"Finally- no depressing news stories!"

... though the first part of this could qualify as a serious note.  As I may have intimated here and there, a "minor health problem" popped up last week.  Wednesday last, I decided to visit our twice-weekly nurse at work to ask after a somewhat stiff back,  Well, this nurse has a thing about blood pressure.  As in, "You need to watch yours or you'll be on medicine."  Now, last time they took mine I was 150/100, enough to get yet another scolding, back in late May.  Wednesday, I "blew" a 172/108.

How does it go up so far so fast?  I've no idea for sure.  Granted, in the interim, I was laid off 2 weeks and have been on short hours since.  Which means, besides the lowering of constant activity, my lunches went from the work usual of two cold frosted blueberry Pop-Tarts to actual meals.  And, my three-week episode with the little kidney stone that couldn't was also in this frame.  But these are all conditions I've dealt with similarly with no problems in the past.

So Monday came with the Dr's appointment and I was a bit stressed.  In addition to spending a weekend "feeling" like my BP was high, I was a bit nervous to see Dr Wuest again.  "Diet, blah blah... sugar, blah blah...weight, blah blah blah."  I had the words he told me last time ringing in my ears- "You need to lose 10 pounds by the next time I see you", which had a good deal to do with the fact that I hadn't seen him in 4 1/2 years.  But I thought I had gotten my stress down to manageable by the time the nurse took my BP at the office.

Guess again.  188/112.  WTF?

The actual time with the Doc was not near so bad as I made it out.  "Hmmm, 194, you've gained 7 pounds since last time."  The end.  For now... because he scheduled me to return next month, and to have a slew of blood work done the week before.  Oh and put me on Benicar, a name I never remember so I call it Booferal.

So we went to Walgreens to procure the Booferal.  "That will be $189."
"You don't want my insurance card?"
"We ran it through your insurance.  It saved you $38.  Unless that's old insurance."
Lord, I hope so. "Here, try this."
"Oh, that's much better.  $34.95."
But this stuff is supposed to LOWER your BP.

So I had Laurie run me over to Wal-Mart to check my pressure on their gizmo.  166/105.  Not great, but better.   The next two days I "blew" 158/100's, so it's starting to work.  And a good thing too.  I went through the store today looking at sodium levels in foods.  Moments later, I caught up with Laurie and sat down on the verge of tears.  "I am NOT (expletive deleted) living like that."  But I am going to make a decent effort to do SOMETHING.

The nurse at work basically told me to eliminate 95% of my diet.  "Microwave dinners are full of sodium."  Boy, are they.  She recommended me Cavender's salt-free Greek seasoning to use in place of salt.  Which I am using, but I don't use the salt shaker a lot in the first place.  I have four main demons that need shrunk.

#1 is potato chips.  I have them with every meal, on every sandwich (yes, on, not with).  I have cut myself to one small handful per meal, and have purchased some low-salt chips as well.  (of course at the new rate, it will take me about two months to polish off the bag and a half of regulars I have to work my way through first.

#2 is reading.  Yes, reading- I almost have to have something to read when I eat.  And it boils down to "I eat till I'm done reading" instead of "I read till I'm done eating."  That will be the easiest of the ledges to climb down off of.

#3 is eating after 7 PM.   GRRRRRR.

#4 is Pepsi-Cola.  Cutting sugar/caffeine has to start here, but I don't do diet and caffeine free Pepsi is like decaf coffee- a placebo, nothing more.  I have plenty of room to cut down, but this will be the big will power challenge.  Especially when I know SO many women whose Mountain Dew intake exceeds my own (including a co-worker that confessed to me that she was basically consuming my lifetime consumption of Mountain Dew every week and a half or so) and it PISSES me off that they can drink so much of something with MORE caffeine and sugar and be fine and I have to give up the pop or two a day habit of mine.  GRRRR again.

Laurie noted this afternoon, "It surprises me with all the joking you do about 'working on your coronary' that this even upsets you."  Exactly what I told my boss- "Here I've been working on my coronary for years, and now I gotta take medicine to PREVENT it!"  Well, I still have my "tumor" to rely on.

At least until I get that chest x-ray next month with the blood work.


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Bark Park party!!!!

Dexter and Cooper after the ball, with Brinkley closing fast.

Everyone gathers for the ball tug-of-war.  Except our hero, sniffing to one side.

Ball tug-of-war close up: Dexter and Cooper, with Brinkley watching intently, and Kaiser... er, bringing up the rear.

Gimpalong Cassidy.

The white dog in the way back, I don't know.  Boomer is next, and the rest you know.

Hooray!  Daisy's here!!!

And there she goes!

L-R: Brinkley, Georgia, Boomer, Daisy, Dexter, Scrappy, Cooper.