Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire You're HAVING A STROKE!

Interesting on the aspirin. Im an EMT and we are taught not to give aspirin if we suspect a stroke because it can make the bleed worse?

I might just add a word of caution on the aspirin and maybe someone with more medical knowledge can chime in.

Strokes come in two flavors, blockage or bleeder. In the case of blockage (which is probably the majority of strokes), aspirin is a good move. However, in the case of a bleeder (hemorrhage) the aspirin will make it worse.

It might be a moot point though as I believe the damage from a hemorrhage are typically pretty severe and the options to treat it are pretty limited . I lost my dad to a hemorrhage and the doctor said that even if they were in the operating room and ready to do surgery, there's very little chance to have a good outcome.

This is a timely posting as I've been feeling crappy for a while now.

I'll be 55 in July and I made the decision to do a "health intervention" on myself and start making some lifestyle changes. I travel almost weekly and it's really been starting to take a toll on my health since I turned 50 and it's come to a point that is completely unsustainable. I weigh more than I ever have, I'm tired all the time (probably sleep apnea as I now snore like a freight train), I'm not getting near enough exercise and my eating habits need to change.

I had an annual checkup last week (actually been 2 years, because of COVID restrictions) and they started me on blood pressure medicine. I had a burst eye blood vessel a few weeks back that can be an indication of high blood pressure. The doctor recommended a sleep study, but I told them to hold off and we'll see if I feel better when I lose weight.

With my traveling lifestyle, it's hard to have any kind of schedule as my work hours are hard to control. I think I can get a handle on the eating habits, by starting to stay at suites that have kitchenettes, but trying to fit is some exercise is going to be a bit of a chore. Hard to get motivated to exercise when you start your day at 5- 6am and work a 12 hour day.

Exactly! Time is of the essence once a stroke occurs. I watched a PBS seminar several years ago about strokes. Three of the speakers were neurosurgeons from Johns Hopkins and Mayo Clinic, and the fourth speaker was a young woman who had suffered a stroke. She spoke of the symptoms and what happened to her. It was not pretty.

Aside from many valuable pieces of information, all three of the neurosurgeons stated emphatically how important it was to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. They also said to NOT drive -- or have someone drive you -- to the emergency room at the hospital. Call 9-1-1 immediately and tell the operator you're having a stroke!.

(Of course, there could be exceptions to this, but not many.)

The paramedics who arrive already know what is happening and they will also call/radio the hospital to alert the proper doctors what has happened and they are delivering a stroke patient to them in a few minutes. A stroke team will be waiting to immediately treat the stroke victim in accordance with their proper procedures.

If you go to an Emergency Room, you'll be losing a lot of time to check in, wait, and lose those precious minutes wherein the stroke doctors and nurses could be helping you.

My father died from an hemorrhagic stroke and my wife died from a stroke and complications of Alzheimer's dementia.

Observe BEFAST. Believe you or your spouse is having a stroke? CALL 9-1-1 immediately!

Best of luck to all who have suffered strokes.

L.W.

They were pretty effing desultory in the ER, they didn't slam anything into my bloodstream, it wasn't any sort of emergency. I didn't even get any kind of aspirin until at least an hour after arrival. .