Just back from seeing my GP after having coincidentally having been rung by Anna in the pre-operative team at LTHT. By the way, this is the ONE team over there that has been proactive and kept asking about progress,;I passed on my thanks and congratulations for their efforts.
The pre-op people had spoken to my GP (or was it to the surgery, I did not check) to be told that I had not yet been to see him – what they did not know, nor were they told, was that I had an scheduled appointment about 4 hours after speaking with them. The pre-op people want three BP checks in a week and didn’t seem at all interested in my home checks, which is a shame because when I saw the GP he said he ws perfectly happy to accept them and didn’t even check my BP.
Instead, he perused my latest data, showing a reduction from about 160/100 to 140/90, and suggested that now I was on the full dose of Ramipril it was probably time to introduce another agent in order to bring it down even further. So I come home with some Amlodipine to add into the mix. Aparrently I have to watch out for (usually) transient facial flushing and/or swollen ankles.
OK by me, I believe that this will not only get me closer to a surgery date but will, in the long term, extend my life – always a good thing 🙂
Remember that all this is catalysed by a wish by the pre-op people, technically the anaesthetist, to get my BP ‘under control’. Now apparrently a pre-op assessment only lasts 12 weeks and my understanding is that I will only be listed once my BP comes down. With a queue of 16 weeks last time I asked, there is an interesting challenge here!
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