More adventures in healthcare

This week, I had two more adventures I haven’t had a chance to comment on: A check with my doctor, and a check up with the periodontist. Both went okay, though both have adjustments, and none of that was a surprise. Still, this is the first time I’ve dealt with both the same day.

I had both appointments this past Monday, since it was easier for me to see both since I was making the trip, anyway. The doctor was first.

I needed to see the doctor because my prescriptions were due for renewal, and since I do that every three months now, they like to see me. On the whole, things are okay, but I haven’t had a chance to get blood tests done (I’d hoped to go this morning, didn’t, and now I hope to go tomorrow morning).

The main issue is that my blood pressure is stubbornly refusing to get to and stay in the normal range. Most of the time, it’s in the “pre-high blood pressure” range, which is higher than normal, but not in the range considered to be high blood pressure. For a person without any complications, that would be monitored, but not much else. However, since I had a stent, and I’m on medication, the doctor wanted to increase the dosage slightly to see if it’ll come down closer to normal all the time. I was okay with that, so starting tomorrow I’m on a bit higher dosage, the first increase since I left hospital seven months ago.

On the other hand, I continue to lose weight. I’ve now lost 7.6kg (16.75 pounds) since my hospital adventure, and that means that I’m down to a point I was last at in November 2013. If this keeps up, and there’s no reason to think it won’t, my blood pressure will stabilise, probably without any further increase in dosage (and maybe even a reduction).

The periodontist was actually a little better than I’d expected. I was supposed to see him in February, as I said in the most recent “Tooth Tales” instalment, but I postponed because I was still on a blood thinner (I officially stop it tomorrow). So, I did bleed more than normal, but the periodontist said he wasn’t letting me completely off the hook: There were two spots that need attention.

I fully expected that I’d need treatments every year, in addition to the hygienist, so this wasn’t a surprise. And, since I wasn’t as diligent as I should have been with the many extra dental hygiene steps I’m supposed to take, the results weren’t nearly as bad as I’d feared.

So, all things considered, it all was okay: I was aware that I might need a somewhat higher dosage of my medication, at least for now, and I was also aware that I’d probably need one or two periodontal treatments. Nothing unexpected, then, nor disappointing.

As I said in the most recent health update, this is all a journey. The path ahead isn’t a straight one, and I still fully expect “a few detours and lay-bys along the way”. But the path is still leading forward.

Right now, that’s enough.