Gosh, I don't even know what to say to all of this, Mike.

I'm glad that you are active.  If you weren't, this could have gone on for so much longer and could have been far worse than it was.  And as you stated, this very well may have been a blessing in disguise given that you have not been feeling 100% for so long now.

I'm not going to bother with the "stay strong, listen to your doctor" blah blah blobity blah -- you are very in tune with your body and you are a very smart person.  I know you'll do all the right things.

Your having a stroke was a major surprise, but I think that your recovery path has been an even greater surprise.

That's awesome news, though I would be one to say be careful out there.

Makes me wonder if many more "mini-strokes" don't happen to people than we are aware of - so small as to have no noticeable effect for the most part. Or, the fact that you're in such good condition caused an otherwise-debilitating event to be more of a minor "bump in the road" so to speak.

Regardless, I'm glad to see that you're doing so well.

Just out of curiosity, what did the cardiologist say about lifetime meds vs PDA closure?  Glad you are doing well

The cardiologist [performing the procedure] strongly recommended the closure. Based on the apparent side effects of the statin I'm leaning toward the closure. I enrolled in a lottery-based program. If I win they cover the cost otherwise it's on me.

Update: Yesterday I felt like myself again [even after taking the statin at bedtime]. Ran 8 in the morning, XT for an hour in the afternoon and would have run an easy 3 in the evening but decided to watch football instead. No fogginess / memory issues. I'm on schedule to run in the mid-50s this week [without pushing myself] and my speed [for my easy>recovery pace] is much improved. Someone on the RWOL Masters Forum mentioned that only running 10 miles stroke week may have acted like a mini-taper and perhaps responsible for the upshift. I guess I'll find out soon enough but I somehow think it's something else.

I just feel different [in a good way] - stride seems more open with greater lift. Hard to explain but I feel like I've gained some HP. Could just be the effects of my training [averaged 76.5 mpw the last 10 weeks] coming together, even though I had a disappointing 4 mile race two days before the stroke event. Meet with neurologist next week and my orthopedic in 2 weeks.Tingling in right toes is the same and I noticed when I massage right leg after running it begins to tingle too. No one has given me a timeline when these symptoms would disappear.

Mike, why statin instead of coumadin? I read up on statin and I didn't like what I saw. Coumadin isn't something I would have wanted to be on for the rest of my life, but I "think" it is better than statin. Maybe Susan Rachel can tell us.

The PFO closure is free in Canada. The doctors would have considered me crazy had I refused the surgery... Out of curiosity, how much would it cost you if you have to pay for it?

 

Coumadin is a anticoagulant, Lipitor lowers your cholesterol levels. They had me on Lovenox [blood thinner] at the hospital but the cardiologist said it wasn't required to continue [in my case]. I'll ask my neurologist next week to elaborate. As for the procedure, the cost will double if I require an overnight stay [depends on how early in the day I get  scheduled]. Less than 2k max.

Mike, that's really cheap for the peace of mind it will bring you. I would not hesitate if I were you.

I am just reading your posts here, Mike. I hope you have a full and speedy recovery. That's some scary stuff.