balance issues, headaches, nausea but he was diagnosed with acute vertigo after many tests (CAT scan, MRI etc).
Do you have any ongoing issues?
Best wishes
Phil
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Treatment now should be do everything you can to reduce your risk factors for a full blown stroke. Talk to your gp to get things like your blood pressure checked. While no one can reduce the risk to nothing a healthy weight and diet will help.
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Plan ringing GP tomorrow as the strokes were found on a visit to a neurologist and he said its up to me if I want to speak to my GP about them so have had no advice up to now. Its hard to tell about the present effects as I feel a bit down about the news, I can think, am i a bit off balance, am I a bit irritable, am I not as interested in things or am I just looking for things, around tea time I feel tired quite often although sometimes am awake for hours during the night and blame my husbands trips to the bathroom for waking me 
Thank you for your replies I will check out the recommended site/helpline my BP is doing ok (on amlodipine) my diet is fair although my weight just shoots up.
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Hi @Asher
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your strokes. That must have come as a shock to find out about them.
I would agree with @EssexPhil in giving our helpline a call, they will be able to point you in the right direction and let you know what should be happening with regards to aftercare.
I hope you’ll find this community helpful and if you have questions please do come and ask as there is a wealth of knowledge here too!
If you need any help whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
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Just remember you’re not alone on your journey, we’re all here for you, even if it’s just to chat things over. Very best wishes.
Phil
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Thank you thats good to hear, I spoke to my GP this morning and at first he thought as I have regular checks on my BP and Cholesterol that would be a prevention but then rang back and has precribed a blood thinner.
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@Asher just popping by to say hi and welcome to the community.
I would echo what @EssexPhil said. My stroke presented as dizziness, vision issues & being off balance so it is possible your symptoms were stroke related but they could equally be something else like vertigo.
I’m pleased to read you have apokwn to your GP & that they have prescribed a blood thinner. This will help in preventing another although there are never any guarantees. Try & live as healthy a life as you can & then you will know you have done as m7ch as you can to kerp your risk down. Treats are aloowed though 
Best wishes
Ann
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Hi thanks for your welcome, the GP thinks my ocular migraines were not connected but I think they were along with the double vision, vertigo etc my issues go back over years but then how old is an old stroke? I will probably never know. Onwards and upwards, I hope you keep well 
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afternoon everyone, I have been given Clopidogrel is there always a time limit to stay on this and if so what makes them know when stop it?
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Thats a very difficult one as it is different for everyone. I have been told i will be on it for life. Others come off it. If you have a PFO (hole in the heart) for example which is then repaired you often don’t need to take it anymore.
One to discuss with your GP I think.
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Hi, that is interesting, I know someone who had a small stroke and was found to have a hole in his heart which they have left, hes been on the med about 18 months now, maybe its because of side effects. Because I am new to the med my pharmacist has asked if he can call me to see how im getting on with it so I might ask him.
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Asking your pharmacist is a good idea. They often know more about meds than a GP as it is their specialism.
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