Has anyone dropped Diovan and done alright? - Page 16

frank619 · 02-15-2005, 12:18 AM

Okay, my numbers today are 136/98, which is higher than yesterday's numbers. But I expected this since it is Valentine's Day (or as men like to call it, according to Jay Leno, "Extortion day"). I didn't get a chance to call my doctor but I will tomorrow. I will probably tell him that I have been off the pravachol since before Christmas. So, i will probably be needing to look for another heart doctor soon. We'll see how it goes.
JTU, I am still a little confused. If there are foreign bodies in the body, the real culprit is our overproduction of white blood cells, right? Did your dentist say why this would lead to heart attacks or high blood pressure? I guess I am not understanding the process here. And would it follow, that someone that takes excellent care of their teeth (and all infections, for that matter) would not be having high blood pressure? I would love for this to be true (since, I cut back on everything the doctor told me to, cut back on my work load and started running 5ks on a regular basis and my blood pressure was still high). But I am not sure how this is panning out...

zuzu8 · 02-15-2005, 06:17 AM

Frank,

Periodontal bacteria and cardiovascular risk discussion on dental Board:

[url]http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=252313[/url]

Also here's a small article published in the NIH newsletter:

[url]http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/feb2005/nidcr-07.htm[/url]

zuzu

frank619 · 02-15-2005, 11:17 PM

Thanks for the links, Zuzu. I tried calling my doctor today but only got the nurse, I told her what I wanted and she said the doc would be calling me back if there were any problems.
I don't have those arthritis pains anymore. Maybe it was the calisthenics. My bp right now according to my machine is somewhere in here: 126/101, 123/94, and 126/96. I always take it three times because sometimes my posture makes a difference, or the way the inflating tube is coiled, etc. I do feel pressure around my neck area, however. It's been a busy day. So my numbers are a little high. Or at least I think they are. How do we gauge this? I mean before, wasn't 120/80 considered pretty good. Before that, I don't even remember any specific number to watch out for as a red flag number. I have to research the history of all this. If any of you veterans have any links for this, please send them my way.

frank619 · 02-18-2005, 09:10 PM

Checking in today: my bp right now is 128/86. I went jogging finally. I jogged one mile and walked two about three hours ago. Haven't heard from my doc about the tests, yet. Tell you what though, I have eaten fish for dinner the last couple of evenings and man, have I gotten a good night's sleep. I felt great today. This morning, though, my bp was 146/90, but even with this, I felt fantastic. I asked the nurse why I felt so good if my bp was "technically" high. She said that sometimes people get so used to bad bp that it is the opposite---when they have good bp they feel bad. Isn't this strange?
Anyway, one other thing I did do last night that might have made a big difference in how I feel today is that I slept on the other end of the bed--where there are no lamps or alarm clocks present. I've heard that electrical currents can sometimes interfere with sleep. And if you do not get a good night's sleep, you are not going to have good bp the next day. I've also heard that fish makes you dream. Boy, did I dream. Anyway, I haven't felt this good in a looong time. It is giving me extra incentive to start getting rid of the Diovan earlier than I had originally thought to do.

frank619 · 02-22-2005, 09:54 PM

Checking in my with numbers: 129/92. 111/92 and 124/89. That one-eleven freaked me out for a second.
I feel a little tightness on the right side of my neck and throat--is this angina? It just feels tight, like i am wearing a tie or something--it isn't a bad pain or stabbing or anything like that.
Also, my doctor finally called--well, the nurse actually--and they okayed most of my tests. The homocysteine, testosterone, VAP Cholesterol, etc. Usually I am terrified of needles and I take forever to go to the clinic, but this time, I can't wait to see my results. Especially the Cholesterol one to see how I am doing without the pravachol after about two months. And to see any changes without the hctz. These tests will make or break this experiment, y'all. If I am doing well, i will proceed to get off the diovan. IF not, well, I'll have alot of thinking to do. Either way, I am also kind of curious to see my testosterone score. I might start a pot with my friends to see who gets it closest.