Saturday 30 July 2022

Under pressure

I had a bit of a funny turn the other week and, to be honest, it rather freaked me out.  Coming on without any warning, something weird suddenly happened to my eyesight, as if my field of vision had narrowed, and I could only make out vague, indeterminate blobs.   Scary.  Oh god, I thought - a stroke?  an aneurysm? the start of a new life as a blind person? - should I get a guide dog? - you can imagine, it all went through my mind.  After a minute or two, panicky and crouching on the kitchen floor for fear I was going to faint or fall anyway, the featureless blobs gradually reverted to relatable forms, and my brain's ‘adjust sharpness’ and ‘brightness/contrast’ controls slowly kicked back in. 

After a chat with a nurse and a doctor, it seems the culprit could be low blood pressure, but also there’s a question mark now over blood sugar, so I’m awaiting some blood tests next week. (Sorry about all this blood stuff.)  They’re checking for diabetes! I don't feel like an obvious contender for it - on the slim side, healthy eater, don't smoke - but there have been a couple of cases in my family - so, could it be in the genes?  Well, I know, it's best to find out.

Fortunately I feel ok, although occasionally a bit light-headed, so I'm on a mission to raise my blood pressure. Reading about the government helps, of course, but I'm not one to pick fights with the neighbours and I don’t read the Daily Mail so my other options are a little limited.  But drinking plenty of water raises it apparently, so I'm guzzling my way through a lot of it - my stomach just makes a lapping sound when I walk now.

Things always happen at once, though, don't they?  Not that it was serious in the grand scheme of things but a few days after that scare my dental bridge fell out (now temporarily fixed with what the dentist called 'fruit-flavoured' cement - I presume it wasn't just a strip of Juicy Fruit chewing-gum).  Some folk can look rakeish with a missing tooth but it really doesn't suit me...   And then, I caught and jammed my toe (which was naked at the time) on the edge of a very unforgiving stone step.  My little toe. The cute one! The "wee wee wee, all the way home" one.  Never mind wee, wee, wee, I was more like fuck, fuck, fuck, it hurt so much for such a small body part (and the black and blue bruising that later spanned the top of my foot really didn't go well with my turquoise toenail varnish) and I was concerned for a while that I had fractured it.

Oh well, not that it's an excuse for not blogging, but it's just felt like one of those periods when there's been other stuff to think about, unexpected appointments to attend and, perhaps most of all, just time to take the pressure off myself a little.  Whilst trying to raise it too...

Here's a song which immediately sprang to mind!


As you'll know, there are many versions of this but I'll throw in the original as well:

18 comments:

  1. Oh C - so sorry to hear about these health worries/accidents. Glad you were able to see a doctor quickly as best to be on the safe side. Low blood pressure still better than high I think and easier to control if need be. Hope you get the results soon to put your mind at rest and hope that little toe gets back to a colour more in keeping with the turquoise nail polish. Thinking of you.

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    1. Oh thank you Alyson. Hopefully all will be fine and it was just a one-off - I was completely lucid and not confused or anything so that's reassuring. Just weird!
      My little toe is just a bit pink now! Not sure it goes with the turquoise any better, so I might have to repaint ;-)

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  2. So sorry to hear about your unfortunate run of health woes C, but it sounds like you're getting good advice and are being looked after well by our wonderful NHS. Please don't resort to the government or Daily Mail as a tool to raise your blood pressure though, we don't want it spiralling out of control in the other direction! Take care.

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    1. Thanks TS, yes, we're so lucky here aren't we, with our free checks and appointments and tests, etc. - very grateful. Indeed, with the government and the media, etc. it's a wonder we don't all have sky high blood pressure - best avoided for health reasons!

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  3. Ailments.Like Corporation buses.None for ages then a couple come at once.
    Sounds like you are in safe hands though.
    Take care

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    1. Thank you CC - so true, why do things all come at once? Happy days though if it's some good finds in the charity shops!

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  4. Bloody hell, C! Be well and take care.

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    1. Ah thanks Martin, I'm sure all will be ok, just one of those odd events - and I can't even blame the drink or the drugs...!

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  5. BHF! A friend of mine used to suffer with low bp and she had a tendency to faint at the most inopportune of times. Stay hydrated and stay well.

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    1. Thank you John - and oh, your poor friend, that's rough. I almost had one of those moments when I felt faint halfway through my last mammogram, argh, so embarrassing! Not going anywhere now without a bottle of water and some sherbet lemons...

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  6. Hope you're OK C, the thing with your eyes sounds scary. Take care of yourself.

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    1. Thanks Adam, yes I must admit it was frightening, I'm at least reassured that there could be some relatively straightforward explanation - and if drinking more water stops it happening again then it's no hardship to do.
      Hope you're feeling better too and that some rest and relaxation is really helping things.

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  7. I always find the best way to raise my blood pressure is going for a nice drive.

    I hope you're OK, C. Look after yourself. I'm still wincing about your toe.

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    1. Haha, yes, that's a guarantee...
      Thank you too Rol. I'm not even sure the toe is ok yet... they weren't really built for impact, were they?

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  8. Look after yourself C! Often behind a cascade of health issues there can be a background of weariness or being run down.

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    1. Ah thanks Ben. Yes, you're right, it must so often be the case. Fortunately mine would seem unrelated in this instance, I'm feeling pretty well on the whole :-) But when more than one thing happens at a time to set us a back a little, doesn't it just prove how much we take for granted?

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  9. Gosh, C, I’m sorry to read this but I’m glad that you seem to be on the right side of recovery. The cliche is that things come in threes so hopefully that means you’ve met your quota for a good long while :-)

    When Lady K was a baby, I managed to trip going up the stairs whilst rushing to her room and I lost one of my big toenails. With various bumps and bashes along the way, it took about a year to grow back…then I managed to do it all over again. Same scenario, different point on the stairway… I can understand why people live in bungalows!

    Superb song choices, as always.

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    1. Thanks Khayem - you know, after the weird episode and then the tooth mishap, I was joking about a third thing happening for that reason! Why is that so often the case though, I wonder?!
      And ouch! re. your toenail. To happen twice, argh! Who knew stairs could be so dangerous? Actually, we do, don't we, so scrub that! - but somehow don't expect those kind of injuries from them.... Hope it's all grown back fully now and won't happen again.

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