A little under 2 weeks ago I had just returned from a long weekend “vacation” that turned out to be very stressful. As usual the work load had really increased right before our planned get away. (more stress) Some of you know of some of my personal and business stress of late. (not that some of you don’t have the same or worse)
For some time I’ve known I have high blood pressure. Occasionally I would get bad headaches at night…check my BP and it would HIGH…I had a few different ways to get it to go down (short term)…I’d feel better…then on with life until the next time.
A few days after our recent trip I had some of the worst headaches I’ve ever had. My BP was up to the high 180’s/high 120’s. My BP reducing “tricks” would work a little but I will say I don’t think I have felt as miserable as I did for those couple of days. (I bet some of you are wondering why I’m not at the doctor by now…I’m getting to that)
1: I’m one of those that’s not a frequent doctor visitor.
2: I have NO health insurance.
3: My doctor I’ve been going to for the last thirty years just recently retired .
A week ago Friday night was the worst, through the night my left arm and leg felt odd and my left arm had felt numb. So off to the emergency room, after taking my BP they immediately started an IV to get something in me to reduce my BP. Then off to have a CT scan to rule out a “mini stroke”. (that came back negative) They sent me home with a prescription for BP med’s. Now 1 week later I feel better than I have in sometime.
After all that…a few thoughts…
As I said before I’ve known for several years my BP has been high. Here are my Ignorant reasons for not dealing with it.
1: Probably the biggest reason is lack of insurance. I have had the hope of affording health insurance and thought that it would be higher if I were pre-diagnosed with and being treated for high BP.
2: I had the misconception that BP medications were VERY expensive. Mine is a whopping $6.00 for 1 month!
3: Recently…the lack of a regular doctor.
4: Probably the most ignorant is having not taken more care of myself in many ways.
This post is not about looking for sympathy, but to hopefully get anyone that may be experiencing some of the same issues to get them looked into before it’s too late.
The $2500.00 emergency room visit (that could have been worse) would have bought over 35 years of BP med’s.
I’m on a mission to better my health…it’s unfortunate that it often takes a scare to get you going…
Jeff
[ November 05, 2006, 12:05 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Spradling ]
Posted by Mike O'Neill (Member # 470) on :
'The $2500.00 emergency room visit' EEK!
? Glad to be a canuck, I can't even fathom having to pay for emergency room visits.
Having said that, even with our socialist medcare system there are things that aren't paid, such as medications, and airfare to major medical centres... My wife's betaseron runs over $2200 per month, airfare to St. John's is $1200 per person. I'm glad we're covered under her teachers medical plan. I made it a priority to include comprehensive health/dental care for all my employees. The benefits outweigh the costs, and are greatly appreciated by the employees. I regard the overall costs as part of the employees renumeration package. Healthcare is definately not something to take lightly, and we smaller businesses should start thinking more like big corporations in this regard.
[ November 05, 2006, 01:15 PM: Message edited by: Mike O'Neill ]
Posted by Janette Balogh (Member # 192) on :
No sympathy from me Jeff but instead I offer lots of encouragement to start becoming more pro-active with your own well being. I've always been a strong advocate of that (since real early on) and can't speak loud enough about it.
*** Our health should be on the TOP of our "to do" lists! ***
Unfortunately sometimes, it will take a good scare to wake people up and get them in gear.
It is possible to get your pressure down without the meds. I have a girlfriend who has done (and is continuing to do) just that.
People make the mistake of fixing a problem temporarily. I call that a patch job. It's about changing your life for the extent of your life.
If you can find out what steps you need to take to reduce your blood pressure on your own, that would be good. However, it would take a lot of dedication to keep blood pressure down the natural route, and there is no guarantees that you even can. So if you take the path of taking pills to monitor it, that's fine too.
Still, why not help your body along. Take a real good look at the sodium levels in foods. Especially pre-packaged ones. You'll be surprised. I couldn't believe the sodium levels in cereal ... sheesh, a place you wouldn't think it would even be an issue. Jarred spaghetti sauces are the worse!
Oh, and there is that whole exercise thing. (thought I'd forget about that didn't ya?) It's pretty darn important, and it really does relieve stress too.
I see that November's Health post isn't up yet. You just reminded me about it. Keep us posted on how things are going for you and tap in on the health thread post occasionally.
We all learn from the experiences of others. Thanks for sharing yours Jeff. This may just be a wake up call for others too. ;
~nettie
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
Glad to hear you are doing better Jeff & that you are now proactively making changes.]
-grampa dan
Posted by Deri Russell (Member # 119) on :
Glad to hear you are taking care of things Jeff.
On another note-Is there no way that the Americans could "band together" and get a Letterhead group health insurance? I know my insurance guy would dive on something like that- all interested letterheads across the States? There's got to be hundreds. It seems to me when we were looking into Blue Cross 10 years or more ago they said something about group insurance. And I know that my college news has an ad in it that they have an auto insurance you can join. I mean what constitutes a group? Do you have to be related or something? Do you have to work in the same building? Or for the same company? Does anybody have a brother or sister in law who is in Insurance that would be able to answer that? Because the more people the less expensive it becomes right? Maybe you folks could explore such an idea and be able to afford it, because there would be so many of you. Just a thought. I'm up here in the great white North so maybe things work different down there.
Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :
Deri,
The problem with a group plan for everyone from sea to shining sea is that the health insurance premiums costs of each area are exceedingly different.
People living in New York City or Los Angeles will pay more than someone living in Boise or Spokane. Why? Environmental factors such as population, pollution, crime rates, cost of living, access to proper medical facilities, etc are all factored into what dictates what the insurance companies will charge. The higher the risks to health, the higher the healthcare costs will be thus the higher premiums for health insurance.
This is why a nationwide program will be doomed to fail. It would be a boon to someone living in a large metropolitan area while a small rural client will pay a much higher rate than they could have paid direct. Unless you could garner the membership of hundreds of shops, I don't see how it would be feasible.
Now, if a group of shops from around a particular geographical area would band and form a cohesive group, then it would be a whole different matter. There is power in numbers and the more members you could get to sign on then that would allow for better premiums.
The Chamber of Commerce in the Tonawandas had health insurance available to members. I was foolish not to take advantage of the plan and paid dearly for that when I had my heart attack last year. My partner was so afraid that the heart attack and subsequent costs was going to put Dana and I into bankruptcy that he locked me out of the shop to protect himself.
We are in debt but have recovered quite nicely due to the generosity and understanding of our debtors who reduced or forgave large portions of their bills. We have paid down the list from 15+ debtors to around six or so in the last year. It has been a struggle but we are making it.
Anyone who does not have health insurance these days is, in my opinion, playing Russian roulette. I have insurance through my job starting December 1st and Dana has coverage for both of us now through her employer (we do pay a portion of that cost) so we are covered.
Insurance is not something I will ever take for granted again. I learned my lesson the hard way. LOL! Ouch! I ain't getting hit in the head with tire tool again, let me tell you!
It happened to me, it can happen to you.
Posted by goddinfla (Member # 1502) on :
I had my blood pressure scare a year ago August. I sincerely thought I was going to die. My wife had lost her health insurance at work and I quit taking my 3 BP medicines. Two days later we went to Jenny Craig and I lost 65 pounds. Helped a bunch and feel so much better. I take one med now.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Dennis..It's funny (not really) how weight can affect a whole bunch of things.
I am reasonably tall, 6'2", and when I was in my 20's I weighed in at around 150 pounds. As I got older my weight increased and so did the medical concerns. I ended up with high BP, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
I ended up on too many medications for my liking.
I made an effort to lose weight, through brisk walking, pushing away from the table before a second helping and cutting back on my intake of beer.
I was, at one point, up around 235 pounds now I am back down around 175-180. Feel better, have cut my medications by over half, and all conditions are under control.
The main problem I have right now is..I am 62 years old and can't reverse that trend! Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
Ditto what Dave said. I've lost about 35lbs without really even trying. I think I told you guys, but my oldest is now in his teens, which lead to prayer and fasting. No joke. Not really serious fasting, just what I call "no treat days". I eat normal meals, but no snacks in between. Man what a difference. I can do push ups now. The feeling of strain on my heart is gone.
Since I have no life insurance, I was seriously pondering what I could teach to who, skill wise, so maybe they could carry on after my demise. But now, that day feels much farther away.
Posted by Serge (Member # 3645) on :
quote:The $2500.00 emergency room visit
I'd fight it tooth and nail and win.
I been to the emergency room few years ago and the bill came to..$1600. Blue Cross and Blue Shield was late for some reason, so the hospital tried collecting from me ..$1600.
Insurance paid them...$900 eventualy, I paid $100 deductable and that was the end of the story.
I know, I know, you don't have insurance, but... FIND OUT HOW MUCH WOULD THEY CHARGED IF YOU DID, and try negotiating that amount. I hate hospitals, I hate their billing practices, I hate their charges of $300 for 2 aspirin pills, and EVERY CHANCE I have to stick it back to them - I do.
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Jeff, I do sympathize with you because I have been there too. My BP was right up around where yours was, & a friend that I visited told me I was ready for a stroke.
Walking 30 minutes a day brought my BP down, along with water pills. Since I started walking, I now walk 1 hour at least 4 days a week, sometimes 5 or 6. And I quit smoking which was also very good. Once you start to walk, it inspires you to watch your weight & everything else, it really does. You start out walking slow, not fast, & you eventually can walk at a nice brisk pace without hurting all over when you are done! You get better every day, & also, I don't have heart burn when I am walking regularly!
The worse part is to finally start walking. It is hard to do at first, & you have to make yourself do it. I could never have just all of a sudden watched my health. It does not work that way for me. It started one thing at a time.
I am so glad you are taken care of now !!!
Posted by old paint (Member # 549) on :
jeff i can related to E.R. visit, mine was $5000 for an evening and all i got was a catherter....)))). iam fortunate to have been in the armed forces and have a service connected medical problem. ive had 3 surguries, all reqired 1-2 days in the hospital.....and thanks to the VA my only out of pocket expense is the medication they prescibe. all is well at present, just hada 90 day systo and they found one small tumor regrowing and promply destroyed it like they do warts!!!!! interesting procedure. as for BP.... iam 5'11" 61 and 275. i should be 215-230 at most. oct 20, i went to VA for systo, they checked BP prior to procedure, mine was 180/110. so after the procedure was complete the nurse re took my BP and this one was 131/72!!!!!! WHITE COAT SYNDROME.... will drive BP CRAZY. as an over weight senoir.....i can tell ya that most of the bp problems are food related.... i dont do a lot of salt, sugar, sodas, i do drink strong coffee....milk, and a lot of juices. am also a non meat eater..... i cant say for sure that this will lower youre BP but youre digestive system will not have to work as hard to digest food. i also dont do BUTTER, ice cream or any deep fired foods. something bout how deep frying changes the oils...effect youre bp.
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Confused]](confused.gif)
![[Bash]](graemlins/bash.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)