How Was Your Week? Taking Control

Do you accept the meds doctors hand out at face value, or do you conduct further research?

On Monday, I finally returned to the doctor, after undergoing numerous blood tests and scans, to discuss my results. He doesn’t speak English, and unfortunately, my Portuguese is limited, despite having studied it for numerous years. I prepared a prompt sheet of likely questions he would ask and my replies. I set up my DeepL translation app before my appointment and tested it to ensure it was working correctly. Of course, it didn’t work during my appointment, and it wanted me to install yet something else. I swear it is a conspiracy. Anyway, moving on, my mind went blank. He took my blood pressure, and unsurprisingly, it was high. It is always high in these situations as I become anxious.

Shhheeesh.

Then he looked at my ‘Conselhos do seu medico para reduzir o risco hipertensao’ sheet, where I recorded my blood pressure at home over the last few weeks. On my blood pressure machine, my readings are green, yet he decided to change my meds prescribed by a cardiologist. I asked about the side effects. It never translated. I felt anxious because the side effects of some meds, while potentially controlling one condition, actually make you sicker.

Then he pointed to the uric acid levels in my blood/urine. High. Another prescription.

Sure enough, when I returned home clutching my new meds, the potential side effects were horrendous. Yep, I know some are rare, but I am the person who fell into the minuscule percentage of knee ops that went wrong, so I think I can be forgiven for being hyper-cautious.

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/candesartan-side-effects.html

and

https://www.drugs.com/sfx/allopurinol-side-effects.html

Are you aware of this site?

Do you trust your doctor and blindly take whatever is prescribed without checking?

However, despite my natural distrust of the medical profession, he did identify one potential medical condition, and yes, I need further tests. AND he did confirm I had tendinitis in the hip and prescribed physio …. another plus.

This year, I discovered the horrors of ultra-processed foods and avoid them like the plague whenever possible.

Foodie Friday: Let’s Talk About Ultra-processed Foods

I feel the same about medication. My mantra: If symptoms can be controlled/cured by changes in lifestyle and diet, explore that route first. Meds are the last resort, not the first

My health goals for the next month or so are to try a gluten-free diet while I find a reputable dietitian.

Food on Friday: Going Gluten Free

Cut out shellfish to help reduce uric acid and make an appointment to see my private English-speaking doctor who understands my philosophy re meds for a second opinion.

That’s it for this week.

BEFORE I GO – RANT ALERT!

My brain is on overload as I try to process the News and keep abreast of fire alerts in Portugal, as the countryside is crisp and brown. A tinder box. We don’t have a siren where we are. It was threatened, but after the meeting, nothing materialised, and the last time there was a fire near us, we were not even aware of it due to the wind direction, so we had no smoke or visual access. If the wind had changed …

The official FB sites we relied on have now decided to include fire and disaster reports from all over the world, which grinds my gears. My anxiety levels are already on red alert, trying to filter out relevant news. Sigh… I need a glass of wine.

Do pop over to Natalie’s blog for more weekend coffee shares

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/party/0947c48dff70494f864207a65ade89aa

Featured image by: Image by Jan from Pixabay