HBP

Well, I distinctly remember having symptoms one day last year and I blew it off. I got home from work and was staining a night stand on my back deck. I got hit with nasty chest pain that lasted about 15 minutes. I couldn't take a breath. I called my husband (who was out of town) and asked him to stay on the phone with me. The pain went away and I went on staining the night stand. I thought it was a lung cramp or something. I always get weird stuff and am just used to it.

I've been having palpitations and burning sensations since June. I thought it was just low potassium/heart burn.

I just had my TSH tested last week and it was 1.67 or something like that. Lower than it usually is, but still in normal range.

The good news - my BP was 120/80 today. The pills are working and my GP claims they are the best. I get the results of the Echo in a few days.

Great news on your BP Sandi, The night on the deck sounds scarey! Im bad enough if i get indigestion chest pain, both grandmothers had bad heart probs from quite young. My old neighbour had a heart problem and was told not to eat Pineapple and Bananas too high in Pottasium. Be careful and take care, tell your boss hes an arse, im sure it wont be a sackable offence but you may get a chat in his office, are there any other jobs going around?
Julia

Sandi,
In this economy, I'd never tell anyone they should just quit, but it wouldn't hurt to be looking. I'm a lawyer, and I depend on my staff. Good ones are a treasure, and I'd never treat them like that and risk losing them. (Not to mention, after years of working together, they're my friends.) Great news on the bp, by the way, but don't let that boss give you a coronary.
Norma

That's great about your BP, Sandi! I had to laugh at Julia's response about what to tell your boss! Let us know when you get your Echo results.

Sandi,
You need to be careful after this. It's important that you let yourself take a rest once in a while; try not to push yourself so hard. As far as your job goes, it sure doesn't hurt to keep your eye open to what's out there. Hopefully, things will start to get better in the job market.

I have been looking, there is nothing.

Norma - he is a lawyer. I've been there for 14 years (he's been there 5) and I never call off, stay until the work is finished, put the job before my family and myself, and pretty much rush through every single day like a mad woman. I have never given any excuses for not getting work done - it always gets done. I have said on occasion that the stress is too much and he just gets mad about it and asks me what my solution is. Seems to me that's his job to figure out a solution. The rest of the staff are like my family which is another good reason I want to stay. Having had other jobs, I know that inner-office BS is everywhere and I could just make a move to something worse.

Sandi...I am just now reading this. Do they know for sure that you have had a heart attack or are they looking at the echo to see if this really has happened? How scary for all of us women and I guess it is true when they say this is the silent killer (heart attacks and hbp too)! I've been on bp meds since Caitlin was born because of my kidneys and I've had to switch several times due to side effects, but most of the time, they don't cause any side effects. (They shouldn't, so you should find something that doesn't cause you to cough or have shortness of breath.)

I'm so sorry that you have to deal with the stress on a daily basis, but it is comforting to hear that the rest of your co-workers are like a family to you. That is what makes a job all worthwhile! Do you have co-workers that will help you out if you are running around like a headless chicken? I am lucky to have a boss that recognizes when we are under too much stress that she will "order" us to take a day off because she says it is better to go home and get a day's rest because you will only come back even more motivated if you've had your "mental" day off.

Thinking and praying for you Sandi! Please take care of yourself!

Pauline:

All I know is that the tech did the EKG and the GP came in and said we will start BP meds today because the EKG revealed scarring and abnormalities from a prior heart attack. I have read there can be false readings, but right away that day on the deck struck me and I'm pretty sure he's right.

I haven't had any side effects from this med so far - except for sleepiness. The GP said this one makes you feel "aaahhhh" and I have felt a lot calmer. It even seems to be helping my always tense muscles a bit.

Yes, my co-workers do jump in, but my boss even made a comment about that. He said others are "doing my job" and that isn't fair to them. Well how fair is it for me to work through lunch when no one else does? We've always worked things out for ourselves without any problems, but he feels he has to micro-manage things lately. I think he's still peeved that I quit a few months ago.

Slip something into his coffee to help him "relax".

Lol i like that one! :woohoo:
Sandi, you don't get paid for your lunch breaks do you? Remember your work will still be there when your not. You need to look after no1, let the boss rant & try to let it go over your head. Leave work by the clock, im sure you wont get paid overtime.
Do the work you can do & if it piles up he will have to do something about it. If he doesn't like it he can leave and get a decent boss in, it sounds to me hes too stressed to do the job himself if hes like that.
I know it's harder said than done but you really need to lighten the load somehow.
Ill stop nagging now but we care & that's what women do!
Julia

julia wrote:

Remember your work will still be there when your not.

Amen to that Julia - and the person who takes over the job will not work through lunch, will not work late, will not come in early and will get paid the same as the person that had the job before.

I have deadlines that cannot be ignored. It's that simple. Thanks for the advice, but it is what it is.

I do get paid for OT, but not for working through lunch.

Good news. The results of the Echo were pretty good...very minimal damage. Follow up with GP in six weeks. I didn't get to talk to him and I have some questions, so I can't answer anything right now. That's all I know.

You must be relieved! If you feel anything weird again you will call 911 this time, right?
Erica

That's good news. And like Erica says, next time 911!!!!!!

Sandi, Glad to hear your good news. Do hope everything are going better. Love your reply to my post earlier which educated me a lot and made me feel more comfortable to go thru life with my hubby's ITP. Pray to god, you must be long and healthy life.

Glad to hear things are looking up a bit.

Now, repeat after me: chest pain, call 911. Chest pain, call 911......

Okay, okay.

Prayers of comfort and healing are being lifted upward right now!!!

The saga continues. I was taking Bystolic and it worked like a charm right away. I found out my insurance didn't cover it after two and a half weeks of samples. I got switched to Toprol and tried it today. It's not working. Question is: do some BP meds take a few days to work? I know it sometimes takes more than one med, but how long before they work?

My husband's was like that. He is taking Hydroclorot. When he first started it it was once a day. Then after a week or so it went to 2x a day. Still nothing, so they increased the dosage for each pill. Maybe that's the problem, your not taking enough. I dunno.

Could be. It's extended release though.