I have never been big on medication. The root of it is probably the same reason I have never been a big drinker or smoker. Anything that puts my head in a fog makes me nervous. I'm not an idiot though, if something is going to get me better or kill severe pain, I'm at the front of the line with my hand out. I just like to have a specific reason for taking medication.My fast and furious introduction into heart disease has been a bit of a shock for me when it comes to medication. Upon discovery of the heart disease I went from taking 5 pills a year to 5 pills a day (Lipitor for cholesterol, Metoprolol for blood pressure and Aspirin). Apparently I will be taking these pills for the rest of my life. Because I wasn't used to taking medication the first thing I did was go out and buy one of those plastic containers with 14 slots, 2 for each day (AM and PM). I fill the container up every Sunday night when I finish up my week. The container sits front and center in my house so that I never forget it (I have forgotten once since the beginning of January).
I wouldn't describe myself as someone who is careful with his health care. I'm pretty good from a diet and exercise perspective. I don't drink much, I've never taken drugs and for a long time I have been pretty strict about what I eat. I do however have a vice that is not exactly stellar. It would be innocent, if it didn't border on gluttony. I love candy. Those who know me know this fact. I have been able to go cold turkey a couple of times, but when it comes down to it, put a bag of Nibs or Sourpatch Kids in front of me and that bag is gone. Forget about being polite, forget about pacing myself, the bag is gone. Some of it is a nervous thing, when I'm thinking or under stress I need to chew something. The other part is a comfort thing, I just like candy--it just makes me feel good.
The other part of my health care that I have have been negligent is checkups and regular testing. When I visited Dr. V. for my chest pains it was the first time I had been to a doctor for a checkup in 10 years. The way I see it, I was just lucky that we caught this thing when we did. Had I continued to say "I'm too busy" or "it's really not that bad, it'll pass", I could have found myself facing the sky after a heart attack and then the lucky part would be if someone found me to get me to a hospital.
My apprehension with doctors has been that they always give me bad news and out of no sense of rationality what so ever I had decided a long time ago that I didn't want to hear it. Fortunately for me, rationality kicked into high gear along with a significant dose of M. logic. I was having chest pains, they weren't normal, both my father and my uncle recently had bypass surgery and there is history of heart disease in my family. M. like most women is very responsible with health care and for her it's not an option. You don't feel right, you go to a doctor. I suppose you could say I can see the light now.
That brings us back to medication. Similar to visiting doctors, I saw taking medication as something superfluous to health. You take medication, if your sick. I figured if my cholesterol is too high, I'll change my diet. If my red blood cell count is to low, I'll eat more iron. If I'm too heavy, I'll exercise. What I have learned from my experience is that things just don't work that way. No matter what I eat my cholesterol will be high--genetic predisposition. No matter what I eat or how much I exercise my blood pressure will always be a little low--genetic again. That doesn't mean that I'm going to become KFC's number one client because I packing 40mg of Lipitor every day. I still have to do the diet thing. It just means that the diet thing isn't enough. My body needs the drug.
I take a lot of pills now. I still take the big 3 (Lipitor, Metoprolol and Aspirin), but added to that cocktail is a diuretic, potassium pills (to replenish the potassium release caused by the diuretic), antacid (all the pills I take are hard on the stomach), extra-strength Tylenol and Dilaudid (serious painkiller). After breakfast I pull out my purple container, open up the AM compartment, grab a glass of water and start popping. Same routine after dinner, except its the PM compartment. To me, it's now just part of the routine, same as the exercises and same as the walks. I count myself lucky that I haven't needed too much pain medication, that my heart valve was fixed so I don't need blood thinner and that none of the drugs seem to be causing any issues.
Perspective is an interesting word because in essence it means from where you are looking. I figure perspective can be changed in 3 ways: incident, reflection and observation. My perspective on my personal healthcare has changed through incident and reflection. It probably should have changed through observation a long time ago, but it didn't seem to happen. It's too bad because observation is the easiest, and least painful, way to learn anything.
I was a little groggy today. I got up a little late and it took me a while to get the engine firing. The walks were good and I got a win in at the cribbage board. My mom and I watched "A River Runs Through It"--what a great story.
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