Saturday, June 1, 2013

This Dad Can't Be "Stupid" About His Amlodipine

By B. Gregory Sloan


When my wife and I found ourselves in the portion of our journey in which we were rearing young children, our 3 were not permitted to utter the major "S" word. No sir, the big "S" word was not allowed. Our children were not allowed to call each other or anyone else-"stupid." Yes, one may consider that there are a lot of egregious words that need to be disallowed in a household before that particular one, and there were, but "stupid" was certainly one that was not allowed.

So, that's one particular reason that I began thinking about that particular word in regards to my own way of life and discipline patterns a few days ago. At the ripe young age of 54, there are a few doctor prescribed medicines that I take as needed. However, the most important one, the drug that I am truly instructed to take each day, is the medication that I am the most prone to overlook. It's called Amlodipine, which is quite commonly prescribed for high blood pressure(hypertension) .

But here's the deal with me. My level of high blood pressure isn't exceptionally high, or in the typical "dangerous zone," nevertheless, for the "Silent Killer' that we know hypertension to be, it's nothing short of "stupid" for a guy like me to fail to put a very high priority on taking that tiny capsule to ensure that my BP levels remain at a safe level. High blood pressure can certainly cause numerous dreadful things, including stroke, heart attack, and more. We simply cannot play around with it.

So, why am I more likely to neglect that medication than other meds? Well, it's because those hypertension symptoms aren't normally crying out. I have a small disc problem in my lower back for which I have medicine, and when it acts up, it truly lets me know about it. But, this is not actually so with my high blood pressure. It's quite a sneaky rascal. With very many diseases, the symptoms are certainly going to scream to you that it is time for your meds. But no, my hypertension doesn't tug on my coat sleeve and remind me.

So, duh ... stupid me. How hard would it be to put a reminder on my phone or something similar that I would do for various other important responsibilities? That way I won't fail to remember that very important capsule. It just isn't that hard! But, it's absolutely important.

So, okay, I continue to expect that my kids do not call one another stupid. However, this is one occasion in which I suppose their daddy has pretty well drifted into that classification on occasion. High blood pressure is very dangerous. Let's follow our doctors instructions and do the deal. Let's save our lives.




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