Thursday, March 21 2019

Today I planned to mow some of our lawns for the first time since the end of winter, but the grass is still too wet, even though it has not rained for 3-4 days. Damn!

I look at the calendar and I see that my first blood test at our new doctor’s surgery is scheduled for April 1st, i.e. in 11 days’ time. I decide to check my blood pressure for the first time in almost 2 years.

In June 2017, my former doctor Sarah suggested that I take a break from my daily 2.5mg Ramipril blood pressure pill after she measured my blood pressure and discovered that it was a little too low (106 over something). But she asked me to keep checking my blood pressure level a couple of times a month, which I did initially, but I have to admit I stopped checking it out after a few months, which was a little remiss from me to put it mildly.

I dig out our old blood pressure monitor and install some shiny new batteries: I do the test, but the result is a little disappointing (144/83/67), although I measure it again later in the day (after my afternoon nap) and it is slightly lower: 129/73/53.

I suddenly remembered that Steve, my brother-in-law sent me an article earlier this month about some research conducted in Greece, where it was claimed that an afternoon nap was as good as a pill when it came to lowering blood pressure, according to www.telegraph .co.uk.

The cardiologists found that after 60 minutes of sleep in the middle of the day, the average systolic blood pressure declined by 3 mm Hg, whatever that means.

Overall, average daily systolic blood pressure was 5.3 mm Hg lower among people who took an afternoon nap compared to those who did not. Low-dose pills usually lower blood pressure levels by a similar amount, the researchers say.

My goodness, what a crazy world we live in !!! But also a nice one in this case!

I'm not sure whether my blood pressure readings for today are good or bad news, but I must remember without fail to repeat the test every day for the next 10 days or so, twice a day, in case they ask me about it, either when I talk to the nurse, or when I talk to the doctor during the subsequent review session.

I haven't been feeling as well as usual over the last 3-4 weeks, but I can't explain it exactly. I can't quite put my finger on it.

11:00 Lois and I relax with a cup of coffee and we talk a little about my blood pressure levels. Lois has never been recommended to take blood pressure pills, although she suffers from slightly elevated cholesterol levels and takes statins every night.

She thinks she last got her blood pressure measured in Australia when she went to the doctor over there: it was 140 or so, and the doctor said this was "perfect". But she says she may not be remembering it clearly enough. So the jury is still out on that one.

I will have to discuss the issue with our new doctor when I see him / her for the first time next month. We do not know any of the doctors at our new surgery, needless to say.

Overton Park, our new doctors' surgery

What we really really want is a doctor ready to think outside the box, like Dr. Alan Thal, who hit the local headlines earlier this year after giving some unconventional advice to local man Matt Richards, according to my go-to local news site, Onion News.

Local internist Dr. Alan Thal, noting that he typically advises anyone under 120 over 80 to go apeshit, recently told patient Matt Richards that his blood pressure was pretty normal, so he should really f****** let it rip.

"Well, Mr Richards, you're at 118 over 74. That means, do whatever the hell you want. Get wasted, start a smoking habit - who gives a shit,  just f****** go nuts," said Thal, and added that although he'd like to keep an eye on it, Richards is meanwhile going to want to eat as much delicious, salty food as he wants, and really cut loose.

"Blood pressure is measured in terms of systolic and diastolic numbers, and since both of yours are fine, you can stop wasting time exercising, and do some real crazy shit. Remember, you’re 51 and not getting any younger, so I strongly suggest going balls-to-the-wall sooner rather than later."

At press time, Richard had died due to hypertension, 20 minutes after leaving the doctor's office.

Poor fellow! But it's nice to see examples of doctors thinking outside the box, even if it means some mistakes are made from time to time. And there should always be room for a few crazy mavericks in the medical profession, at least that's what I think!

11:30 I hop up on my exercise bike and cycle 6 miles (10 km).

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I get up at 3 pm and we relax with a cup of tea and a biscuit on the sofa.

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching some television. An old edition of Top of the Pops is on, from July 1987. The host of the program is the charming Simon Bates.

It is nostalgic to watch the Pet Shop Boys again with their hit song, "It's a Sin", possibly a biographical song(?) by lead singer Neil Tennant. He must have had a difficult adolescence as an openly gay boy at a Catholic boarding school, no doubt about that.

In July 1987, Lois, myself, and our two daughters, Alison (12) and Sarah (10) attended a large family gathering in Loughborough. All the descendants of my maternal grandmother and grandfather were invited to the party, along with their spouses and partners. My maternal grandmother and grandfather had  9 children - 7 daughters and 2 sons, so the gathering was always guaranteed to be large scale, that’s for sure.

Flashback to July 1987 and the big family gathering in Loughborough

in close-up:  highlighted - me, Lois and my parents

highlighted: Alison (12) and Sarah (10)

Happy times !!!!

21:30 Our daughter Alison sends us a text message on whatsapp. Our granddaughter, Josie (12), has just won her high school's award for "Young Musician of the Year (Junior Solo)" with her piano performance of "Pirates of the Caribbean", in competition with 4 other young pianists.

Our granddaughter, Josie (12) - 

her high school's new Young Musician of the Year (junior solo)

It is particularly impressive because Josie did not know about the competition until 2-3 days ago, because of a misunderstanding, so she only had 2-3 days to practice. She also won £50 which was nice to put it mildly.

We are so proud of her !!!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

Jeg planlagde i dag at slå nogle af vores græsplaner for første gang siden slutningen af vinteren, men græsset er stadig for vådt, selvom det ikke har regnet i 3-4 dage. Pokkers!

Jeg kigger på kalenderen og jeg ser, at min første blodprøve hos vores nye lægehus er bestemt til den 1. april, dvs om 11 dages tid. Jeg beslutter at tjekke mit blodtryk for første gang i næsten 2 år.

I juni 2017 foreslog min tidligere læge Sarah, at jeg tog en pause fra min daglige 2,5mg Ramipril blodtrykpille, efter hun målede mit blodtryk og opdagede, at det var lidt for lavt (106 over noget). Men hun bad mig om at tjekke mit blodtryksniveau et par gange om måneden, hvilket jeg gjorde til at begynde med, men jeg må indrømme, jeg holdt op med at tjekke det efter et par måneder, hvilket var lidt slapt af mig, for at sige mildt.

Jeg finder vores gamle blodtrykmonitor frem og installerer spritnye batterier: jeg gennemfører testet, men resultatet er lidt skuffende (144/83/67), selvom jeg måler det igen senere på dagen (efter min eftermiddagslur), og det er lidt lavere: 129/73/53.

Jeg mindes pludselig, at Steve, min svigerbror tidligere på måneden sendte mig en artikel om nogen forskning gennemført i Grækenland, hvor det blev påstået, at en eftermiddagslur var så god som en pille, når det kom til at sænke blodtrykket, ifølge www.telegraph.co.uk  .

Kardiologerne fandt, at efter 60 minutters søvn midt på dagen, aftog døgnets gennemsnitlige systoliske blodtryk med 3 mm Hg.

Samlet set var døgnets gennemsnitlige systoliske blodtryk 5,3 mm Hg lavere blandt dem, der tog en eftermiddagslur  i sammenligning med dem, der ikke gjorde det. Lavdosispiller sænker normalt blodtryksniveauet med en tilsvarende mængde, siger forskerne.

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!! Men også en pæn én i det her tilfælde!

Jeg er ikke helt sikker på, om dagens målinger er god eller dårlig nyhed, men jeg må i hvert fald gentage målingen hver dag gennem de næste 10 dage eller deromkring, to gange om dagen, for det tilfælde at, at de spørger mig om det her, enten når jeg taler med sygeplejersken eller med lægen under den følgende gennemgangssession.

Jeg har ikke haft det så godt som normalt de seneste 3-4 uger, men jeg kan ikke forklare det præcis. Jeg kan ikke sætte fingeren på det.

11:00 Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop kaffe og vi snakker lidt om mine blodtryksniveauer. Lois er aldrig blevet anbefalet at tage blodtrykpiller, selvom hun lider af lidt forhøjet kolestoraltal og tager statiner hver aften.

Hun tror, at hun senest fik sit blodtryk målt i Australien, da hun gik til lægeren: det var 140 eller deromkring, og lægen sagde, at dette var ”perfekt”. Men det kan være at hun ikke husker det godt nok. Så det er juryen stadig ude om.

Jeg må diskutere spørgsmålet med vores ny læge, når jeg ser ham/hende for første gang næste måned. Vi kender ikke nogen af lægerne på vores nye lægehus,unødvendigt at sige.

Overton Park, vores nye lægehus

Hvad vi virkelig virkelig ønsker at have, er en læge, der er klar til at tænke udenfor boksen, ligesom Dr Alan Thal, der ramte overskrifterne tidligere på året efter at han gav nogen ukonventionelt råd til den lokal mand Matt Richards, ifølge mit go-to lokale nyhedswebsted, Onion News.

Den lokale internist Dr. Alan Thal, som bemærkede, at han typisk rådgiver nogen under 120 over 80 til at gå apeshit, fortalte patienten Matt Richards for nylig, at hans blodtryk målte ret normalt, så han burde virkelig fucking give los.

"Nå, hr. Richards, du er på 118 over 74. Det betyder, gør hvad i helvede du har lyst til. Drik dig fuld, start en rygning vane - hvem giver en skid for det, gå bare amok, "sagde Thal og tilføjede, at han gerne vil holde øje med det, men i mellemtiden skal Richards ønske at spise så meget lækker , saltagtig mad som han har lyst til og proppe sig som en vanvittig.

"Blodtrykket måles i forhold til systoliske og diastoliske tal, og eftersom begge er fine, kan du stoppe med at spilde tid på at træne og gøre noget vanvittigt lort. Husk, du er 51 og ikke kommer til at blive yngre, så foreslår jeg kraftigt at du gå går helt amok hurtigere end senere. "

På pressetid var Richards død som følge af hypertension 20 minutter efter at have forladt lægens kontor.

Staklen! Men det er rart at se eksempler på, at læger tænker udenfor boksen, selvom det betyder at nogle fejl bliver taget fra tid til anden, synes jeg. Og der skulle altid være plads til enegængere i den medicale profession, synes jeg.

11:30 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og jeg cykler 6 miles (10 km).

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og vi slapper af med en kop te og en kiks i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af Top of the Pops fra juli 1987. Programmets vært er den charmerende Simon Bates.

Det er nostalgisk at se Pet Shop Boys igen med deres hitsang, ”It’s a Sin”, muligvis en biografisk sang af forsangeren Neil Tennant. Han må have haft en vanskelig ungdomstid som en åbenbart bøsse på en katolsk kostskole, ingen tvivl om det.

I juli 1987 deltog Lois, mig, og vores to døtre, Alison (12) og Sarah (10) i en stor familiesammenkomst i Loughborough. Alle efterkommere af mine mormor og morfar blev inviteret til festen, sammen med deres ægtefæller og partnere. Min mormor og morfar fik 9 børn – 7 døtre og 2 sønner, så sammenkomst altid var garanteret til at være stort anlagt.

tilbageblik til juli 1987: vores store familiesammenkomst

Closeup - fremhævet særligt: mig, Lois og mine forældre

 fremhævet særligt: Alison (12) and Sarah (10)

Lykkelige tider !!!!

21:30 Alison sender os en sms på whatsapp. Vores barnebarn, Josie (12), har vundet sin højskoles pris for ”Årets Unge Musiker (Junior Solo)” med sin klaveropførelse af Pirates of the Caribbean, om kap med 4 andre konkurrerenter.

Vores barnebarn, Josie (12) – hendes højskoles ”årets unge musiker (junior solo)"

Det er i sær beundringsværdigt fordi Josie ikke kendte til konkurrencen indtil for 2-3 dage siden, på grund af en misforståelse, så hun havde kun 2-3 dage til at øve. Hun vandt også 50£, hvilket var rart, for at sige mildt.

Vi er så stolte af hende!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzz!!!!!