Annals of Medicine

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 30-day checkup to see how I was responding to my new medication. 

I don't like sharing medical information online, but if all this is to honest at all, then I can't leave out real-life, existential, life-and-death information.  That sounds more dire than I meant, but one night last July I wound up in the Emergency Room.

The diagnosis (which by the way, I don't believe) was a UTI.  But my urinary track felt fine (TMI, I know) and my symptoms were inconsistent with anything I've read about UTIs in men.  I don't doubt that the bloodwork and urinalysis showed an elevated level of white-blood cells, but I think that (and even a possible UTI) were a side effect of some larger and as yet still unknown problem that had me self-checking into the hospital on a Friday night. But the doctors saw the elevated white blood cell count, concluded I had a UTI, and gave me some antibiotics and sent me home.

During a follow-up exam the next week, the doctor was more concerned about my high blood pressure than anything else. He directed me to get a home monitor and check my blood pressure every morning for two weeks.  Surprisingly, I did, and it confirmed that my blood pressure was consistently in the dangerous Stage 2 hypertension phase. The doc put me on an ACE Inhibitor, Lisinopril, and told me to check back with him in 30 days.

During the past month, I continued to check my blood pressure every morning. I mean, I paid $150 for the damn monitor, so I'm going to get my money's worth out of my new toy. After starting on Lisinopril, my blood pressure almost immediately dropped from the Stage 2 level, but only to the Stage 1 or merely "Elevated" levels.  I was disappointed that the readings didn't improve during the course of treatment.

That brings us up to yesterday.  To my surprise, the doctor was quite pleased with the results. The average levels were right at the boundary between Stage 1 and Elevated, and that was good enough for him. 

But there was an issue with side effects - ever since starting on Lisinopril, I've had a fairly consistent, ticklish cough in the back of my throat.  It's more annoying than painful, but a few times it's woken me up in the middle of the night and I found it difficult to fall back asleep. I'm not a sound sleeper as it is, and the added challenge was unwelcome, as was the cough itself.  

Doc shared my concern, and switched my medication from Losinopril to Losartan, an Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker (ARB), whatever that means. Doc says it works just as well, and there's no need to put up with the coughing side effect.

I picked up the script today, along with a recommended tetanus shot and a booster for the shingles vaccine I got last year (I got a pneumonia vaccine yesterday at the doctor's office).  I start the new meds tomorrow.  

Obviously, I hope for the best.