Category: health

New house means new medical centre, if you move across the city as we did. So I went for my introductory appointment, and that was fine.  Except my blood pressure was very high, and I’ve never had high blood pressure, ever.  And then they wanted to do a diabetic review with the nurse, and that was fine, but the blood pressure was still too high. And she took a load of bloods.

And the next working day I got a phone call summoning me for a medication review. It turns out that my HbA1c is up from 53 to 61(!), and my cholesterol is also going up (7.1%). But my blood pressure is going down, so that’s good.

I haven’t been anywhere near as good at looking after myself as usual this year, it’s fair to say. Stress and worry, comfort eating, not enough exercise. I’ve already taken that in hand; being more careful with my diet, bought a treadmill at the weekend. So I need to keep that up. But … statins. I’m afraid so. Ho hum.

[note to self – last cholesterol level 6.4%]

Honestly, I don’t think he knew why I was there for a moment. Had to ask me what medication I took! All they’re interested in is pushing statins, but I think he’s given up with me now. I was verging on Polite.

Cholesterol now 6.1%, so improving slowly.

Bah and grrr.

HbA1c 53mmol/mo, up 5 from last time. He wasn’t bothered. Cholesterol climbing slowly, where it had been falling – I suspect due to not exercising as much. I’ll tackle that.

LOng conversation (different doctor this time, one who does actually look at you, and pay attention) on the subject of statins. When you look at the statics, they make about 5% difference to your chance of heart attack/stroke, and I’m not sure I want to take more drugs for that result. Have fought him off till my next set of bloods in five weeks time, and see if I can get them down again.

Stupidly, I didn’t take a not of what the level actually *is*, and he didn’t write it down with the others.

As an aside, I had blood taken last Tuesday. She couldn’t get anything at all out of one arm, and I still have a huge black bruise on the other. I do wish my veins would cooperate – resistance is futile, really, the vampires will get me.

And firstly, he kept addressing me as Mary, which is my middle name, and really, I think he should have referred to me as Mrs Jordan anyway, to begin with at least.

I told him I didn’t want statins, and he started off on “all the benefits”. I stopped him, and said that as my cholesterol level was actually down since my last bloods, and was within 0.1% of my level 2 years ago, I failed to see what all the fuss was about. And that there was no history of early heart disease in my family. And that I didn’t want them anyway? “Why?”, he asked, and I explained that I saw no reason to take a drug “just in case”, when there seemed no necessity for it.

I also said that getting a receptionist to phone and tell me to come to the surgery and collect a prescription for new drugs was quite disgraceful; an appointment should have been offered at the very least, and it had made me really quite scared.

He apologised – not very sincerely, I don’t think. He looked at his screen virtually all the time, rather than at me, which I didn’t like. He said that the blood test results came back in batches, and were parcelled out to various doctors in the practice, and that clearly the doctor who reviewed mine didn’t check the history. I forebore to point out that the diabetic nurse yesterday showed me my records on screen, and guess who reviewed mine? Yup, got it in one.

So now, I don’t need them for no, he has noted my healthy diet and exercise regime. But I tell you what – I didn’t like him, and I shall attempt to see another doctor next time, because this one seems rushed and untrustworthy to me.

So I had new bloods done a couple of weeks ago, and two working days later, the surgery phoned. Telling me to come in and pick up a prescription for statins *that day*, because my cholesterol was too high (but they wouldn’t tell me what it was over the phone). I refused to accept more drugs without seeing a doctor, which miffed them mightily, but I held out, and this morning, I went to see my diabetic nurse to get the numbers.

HbA1c 48mmol/mol – up three from October, so not too bad. Cholesterol? 6.0%. Down from 6.9% in October, and the same pretty much as it was 2.5 years ago (at 5.9%, when nobody even mentioned it as a dangerous level). So sod statins for a game of soldiers, then. I’m seeing the doctor tomorrow, and shall tell him that, and will see if I can get it down myself.

More bloods on 1 July. And no, I’m not giving up my ounce of cheese a day, so there.

(Previous health entry here.)

About six weeks ago, I bought a treadmill on eBay; we had to go to *Scunthorpe* to collect it. It’s a fairly basic affair, motorised, Fitness Pro, and I used it religiously. In the past two weeks, I’ve done an hour every morning on it, averaging 8,000 steps before breakfast, and starting on the Couch to 5K program. Incidentally, I can now run for 8 minutes in succession without dying, and I’m starting to have visible muscles!

But the treadmill has no incline, and no programs, and I wanted something better. Yesterday I won an eBay auction for a Proform 900, which sold at £1,500 originally. I paid £300 for it, and it’s costing £65 to get it couriered here to Hull from Hunstanton, which is cheaper than actually driving there and back (never mind the issue of whether it would fit in the car). It arrives tomorrow afternoon.

Once I’d won the auction yesterday, I photographed the old one, and stuck it on Gumtree and eBay. It was sold within 2 hours via Gumtree, and I got within a fiver of what I paid for it, with the added bonus of no eBay fees. But, this morning, there was no! treadmill! Wah.

So I went out. *Outside*. In a long sleeved running top, and a fleece, and a warm hat, and fingerless gloves (and leggings, of course). The sun was shining, but it was -2C, and the pavements were frosty. I walked up to the local park, which is about 7 minutes away, and attempted to do my C25K there, but it didn’t go well. Took me ages to warm up, so I really only managed three of the six runs, and the pavements are very hard compared to the treadmill, and my knees didn’t like it. I walked for another half an hour over that, so I got the steps in, but I think I’ll stick to indoors after tomorrow, thank you!

Here’s the route, should you be interested; we’re lucky to have this virtually on the doorstep.