I had a call from the surgery this morning. They hadn’t made an appointment, and it came as a call marked “Unknown Caller” while I was on the shop phone answering a customer query. I know from experience that these are often calls from the doctor so I juggled phones and arranged for them to all back after I had finished with the customer.
It was the practice pharmacist ringing for a medication review. This was a surprise as I didn’t know they had a pharmacist and medication review s in the past have been sketchy. This would be no different, as she had obviously rung with a list of things to discuss, including blood pressure. As I may have said before, blood pressure is the new subject they all want to talk about. My blood pressure is much the same as it has been for years (as in “too high”) but they are now staring to worry. They aren’t actually doing anything useful, just muttering about it and demanding that I monitor it at home.
One way of getting my blood pressure down would be to stop ringing me when I am at work. Another would be to stop asking me to monitor it at home in the mornings. I’m in a rush in the morning, so it’s u8nlikely to give a good reading.
At one point, as we discussed it, she actually asked “Do you eat breakfast?” You would have thought that a quick look at my records would have revealed the answer. I clearly don’t miss many meals. If I was prone to missing meals I would be thinner, my blood pressure would be lower and they wouldn’t be ringing me up.
Good point at the end there.
Since I hit menopause (am I allowed to say that on here?) and have lost the ability to sleep, blood pressure has been an issue for me too. I have a monitor, which I use with scientific interest. I have learned (for me): walking, running, gardening (all outside – all movement) reduce my BP. Also, lying in bed, awake, stewing about anything, makes it go up (reading a book – not the internet- fixes this). And here is my best tip. If BP is high, any time, all I need to do is widen my stance (legs apart) bend over and put my hands on the ground and relax and breathe. It comes down every time.
Those tips work for me. I think you should get a monitor and conduct your own experiments. xo
If I’m allowed to mention senior moments, bowels and black pudding I’m sure we can allow the menopause to enter the conversation. Just don’t mention feelings . . .
I sort of know about exercise, and really ought to do some. However, not sure that I’m up to the putting hands on ground stuff – sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. 🙂
I will, however, take the rest of it on board.
“Just don’t mention feelings.” lol
🙂
Take care of yourself as best you can, and I am glad you have the NHS and not the crazy system we have over here.
Me too. 🙂
The imagined sight of you juggling phones is the best bit of this post
🙂 Yes, I was a sad loss to the circus . . .
One my annual review today I was told I should check my BP twice a day. At same time he was just telling me that my BP right then was 138/85 and that was good. So I don’t know if I’ll bother.
Sounds like excellent news. I, of course, would advise you to do exactly what your doctor says, even though I always ignore mine. I may have dodgy test results for most things but my hypocrisy score is outstanding. 🙂
Sounds like you are already doing everything you need for good Blood Pressure.