Diary

At the start of this writing it is still Sunday, 30th of August 2020, but close to midnight already!

Peter and I, we still enjoy good food and fresh air and sunshine! For lunch I cooked a very likable Vegetarian meal today. (I think, Peter liked it too!) It was lots of different vegies with a cheese sauce. As a desert we had sour cherries (that came in a glass from Poland!) as well as some fresh cream and custard. We also had some chilled muscat wine.

And yes, we had a most beautiful sunny day today. So, I spent a lot of time outside, meaning, for hours I was just sitting or lying down in the sun! Sometimes, I went to sleep for a bit. In the afternoon Peter joined me in the sun for a while. We each had a glass of chilled ginger beer. This was so good!

Later on we watched a German movie on television. I soon went to sleep. I also went to sleep watching the evening news. Later on I was awake for a while watching ‘Vera’. Before ‘Vera’ was finished, I went to sleep again, probably for hours. When I woke up around ten o’clock, Peter was still awake. We soon reminded ourselves that tomorrow is Monday and we have doctors’ appointments. By 8 o’clock we have to be in the Medical Centre here in Dapto. That means getting ready on time we ought to be up by 6 o’clock. Reluctantly, we both made an attempt to get ready for bed. I think it was about 11 o’clock when finally we were both lying in bed. Peter was very tired, and he soon went to sleep after having helped me along with taking my blood presure again. Actually this was once more an immense struggle for me. Just to establish a reading on the monitor was so difficult for me!

When I realised, that Peter had gone to sleep already and that I was not quite ready for sleep, I actually decided it was better for me to get up for a bit of whisky.

Well, I did have this bit of whisky, and now I am glad that I ended up having a bit of time at the computer. In the meantime, it is already a bit past midnight. Time for me to go to bed again. I am sure, I am going to have a wonderful sleep now.

DIARY, Wednesday, 11th December 2013

I am off the Hook!

I do not need blood pressure tablets anymore!

Well, this is a long story. It actually started the day I had my Carpal Tunnel Release operation. On that day at six o’clock in the morning I was allowed a cup of tea and a very light breakfast. Then I had to wait for more than twelve hours before I could have as much as a glass of water or a cup of tea. I was told ‘nil by mouth’ before the operation, which was to last for only a short time, maybe twenty minutes. Unfortunately I was the last one on the list. Which would have been all right, if everything had gone to plan. However there were some unforeseen delays during the day, which meant my operation was postponed for many hours. I sat in the hospital waiting room, waiting, waiting, waiting.

Finally, well into the evening, it was my turn. What a relief! A lot of precautions, needles stuck into me here, there and everywhere while I was lying on the trolley waiting to be let into the operating theatre. The anesthetist thought I was very relaxed. Then my surgeon came out to greet me. After a little while the doors opened and I was rolled into the room where the procedure was going to take place. There was some background music which I thought wasn’t soothing at all. However I didn’t complain. The surgeon must have felt that this was not my kind of music. He asked me what kind of music I liked. All I could think of saying was: Something ‘classical’. Whereupon the lovely surgeon saw to it that ‘Sound of Music’ with Julie Andrews was put on.

I had been given local anesthetics only. So I could listen to the music during the whole operation. Everything went smoothly, except as they later told me, my blood pressure went up a bit much. They advised me to see my GP (General Practitioner) about it.

To cut a long story short. I did indeed see my GP. My blood pressure went sky high that night when I saw the doctor after many hours of waiting. He did consider to put me into hospital. Luckily the blood pressure came down a bit after a little while. So the doctor let me go home. He prescribed blood pressure tablets and even valium. Peter and I did get my prescription drugs at a close by late night chemist, which delayed us getting home by another half hour. I took the blood pressure tablets as prescribed, but not the valium. I really felt relaxed enough by the time I got home and had no trouble going to sleep.

The GP had asked me to see him again the next morning so he could check on me whether I was all right. By the time I got there at 8 am, there were already eight patients in front of me. So I had to wait again. The tablets turned out not to agree with me. They made me feel sick. Eventually the doctor organised a 24 hour blood pressure test for me. This test showed that my blood pressure was up only slightly during the day, and during my sleep it was absolutely perfect.

Yesterday I did get the marvellous news that I did not have to take the tablets anymore. The doctor said to me, on a day when I felt under a real lot of pressure, I may perhaps take a valium tablet. But not to do this too often for these tablets can be addictive.

After he said all this we wished each other a Happy Christmas and I left his office in a really great mood! 🙂

Diary of Aunty Uta

Tuesday, 5. 7. 2011

Yesterday I saw Dr. B for the first time. My own GP had already ten patients enrolled for the morning. I did not feel like waiting around just to get a new script. So I enrolled for the next available doctor. ‘May I take your blood pressure?’ Dr. B asked. ‘Sure,’ I said.

When my blood pressure turned out to be quite high, I explained to Dr. B that I had been rushing a bit before I went to see him. In a very gentle voice he responded by saying:

‘We all feel rushed at times. However it may be quite dangerous if because of feeling rushed the blood pressure constantly reaches too high levels. Do you take your blood pressure tablet every day?’

‘Yes, every morning, Doctor. – I just need a new prescription.’ – ‘All right, I give you your prescription, but I want you to see your GP in four weeks time so he can check your blood pressure again.’

I had told the doctor about the cancerous growth on my tongue, also that it had been successfully cut out during a procedure at the hospital. After having looked at my files in the computer, he asked me whether I was going to see the specialist, Dr. P, again. I said yes, I was going to see him again this month.

‘My tongue feels all right now, Doctor. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.’ The doctor gave me the script for my blood pressure tablets. He asked, whether I wanted to talk about something else. But I there was nothing else that bothered me that morning. I just wanted the repeat prescription! I was only too happy to leave the consultation room, script in hand, after having signed the form for Medicare. I liked Dr. B. I thought he tried to be very helpful.

Since that conversation with Dr. B I keep thinking about my problem with blood pressure. Why is it that I feel so easily rushed? Why does the blood pressure immediately go sky high with just a little bit of rushing? I am seventy-six. Why don’t I slow down a bit more? If I did everything really slowly I”m sure I’d have no problem with blood pressure!

The Thursday Heart Move Exercises at Heininger House are just called ‘Gentle Exercises’ now. Martha is a very good instructor. She sees to it that the exercises remain gentle. Whenever someone in the group cannot cope with all of the gentle exercises that person is encouraged to sit down and do the exercises sitting down. Some of the exercises we all do sitting down anyway. The exercises are for senior citizens. Twenty people are enrolled in the class. Each of us pays only two Dollars fifty Cents for the one hour session.

After having exercised for about thirty minutes we have a little break when glasses of water are being offered. Some people use the break to go to the toilet. The exercises are so slow moving with lovely accompanying music that I hardly get a chance to feel out of breath. Since everything is done slowly, I usually don’t find it too difficult to keep moving for the whole hour. I find the exercises improve my balance! And they seem to be good breathing exercises as well.

In my reply to Bookjunkie I refer to walking and swimming.