Hey there folks! Sorry I haven't been around for awhile. Been crazy over the last few months.
Anyway, I had a pretty bad scare this week which started with a trip to the hospital.
I had sprained my ankle when I tripped and went it to get it checked. The hospital as part of their normal triage procedure checked my blood pressure to see if they could 'fast track' me and get me outta there a lot sooner. No luck there. They started looking at me really strange and started asking all kinds of questions like if I had a headache, chest pain or tightness, dizziness, nausea, vision problems etc. Nope. None of these symptoms although my face was flushed (wife pointed that out). Turned out my blood pressure was very high and I was noted as 'asymptomatic' (no symptoms). (237/110). I was told about this and was kept in for reassessment. When I was finally allowed to leave, the pressure went down to 220/100 but I was put on meds and told very sternly to follow up with my family doctor.
Follow up with my doctor showed despite the meds, my blood pressure was at 240/137. Back to the emerg I went for more aggressive treatment.
Got an IV and was hooked up to a monitor. Finally got my pressure down to a safer 168/80 and fortunately, no damage was found. The doctor wouldn't dare take it down any further as he was concerned that the extra drop in pressure could cause a major artery to collapse (like an air or hydraulic hose) and that can kill me. I have to do another follow up with my doctor and my dosage was increased.
I'm doing much better now and am making changes in my lifestyle. I've set a goal of getting off this medication safely as I don't want to die as a young man and don't want to be on meds for the rest of my life. What scares me is that I'm less than a month shy of turning 41.
Just want to say, get your blood pressure checked regularly (even use one of those machines at the pharmacy and if it looks high, get to the doctor). 120/60 is considered safer and if it goes above 140/80, get see your family doctor.
Considering the hassles I've had recently, I am luckier than I thought. Someone was definitely looking out for me.
Anyway, I had a pretty bad scare this week which started with a trip to the hospital.
I had sprained my ankle when I tripped and went it to get it checked. The hospital as part of their normal triage procedure checked my blood pressure to see if they could 'fast track' me and get me outta there a lot sooner. No luck there. They started looking at me really strange and started asking all kinds of questions like if I had a headache, chest pain or tightness, dizziness, nausea, vision problems etc. Nope. None of these symptoms although my face was flushed (wife pointed that out). Turned out my blood pressure was very high and I was noted as 'asymptomatic' (no symptoms). (237/110). I was told about this and was kept in for reassessment. When I was finally allowed to leave, the pressure went down to 220/100 but I was put on meds and told very sternly to follow up with my family doctor.
Follow up with my doctor showed despite the meds, my blood pressure was at 240/137. Back to the emerg I went for more aggressive treatment.
Got an IV and was hooked up to a monitor. Finally got my pressure down to a safer 168/80 and fortunately, no damage was found. The doctor wouldn't dare take it down any further as he was concerned that the extra drop in pressure could cause a major artery to collapse (like an air or hydraulic hose) and that can kill me. I have to do another follow up with my doctor and my dosage was increased.
I'm doing much better now and am making changes in my lifestyle. I've set a goal of getting off this medication safely as I don't want to die as a young man and don't want to be on meds for the rest of my life. What scares me is that I'm less than a month shy of turning 41.
Just want to say, get your blood pressure checked regularly (even use one of those machines at the pharmacy and if it looks high, get to the doctor). 120/60 is considered safer and if it goes above 140/80, get see your family doctor.
Considering the hassles I've had recently, I am luckier than I thought. Someone was definitely looking out for me.