Drugstore Cowboy

On my way home, for no real reason whatsoever, I began thinking about all the blood pressure medicine I take on a daily basis. I take three in the morning:Atenelol, Norvasc, and Lasix. In the evening before going to bed I take Lisinopril. Then, if I am feeling anxious, I also have Xanax to fall back on.

Addictive personalities, or personalities that find things or people to attach themselves to are very common. I believe there are many types of addicts and addictions out there than people are actually led to believe. It's just that no one wants to come out and expose themselves as being one of "those."

As a teenager and well into my late 20s, I was addicted to sinus medicine. I would take one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night before going to bed. Not only would I take regular sinus medicine, but I would also combine that with prescription strength Claritin-D, a decongestant. Can you imagine taking those pills daily for just about over a decade? I didn't know what I was doing to my body, until about five years ago when I went to the doctor about a sinus infection. It turns out it wasn't a sinus infection, but that my blood pressure was so high that it was causing all the vessels to constrict and giving me a very stuffy nose. My blood pressure was about 217/115. If you don't already know, normal blood pressure is about 120/70. Imagine my shock! Naturally, they didn't tell me right away, but instead the admitting nurse took my blood pressure twice because she thought it was "a little off." Ha! Then she got the doctor to take it, and that's when I asked what was going on because that was not the usual routine. They told me and immediately I thought the top of my head would pop off and steam would come out like in the cartoons. Either that or I would have a stroke right then and there. I didn't. Long story short, I was eventually admitted into the local hospital for two nights and three days and they got my pressure normalized.

I have some kidney damage for the undiagnosed blood pressure, but it comes with the territory. My kidney function has actually improved since those days, but it's not at 100%. These days my blood pressure is 117/75, and those are excellent numbers thanks to the drugs I take. It's ironic that I still have to take pills everyday, but only to keep me from dying. Interesting.

Everyone is an addict of some sort. Some are worst than others, but others, and you know who you are, just choose not to hang those addictions out to dry.

My sinus problems, remember those? They "miraculously" went away when my pressure went down.


Until next time...

Breezy