Lisinopril gave me an irritating cough. It also slightly lowered my blood pressure.
And, so, I’m fresh from an appointment with a GP, with a prescription for an alternative drug.
The GP agreed that my condition appears to be genetic, particularly in view of my vegan, negligible salt and sugar diet. I did confess a fondness for alcohol, but he advised that it’s fine in moderation.
So I’m now drinking beer at a moderate pace in my local.
Thinking about getting one of these for my second in command.
It’s a kevlar anti burn/cut sleeve. She rolls her sleeves up at work, so is prone to cuts and, mostly, burns.
She’s resisting, but surely a yellow arm is better than damage.
I recognise that it’s quite early, but I’m currently sitting in Wetherspoons (the scruffiest of the three) in Sunderland.
However, I feel I’ve earned my bottle of Tucher. After my third dental appointment, my tooth is now reconstructed.
The experience hasn’t been fun, but at least the optional gap/crown/bridge has been avoided.
The beer’s nice, though, and the sun’s shining outside.
On returning home yesterday, I found that the NHS had written to me.
I always considered myself to be very fortunate in terms of my body’s durability. I’ve never had a serious illness and have demonstrated my ability to bounce, rather than break, on many occasions. And those latter episodes were mostly the result of carelessness, or clumsiness, on my part.
My recent blood pressure scare is already fading into the past. Admittedly, I do have medication, but a very low dose, and I’m hoping it’s a temporary measure. I now have the healthiest diet ever, although (since my liver is officially in excellent condition) I have not reduced my beer consumption (well, I don’t drink cheap rubbish, so every glass contains important nutrients).
I’m currently sitting in Dat Bar, with a pint of Allendale APA. My second in command is shopping and, as she’d confess, she shops better alone. For dresses, that is.
On the down side, I’m only here because I have a stupid, irrational fear of all things dental. And, so, I took the day off because I had a root canal filling this morning. My dentist was great; I didn’t feel a thing (though my imagination was painful).
But I’ve come to the realisation that I’m now of an age when things start to break. Ugh.
Currently 128/77. Red wine seems to be the answer. I could bottle it as a high blood pressure cure at twice the price. More if it works for low pressure too, but I’d need to test it. If anyone has low blood pressure, I can be contacted at ….
In a controlled experiment (really), I’ve found a correlation between drinking wine and lowered blood pressure. I do recognise that correlation does not imply causality, but I’ve concluded that I need to continue drinking wine to further reduce my blood pressure.
After last Saturday’s scare at my asthma check-up, my second in command has purchased a blood pressure device. I tested said device at various times yesterday, then again this morning. I decided that it would be wise to record my blood pressure at intervals before my appointment with my GP. Determined to avoid medication, I wanted to show that I have some form of white coat syndrome. I’ve also made some pretty severe dietary changes, even though I already had a decently healthy diet.
My first day’s readings are strange, varying quite madly at different times of day, from borderline mild hypertension to dead. I may have not used the device correctly for the latter. Thinking positively, my blood pressure isn’t (well, in one day) consistently excessively high.
I shall continue using the device, perhaps conducting a test involving beer.
I went for an asthma check this morning. It didn’t go very well. A change in inhaler was probably a good thing. But, then a random blood pressure check raised some eyebrows. I must admit that I’ve known that my lifestyle hasn’t been the best of late, for the past few years, but my 350 over 200 reading (I may have made that up) today really scared me. My usual ten minutes check-up turned into a major issue. I clearly failed the blood pressure thing, with an immediate blood test and a referral.
Since then, while awaiting results, I had a look on the Internet (I know that was stupid), finding that I need to:
1. Stop eating meat
2. Stop smoking
3. Drink less
I’m somewhat annoyed that I seem to have high blood pressure even though I don’t eat dead things or smoke, while avoidance of both would usually prolong life, apparently genetics has a massive influence.
While I’ve not actually had the results of my blood test (my blood was/is a lovely deep red colour), I must say that I’d assumed that my liver would be the first organ to display problems.
I shall now relax and drink beer.
Well, as expected, my second in command is now without her special broken foot shoe And one crutch. She has now returned to matching shoes, although her Ugg boots do appear now to be different in colour/shade. Presumeably, since only one has been worn for some time now.
A minor celebration was allowed. Mostly because my significant other’s breakage was significantly worse than initially explained. It now transpires than an ankle was also broken. While the issue wasn’t highlighted at the beginning of this journey, I do understand that there may have been a desire not to panic my second in command.
It’s all over now though. We’re now a single crutch household. And, after a week or two, we shall move to a walking stick.