Monday, October 1, 2012

SUNDAY/MONDAY - DAYS FROM HELL AND BACK

 
 YES!! the Manual Cuff with Manual Pump

 NO! the Automatic, Electric Kind or the Electric ones used by hospital for convenience.  BAD.


The good news first:  I lost 5 pounds.

The bad news:  On Sunday, I discovered that the patch I wear for blood pressure had come off and my pressure skyrocketed to 200/100 by 3pm in the afternoon.  I immediately called Dr. Jan, my doctor, who told me to go add another patch and double the strength to 2 patches.

By 7pm my pressure had not changed.  My dear friend Carol Johnson came with her blood pressure monitoring device (the pump kind) and finally, with some more medication at Dr. Jan's insistence, the pressure started down by 9pm.

This morning I went into Dr. Jan's office at UNC Geriatric Clinic and sat in a room for 2 hours while my body calmed down and my morning meds began to work.  By 1pm, my pulse was normal and my pressure still going down.  So I was released.  I went to my pharmacy and got new patches with covers so they can't come off.  And a little more blood pressure medication in pill form. And I went to Margaret's and had Chicken Chowder and a big salad with a chicken breast cut up in it.  Yum

Bottom line:  I am fine and will go back to another check on the BP on Wednesday. Dr. Jan and Nurse Fay take such good, loving care of me1

Morals to be learned from this story:

1.  Beware these public blood pressure machines.  They are not accurate.  Try to have your pressure taken by the manual pump kind - they are the most reliable.
2.  Beware the patch.  Taking it off can lead to death.  Seriously.  No kidding.
3.  Never stop eating if you're on a good regimen:  it really upsets your body and its stasis.  Continue to eat as normally you would.
 4.  When in doubt, call a doctor.

I did. And here I am.

LEARN from my mistake, please.

2 comments:

Sharon said...

Wow! So glad everything worked out. Sounds pretty scary too. Angels absolutely walk this earth, and I than God for that!

Rick said...

I'm glad you're okay Richard but sorry your having BP issues after all the weight you have already lost.
I use a machine on my father and more often than not I get an error reading. I hate to see nurses, and at the dentist as well, use these cheap machines. I have the manual but to be honest I just can't do a reading.