My experience of the NHS

I visited my doctor a month ago. My polymyalgia seemed to have come back now I am down to 1mg of prednisolone. Swollen feet were my main complaint. I had a blood test and it was normal so the doctor who dismissed the swollen feet as due to PMR and after taking my blood pressure, which he said was 200/120 he warned me I could have a stroke or suffer heart failure at any time.

I said I would buy a BP monitor and then come back in two weeks as I was confident my BP was higher than normal. Finding a car park and waiting to be called drives my BP up.

I bought a BP monitor and I also looked up swollen feet with polymyalgia and there is a paper connecting the two so my GP was wrong on that one.

My BP now today after coming upstairs and just sitting down with no relaxation exercises my systolic is 126 my diastolic just 70. All good numbers for someone much younger than my 83 years

If I had gone along with what my GP said I would be taking statins for the rest of my life.

Above 140 is classed as high but for someone aged over 80, 150 is the benchmark.

How many of you are taking statins from one BP reading?

Another thing I am prescribed Calcium and Vit D to balance the harm of the steroids I'm taking over the last year to counter the polymyalgia.

When if you read up on it K2 is also needed to avoid the calcium ending up where it shouldn't.

I have since paid for combined calcium Vit D k2 and magnesium in one tablet.

I appreciate the NHS for providing all the care it does as all the people I know receiving treatment would be unable to afford it if in the USA. I appreciate Google for bringing the information we need to arm ourselves with knowledge that a few years ago would be unavailable.

Bill

billedmunds@gmail.com