Caffeine

pinhedz wrote:If coffee is supposed to increase your heart rate, how come when I just had 4 cups my heart rate dropped down to 49/min?

I am not sure , but I do know that in Athletics Caffine is currently regarded as the legal stimulant.

We're warned about the Health effects of excessive caffeine use on the London Underground.

Staff were once shown a "Health Information" video of spiders spinning webs under the influence of a range of substances from LSD to alcohol. By far the strangest and most disorganised webs were spun by spiders high on caffeine.

At work, I've switched to Hot Chocolate. Tastes vile, but I find that I become less stressed and I sleep better.

Had my blood pressure tested last week under a routine NHS initiative for the over 40's- viz. if you didn't respond to the 'invite' they'd strike you off the list of patients registered at the health centre I (rarely) attend.

It's too high.

My description of the health effects of working shifts must have alarmed the doc because she ordered blood tests: Liver function. Thyroid function. Fasting lipids (whatever they are). Urea. Electrolytes...and I thought this was going to be a simple test for cholesterol.

...or not so simple:

I'd been instructed to 'fast' from midnight before the test on Tuesday morning, which I duely did. But when I presented myself at the health centre at 8am on Tuesday morning, it transpired that my interpretation of the term 'fast' (i.e. don't eat anthing solid) didn't gel with that of the nurse who was to take my blood sample. I'd made the mistake of consuming several cups of tea with milk and sugar- which, it appears, invalidates the whole process.

Damn those fasting lipids.

So now the appointment has had to be rescheduled for Friday morning. Water only, for 12 hours before the sample is extracted.

Looking at the list of tests, I'm less worried about my blood pressure being high- entirely comprehensible in a stressful job, and treatable by meds and lifestyle adjustments- as by the thought that the high blood pressure might be merely a symptom of something more sinister.

Since the sample's got to be sent off to the lab, it'll probably be at least a week before I know what (if anything) is up.

Wiki says 'lipids' are, roughly, fats- of which cholesterol is one:

eddie wrote:Had my blood pressure tested last week under a routine NHS initiative for the over 40's- viz. if you didn't respond to the 'invite' they'd

strike you off the list of patients registered at the health centre I (rarely) attend.

It's too high.

My description of the health effects of working shifts must have alarmed the doc because she ordered blood tests: Liver function. Thyroid function. Fasting lipids (whatever they are). Urea. Electrolytes...and I thought this was going to be a simple test for cholesterol.

...or not so simple:

I'd been instructed to 'fast' from midnight before the test on Tuesday morning, which I duely did. But when I presented myself at the health centre at 8am on Tuesday morning, it transpired that my interpretation of the term 'fast' (i.e. don't eat anthing solid) didn't gel with that of the nurse who was to take my blood sample. I'd made the mistake of consuming several cups of tea with milk and sugar- which, it appears, invalidates the whole process.

Damn those fasting lipids.

So now the appointment has had to be rescheduled for Friday morning. Water only, for 12 hours before the sample is extracted.

Looking at the list of tests, I'm less worried about my blood pressure being high- entirely comprehensible in a stressful job, and treatable by meds and lifestyle adjustments- as by the thought that the high blood pressure might be merely a symptom of something more sinister.

Since the sample's got to sent off to the lab, it'll probably be at least a week before I know what (if anything) is up.

the sad fact is that no matter what you do , like me you will need to take a pill for blood pressure every morning for the rest of your life

Doc Watson wrote:the sad fact is that no matter what you do , like me you will need to take a pill for blood pressure every morning for the rest of your life

Well, we shall see when the results of the blood tests come through.

Just over a year ago I had a routine 55+ company medical. Shortly after I arrived at the venue I had my blood pressure tested- and it was too high. But they're used to that: the effect of trying to find the bloody place in the middle of a London rush-hour. An hour later, they tested me again and my blood pressure was normal.

Scroll on a year, and my blood pressure was tested three times in the course of my appointment last week:

Too high.
Lower, but still too high.
Yet lower, but still too high.

The downward trend is apparently encouraging.

But, as I say, we shall see.

eddie wrote:

Doc Watson wrote:the sad fact is that no matter what you do , like me you will need to take a pill for blood pressure every morning for the rest of your life

Well, we shall see when the results of the blood tests come through.












IJ
Just over a year ago I had a routine 55+ company medical. Shortly after I arrived at the venue I had my blood pressure tested- and it was too high. But they're used to that: the effect of trying to find the bloody place in the middle of a London rush-hour. An hour later, they tested me again and my blood pressure was normal.

Scroll on a year, and my blood pressure was tested three times in the course of my appointment last week:

Too high.
Lower, but still too high.
Yet lower, but still too high.

The downward trend is apparently encouraging.

But, as I say, we shall see.

I donate blood once a fortnight , with the tablets my blood pressure is at acceptable levels however when I see my doctor I get a higher level , he says I have white coat fever ! A second test lying down a few minutes later can often produce a lower reading.

eddie wrote:

Doc Watson wrote:the sad fact is that no matter what you do , like me you will need to take a pill for blood pressure every morning for the rest of your life

Well, we shall see when the results of the blood tests come through.












IJ
Just over a year ago I had a routine 55+ company medical. Shortly after I arrived at the venue I had my blood pressure tested- and it was too high. But they're used to that: the effect of trying to find the bloody place in the middle of a London rush-hour. An hour later, they tested me again and my blood pressure was normal.

Scroll on a year, and my blood pressure was tested three times in the course of my appointment last week:

Too high.
Lower, but still too high.
Yet lower, but still too high.

The downward trend is apparently encouraging.

But, as I say, we shall see.

I donate blood once a fortnight , with the tablets my blood pressure is at acceptable levels however when I see my doctor I get a higher level , he says I have white coat fever ! A second test lying down a few minutes later can often produce a lower reading.

Three or more cups of black tea a day is said to reduce blood pressure.

I drive the big girls to school every morning (the bus stops at 6:50 and if I drive them we can stay home till 7:20. Somehow that time is crucial to them).

Madeleine has been making me stop for a cup of coffee and pastry every morning this week. It's her own money so I don't feel right saying no. But I wish she'd drink what I make at home and get breakfast from me.

I'm afraid she's a spendthrift.

Got the blood test results.

Liver, Thyroid & Kidneys are all ok.

Blood sugar & cholesterol are normal. Don't have diabetes, then.

Only cloud on the horizon is an elevated white blood cell count, which could mean anything from:

1. After-effects of a winter cold.
2. Physical/emotional stress. (Both applicable)
3. Leukemia.

Got to have the same test repeated on Thursday to see what's happening.

Also repeat of blood pressure test at some point.

Well, we shall see.

eddie wrote:Had my blood pressure tested last week under a routine NHS initiative for the over 40's- viz. if you didn't respond to the 'invite' they'd strike you off the list of patients registered at the health centre I (rarely) attend.

Kafkaesque experience at the health centre reception desk this morning when I inquired about my blood test results.

They had no record of me as a patient because my local health authority had removed me from the patient list- but they DID have a record of my blood tests a week ago!

How is it possible, I inquired in my most polite terms, for me to have had a blood test here last week and NOT be a registered patient?

Upshot was that I had to go back to my flat and produce a utility (phone) bill in order to re-register before I could have a 'telephone consultation' with my doctor- i.e. she rang me up within a specified 2-hour timeline this afternoon to discuss my case.

Yes, the Tory reforms to the UK National Health Service are certainly producing increased efficiency!

pinhedz wrote:

eddie wrote:Also repeat of blood pressure test at some point.

Just get one of these (judging by the pulse rate in this image, I reckon the guy must be in the fight-or-flight mode):

Nice idea, Pinz, but I'm not sure whether I'd be able to interpret the readings.

^

Did the gizmo accompany you on the recent cycling excursion? If so, with what results?

pinhedz wrote:Another significant number to look at is the difference between SYS and DIA.

If SYS minus DIA is less than 50, that suggests young flexible arteries.

120/70 is a nice BP to have, because 120 - 70 = 50.

in my case (126/66): 126 - 66 = 60, which is a bit stiff.

Also ideal is SYS DIA X 1.5 which means ideal for 70 is 105
if you have 66 hte ideal is 99!
DI A over 90 is cause for alarm.
I havecoverdsl daily my SYS has ranged between 108 and 140 and DIA between 67 and 87

pinhedz wrote:

Doc Watson wrote:Also ideal is SYS DIA X 1.5 ...

Lean healthy 18-year-olds don't fit that formula based on US statistics; it's more like SYS = DIA + 50.

Statistics, of course, only tell us what's "normal." I wouldn't know how to define "ideal" (do doctors really think they know what's "ideal?")

Doctors often say that 120/80 (which fits your formula) is "normal." But the statistics show that doctors don't always do their homework: 120 "normally" goes with 70, not 80.

70 is far better as it is considersably lower

I donate blood every fortnight so I get regular checks on my blood pressure.

pinhedz wrote:I suppose BP is lower after than before?

I imagine it would be, but they only check before you donate!

Doc Watson wrote:I donate blood every fortnight so I get regular checks on my blood pressure.

Wow, you are generous. Over here we can only donate every 16 weeks!!

Nah Ville Sky Chick wrote:

Doc Watson wrote:I donate blood every fortnight so I get regular checks on my blood pressure.

Wow, you are generous. Over here we can only donate every 16 weeks!!

I donate plasma not whole blood . I have big veins which is why I am allowed to do it. It means more lives can be saved.

A red letter day yesterday, blood red to be precise.

Back to the health centre for a repeat of the the blood count test. More of the red stuff extracted from the vein in the crook of my left arm. The sample gets sent off to the labs of the Bart's & Royal London Hospital trust and I get the result in week's time.

Another blood pressure reading, too: higher than 3 weeks ago, but not, thank goodness, dangerously high. Got to arrange another reading in a couple of weeks.

The climax to this gore fest came when I was walking down the steep stairs to the Aldgate tube station platforms to lamp out the last trains of the night. I'm announcing the imminent departure of the last Amersham service through my hand-held Remote Platform Announcer gizmo and trying at the same time to deal with the confused drunk accompanying me when I become distracted and, about three stairs from the terra firma of the landing, I take a step into mid-air, in the mistaken impression that I was already on the landing, and crash painfully onto the ridged tactile paving placed there for the benefit of the visually impaired. Quite a lot of blood.

This morning my stiff right knee is starting to bruise and swell, so I've called in sick: Injury at Work, so it doesn't earn a black mark on my attendance record.

Reading these medical bulletins can be nowhere near as tedious, believe me, as the actual lived experience of navigating the minefield that the UK National Health Service has become under the Con-Dem government's "Reforms".

But anyway...

1. Blood pressure (on the 3rd reading) is still high, but not dangerously so. Got to make some "Lifestyle adjustments" (e.g. quit smoking) and return in 3 months for another test. Did I mention that the cholesterol and other blood tests (except the blood count) came back normal? No meds needed at this stage.

2. More problematic is the still elevated (but 'improving') white blood cell count. The first flesh-and-blood doctor (as opposed to a nurse or a voice on the telephone) I've seen in the past 6 weeks prescribed antibiotics for a chesty cough that's lingered long after the winter cold that set it off had cleared up. I'd put this down to working on a freezing gateline, but who knows? Also had a chest X-Ray this morning. Results in a week's time.

^

I was much cheered this morning when the doctor took my temperature by sticking a device of some kind IN MY EAR! How cool is THAT? A first for me, at any rate.

I ought to add that, ramshackle though the appointment/switchboard system might be at my local health centre, the staff are cheerful and dedicated.

I'm also being given access to medical equipment of a sophisication that a large part of the globe can only dream about.

Neither am I being asked for my credit card at the reception desk. I've already paid for these services through taxation.