Good Saturday Morning

Good morning from the heartland of America. My blood pressure continues to register around 90/50 almost every day and I am completely without angina pain, shortness of breath or any other symptoms of cardiac problems or hypertension. I continue to take my medication as ordered and feel great. I have lost approximately 15 pounds since the summer and continue to eat right and exercise moderately. Except for some morning bach aches, knee pain and occasional neck pain from arthritis and degenerative joint disease every person my age begins suffering, I am in excellent health. I will post my blood pressure and pulse readings from October 7 in a day or two.

If anyone who comes across this blog has any questions or comments, feel free to make them. Have a safe Halloween and don't forget to vote Tuesday.

BP Report 9/7/04 thru 10/7/04

(This is a copy of my BP Report sent to Dr. Wayne today.

My BP Report for 9/7/04 thru 10/7/04 follows:

Date Time BP Pulse
9/07 2100 90/47 60
9/08 2045 105/60 62
9/09 2300 80/46 58
9/10 1100 94/48 66
9/11 2000 102/52 66
9/12 2000 94/54 60
9/13 2015 122/70 62
9/14 2100 96/56 64
9/15 2115 96/56 62
9/16 2000 104/56 86
9/17 1900 104/56 70
9/18 2145 96/54 58
9/19 2130 100/56 60
9/20 2100 102/58 74
9/21 2130 90/50 70
9/22 2145 100/54 66
9/23 2045 104/60 56
9/24 2100 106/56 58
9/25 2045 100/56 64
9/26 2000 104/58 70
9/27 2100 100/60 62
9/28 2000 104/56 72
9/29 2030 94/52 62
9/30 2045 112/68 68
10/1 2045 104/56 66
10/2 1900 104/54 70
10/3 1945 104/56 70
10/4 2045 104/58 64
10/5 1945 94/56 60
10/6 2100 104/54 70
10/7 1230 94/50 68

The lightheadedness his been gone for about a week now. I have noticed my BP is slightly higher than it had been running and I have had a couple of minor occassions of a small amount of chest tightness, not associated with exertion. It may be due to the change in the weather, I do not feel bad at all. When my BP was really low and I was getting a lot of lightheadedness, we cut the monpril from 20mg to 10mg. Should I go back up to 20mg and see what happens?

October Update

Well, at least one reader left a reply to a couple of posts since I began this Blog, so perhaps my story is being read by people who have been told they need coronary bypass surgery and probably really do not. I continue to do well on my medication regimen, however, in the past couple of weeks I have noticed a slight rise in my blood pressure readings throughout the day. Before, I was averaging around 90/50 or slightly lower. Recently, they have been around 100 over 56, not a very perceptible difference, however, I have noticed some occasions of what I would describe as "chest discomfort a couple of times this week. Of course, most chest symptoms people experience are not related to the heart, so I am not really worried about them, especially sense my heart rate continues to be strong and normal.

I also will admit to increased symptoms of arthritic pain, especially in my back and neck, where I have DJD and my knees and shoulder as well. Frankly, I attribute these aches and pains to the changes in the weather the fall brings. This morning, as I type this entry, it is 37 degrees in Brownsburg, Indiana. I already take two aspirin four times a day so I will not take any other pain medication to ease the pain. However, I have become more liberal in the application of analgesic balm. Oh well, I guess I'll send Dr. Wayne an update email tomorrow and see what he says about the blood pressure readings. Until next time,hang in there and enjoy life.