I am a newbie here. I had a minor stroke just before Christmas, my mouth went numb but a swithched on Gp sent me to A&E and and an MRI identified a stroke.
I have been put on the normal combination of clopidogrel, Ramopril ( changed from amlodipine due to oedema) and atorvastatin and am wondering what i can do to help my body cope with this cocktail. I am making sure I excercise and eat and drink well, and have virtually cut out alcohol as i think my liver must have enough to cope with. Also red wine now tastes foul which seemed to happen after the clopidogrel was introduced which helps with the not drinking. Yesterday I found myself in Holland and Barrett wondering about suppliments, and thought this would be the place to ask!
Good morning AuntieP
Welcome to this community - one none of us wanted to join but you will come to know some truly amazing people here who have had strokes and will allhelp with any questions and anxiety you may have.
I think you are still very early on and your body will adapt but a I ask if you are having side affects? I too am on Clopidogrel and artorvastatin it seems to be ok for me but there are alternatives if needed - again people here can say and the personal experiences are invaluable.
Look forward to following this thread amd hearing how you get on.
Thank you, it is wonderful that it is posdsible to connect with others to find such anwers.
Apart from the permanant nasty taste in my mouth i do not seem to have any side effects that are particualry troublesome, I am probably getting a few more aches and pains than usual but not being able to drive meant i wasnt doing my normal exercise, so i am hoping it is due to getting back into that! It is good to know that my body will adapt, it will just take a bit of time to get used to the fact i am now in this club for life!
@AuntieP You are doing well with what you are doing. Lots of vitamins come from green veg, be careful with the carbs. They turn to sugar. I am stroke survivor from Nov 2024. Good luck. I do not take an supplements as i get everything from fruit and veg. But you will find on this forum and that people do take supplements, be mindful which ones and check with GP as I went and spent over 30.00 in H & B only to discover my GP said NO.. I was gutted.
You could try your pharmacist ( in my case aka my sister). They will be more knowledgeable than a gp about side effects and the interaction of all your meds.
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke. I hope you’ll find this community helpful whilst you navigate through this.
With regards to supplements, you will need to check things over with a pharmacist as some can interact with your medication. I’m sure some of our members will be along shortly to offer more advice on this too and which have worked for them.
If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
From what you say in your post and the advice you seek, it seems to me you are a very switched on Auntie and the sort of Auntie I would go to if I had any questions or needed advice
My advice is actually very simple. In fact it’s so simple, it’s absurd!!
Just listen to your body - it will tell you all you need to know about what is working and what is not.
That’s it, that’s my advice. Do with it what you will.
Wishing you all the best.
Namaste|
To read the supplemental, please click on the blurred area to reveal…
Having done that, as is my wont, I do like to explain my feedback and suggestions and so I will. You can read it below, but it is a supplemental and so you can ignore it if you are happy with my advice which is pretty self-explanatory.
It is my belief that we all react and receive medicines differently, yet the doctors [seem to] prescribe in a general manner. As far as I can tell, regardless of how old you are, how severe or otherwise your stroke was, your gender and all the things that make us unique, the prescription is always the same i.e. blood thinners statins etc. It is my [ignorant] belief that these are not tailored or assessed to an individuals specific needs and for some reason most people do not seem to think about this or it does not worry them. I do.
Some of us [our bodies] will be happily able to take these medicines, others will have side-effects
Of those that have side effects, some will blissfully carry on taking the beds, others may seek advice
Some doctors will give good advice and be proactive, other doctors may give indifferent advice and will be totally unaware of your existence, even when they are your named GP and they have been charged with responsibility for your ongoing care following discharge from hospital
I could go on, but I think you might get the picture…
Of course, this forum is here for you and it will attempt to help you in any ways it can
Hi @AuntieP & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear you’ve had a stroke. Sounds like you are doing well so far.
Your taste can alter after a stroke & as yours affected your mouth it is possible that that’s what is happening. Fingers crossed the alteted taste will settle in time. I do still get occasions where things taste vile 4 years on but in the main it is fine now.
Supplements are an individual thing & can depend on whether any deficiency has been found. Ask a pharmacist if there are any you should avoid. A lot take magnesium but you should always check first.
It depends what you feel you need to supplement? I, generally, try and get all my minerals and vitamins from my diet but have over the years given certain supplements a go. I can’t verify what they have achieved for my health, scientifically or medically, and can only go by my feelings about myself during the time of taking them which for all I know might have been a placebo if positive or negative, nothing wrong with a placebo though if positive. From what I am beginning to understand, it’s a billion dollar industry and inconsistently regulated, so research is key. I purchased some skullcap herb and valerian root as a sleep aid. I got it from British Supplements which attests to be an ethically minded supplier and has a lot to say about the commercial supplement industry and the issues with it such as additives and that many supplement companies are owned by pharmaceutical companies, cashing in on the demand.
That’s an answer most people would give. Unfortunately our soils have lost their minerals due to pesticides, glyphosate etc. And there’s more bad news…
Natural Topsoil Creation: It takes roughly 500 to 1,000 years to form just one inch of topsoil through natural processes. So our crops have no Sulphur and very little to no Copper… it applies to all minerals. We are all living in LaLa land blissfully unaware.
Magnesium is the obvious victim. Let’s not go into Sodium & Potassium : not just electrolytes for hydration. They are central to membrane potential, nerve signaling, muscle contraction, adrenal output, and mitochondrial function. Every action potential, every heartbeat, and every stress response depends on precise sodium–potassium gradients across the cell membrane.
Sodium we can get through salt, but Potassium? Can anybody tell me where o where can we get our 4000 mg of Potassium per day ? Dr Eric Berg suggests RDI of 4700 - 6000 mg per day. Oh that’s just him? Well his 14 million subscribers seem to go along. If you want to learn about minerals watch this
That’s why I grow most of my veggies and herbs, even toms do well. I know what goes in my compost! And I eat seasonally. I think the only fruit I regularly purchase are avocados, although I do have several indoor trees, but there is no way they will fruit.
We do too ; & what we grow still has taste. There’s nothing in the best supermarket that comes close. Still, we don’t grow enough ; toms are good, but they don’t get the Sun like the ones in Italy do. & soil is pitifully depleted is the bottom line.
Hi, I had a full blown stroke in Aug24, apart from my meds, I’m eating more fruit than I used to to help with the constipation Verapamil causes, I also try to drink two large glasses of water in the afternoon as well as usual drinks for the same reason, plus drinking in the afternoon means peeing a lot until bed time but fewer trips to the loo during the night,
I also take a cheap own-brand multi-vitamin with minerals which helps me sleep, and reduces my leg spasms during the night
I also have an activated charcoal with each meal to reduce farting from all the fibre I eat now !
That’s brilliant. Even in my flat, I managed to grow pretty much everything I needed. I only stick to one rule, I grow only what I know I will eat. The only tragedy I had over the last few years was my neighbour’s daughter who had developed a kind of Peter Rabbit obsession with my radishes … only had a few to myself over two years. Still, better she pilfered my radishes than nagged her dad for sweets.
It’s early days and we share our experiences to help others. My stroke was 2 1/2 years ago. Because you had a stroke doesn’t necessarily mean you need statins. Since the stroke I control my colesterol with diet and a supplement. I don’t like H&B since they were taken over by an American firm. Whatever I’m looking for I check the companies online. Doctors don’t know much about diet. I trust my own judgement. I’ve even managed to reduce my BP meds. Don’t know whether I’m allowed say what I take here.
Do keep your spirits up as progress is attainable as we can all vouch for.
You’re absolutely allowed to say what you take. It is something you are doing and it has helped you. It may help others, or it may not, but unless you share it we will never
know!
I am pleased you are able to control your cholesterol through diet and a supplement. Ditto your management of BP. It is well known that both these things can be controlled/managed without medication though in extreme cases medicinal help may be required.
Thank you, it is helpful to get different viewpoints and to be reminded that for me it is early days. Is there anything else, not to do with suppliments people have found helpful? I am wondering about acupuncture or other complementary therapies
