Surprising Results
Some folks are happy to take pills to correct a medical issue. I’d been taking one for high blood pressure for about two years. My previous doctor made it easy, allowing me to pick up a 90-count, which limited back and forth to the pharmacy. I’d see him once a year, when it was time for the annual physical. He retired. My current doctor has been stingy, probably trying to get me to visit more often. I don’t want to unless something’s wrong. When my prescription ran out recently, he approved only a 20-count, even though I had an appointment coming up. When that ran out, rather than return to Stop n Shop, I chose to experiment based on web research. I’ve taking 2000 mg’s of Fish Oil per day, and doing deep breathing exercises. I watched a youtube video where the doctor advised doing them for five minutes straight. I didn’t have the will for that, so I did sets of ten periodically throughout the day, hoping to lower my BP from pre-meds 140/90 to 130/85, which would allow me to rationalize not taking them. Of course, I doubted the method was anything but pie in the sky nonsense. My previous MD was always on time. If I had a 9AM appointment, I was out by 9:15. My present one is always late, an hour today. I was steamed and certain that it would be reflected in my BP. Fortunately, alternate side was suspended today, so I didn’t have to worry about being stuck in the office past the start time of 11:30. The first step was getting on the scale. Since my weight doesn’t fluctuate much, I wasn’t sure if I’d lost or gained. Even with clothes on, I weighed only 173, down five pounds from last year. Asked how I’d managed it, I cited smaller sips of soda. I also haven’t visited Burger King since it eliminated the $3.49 deal two months ago — no fries since then. The loss of weight should knock a couple of points off my cholesterol number, which was 225 last time, just below the medication threshold. For the past month I chose a lot of foods that have zero cholesterol. For the past two weeks I’ve taken a supplement, four tablets per day, named Cholestlo, hoping to avoid addressing the issue with meds. In a couple of days I’ll know if it worked. But I’ve jumped ahead. First the doc measured my BP. I was shocked that it was 116/70, and stifled my joy. When he said he was renewing the scrip, I said nothing, thinking that if I revealed I hadn’t taken the meds for three weeks and how I achieved the stellar numbers, he would tell me to come back in a month or two for another test. I don’t want to see him until next June, provided the blood test doesn’t ring an alarm. I’ll stick to the new regimen. Would it work for everyone? I have no idea. Although I didn’t mind paying the ten bucks or so a month the drug cost, I’m thrilled the money will be remaining in my pocket for the foreseeable future.
Since I was unlikely to land a favorable parking spot at my regular nook, I decided to set up shop at my alternate site in front of the Chase bank at Bay Park and 85th, and the results were good. A couple of sales were surprising. An Asian gentleman bought a paperback bio of Albert Schweitzer that was only in fair condition, and a local musician purchased not only a Wallflowers CD but God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise by Pasttimes, my youngest niece’s husband’s first blue grass band’s CD. My thanks to those guys and to Mr. Conspiracy, who settled his tab; and to the two women who went home with seven books in Russian between them; and to the middle age one I flagged down as she was waiting for the change of light across the street. I had a lot of possibilities for her, knowing her tastes after having sold her many books. She selected A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell, the wonderfully titled The Rules of Love and Grammar by Mary Simses, and Silver Lake by Peter Gadol.
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