Facing mortality

[AR]

Wow did I get a dose of it a few days ago.

I'm sitting at my desk at the office in the morning around 8am checking my e-mails. Next thing you know I'm standing in our lobby with everyone asking if I'm ok and my wife was there to take me home. It was after 11. WTF? I lost 3 hours of my day!

I found out later from my co-workers that I was awake the entire time walking and talking but behaving out of character. I have zero recollection of any of it.

Now if you've been following over the years I'm in my mid 40's and never see doctors. The last time I had a primary care physician it was a pediatrician. Not kidding.

So anyway my wife brings me home and I crash out on the sofa. She came home from work and I was fine. We even went to see Judas Priest and Steel Panther that night. The next morning though she lowered the boom and me and told me she had a doctor's appointment scheduled and we were going right fucking now!

It turns out I had a suspected T.I.A. (Transient Ischemic Attack) or "mini stroke". Similar symptoms, but the problem corrects itself. My blood pressure was sky high at the doctors, but it did drop 20 points when my anxiety lessened but it was still way too freaking high. The doctor immediately put me on blood pressure medication and ordered blood work and a brain MRI. My EKG was fine and he gave me stroke tests to see if I had any weakness or balance issues. Everything checked out ok.

I've been put at ease over the last several days. The blood pressure medicine is a God send, and I feel really relaxed. Had the blood work done today and the brain MRI is this Thursday. Not expecting any surprises. Mostly precautionary. Told to limit salt and my alcohol consumption but I flat out am not going near a drink for a long time if ever. Especially because my sleep pattern went to normal within two days of cutting that out and taking the lisinopril. I m totally addicted to sleep now.

Anyway the doctor told me to consider this a gift. He said the T.I.A. is a warning and not everyone is fortunate enough to get an early warning as these can lead to the real thing eventually.

Lesson fucking learned!

[Memorex]

Wow. Hope all tests turn out good for you.

Alcohol is a poison. Period. Moderation or nothing at all - that's the only healthy answer. And it's a dr's definition of moderation, not the person. Anything a person may have in life is only made worse with alcohol or smoking. I certainly drink from time to time, but the general rule in a given month is not to.

Good on you for getting to the Dr. I hate going as well, but I will go at the first sign of something potentially serious. There is so much they can do when things are found early VS late.

Good luck!!

[Andrew]

Take care Ed....

[AR]

I'm feeling fine now. Now one of the many who will be seeing a doctor regularly.

Felt like sharing the story since we've all been together now online for a long time. Any sense of invincibility I once had is now out the window. I was very lucky to have received the warning I did. Thankfully my wife has been there for me since it happened. I'm following doctor's orders to the letter. Back at work, and I even took a bike ride today.

Not screwing up my 2nd chance. Totally over my anxiety where it comes to doctors. The guy I went to was great.

[verslibre]

Yeah, lay off the alcohol. Drink shitload of coffee and Pepsi, like me.

[Rick]

Glad things turned out on a positive note, Ed. Take care of yourself bro. Your wife and daughter need you around. We kind of like you around here too.

[RPM]

Glad to hear you are doing well A.R. ! What a blessing to get a second chance , glad you are taking advantage of it!
be well.....

[RedWingFan]

Yeah, lay off the alcohol. Drink shitload of coffee and Pepsi, like me.

Um...no. You should try to avoid caffeine too Ed. Lisinopril can cause bad headaches during exercise. It did for me. It's an ACE inhibitor. I had to get switched to Norvasc which is a calcium channel blocker. If you have any side effects keep going back til you find something that works for you.

[Journey/Survivor]

Good luck!

It's good that your wife got you to go to the doctor.

Do some research into Omega-3 Fatty Acids for lower blood pressure. They can work as good or better than a lot of prescription drugs for lowering blood pressure. Plus they have tons of other major health benefits. They're great for the heart, brain, eyes and many other things.

[steveo777]

Glad you're ok Ed. I hate that pesky doctor advice sometimes. Quitting drinking is on my NFH list.......NOT FUCKING HAPPENING! Eating right and exercise I can live with.

[No Surprize]

Edward, I'm calling Paul Stanley in the middle of the night about this! Seriously man, I know this was bought one by your Oriole's getting routed by the Royal's and your co-worker's even stated that you were mumbling deep, deep, resentment toward Nelson Cruz's choke job. Ed, I'm glad to see your doing fine. Your a good dude and fellow Kiss fan so put on a classic album and count your lucky stars.

[AR]

Well we're all gonna die from sumpthin'. (Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders)

How much Lisinopril did they start you at? I got 10mg to start and now at 20. I can see 30 in my future.

Seriously, the remedy for this is to take walks. The longer the better. No alcohol is good, but you can still do 2 a day. Take a long walk and have a glass of Red and go to bed.

They started me on the baseline 10mg with a diuretic plus baby aspirin. I'm sure it will be adjusted when I go back in 2 weeks but it's a start.

I take almost a 3 mile walk everyday on my lunch hour.

The doc told me 2 drinks would be ok. For now it's zero by my own choice. I'm just enjoying the restful sleep and don't want to upset that at any cost.

[brywool]

is your real name Walter White??? Are you making meth?

Seriously, hope you're feeling better. Wow, scary.

[yulog]

Well we're all gonna die from sumpthin'. (Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders)

How much Lisinopril did they start you at? I got 10mg to start and now at 20. I can see 30 in my future.

Seriously, the remedy for this is to take walks. The longer the better. No alcohol is good, but you can still do 2 a day. Take a long walk and have a glass of Red and go to bed.

They started me on the baseline 10mg with a diuretic plus baby aspirin. I'm sure it will be adjusted when I go back in 2 weeks but it's a start.

I take almost a 3 mile walk everyday on my lunch hour.

The doc told me 2 drinks would be ok. For now it's zero by my own choice. I'm just enjoying the restful sleep and don't want to upset that at any cost.

Just lost a childhood buddy, in his 40's looked like he did as a teenager, in good shape, active, looked better than most of us....but had blood pressure issues and other heart issues because he let them go untreated. Never woke up one day, his heart just quit. Nowadays, I can notice a difference when I eat crap (anything sugary or heavy) always feel like I'm in a food coma....sweating, tired , unmotivated. it takes days to recover , its almost like drinking all night(or so I'm told). be careful with your diuretic(HCTZ, Lasix?) almost always potassium depleting. baked potatoes with the skin, dried apricots, bananas all super high in K

[MotherCitay]

Now one of the many who will be seeing a doctor regularly. The guy I went to was great.

If he's part of the medical cartel, you may want to consider getting a Functional Medicine opinion.

http://www.sott.net/article/288480-In-a ... el-is-king

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[Enigma869]

Holy Shit Ed. That's scary shit. Glad to hear that you're okay.

[YoungJRNYfan]

Dang dude! Glad everything is checking out and I hope all of this will be permanently behind you. All the best.

[AR]

Went to my doctor today as a matter of fact.

New blood pressure reading after 3 weeks of meds: 116/76

Brain MRI last week was all clear. Nothing looming to be worried about. Doc said to just keep doing what I'm doing.

That's a huge relief!

[AR]

how's the morality going

That is still something I'll have to work on.