Stop the Year! I Need Do-Overs!

Things started derailing on December 23, 2014,

when I went to my primary care doctor
for an overdue but routine checkup.

After being my doctor for about 30 years, 
 he was retiring.

For the first time in my long life,

I heard, "Your blood pressure is a little high."

Trigger a whirlwind.

Retaken--not quite as high; "Yes that is high;"

"No that's not that high;" "That's dangerously high;"

"I need medication;"

"This med is making me feel bad;" "Stop med;"

"Monitor;" "BP high only in morning (?);"

ending with:

"Go enjoy your cruise without medication!"

("Oh--no salt either!")

Now that's not all.

My only question for the doc regarded 

Lipitor, which I took for my high cholesterol.

I had heard a couple of the guys at bridge saying

they couldn't take Lipitor because it made

their legs hurt.

Hmmm.  My aching legs were a tremendous

problem to me.

The doctor suggested I leave off the Lipitor

for a couple of weeks to see if I 

noticed improvement.

I did, and I did!!!  So much better.

However, I haven't gotten the new doctor to

prescribe a replacement.
("Maybe you'll be okay without it!?")

So...if I keeled over in St. Thomas, I have two

new possible causes.
(For "old" likely causes, read HERE)


Fretting turned into true misery on
January 8, 2015.
I awoke with a horrendous sore throat, too
nauseated to drive myself to the doctor.
I was sure I had the flu.  Positive.
Susan took me for the diagnosis.
I was grateful to be wrong.  
It was not the flu, but
now I think I might have recovered
more quickly from that than from whatever
it was!
Virus, respiratory, sore throat, nasty cold,
sore throat again, cough, on and on.


I have not been this type of sick in years.
I think this has made up for it.
I have never been down this long in my life.
I have gone for days without leaving home.
My friends and family have brought
me food and faithfully checked on me.


I'll tell you what this episode has done for me.
It has made me so thankful for my wonderful,
comfortable home to which I can retreat.
My head may be stuffy, but my heart is so
warm from the way my kids have rallied 
around me.
I have thanked God over and over that my
circumstances are such that I can
keep my unpleasant self inside--
not spreading these awful germs to others.
I don't have to go to work.
What a giant blessing.
And...I am grateful to be at a point in my
life where I am responsible only
for me and Charleigh-Girl.


Now, you're probably wondering how in the
world I did on a cruise during all this.
My throat was terribly sore again the first
two days and nights, but the interim
doctor had recommended chamomile tea w/honey
as a treatment.
The spa had chamomile tea bags, room service
brought honey, and the fancy schmancy coffee
machine in the Studio Lounge 
 had hot water.  Voila!
The lounge also always had cold orange juice.
I took lots of Advil and drank lots of oj.
And the annoying sneezing and accompanying 
unpleasant symptoms did not really begin
until I got back home.


Incidentally, any thought I had of going to
the ship's infirmary, either to have my
blood pressure checked or to have my poor
throat cultured, had to be quashed.
The doctor could have confined me to my
room--my 99 square feet!
I didn't love it that much!


I am writing this on Sunday afternoon,
February 8, 2015.
This is my New Year's Eve.
I'm declaring myself well tomorrow.
I am implementing plans I had for
January 5, 2015,
to improve my lifestyle a bit.
If they pan out, I'll tell you all about them.
(If they don't, then I was just "keeding!")


A giant THANK YOU to all who have
shown such loving concern for me,
and

HAPPY NEW YEAR!