We live in a strange world where some times we share personal information and sometimes we don't and sometimes it is a problem and sometimes not. There are those that will say I should not have said I was diabetic in a previous blog post.
To be honest, I find the lack of information, and/or overwhelming information, on the Internet to be an issue when facing some of the challenges of growing older and more broken over time. So I hope these occasional health related blog posts can be of interest to those who find themselves in the same boat as me in the future.
For a little while I have been on some blood pressure medications. I was originally not at all keen on this, but apparently high blood pressure is a "silent killer" and so it is important. The thing that swayed me was when I realised that my higher blood pressure was actually related to some headaches. I found I could not drink more than a certain amount without suffering with a crippling headache all night - nothing like simple de-hydration, and very binary - below a certain level was fine, above it was agony. Being a tad scientific I got an optic for my whisky bottle so as to understand how much I was drinking, and over time the amount I could "safely" drink got lower. Only when I was put on blood pressure medication did I realise the connection - some Perindopril and now Ramipril made all the difference. But over the years things have progressed, and so something more was needed.
I was put on Indapamide 2.5mg which works somewhat differently, and, well, works well on the blood pressure - too well in some ways! I have my first review of this with the diabetic nurse this week, and we'll see what she says - I'll add to this post.
Yes, I can drink what I like, but there have been a few odd effects. To start with, as they suggested, a lot more going to the loo, but that settled down. Headaches for a couple of weeks, but that has cleared up. Initially blood pressure somewhat all over the place, nearly passed out at one point. Again, settled down.
Overall, after a few weeks all I am left with is issues with low blood pressure (100/70) which mean standing up quickly, running up stairs and cycling up hill, are causing me problems. I hope we can address this with review of the medication and dosage.
But there is one really weird change - my blood sugar rising (one of the listed symptoms) meaning I have gone from 38 units a day to 56 units (so far) to try and address high blood sugar some of the day. However, oddly, I am actually finding myself much more awake and "with it" all day now, and sleeping just as well at night.
So overall, if you are put on Indapamide, I would say you may well have a few weeks of hassle in various ways. I got through quite a lot of ibuprofen in the first few weeks, but overall, it really works.
I hope this post was of some use...
Update: They don't have 1.25mg available, but do have a combined perindopril 5mg and 1.25mg indapamide combination - so trying that. Wish me luck :-)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Fencing
Bit of fun... We usually put up some Christmas lights on the house - some fairy lights on the metal fencing at the front, but a pain as mean...
-
Broadband services are a wonderful innovation of our time, using multiple frequency bands (hence the name) to carry signals over wires (us... -
For many years I used a small stand-alone air-conditioning unit in my study (the box room in the house) and I even had a hole in the wall fo... -
It seems there is something of a standard test string for anti virus ( wikipedia has more on this). The idea is that systems that look fo...
Out of interest Rev how do you measure your blood sugar? I've been messing around with some data from an RFID interstitial glucose monitor (freestyle libre), poor per minute accuracy but bloody good 15 minute averaged graphs. Curious if you have had any experiences with it seeings as it's at the intersection of two of your interests.
ReplyDeleteFor a long time my blood sugar has been no problem and so not needed a lot of checking - you can tell if things are getting our of whack either way and check. So I use the normal finger pricking crap. I expect that I'll look at something more sophisticated if ever I have to start doing more complex dosage.
DeleteRev ibuprofen shouldn't be your painkiller of choice if your taking an ACE inhibitor i.e. perindopril or ramipril, there's an interaction between them which can damage the kidneys
ReplyDeleteOoh, thanks. I'll check that.
DeleteThe odd dose here and there won't hurt but regular use is a definite no no, that also includes aspirin at analgesic doses i.e. above 75mg. Paracetamol should be your bog standard pain killer
DeleteParacetamol usually is - I only got ibuprofen because they come in big boxes! Thanks for tip.
DeleteMy blood pressure is regularly 100/70 or lower, and that's without any medication. I've had one trip to A&E after fainting, but they couldn't find anything wrong. I can't give blood, the one time I did 30 years ago I passed out while eating the post donation biscuit and woke up back on the donation bed. As a teenager if I got up out of bed too quickly I used to wake up five minutes later sprawled half across the bed.
ReplyDeleteBut my GP doesn't want to do anything about it (and neither do I really). Apparently there is no real downside to low blood pressure unless it gets really low, which mine doesn't.
Indeed, it may be that this is a bit lower than I need, so need to discuss on Wednesday and see what we can do.
DeleteThere are 1.5mg (prolonged-release) Indapamide tablets - I know, because I'm on them. Maybe the lower dose wouldn't take your BP so low ?
ReplyDelete