Per notbob:
My advice is, try several doctors. Beta blockers may not work for
you and every doc has their own solution. Keep looking until you find
a doc that will prescribe what works FOR YOU! Don't let some doc jes
mumble some prescription, then kick ya' to the curb.

+1 on that.

After winding up on the grass from a major episode of atrial
fibrillation I went to see the first guy.

Hardly made eye contact - just kept his head down typing away on his
laptop. 3 visits later, he could tell me almost word-for-word what went
down during any of the previous visits. But he was unresponsive to
the things I said.... I got the impression that I was just another old
guy who was going to die in a few years and he was basically working
from a cookbook.

He rolled a couple of pills and basically called it a wrap.

One of the pills was a beta blocker and it sent my quality of life right
down the toilet. Told him that.... no particular response.

Said to myself "The hell with this guy"... and went shopping.

Next guy, I could *talk* with... and when I said something stupid, he
would interrupt me and tell me why it was stupid...

And one of the things he told me was that the beta blocker was strictly
for the patient's comfort: it reduces the frequency of a-fib
episodes.... but, since mine were rare - albeit severe - there was not
much reason to take the beta blocker - especially since it was ruining
my life.

The one that keeps you alive is the anti-coagulant (afib episodes tend
to form clots in the blood as it passes through the heart).... and the
incidence of death with or without a beta blocker is the same given that
one is taking the anti-coagulant.

I came away feeling *much* better.... OTOH, maybe this guy is all
personality, and is BS-ing me.... but I don't think so because I double
checked his story with a couple other docs - albeit not cardio buys.

Bottom Line: Shop around!!!! There really are night-and-day differences
between docs with the same training.
--
Pete Cresswell

Per philo:
My mother's side of the family has extremely high cholesterol but they
have all lived into the 90 - 95 age range. On doctor's advice they
briefly took statins and had horrible reactions.

My understanding is that it's more the ratio of HDL to LDL than the
actual overall level of cholesterol.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 10/14/2016 10:36 AM, philo wrote:
Anyone else here taking blood pressure meds? If so, what are the results
and how many pills a day do you take?

Lisinopril.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisinopril

One tablet a day keeps me down in the 120 range. It runs about $12 for a
90 day supply and I haven't seen any of the potential side effects.

There are three major families and lisinopril is an ACE inhibitor. Some
people wind up taking a mixture if one doesn't work. Each has their
drawbacks. For example, calcium channel blockers lower your heart rate.
Since my resting heart rate is around 55 my doctor ruled that out. Some
can be expensive and require close monitoring. Fortunately the patent on
lisinopril ran out in 2002 iirc so there are many generic sources.

On 10/14/2016 07:57 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
"Regular Exercise" (whatever that is....) vs "I am not active" is good
for six years.

I've noticed exercise drops my BP somewhat. By that I don't mean taking
the poodle for a walk around the block but rather something that keeps
my heart rate up to about 90% for and hour or two. I can't do that
walking on level ground but fortunately we have an abundant supply of
mountains. 2000' of ascent gets the heart moving.

On 10/14/2016 11:15 AM, notbob wrote:
My advice is, try several doctors. Beta blockers may not work for
you and every doc has their own solution. Keep looking until you find
a doc that will prescribe what works FOR YOU! Don't let some doc jes
mumble some prescription, then kick ya' to the cu

My doctor took the time to explain the several options, their potential
side effects, and the costs before telling me what she recommended
trying first. Lisinopril worked and it's cheap.

On 10/14/2016 01:21 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
I was munching potato chips when I read the OP. My BP ranges between
110/70 and 120/80. I can't imagine it'll last, though. By the time
I'm an old fart, I'll be taking medications, too.

Maybe, maybe not. My BP was always pushing to 140 but when it headed to
150 I figured it was time to do something.

On 10/14/2016 03:32 PM, philo wrote:
I am on medicare and also have supplemental through AARP
but they do not seem to cover a routine physical.

Check into it but most plans provide for an annual 'wellness' visit. In
fact iirc I got email fro the AARP plan telling me I was due.

On Fri, 14 Oct 2016 20:23:04 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:



At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.



I am on medicare and also have supplemental through AARP
but they do not seem to cover a routine physical.

If I state something specific, then it will be covered.

It is called a "wellness" exam. Covered once a year
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/pr...ess-exams.html

I have AARP UHC and I get my physical from my PCP for the co pay. ($15
on my plan)
The house call is not really a physical. They send a nurse/tech sort
of person to do a few rudimentary things. There is no real lab work
and it is not a doctor's opinion. They guessed wrong on a couple of
things the last time they sent someone here.

On Friday, October 14, 2016 at 4:26:14 PM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 10/14/2016 01:06 PM, wrote:
O
t

M

Be careful with blood pressure meds.
They killed my mom. It was not a direct cause but the Dr over did the
meds, she got dizzy a lot, fell broke **** and pretty much gave up the
will to live.
I stopped taking mine when I started monitoring my BP. It started when
I got dizzy walking on the ribs of my screen cage, 15' above the
ground. It turned out my BP would crash when I was up and around
(doing the potentially dangerous stuff) but it was high if I was just
sitting around.

Three lessons there.
1. Check your BP while you are in different activities.
2. Don't trust the Dr blindly.
3. Get up off your ass.

I decided I would rather take my chances with a heart attack instead
of falling off the roof or cutting my hand off with the table saw.




Thanks for the advice. I am glad I bought the blood pressure meter so I
can check the results at different times.

I have no plans for going up on ladders again but of course do not want
to go around getting dizzy.

Guess I will see what happens.

As I mentioned before, after what happened with my wife we will never
blindly trust doctors again.

Fortunately she got through a very bad situation...her survival can be
traced to the day I drove her to the doctor's office with two shoe boxes
full of pills and demanded and explanation.

After several more doctors she is now down from 14 different meds to
three and doing better than ever.

I asked the director of nursing for a list of medications given me so I can search the Web for what they are and what effects the drugs will have on me. I want to know WTF I'm being poisoned with because I despise drugs and hate having to take any kind of pill. I've actually discovered that some of the drugs that were given me interact and made me very sick. I had a big problem when two different doctors prescribed drugs that came from two different pharmacies. I looked up the medications on the Internet and found that two of them had deleterious effects when taken together. It's best to have only ONE pharmacy filling your prescriptions because the computer system at the pharmacy will flag any drugs known to have interactions with other drugs prescribed for you. Of course, an experienced pharmacist is another line of defense when you are being given poison in small doses as prescribed by a physician. ”Œ( à²*_à²*)”˜

[8~{} Uncle Sick Monster

Per rbowman:
Maybe, maybe not. My BP was always pushing to 140 but when it headed to
150 I figured it was time to do something.

140 is where my current cardio guy draws the line.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 10/15/2016 09:53 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per rbowman:
Maybe, maybe not. My BP was always pushing to 140 but when it headed to
150 I figured it was time to do something.

140 is where my current cardio guy draws the line.


I drove truck in the '90s and that was a cut-off for the DOT physical.
Medication wasn't allowed either because of the potential side effects
impacting safety. I was always borderline. The last time I renewed my DL
I was over 140. However I hadn't driven a truck in about 15 years and
with the new requirements like the DHS vetting if you have a HazMat
endorsement, which is necessary for most companies, I dropped the CDL.
I'd thought I might retire and drive summers for the hell of it but at
this point in my life the only thing I want to drive in the summer is a
motorcycle.

The conventional wisdom 60 years ago was 100 plus your age which allowed
for the gradual increases with aging. Then they declared anything over
120/80 was borderline hypertension. The latest dogma seems to be 120/80
is nice but extremely aggressive treatment to get you to that reading
isn't needed.

On 10/14/2016 08:23 PM, micky wrote:
I
M


yes. A bit younger than you, and I don't think I was 40 points too high.
Take two pills per day (I opted for two separate pills as they are
cheaper than if I had to buy the two different meds combined in a single
pill - the doc was impressed with my figuring this out).

Results are fine. I don't bother to check my blood pressure, but it is
good when I go to the doc (rarely) or give blood, etc.

I don't worry about sodium. That has been way overhyped, although some
people (far less than all) have a sodium intolerance.

I agree. there must be truth to it for some people, but I eat a whole
box of salt every year just from what I add on my own, not counting
what's in the food and my BP is normal all the time, even though I'm
fat, out of shape, and 69. It used to be 40 points low with the same
salt intake.

Also wrt losing weight. Yes, if you don't have salt in your system you
won't have as much water, but one salty meal and you're back where you
were. If you'd eaten salt all that time, it would be excreted and you'd
be no worse off. I think.

The doctor did prescribe a statin last winter, so I take that, and
vitamin D. (He says no one gets enough vitamin D otherwise, but he said
no need when I asked about multivitamins. He's 68 himself. I'll be
sorry to see him retire some day.)




This is the first time where I will now have to examine what I eat.

Even though I do not plan on obsessing too much...
as far as the salty foods (sodium) go...it's not like I was a little
over the recommended limit...I probably eat 5 times or more of the salt
and carbs that I should.

So far my wife and I made a pack that we will not skip our once daily
walks. I managed to cut way down on my salt intake and found if I need
to add seasoning a few shots of hot sauce will do the trick.

Now that I've been watching things all week I was happy to see that I
actually had a normal blood pressure when I woke up this morning. Even
though it goes up as the day progresses it's not as far out of range as
it was when I first became aware of this.

On 10/14/2016 05:41 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:12 PM, philo wrote:
O


I'd be very happy to loose five or ten pounds.

My dad dropped dead at 64 but my mom at 90 is doing very well.


The whole family was more ****ed at my father's death than saddened.
He was very athletic until 50 or so then let himself go and turned into
a fat blob

I tell folks that now that I am old nothing works as well and I can't do
as much as I did when younger but I still have the same appetite for
food and drink.



I eat almost continuously and that will just plain have to stop.

My wife and I both have quit drinking and on the good side...I never
smoked and she quit about 16 years ago.

I have lost quite a few friend due to smoking and some of those alive
are on exygen

On 10/14/2016 08:57 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per philo:
I should probably loose a little weight too ...even if it's only five
pounds.

The John Hancock Life Insurance "Life Expectancy Calculator" at
https://www.johnhancockinsurance.com...ancy-tool.aspx
tells me that dropping from 215 to 200 15 pounds will add 2 years to my
life expectancy. 6'4" tall.

Dropping more does not seem to change the numbers.


It is informative to play around with the "Exercise" numbers.

"Regular Exercise" (whatever that is....) vs "I am not active" is good
for six years.




I look more at my family history.

My mom at 90 is still alive and everyone on my mom's side lived to the
88-99 year range.

On my father's side things do not look as good as my dad died at
64...but he turned into a big fat blob.


One thing that seems to be a rule though:

Whatever it is you plan for...it will be something else that gets you.

On 10/14/2016 06:48 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:20 PM, philo wrote:


My mother's side of the family has extremely high cholesterol but they
have all lived into the 90 - 95 age range. On doctor's advice they
briefly took statins and had horrible reactions.


If I do need something for cholesterol though I'd probably take your
recommendation over statins though

Tried statins and won't touch them again. I eat 10 to 12 pistachios at
lunch every day and that helped bring it down. I still eat butter and
eggs too.



Yep ...no way will I take a statin.

On 10/15/2016 07:33 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Friday, October 14, 2016 at 4:26:14 PM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 10/14/20



Thanks for the advice. I am glad I bought the blood pressure meter so I
can check the results at different times.

I have no plans for going up on ladders again but of course do not want
to go around getting dizzy.

Guess I will see what happens.

As I mentioned before, after what happened with my wife we will never
blindly trust doctors again.

Fortunately she got through a very bad situation...her survival can be
traced to the day I drove her to the doctor's office with two shoe boxes
full of pills and demanded and explanation.

After several more doctors she is now down from 14 different meds to
three and doing better than ever.

I asked the director of nursing for a list of medications given me so I can search the Web for what they are and what effects the drugs will have on me. I want to know WTF I'm being poisoned with because I despise drugs and hate having to take any kind of pill. I've actually discovered that some of the drugs that were given me interact and made me very sick. I had a big problem when two different doctors prescribed drugs that came from two different pharmacies. I looked up the medications on the Internet and found that two of them had deleterious effects when taken together. It's best to have only ONE pharmacy filling your prescriptions because the computer system at the pharmacy will flag any drugs known to have interactions with other drugs prescribed for you. Of course, an experienced pharmacist is another line of defense when you are being given poison in small doses as prescribed by a physician. ”Œ( à²*_à²*)”˜

[8~{} Uncle Sick Monster




Nice thing about the Internet is it's easy to do your own research.

Back when I was a kid I had an uncle who was a biochemist and he had
many an argument with my grandfather's doctor

On 10/14/2016 05:57 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:36 PM, philo wrote:
On 10/14
I was on opiates for about ten days when I had my knees replaced.
By that time they were making me nauseous and got by for the next few
weeks with just Tylenol. I can't take aspirin because after just a few
my ears start ringing.

My wife had bad problems with them when she had her knee replaced last
year. She suffered the side effects, mainly constipation, and even bad
withdrawal.

The guy I was talking to today has to take them because of his back and
told me they do a DNA test today that will indicate whether or not you
might get addicted. He says his score is low which is good. I met a
guy in the hospital years ago that had become a heroin addict after
becoming addicted to morphine after a shoulder injury.

I've been on blood thinners for years and have to avoid Nsaids.



I was mostly lucky with my knee replacement as I had very little pain
and the healing went well.

Only complication is one knee developed excess scar tissue and does not
bend more than maybe 60 degrees.

Doctor went in twice to remove scar tissue and I just got plain sick of
getting it worked on. My main limitation is going down stairs.

On 10/14/2016 07:23 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:32 PM, philo wrote:
On 10/14/2016 01:15 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:



At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.



I am on medicare and also have supplemental through AARP
but they do not seem to cover a routine physical.

If I state something specific, then it will be covered.

It is called a "wellness" exam. Covered once a year
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/pr...ess-exams.html


We have the AARP/United Healthcare supplement. My wife has had three
hospital visits this year. One was $202,000 list price. so far, my out
of pocket expenses for everything is $0.



Thank you so much, one practically has to be a lawyer to wade through
all this

On 10/14/2016 11:44 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 14 Oct 2016 20:23:04 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:



At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.



I am on medicare and also have supplemental through AARP
but they do not seem to cover a routine physical.

If I state something specific, then it will be covered.

It is called a "wellness" exam. Covered once a year
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/pr...ess-exams.html

I have AARP UHC and I get my physical from my PCP for the co pay. ($15
on my plan)
The house call is not really a physical. They send a nurse/tech sort
of person to do a few rudimentary things. There is no real lab work
and it is not a doctor's opinion. They guessed wrong on a couple of
things the last time they sent someone here.




All I can say is Medicare seems to work very very well.

Truth is I don't really care about small doctor bills , it's the big ones.

My recent colonoscopy was $5000 by my part of the bill will not exceed
$180.

The office thought the $180 was a bit high and they told me they see if
there was a way to lower it...but truth is I'm fine with that.

On 10/14/2016 09:53 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 10/14/2016 03:32 PM, philo wrote:
I am on medicare and also have supplemental through AARP
but they do not seem to cover a routine physical.

Check into it but most plans provide for an annual 'wellness' visit. In
fact iirc I got email fro the AARP plan telling me I was due.


yep...must have been the way I worded it

On 10/14/2016 07:40 PM, Phil Kangas wrote:

"Ed P

M

Much of the over 50 crowd is on pills of some sort. I take metropolol
50 mg twice a day. In addition to thyroid and a couple of ibuprofen
to keep the knees pain free.

I don't use a lot of salt and it does not seem to matter for me. I've
been trying to lose 20 pounds for the past 10 years with no luck.

At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.

Cut down on your sugar intake. I use splenda instead as it is made
from regular sugar but is ignored by the body. And cut back on
white bread too.



Fortunately I do not have a high sugar intake.

Years ago I switched to no-sugar peanut butter and it tasted funny at
first but now I love it. I did try the sugared variety again and found
it horrible.

Most things that I used to put sugar on or in I find taste better without it

On 10/14/2016 06:43 PM, My 2 Cents wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:13 PM, philo wrote:

Age 68 and I've had high blood pressure for years now, I guess I've
got stage 3 kidney disease, from what the last lab test indicated. The
doc never called so I guess it's not important yet. Stable angina and
carry the little nitroglycerin pills and they work just fine. No stents
if I can avoid that. The blood pressure problem seems to be easily
controlled with a couple of meds. I use the Walmart pharmacy the 4
bucks a month thing but last time it was like 12 dollars for three
months worth of both scripts. Insurance paid part of the cost.
That damn tenuous shot, I got hung on that ... had to pay the whole
thing out of pocket. Everyone says ... but it's preventive... yeah
prevents the doctor's wife from having to drive a year old car.
What else? I ride a bicycle about 30 miles a week and my dog and I
walk a mile most every day. When the angina hit I dieted and Lost weight
and now I get around better than I did 5 years now. 29 grams of
fiber/day, so said the "up urs" doc... that's a lot fiber! Well it is
for us Americans. Glucosamine for the knees, a baby aspirin a day.
Whole grain stuff, oatmeal, bran flakes, veggies, sawdust whatever it
takes. Thus far blood sugar hasn't been a problem, and still a full
head of hair.
I made it 10 years longer than my dad did, that was one of the things
on my bucket list. If there is an after life I'll rub it in when or if
I see him again.





I got rid of my bicycle but thankfully had still walk at least.

One big thing was entirely stopping the consumption of all cereal with
the exception of oatmeal...

On 10/14/2016 9:36 AM, philo wrote:
Since (self included) most here are a bunch of grumpy old men I thought
this worth asking.

I'm 67 years old and have always had good checkups. I also take my pulse
occasionally and it's always been excellent...typical 62 or so. My
assumption was "all ok."

Have not had a physical in a few years but recently had one and my blood
pressure was about 40 points high. Doc said not to panic...happens
pretty often to men in my age group and I will return in a few days to
probably get medication.

In the mean time I got a blood pressure meter and have cut back on
sodium intake. After a few days my pressure dropped about ten points and
I also noticed that coffee (thankfully) did not affect things.

Anyone else here taking blood pressure meds? If so, what are the results
and how many pills a day do you take?

thanks


M

I take niacin for cholesterol, 1g 2x day, but it also reduces blood
pressure. The only negative is occasional "flush" (red skin, sometimes
prickling - take it after food). I found out early on that niacin listed
as "no flush" or "slow release" do not help the cholesterol levels.
Might be worth talking to your doc about that.

On 10/15/2016 3:28 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 10/14/2016 9:36 AM, philo wrote:
Since (self included) most here are a bunch of grumpy old men I thought
this worth asking.

I'm 67 years old and have always had good checkups. I also take my pulse
occasionally and it's always been excellent...typical 62 or so. My
assumption was "all ok."

Have not had a physical in a few years but recently had one and my blood
pressure was about 40 points high. Doc said not to panic...happens
pretty often to men in my age group and I will return in a few days to
probably get medication.

In the mean time I got a blood pressure meter and have cut back on
sodium intake. After a few days my pressure dropped about ten points and
I also noticed that coffee (thankfully) did not affect things.

Anyone else here taking blood pressure meds? If so, what are the results
and how many pills a day do you take?

thanks


M

I take niacin for cholesterol, 1g 2x day, but it also reduces blood
pressure. The only negative is occasional "flush" (red skin, sometimes
prickling - take it after food). I found out early on that niacin listed
as "no flush" or "slow release" do not help the cholesterol levels.
Might be worth talking to your doc about that.

http://www.lifeextension.com/magazin.../3/atd/Page-01

On 10/14/2016 11:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.

I have been led to believe that Medicare does not cover routine physicals

On 10/15/2016 3:51 PM, philo wrote:
On 10/14/2016 05:41 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:12 PM, philo wrote:
O


I'd be very happy to loose five or ten pounds.

My dad dropped dead at 64 but my mom at 90 is doing very well.


The whole family was more ****ed at my father's death than saddened.
He was very athletic until 50 or so then let himself go and turned into
a fat blob

I tell folks that now that I am old nothing works as well and I can't do
as much as I did when younger but I still have the same appetite for
food and drink.



I eat almost continuously and that will just plain have to stop.

My wife and I both have quit drinking and on the good side...I never
smoked and she quit about 16 years ago.

I have lost quite a few friend due to smoking and some of those alive
are on exygen

Smoking is the worse thing you can do to your body. I quit in my late
20's. I've known several people that died of lung cancer including one
on the surgeon generals committee that condemned cancer and switched to
Larks because of the charcoal filter. I also had two uncles with
emphysema which was the main driving force to make me quit.

On 10/14/2016 12:28 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/14/2016 2:15 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/14/2016 12:36 PM, philo wrote:
Since (self included) most here are a bunch of grumpy old men I thought
this worth asking.

I'm 67 years old and have always had good checkups. I also take my pulse
occasionally and it's always been excellent...typical 62 or so. My
assumption was "all ok."

Have not had a physical in a few years but recently had one and my blood
pressure was about 40 points high. Doc said not to panic...happens
pretty often to men in my age group and I will return in a few days to
probably get medication.

In the mean time I got a blood pressure meter and have cut back on
sodium intake. After a few days my pressure dropped about ten points and
I also noticed that coffee (thankfully) did not affect things.

Anyone else here taking blood pressure meds? If so, what are the results
and how many pills a day do you take?

thanks


M

Much of the over 50 crowd is on pills of some sort. I take metropolol
50 mg twice a day. In addition to thyroid and a couple of ibuprofen to
keep the knees pain free.

I don't use a lot of salt and it does not seem to matter for me. I've
been trying to lose 20 pounds for the past 10 years with no luck.

At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.

I'm on 5 plus eye vitamins for AMD, one baby aspirin, fish oil,
glucosamine. All recommended by doctors.

Might mention I was talking to a guy today that had same problem with
ibuprofen that I did in taking it for a couple of months and seeing
liver enzymes go way up. Over 25 years ago recovering from surgery to
repair broken collar bone, surgeon gave me codeine but I hate opiates
and took a lot of ibuprofen instead.

For me, the best thing I've found for arthritis is LOTS of aerobic
exercise. I do 45 minutes on the exercise bike most mornings, and my
knees and other joints always feel better after the exercise. I do take
an anti inflammatory on days I'm going to spend 4-5 hours playing
volleyball or snowboarding after the bike thing. I'm 67, and definitely
exercise more than I ever did when younger. The fun thing is that I am
getting better at both activities year after year.

Supposedly, aerobic exercise increases the activity of stem cells in
your joints, helping them heal the joints. I've had minor miniscus tear
surgeries in each knee, and read about this when I investigated stem
cell injection therapies for that problem.

On 10/15/2016 4:00 PM, philo wrote:
On 10/14/2016 05:57 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:36 PM, philo wrote:
On 10/14
I was on opiates for about ten days when I had my knees replaced.
By that time they were making me nauseous and got by for the next few
weeks with just Tylenol. I can't take aspirin because after just a few
my ears start ringing.

My wife had bad problems with them when she had her knee replaced last
year. She suffered the side effects, mainly constipation, and even bad
withdrawal.

The guy I was talking to today has to take them because of his back and
told me they do a DNA test today that will indicate whether or not you
might get addicted. He says his score is low which is good. I met a
guy in the hospital years ago that had become a heroin addict after
becoming addicted to morphine after a shoulder injury.

I've been on blood thinners for years and have to avoid Nsaids.



I was mostly lucky with my knee replacement as I had very little pain
and the healing went well.

Only complication is one knee developed excess scar tissue and does not
bend more than maybe 60 degrees.

Doctor went in twice to remove scar tissue and I just got plain sick of
getting it worked on. My main limitation is going down stairs.

My wife's came through extremely well. Therapist said she has the best
flexion she'd ever seen but still knees do not bend the same. Probably
because they cut the anterior cruciate ligament and there is a
mechanical device to keep the knee from bending in the wrong direction.
Wife says she would not be able to resume ballet classes she took
before. She said today is the anniversary.

I've heard of a couple bad results with infection. It is a big deal.

On 10/14/2016 5:40 PM, Phil Kangas wrote:

Cut down on your sugar intake. I use splenda instead as it is made
from regular sugar but is ignored by the body. And cut back on
white bread too.

Watch out for "Splenda". It caused me to have horrible dizzy spells, and
it made my muscles ache horribly a lot of the time. Quit using it, and
both problems went away.

On 10/15/2016 6:47 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 10/14/2016 11:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.

I have been led to believe that Medicare does not cover routine physicals

Right, they cover "wellness exams" that are essentially the same thing.
I posted a link to it on Medicare.gov

On 10/15/2016 7:20 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 10/14/2016 5:40 PM, Phil Kangas wrote:

Cut down on your sugar intake. I use splenda instead as it is made
from regular sugar but is ignored by the body. And cut back on
white bread too.

Watch out for "Splenda". It caused me to have horrible dizzy spells, and
it made my muscles ache horribly a lot of the time. Quit using it, and
both problems went away.


I won't use any of the chemical sweeteners. Better to hve nothing.
Diet drinks give me a queasy stomach.

I use very little sugar as in granulated sugar, but I do eat stuff with
added sugar. Never met a carb I didn't like.

In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Oct 2016 14:49:37 -0500, philo
wrote:

On 10/14/2016 08:23 PM, micky wrote:
I
M


yes. A bit younger than you, and I don't think I was 40 points too high.
Take two pills per day (I opted for two separate pills as they are
cheaper than if I had to buy the two different meds combined in a single
pill - the doc was impressed with my figuring this out).

Results are fine. I don't bother to check my blood pressure, but it is
good when I go to the doc (rarely) or give blood, etc.

I don't worry about sodium. That has been way overhyped, although some
people (far less than all) have a sodium intolerance.

I agree. there must be truth to it for some people, but I eat a whole
box of salt every year just from what I add on my own, not counting
what's in the food and my BP is normal all the time, even though I'm
fat, out of shape, and 69. It used to be 40 points low with the same
salt intake.

Also wrt losing weight. Yes, if you don't have salt in your system you
won't have as much water, but one salty meal and you're back where you
were. If you'd eaten salt all that time, it would be excreted and you'd
be no worse off. I think.

The doctor did prescribe a statin last winter, so I take that, and
vitamin D. (He says no one gets enough vitamin D otherwise, but he said
no need when I asked about multivitamins. He's 68 himself. I'll be
sorry to see him retire some day.)




This is the first time where I will now have to examine what I eat.

Even though I do not plan on obsessing too much...
as far as the salty foods (sodium) go...it's not like I was a little
over the recommended limit...I probably eat 5 times or more of the salt
and carbs that I should.

So far my wife and I made a pack that we will not skip our once daily
walks. I managed to cut way down on my salt intake and found if I need
to add seasoning a few shots of hot sauce will do the trick.

Now that I've been watching things all week I was happy to see that I
actually had a normal blood pressure when I woke up this morning. Even
though it goes up as the day progresses it's not as far out of range as
it was when I first became aware of this.

That's great.

And those walks are important. At least some daily exercise as little
as walking is important to get.

I rode a bike for the first time in years yesterday, but the
derailleurs wont' derail. Cables bad. I'm going to dig out my $10
bike that works and ride that.

I play a lot of volleyball too.
Where do you live?

Per Frank:
I've heard of a couple bad results with infection. It is a big deal.

Lady I used to work with had both knees replaced.

One got infected.

They had to cut it apart, remove the prosthesis, and stuff it with
antibiotics.

She spent something like 5 months laying on the couch with her leg in
two pieces.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 10/15/2016 5:04 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/15/2016 6:47 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 10/14/2016 11:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.

I have been led to believe that Medicare does not cover routine physicals

Right, they cover "wellness exams" that are essentially the same thing.
I posted a link to it on Medicare.gov

MY understanding is that they are a pretty basic "physical".

No shotgun blood tests or anything like that.

" Yearly "Wellness" visits: If you've had Part B for longer than 12
months, you can get this visit to develop or update a personalized
prevention help plan to prevent disease and disability based on your
current health and risk factors. Your provider will ask you to fill out
a questionnaire, called a €œHealth Risk Assessment,€� as part of this
visit. Answering these questions can help you and your provider develop
a personalized prevention plan to help you stay healthy and get the most
out of your visit. It also includes:
A review of your medical and family history
Developing or updating a list of current providers and
prescriptions
Height, weight, blood pressure, and other routine measurements
Detection of any cognitive impairment
Personalized health advice
A list of risk factors and treatment options for you
A screening schedule (like a checklist) for appropriate
preventive services. Get details about coverage for screenings, shots,
and other preventive services.

This visit is covered once every 12 months (11 full months must have
passed since the last visit)."



And cholesterol tests once every 5 years.

"Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers screening blood tests for
cholesterol, lipid, and triglyceride levels every 5 years, when ordered
by a doctor. These screening tests help detect conditions that may lead
to a heart attack or stroke."

On 10/16/2016 12:47 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 10/15/2016 5:04 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/15/2016 6:47 PM, Bob F wrote:
On 10/14/2016 11:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

At 67 you should be on medicare with no cost for physicals.

I have been led to believe that Medicare does not cover routine
physicals

Right, they cover "wellness exams" that are essentially the same thing.
I posted a link to it on Medicare.gov

MY understanding is that they are a pretty basic "physical".

No shotgun blood tests or anything like that.

Depends on the situation. I get blood tests twice a year and it is
covered. That includes the cholesterol tests. Your doctor will know
how to work the system.


" Yearly "Wellness" visits: If you've had Part B for longer than 12
months, you can get this visit to develop or update a personalized
prevention help plan to prevent disease and disability based on your
current health and risk factors.

And cholesterol tests once every 5 years.

"Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers screening blood tests for
cholesterol, lipid, and triglyceride levels every 5 years, when ordered
by a doctor. These screening tests help detect conditions that may lead
to a heart attack or stroke."

On 10/16/2016 11:41 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
Depends on the situation. I get blood tests twice a year and it is
covered. That includes the cholesterol tests. Your doctor will know
how to work the system.

I had one lipid panel in conjunction with the physical that showed no
problems. After that my doctor pointed me to the local hospital's free
screening they do once a year. Barring any significant changes in my
lifestyle I don't expect any changes so I haven't bothered.

The last time I refilled my lisinopril prescription there was a note
that I needed an exam and lab work so I'll probably be visiting the
vampire. The appointment is for October 31, so that's fitting.

On Saturday, October 15, 2016 at 2:58:04 PM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 10/15/2016 07:33 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Friday, October 14, 2016 at 4:26:14 PM UTC-5, philo wrote:
On 10/14/20

Thanks for the advice. I am glad I bought the blood pressure meter so I
can check the results at different times.

I have no plans for going up on ladders again but of course do not want
to go around getting dizzy.

Guess I will see what happens.

As I mentioned before, after what happened with my wife we will never
blindly trust doctors again.

Fortunately she got through a very bad situation...her survival can be
traced to the day I drove her to the doctor's office with two shoe boxes
full of pills and demanded and explanation.

After several more doctors she is now down from 14 different meds to
three and doing better than ever.

I asked the director of nursing for a list of medications given me so I can search the Web for what they are and what effects the drugs will have on me. I want to know WTF I'm being poisoned with because I despise drugs and hate having to take any kind of pill. I've actually discovered that some of the drugs that were given me interact and made me very sick. I had a big problem when two different doctors prescribed drugs that came from two different pharmacies. I looked up the medications on the Internet and found that two of them had deleterious effects when taken together. It's best to have only ONE pharmacy filling your prescriptions because the computer system at the pharmacy will flag any drugs known to have interactions with other drugs prescribed for you. Of course, an experienced pharmacist is another line of defense when you are being given poison in small doses as prescribed by a physician. ”Œ( à²*_à²*)”˜

[8~{} Uncle Sick Monster

Nice thing about the Internet is it's easy to do your own research.

Back when I was a kid I had an uncle who was a biochemist and he had
many an argument with my grandfather's doctor

I've had crusty old pharmacists, decades ago before pharmacies had computer systems, tell me my doctor was an idiot based on what was prescribed for me. If a doctor ever prescribes a diuretic without supplemental potassium, complain, complain very loudly because potassium loss can kill you. A good physician doesn't mind answering questions if you have some idea of what you're talking about.

I was impressed by a young smart Negro American physician who was using a tablet during an exam where he checked everything in my medical records and went over it with me. I had my medical records on a thumb drive and handed it to the doctor when I was in the exam room. I keep a list of medications I take and a list of medications I've been given in the past but am no longer taking.

I want to get a waterproof thumbdrive that I can label with my name, DOB and SSN to keep on a lanyard around my neck when medical transport takes me to a doctor's office or when my friend comes by to pick me up to take me to someplace like the bank or government office. If I were ever in an accident, my medical records would be with me. None of my current thumbdrives are waterproof but I did find one on Amazon that would work well because it can be labeled on both the outside and inside. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Flash.../dp/B00YP5X1TI

[8~{} Uncle Flashy Monster

On 10/15/2016 09:38 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sat, 15 Oct 2016 14:49:37 -0500, philo


So far my wife and I made a pack that we will not skip our once daily
walks. I managed to cut way down on my salt intake and found if I need
to add seasoning a few shots of hot sauce will do the trick.

Now that I've been watching things all week I was happy to see that I
actually had a normal blood pressure when I woke up this morning. Even
though it goes up as the day progresses it's not as far out of range as
it was when I first became aware of this.

That's great.

And those walks are important. At least some daily exercise as little
as walking is important to get.

I rode a bike for the first time in years yesterday, but the
derailleurs wont' derail. Cables bad. I'm going to dig out my $10
bike that works and ride that.



My bike is now history but I love walking.

When we started out I was walking slowly and enjoying the scenery and my
wife was walking ahead and growing impatient.

One the way home I was walking quite fast. Bladder

On 10/15/2016 10:08 PM, wrote:
I play a lot of volleyball too.
Where do you live?


Seattle