The cardiologist brought me in last week for a PET scan. That is where they shoot dye into your circulatory system and observe your heart. It came back normal. So now I am still in limbo. I will see him in June if I have no more problems. And we will proceed from there. Oh, and I am now pre-diabetic. I have lost 29 pounds and aiming to lose another 70 pounds. I can go back to weight lifting and exercising and now I will see some results.
For me, I don't trust meds. I am hoping to get off them completely. We shall see. But it is important that you find a doctor that will listen to you. And not one that pushes pills and collectes from the pharamceutical companies for pushing those pills.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
More health
He was also concerned about the tachycardia. I could not shake it. So he put me on low dose Metaprolol, which is another beta blocker. When he retired, I went to a young doctor. He spent his time being pissed at me for not taking high does bp meds. By now I was losing feeling in my toes. He had me tested for an autoimmune disease. Nothing. So he blew off the loss of feeling in my toes because he did not know what was causing. He did order a sonagram of my heart. It came back fine. He was angry with me because I would not lose weight. I was on an 800 calorie diet and could not lose an ounce. He just kept telling me I was not telling the truth about the diet. And I needed to ditch the salt. I had done that years ago. Then he moved to another clinic. So I went with my present doctor. He upped the beta blocker and my A1C jumped. Blood pressure kept staying high and I started packing on more weight to over 200 pounds.
In December 2019, I had a virus. It caused asthma like symptoms, high fever for about 4 days. When I made myself get out of bed and start moving around, I had no energy. None. And I was off work until around the second week of January. I went back to work and was doing ok but not feeling well. The end of January, my blood pressure started spiking to 216/119 with a pulse rate of 126. I went to the ER. They did an EKG. Nothing. They did a chest x-ray to check for cell damage. Nothing. They did blood work. Nothing. So I started walking off the Metaprolol. And within less than three week of getting off it, I dropped 24 pounds. I was doing ok with the blood pressure dropping as well. In March, about the first week, my blood pressure started going nuts again. It popped up to over 179/90 with a pulse rate of 111. Then it dropped to 145/147 with a pulse rate of 126. I called an ambulance. The ER docs found nothing. When it was under control, they let me go home. The next day, I called the cardiologist I had made an appointment with. By now the Covid-19 was in full swing so he didn't want me in the office. He put me on something called. diltiazem cd, which is an ACE inhibitor. I have had a few incidents, but not bad since them.
In December 2019, I had a virus. It caused asthma like symptoms, high fever for about 4 days. When I made myself get out of bed and start moving around, I had no energy. None. And I was off work until around the second week of January. I went back to work and was doing ok but not feeling well. The end of January, my blood pressure started spiking to 216/119 with a pulse rate of 126. I went to the ER. They did an EKG. Nothing. They did a chest x-ray to check for cell damage. Nothing. They did blood work. Nothing. So I started walking off the Metaprolol. And within less than three week of getting off it, I dropped 24 pounds. I was doing ok with the blood pressure dropping as well. In March, about the first week, my blood pressure started going nuts again. It popped up to over 179/90 with a pulse rate of 111. Then it dropped to 145/147 with a pulse rate of 126. I called an ambulance. The ER docs found nothing. When it was under control, they let me go home. The next day, I called the cardiologist I had made an appointment with. By now the Covid-19 was in full swing so he didn't want me in the office. He put me on something called. diltiazem cd, which is an ACE inhibitor. I have had a few incidents, but not bad since them.
More on health
The nurse was asking questions. She told me "Oh honey, that is your blood pressure med. Come on in and we will confirm it." Before I went in, I hit the internet again looking for side effects of this medication. After a lot of digging, I finally found a comprehensive list of side effects and it was scary.
1) Congestive heart failure
2) Asthma
3) Diabetis
4) Severe skin reactions
5) Kidney failure
This is the worst ones. So off to the doctor I went. He didn't want to take me off the meds. He did not believe that the meds were causing me the problem. So when I insisted, he told me to just stop them. They are low dose and won't hurt you. I left and called a pharmacist and he told me how to walk down off them. My last blood draw when on the meds had my cholesterol at 240 , my tryglicerides were over 300. I showed an elevated A1C. I insisted on a blood draw 3 months after stopping these meds. My cholesterol had dropped to 120. My tryglicerides had dropped to under 100 and my A1C was under 5. All the swelling in my lower extremities had gone. I was losing weight without even trying.
Rock along to 2013. I let that quack of a doctor put me back on bp meds. He swore that this time they were completely different from what I had been taking. So idiot here said yes. That was in December of 2013. By January 2014, 1 month, I was in the same mess with the skin eruptions. Since it was just a dry rash at this point, I didn't make the connection. I went back in March 2014 because it was just getting worse. The first words out of that asshole's mouth when he walked into that exam room were "Oh, you really can't take those meds." The asshole, because he didn't believe me that it was the meds, has put me back on the same damn thing. He changed out the beta blocker. So this time I told him to stick it. I got off, but still had to deal with the allergic reaction. I would up with huge hives all over my arms and stomach. I went to a dermatologist. He treated me for chemical burns and cleared up the rash, but my body could not recover from the second attack of the meds. I had popped on 45 pounds in 2 months. I had trouble breathing. I did not get rid of the hives until September of 2014. I did not get the lower blood pressure. So I delt with that until around fall of 2015. Then I went to an older doctor that I knew. He was concerned about the blood pressure.
1) Congestive heart failure
2) Asthma
3) Diabetis
4) Severe skin reactions
5) Kidney failure
This is the worst ones. So off to the doctor I went. He didn't want to take me off the meds. He did not believe that the meds were causing me the problem. So when I insisted, he told me to just stop them. They are low dose and won't hurt you. I left and called a pharmacist and he told me how to walk down off them. My last blood draw when on the meds had my cholesterol at 240 , my tryglicerides were over 300. I showed an elevated A1C. I insisted on a blood draw 3 months after stopping these meds. My cholesterol had dropped to 120. My tryglicerides had dropped to under 100 and my A1C was under 5. All the swelling in my lower extremities had gone. I was losing weight without even trying.
Rock along to 2013. I let that quack of a doctor put me back on bp meds. He swore that this time they were completely different from what I had been taking. So idiot here said yes. That was in December of 2013. By January 2014, 1 month, I was in the same mess with the skin eruptions. Since it was just a dry rash at this point, I didn't make the connection. I went back in March 2014 because it was just getting worse. The first words out of that asshole's mouth when he walked into that exam room were "Oh, you really can't take those meds." The asshole, because he didn't believe me that it was the meds, has put me back on the same damn thing. He changed out the beta blocker. So this time I told him to stick it. I got off, but still had to deal with the allergic reaction. I would up with huge hives all over my arms and stomach. I went to a dermatologist. He treated me for chemical burns and cleared up the rash, but my body could not recover from the second attack of the meds. I had popped on 45 pounds in 2 months. I had trouble breathing. I did not get rid of the hives until September of 2014. I did not get the lower blood pressure. So I delt with that until around fall of 2015. Then I went to an older doctor that I knew. He was concerned about the blood pressure.
Taking care of your health
I am now going to document my history with blood pressure medications. I was put on something called Ziac, which is a beta blocker and a diuretic called hydrocholorothiazide. I was put on this one week after my husband passed after a 10 year battle with COPD. My blood pressure a the time was around 145/80, which was not bad considering I had lived on 3-4 hours sleep and many crises during that 10 years. So on the medication I go. Almost immediately my pressure became erratic, spiking to 155/50 or down to 100/90. I continually brought this to the attention of my doctor. I was told "it is low dose. It won't hurt you." this was in 1997, before the internet was in casual use. So I rocked along with this med and could get no one to listen to me.
On March 3,2003, while at work, I watched my hands develop huge purple, pus filled pustules. Then within about 30 minutes, they would rupture and the pain was severe. I went back to my doctor. He had no idea what was causing this so he sent me to someone who was supposed to be a dermatologist. He was an MD and Scott and White needed a dermatologist so they put him in an office with a sign that said "Hand doctor.".I was told it was my job. I worked for the Postal Service and came into contact with newsprint every day. So I was tested for industrial chemicals. I showed a slight reaction. And in the meantime, my arms had erupted into what can only be described as bloody hamburger oozing pus and blood. And my hands now would swell and split open. My skin on my fingers would turn slimy and slide off. My fingernails would die. No answers. I was trying everything. I even paid $95 for a tube of lotion. Nothing helped. And all this time, my feet, ankles, and lower legs were swelling. I also had what could only be described as mild asthma symptoms. I kept asking can this be the meds. Nope. They are low dose and won't hurt you. I kept digging for information on these drugs. And I just got worse and worse. I developed tachycardia. But the meds won't hurt me. Never mind the fact that my blood pressure never came down and kept climbing as well as I was gaining weight.
In 2011 or 2012, I went to Denver to house sit for my son. By now my feet, ankles, and legs were showing pronounced swelling. I had changed doctors too. While in Denver, I could not even walk across a room without stopping to catch my breath. When I got home, I researched congestive heart failure. I thought that is what I was having. So I called the doctor's office for an appointment.
On March 3,2003, while at work, I watched my hands develop huge purple, pus filled pustules. Then within about 30 minutes, they would rupture and the pain was severe. I went back to my doctor. He had no idea what was causing this so he sent me to someone who was supposed to be a dermatologist. He was an MD and Scott and White needed a dermatologist so they put him in an office with a sign that said "Hand doctor.".I was told it was my job. I worked for the Postal Service and came into contact with newsprint every day. So I was tested for industrial chemicals. I showed a slight reaction. And in the meantime, my arms had erupted into what can only be described as bloody hamburger oozing pus and blood. And my hands now would swell and split open. My skin on my fingers would turn slimy and slide off. My fingernails would die. No answers. I was trying everything. I even paid $95 for a tube of lotion. Nothing helped. And all this time, my feet, ankles, and lower legs were swelling. I also had what could only be described as mild asthma symptoms. I kept asking can this be the meds. Nope. They are low dose and won't hurt you. I kept digging for information on these drugs. And I just got worse and worse. I developed tachycardia. But the meds won't hurt me. Never mind the fact that my blood pressure never came down and kept climbing as well as I was gaining weight.
In 2011 or 2012, I went to Denver to house sit for my son. By now my feet, ankles, and legs were showing pronounced swelling. I had changed doctors too. While in Denver, I could not even walk across a room without stopping to catch my breath. When I got home, I researched congestive heart failure. I thought that is what I was having. So I called the doctor's office for an appointment.
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