A Trip to the Docs
I went to the doctor’s today to find out how my dance with hypertension is progressing. After 28 days of (minimum dosage) medication, my BP has reduced from 190/120 to 170/104. This is progress -I think that it moves me from severe to moderate hypertension- but there is still a way to go. In addition to my 5mg of Amlodipine I will now also take 2.5mg of Lisinopril (the lowest possible dose) and this ought to have the effect of taking me down towards a normal BP range.
The doctor had asked me about upping the dosage of the Amlodipine but I wasn’t keen on that since the bare minimum dosage had triggered some mild side effects – nothing serious but enough to know that they were there. Whatever happens with the Amlodipine, I suspect that, barring adverse reactions, the Lisinopril will be with me indefinitely.
Happily, combining the class names of the two drugs gives me a fantastic name for a rock’n’roll band for middle aged groovers – Ace Inhibitor and the Calcium Antagonists! Hey Joe, where’re ya goin’ with that BP monitor in your hand?
The consequence of this is that, for the moment, I’m still advised not to sustain exercise beyond a heart rate of around 120bpm. In practice this means a fast walk on a treadmill (rather than jogging round the streets which tends to push the rate up) or alternatively cycling. I think it will be another month or so until I can pick up running again -I certainly hope no more- so I supect a December/January of painful legs when I get back to it. A cycle may well be appearing in the next month or so if I can pull together some spare cash.
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