High blood pressure, chest x-rays and bloodwork.

Dammit. Never visit the doctor the same day as a job interview.
At least they said I was taller than I thought I was--6'5"! That's gotta be off. And it made him worry about my weight (not enough). Don't worry, when the Zyban kicks in and I stop smoking, that'll be taken care of.

You went to the doctor's TODAY? No kidding, that is a mistake......

You are undoubtedly under a great deal of stress......

BTW, one BP reading doesn't mean a whole lot......it takes several to show what your true values are.......

Good luck!


:loveya: :hug:

190 over 40. He was, um, concerned. Combined with my family history, things ain't lookin' good.

The 190 is certainly too high...but the 40 is very good.

Did he explain what the numbers mean?

The 190 is the pressure in the heart during the contraction.......

But the 40 is very good, since this is the pressure in the heart between the beats, when the heart itself gets its blood. So your heart is certainly getting the blood it needs, and that is a good thing!

Please take care of yourself, OK?

:loveya: :hug:

120/80 is normal...last month I went to my doctor for headaches...BP was 220/124!! :scared:

I've been on 3 meds now, seems to be regulating things. So far it's come down to 134/86 as of a couple weeks ago.

Don't mess with your BP...it's scary serious stuff.

Todd in Beerbratistan

I haven't been to a doctor in over 25 years. (Yeah, I know.) So I wasn't looking forward to finding out how much my habits had caught up to me.
2005 has been a huge year of changes for me. Might as well continue the trend.

When you stop smoking, that will help your blood pressure too.....

Because: the nicotine actually causes the tiny vessels to constrict. This in turn causes your BP to rise. The tiny blood vessels are out on the edges....in your fingers, toes, and *um* other vital places, if you get my drift.....

I'm so happy you caught this elevated BP before anything bad happened.

Like a stroke, for example......


:loveya: :hug:

She pulled the old "I don't want you to die, Daddy." How manipulative is that?
I don't really want to die myself, but, sheesh.

Who knows how long the BP has been high?
What's freaking me (because I have no results) are the x-rays and blood work. He didn't like the sound of my lungs.
On the other hand, the job interview went incredibly well. I hope to hear something by the end of the week.

It does take many years for elevated BP to do damage......

And the smoking will cause your lungs to sound crappy.....but quitting will certainly help there as well.

Try not to worry, my dear!

You have no control over it right now, so try to put your mind at rest.

You will get your lab results soon, and then you and your doctor can figure out what to do next.....

I'm thrilled to hear your interview went so well! Please do let me know!

You deserve to get this job....I hope the folks at the company feel the same way....


:loveya: :hug: :applause: :applause:

I guess I feel like the roost, and I can see buttloads of chickens coming my way.

I think I may have the job. I have exactly the experience and skill set they are looking for. She couldn't say "You're hired," because that's HR's job. But she did have to be paged out of my interview because the next one was waiting.

I didn't quite get your illusion.....do you feel like you're about to be shat upon?

You're going to be fine! We cannot let anything bad happen to such a good-looking and talented gentleman.....


:loveya: :hug:

And that is when they shit.
I'll be a good boy and listen to the nice doctor. I'm filling my prescriptions now.

Eat an umeboshi plum every day. It'll balance out your acidic condition. Eat more alkaline.
Call me in the morning.

I don't think I can afford all this with my crappy insurance! And those look expensive.
I looked them up. They are.

Ain'tcha?

The finish is cracked and I'm worried about the suspension.

It's a five-speed with an underpowered engine.

Oops, I'm getting crass again.

I just got new tires, though.
And a new exhaust last year.

I can't decide on a color. Maybe green.

Or black.
Just not silver.

It looks like it's gonna have a silver top, though.

People in Florida don't get pulled over much. They get ticketed for driving into store windows, backing into ponds, driving down route 75 the wrong way. Medication.

At least Floridians can shoot each other if they feel like it.

And since I can never retire, no Florida either.

More drugstores here than any other place on earth.

It sounds fascinating so far.

And I mean...nothing. Well, maybe my job. But after that, nothing.

Weren't you in Maine, making art?

I'm good like that.

Parent watch?

and then they want to cut you up or give you some medicine that's supposed to fix what's wrong, and you always end up worse.

I don't go to a doctor unless whatever is wrong is bad enough to keep me from doing something I'd like to do, like walking.

Redstone

And, dammit, I felt fine, aside from the usual aches at this age.
If doctors kill me, I blame my daughter. She made me do it.

Doctor: I'm afraid that you have MS.

Me: So why does that make YOU afraid? (I really said that.)

Doctor: It's not funny at all. You need to take this seriously.

Me: OK. What's the treatment?

Doctor: A course of steroids. Intravenously. Then wait and see.

Me: Do you have a gun?

Doctor: What?

Me: I asked you if you have a gun.

Doctor: Why do you want to know?

Me: Because that's the only way you're going to make me let anyone pump steroids through my veins. My grandmother had a knee that bent backward because of the steroids they gave her for asthma.

Doctor: What if I did have a gun? (He was a cool doctor, so this was turning into a Marx Brothers routine...)

Me: Then I'll go get a gun, too. Do you have a cannon? You'd better bring one if you think you're gong to make me do this.

Doctor: No. No artillery.

Me: Then no. No IV steroids. I'll take my chances.


Had the last serious episode two years later, and now 25 years with only two chronic problems. (And a couple of minor episodes, but we don't talk about those, do we? DO WE? No, we don't.)

Damn doctors. Denial has worked better for me, and for longer, than all the doctors I could have found.

Redstone

They want to scare you into treatments that have been shown to kill people.

Like I said, I felt fine, all things considered.
Giving up the smokes makes sense, but not a lifetime of various pills you have to organize in a stupid segmented box.
And I'm not giving up my Guinness.

but don't give up drinking. You know what a good preservative alcohol is.

Redstone

I'll go fast.

my dad has MS too. :hug:

Rock on, you... :)

27 years with no treatment, and it's just a few crappy days once or twice a year (and those days aren't even as bad as malaria - there's some fun, right there), minor balance problems, and major heat intolerance...NOTHING compared to the way some people suffer.

How's your dad doing with it?

Redstone

Paralyzed on one side, recurrent infections due to catherization, antibiotic resitant to the hilt, newly diabetic, and on and on and on...

but, of my whole family, he's got the best spirits and attitude of us all! how about that? i get my optimistic streak from him, i think. he's in the hospital right now, we hope he'll be home for Xmas. :)

good for you though, seriously. nothing wrong with being one of the lucky ones. :)

optimistic and cheerful is something you might as well do; if you don't, you'll be just as sick but will be depressed as well.

I hope he feels better, especially for Christmas.

Redstone

If he doesn't come home, i'll be seeing him on Xmas day over at the VA hospital in Boston, bearing gifts.

He'll be happy, i finally got him the laptop he's been wanting and a Bose system for him to listen to his Beatles CDs on. :)

Thanks :hug:

Especially when it comes to blood pressure....

Elevated BP can kill you and it's not pretty either...

You do NOT necessarily end up worse by seeing a doctor. Did you read the part of this thread where he talked about his BP?

Good grief, let's be responsible.

And responsible doctors do NOT want to find anything wrong. The good ones (and yes they do exist) are overjoyed when their patients are WELL...

I am seriously disturbed by your sentiments....sorry!

And I'll bet that doctor never forgot that conversation.

And I turned out to be right, didn't I? 27 years later no treatments, still here.

Redstone

Response to the wrong message.

Thanks - now I get to worry about you.

I am soooo glad your interview went well. I was thinking about you today. :hi:

And check this out - we had an hour to kill once it was over so I ran to my room and grabbed the first video I could find that would fill the hour. It was a Christmas cartoon. Halfway through, the principal came in and got after me for showing a Christmas movie!

At least you'd have enjoyed it.
Hey, wanna see my xmas tree?

LOL

I want to put a Guinness bottle on the top. It's early yet.

They're all Irish!

Redstone

But they're staffing up rapidly for a large new client. And they're closed next week, so I hope to hear before Christmas.