Like I said. Growing old is exciting!

I have been having bouts with low blood pressure. Usually 85/50 but down to 60/40. My vision gets glared, I get dizzy, and I feel punk. This happens at various times in the day. I often think that this is it. I am a goner. If I burp wrong, I think the same thing. A large part of my life is listening to my body and saying goodbye, cruel world. I hope that my underwear is clean and that my house (fifth wheel trailer) is not too messy. I tell you life is exciting with the thought of death just around the corner. You always feel so good when you do not die, and kinda proud. When I turned 60 I said "I have made my 60 years. I can go anytime now". But I have changed my mind, I would like to turn 90. (Next July 20)

Last monday morning I did my 45 minutes of aqua-exercise. Then I did a 1/4 mile on the treadmill. Shortly my blood pressure dropped. Laying down with my feet elevated helps, so I laid down on a bench. Good old John was soon at my side asking if I was ok. I told him I was and drove home. But this bout with low blood pressure was different. It lasted for four hours. That worried me. I did a lot of laying down with my feet elevated. I put a call into my Doctor. Dr Carter had me scheduled for a cardiac stress test in Shreveport the next morning. I was worried about driving 66 miles to the VA Hospital at five the next morning and then maybe passing away during the test due to low blood pressure. I left Dr Carter a message. Then I recovered and sent Dr Carter a message that I was ok. I even went to a volleyball game that evening. Felt good driving to the hospital the next morning. I was sure to tell the medical team about my symptoms. They did not seem concerned and said that they would be monitoring my blood pressure during the test.

Seven years ago (October 2007) I had a stress test at this same facility. Same hall. The test yesterday went good and I drove home. That first cup of coffee in two days sure tasted good!

Later in the afternoon Dr Carter called and said that she had compared my two cardiac stress tests. That is very good medical service, don't you think? She had good news and she had bad news. The good news was that my heart was pumping 50% better that it was seven years ago.  The bad news was that my heart had developed some blockages. I might need a heart cath procedure to find what is wrong. I had a stent installed in January 2005 after a heart attack. Maybe I need more stents? The Doctor also cut the dosage of a heart medicine in half. (Lisonopril)