" Julian said...
I hope this is not too personal a question wheelie, but what drugs do you take?
26 January 2011 12:09"
I'm happy to answer, because my experience while hanging around the Stroke Association and the Blogs of people with disabilities is that they often don't know what options are available to them to prevent further strokes. The list I'm going to post was arrived at over quite some time, after long periods of monthly/three monthly appointments. Trial and error, one might say.
As I've replied, I hope Julian means 'drugs' in the American sense -that we Brits call tablets or meds.
Having said that, if Julian means illegal substances? Nah. I had a couple of puffs at a cannabis joint when I was a teenager in the 70's, and couldn't understand what the fuss was about. Besides, no one around me was making much sense. Having said that, I do appreciate that some people with persistent pain benefit from prescribed cannaboid derivatives.
I should point out I was for some years a councillor of people with severe alcohol and opiate derivative problems, and that I'm a fierce opponent of a derivative of cannabis called 'Skunk' which is immensely powerful, and kills. Don't get me on that one. The words 'bee' and 'bonnet' come to mind ;)
~~~~~~
Where was I? Are you still awake? Ah, tablets. I have posted this before, but I don't mind repeating it.
All prescribed, all free, because I'm a skinny (ish) Type 2 Diabetic. Diabetics in the UK are issued with a card entitling them to free prescriptions. Non diabetics who pay can get an exemption certificate, which costs about £100 a year. That may seem a lot, but with each item costing £7.20, I would pay 93.60 per month or £1123 per year!
Here we go :)
Clopidogrel Hydrogen Sulphate 75 mg Once daily
Asprin 75 mg Twice daily
Atenolol 25 mg Once Daily
Felodipine 10 mg Once daily
Doxazosin Mesilate 4 mg Twice daily
Ezetimibe 10 mg Once Daily
Ramipril 5 mg Twice daily
Cocodamol 500 mg Twice daily
Pravastatin 40 mg One in the evening
Metformin Hydrochloride 500 mg Three times daily
Folic acid 400 mcg Once daily
Cod Liver Oil 550 mg Once daily
Vit C 120 mg Once daily
Why Folic acid? Low dose Folic has interesting research showing it lowers Stroke risk.
Why Cod liver Oil and good old fashioned Vit C? An affect of my stroke is I don't get hungry. As a result, if I was left to my own devices, I'd probably forget to eat. Luckily, (luckily?) I have a problem swallowing, so I don't eat alone.
Catchya :)
9 comments:
No anti depressants?
Woop! That was quick. Made me jump!
No. No anti-dees. I'm quite aware that many stroke survivors take them, for many reasons.
If you want an overview of why that might be, feel free to look around
http://www.stroke.org.uk/applications/discussion/
It's free to register and ask as many questions as you want, and maybe you can help there too.
Why do you want to know?
arn't Atenolol and Ramipril both for high blood pressure?
Josie x
After a little thought.
Julian, it's ok that you are commenting effectively anonymous, but it would be refreshing if you dropped the cloak and explained why you are asking the questions?
You have nothing to fear here...
Wow wheelie, you must rattle. Did you enjoy your job as a counsellor? You should be congratulated - a difficult job I guess or did you find it rewarding? Having dealt with people with skunk effects through the criminal justice system a few years ago when skunk (or its equivalent then) was rare, I agree, it does 'fry the brain.'
Hi Jose :)
Yeh, they are. More than that, so are the Doxy's and the Felodopine!
Way it worked with the stroke thing is that bits of bod didn't work as they should, and I felt like I had bad dose of 'flu for weeks. Ended up i hospital with a blood pressure of 210/100. Oops.
Keeping the explanation short, they all work in slightly different ways. Through a process of trial and error over the years - keeping some meds and dropping others, thats what we ended up with.
Hi RLS mate.
You're an angel. I appreciate your comments.
It's an interesting question. All of the above. Rewarding, difficult, painful, both emotionally and physically (I lost teeth and was thumped a lot)
I still do a bit of voluntary for the local police and RBL if asked. Soz, I can't say much more here.
My dad is 68 and had a stroke 2 years ago. He takes Aspirin, Provostatin, and Diazepan and has to go to the hospital for Warfarin checks.
I found this blog and thought it a bit odd you were so different.
Ah, Julian. Thanks, understood.
Strokes are very individual, because the brain (not to be confused with 'mind') is so complex, so what works for some doesn't work for others.
Diazepam by the way - what used to be called Valium, isn't an anti-depressant. It's a Benzodiazepine,which can make depression worse.
It has quite a lot of uses. It's often prescribed short term to reduce anxiety, after all, stroke is a life changing experience.
However, one possible effect of stroke is that, for example, arms, fingers and/or legs and toes (for instance) don't receive the signals they need to operate correctly, or at all.
Often, they're locked in rigour. That is, the muscles can be held in tension, which can be quite painful. Imagine permanent cramp, and you'll have some idea.
Fingers can be held into the palm, for instance, causing injury.
Diazepam can help relieve that by helping those muscles to relax I'm told.
Hope that helps.
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