Since my husband had a stroke he has changed

he loses his temper fast over really minor things and becomes quite mean and verbally abusive. while he hasn't hit me he has come close. when i try to discuss it he says i am wrong. if i mention it to his doctor he tells the doctor i'm overreacting to trivial little disagreements. and he is so genial and happy sounding the doctor believes him.
he doesn't want to spend time with me hardly at all, preferring to spend evenings with his buddies playing pool in one of their homes or another - and he is with them, there is not other woman.
he is only this way with me. if we are in the midst of an argument and company comes he changes to his usual likable self til they are gone. then he gets snarky again.
he is drinking with his meds and i am not saying he is a drunk he never has been but the two or three drinks a night on top of his medications isn't a good thing. but he won't listen.
if i disagree with anything he says or interrupts a conversation with a comment the looks i get should put me six feet under ground!
i don't know what to do, i can't talk to our friends and family about this.so i guess my question is this
if this is all due to the stroke will it ever end? how do i cope with it all? i'm so afraid this is the rest of my life. please don't give any sarcastic or mean responses i don't think i can deal with them! thank you kindly for any suggestions you may have.

his stroke and heart attacks happened five years ago, he isnt getting better as far as the problems i've listed, he is getting worse. i know its hard and i cry for him more than i cry for me. but i'm worried about us. i don't know if 'us' can survive this for much longer.

well my answer is going to be totally different here. if its been five years and he is getting worse then i think you need to talk to the doctor and if his doctor is ignoring your concerns then you need to find someone who will listen to your concerns and act on them.
first of all five years is long enough to put up with this type of behaviour without getting some sound medical advice. secondly you state he hasn't hit you but has come close - not good. thirdly and certainly not least important is the drinking~heart and stroke meds and booze don't mix.
if he is not willing to be honest with the doctor and continues with his bullying ways you will have to make a decision. by staying and allowing that behaviour you are condoning it.
his being able to switch his behavior off and on depending on who is around makes it clear that he can control it and is using you as a verbal punching bag! find help now! please!

its going to take time just give him some space cause with a stroke its alot of changes right away and its hard to overcome i had a stroke matter of fact 2 strokes in last 2 years and they do bite

Have a little patience, I know it's hard. He could just be frustrated too. I have a really close friend who had a major head injury and was really strange for about 6 months, and then all of the sudden he just looked different one day, and he was his same old self like before. So you never really know how these things are going to go. Some of this could be the injury, and some could be the personality, and depression. It's just a difficult situation, and you have to be understanding, and a little more patient than you probably really want to be sometimes.... remember in sickness and in health.