So at the end of this month I'll be 47 not quite sure where all those years seem to have vanished too...

The reason for this post is just a reminder to us all to check your health and unlike me visit the doctor a bit more frequently than 8 years ago. You see being married and having two children has obviously done me no favours at all with my health, not forgetting the passing of all those years and putting on a stone in weight. I'm quite "fit", I cycle at least an hour every day, feel perfectly fine and am always very busy. I gave up caffeine coffee over a year ago (haven't missed it at all), however when I went to the doctors last Thursday, oh boy reality check time! That evening I was in hospital , blood sample, ECG, X-rays and other samples...

Problem? Blood pressure was mental high at 185/120, it did come down a bit that day but I was a the top of their chart, in fact on some charts I was not even on the page in some kind off of no mans land of extreme pressure!

So I'm on some little white tablet a day, have stopped all coffee, only drinking water and am dieting like a boss. I've bought a blood pressure measuring machine which was only £40 although you can get cheaper. I'm doing 3 measurements every day, plus my weight and plugging that into a spreadsheet to see my progress. In 5 days am now at 151/101 but want to be down in the green something like 100/70. So really what I'm saying is do yourself a favour and visit the doctors rather more frequently than me and to make sure you are as healthy as you think.

Cheers





[Edited on 14/6/20 by Mr Whippy]

Hey Mr Whippy!
Thanks for sharing your story and for the sound advice to be a bit more proactive with our health. I’m glad that you got checked out and are now hopefully on the road to recovery.

I know I’m not as fit as I was this time last year and have already started to put that right. I already track my heart health on my Apple Watch but it wouldn’t hurt to get hold of a blood pressure monitor and check that too.

Get well soon and thanks again for your timely reminder to stay healthy!
Best,
Craig.

i wonder if there would be any appetite for a thread on the forum for health progress? might be a good way to support each other?

Hi all

I can sympathise with the above, as I at around 24 I had series heart problems, never found out why, and around 40, had very high blood pressure, and was put on Candersartin had ecgs, etc, and 24 hour moniters
My blood pressure was caused totally by stress and work,

However was it, as I am now 60, and in the last 3 months lost half a stone, no longer eat so much crap, as in 3 bags of crisps a day
mcdonalds a couple of times a week, we have a pressure machine, and both of us are now in the 130/85 bracket,

and that is normal, I don't think Mr whippey will ever get to 100/70, as that seems very low

but keep doing what you are, and the weight and pressure will drop

steve

All good points and thanks for the reminder, having had kids, the last 10 years have gone very quickly... You end up focusing on others forgetting about you own health..

A good mention MR Whippy, I suspect many of us have issues of one sort or another and no idea. SWMBO switched me to decaf coffee 6 years ago now and (as you say) I didn't really notice the change taste wise. I did notice I sleep better though, which has to be a better thing.

My GP surgery has a walk-in and self-use blood pressure test machine. Takes 10 mins to do and I pass the GP's once a week so really ought to use it more. I'm sure many other GP surgeries have the same devices available.

I thought all the stuff about coffee increasing blood pressure was wrong? I pretty much only drink coffee and have 5-6 a day of proper espresso with a bit of cream and hot water

[Edited on 15/6/20 by SJ]

I want to echo this - I put off going to the doctors after a slightly scary moment cause I was busy. A few days later i had a repeat so reluctantly went to see the doctor.

The scary moment was probably down to overwork and lack of sleep. However that visit prompted a full MOT which found cancer. Luckily it was found years earlier than it probably would normally be found and means I've had successful treatment.

We're not indistructable.
We're not imortal.
The sooner its found the easier it is to fix.

Think of yourself like a car - you can ignore that oil drip from the engine or you can fix it now. Fix it now and find the sump plug is lose - easy fix & simple to check for the next few months. Leave it till the plug falls out, you lose oil presure and throw a bearing, which then ends up with a rod throug the block.


(and its far easier to say this than to do it - i've been miserable with an on / off headache every few hours for 9 days before my wife persuaded me to call the doctors last week. Sorted within 3 days)

After a certain age (about Level 40) evening sneezing wrong or sleeping funny can be crippling!

I went to the Docs about constant headaches 5 years ago and he said 'The human body starts slowly giving up at 25!!! When you get to 35 you start to notice!'

My constant headaches were solved by getting some glasses!

quote:

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Originally posted by SJ
I thought all the stuff about coffee increasing blood pressure was wrong? I pretty much only drink coffee and have 5-6 a day of proper espresso with a bit of cream and hot water

[Edited on 15/6/20 by SJ]

---

quote:
Originally posted by SJ
I thought all the stuff about coffee increasing blood pressure was wrong? I pretty much only drink coffee and have 5-6 a day of proper espresso with a bit of cream and hot water

[Edited on 15/6/20 by SJ]


I know a couple of people who do this. I have a max of 2 coffees a day in the week at work but find at the weekend if I don't then a headache isn't far away.

Do you get withdrawal symptoms?
----------------------------
No, doesn't make any difference. Also I regularly have coffee just before bed and sleep just the same. Guess it affects people in different ways. My wife won't drink tea after about 5pm. If she does she can't sleep.

[Edited on 15/6/20 by SJ]

Thank you Mr Whippy, what a great thread - perfectly timed for me as my other half and I were speaking about this only yesterday.

You have inspired me to buy a blood pressure monitor which will be delivered today by Argos. I didn't know decent ones were so cheap.

During the last few years I have not coped as well as I should have with the ever increasing stresses of work and family life and I can feel it taking it's toll as I too approach 50 years. A good result would help relieve some of this stress, a bad result would help the prevention of something grim happening, hopefully. I am not expecting a good result but with how I feel generally I wouldn't anyway!

David

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve m
Hi all

I can sympathise with the above, as I at around 24 I had series heart problems, never found out why, and around 40, had very high blood pressure, and was put on Candersartin had ecgs, etc, and 24 hour moniters
My blood pressure was caused totally by stress and work,
steve

---

HI all, Yes a very interesting thread.

I'm 51 in a few days and the last 10 years are telling me i'm getting older. Have had the advantage of changing from site work to working in an office, until the lock down ended and I've had to make up a lack of labour in our workforce by going back out to sites as well as doing my office job after.
Boy do i ache these days, little nicks of cuts on my hands hurt more so i notice them more than old times and seam to take longer to heal, aches take longer to go away, and daft injuries are staring to occur without doing anything unusual.

I guess we all just need to learn to slow down a bit as we get older, but to always try to do as much as possible or else you'll stop early.

I've been very lucky and not needed see my doc for about 15 years so far, although i did a 'walk in' session about 6 months ago after breathing problems, only to find out i wasn't cleaning out my water bottle often enough when i swim each week

For me it's a 'brain' thing. I must realise i'm getting older and should attempt a bit less of exercises. As we get older, we take longer to recover.

Jason

quote:

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Originally posted by Charlie_Zetec


I'm now 37, and about 8 years ago suffered some real crap at work from my line manager that triggered what I later found out to be ulcerative colitis (a variant of Crohn's disease). I left that job, but endured consistent gut-wrenching agony and severe discomfort passing stools (incl. blood, regularly) for over 18 months before I finally got it checked out and diagnosed. It's a life-long condition that can flare up if not controlled by diet, exercise, and occasionally medication, leaving me in agony and bed-bound for days at a time. Luckily (touch wood) I've not had a severe episode for almost a year now, but it's something that is always there.

When growing up, I was regularly told "Are you a man or a mouse?" if/when I hurt myself; I don't regret or begrudge this in any way as I believe it makes people think about if an illness/injury is actually worthy of professional medical attention, rather than hypochondriacs that frequent the doctors or (worse still) hospital for paracetamol and a plaster - but it's true that we're not immortal, and general health should be more of a concern/checking point for people.

But then again, that's the joy of hindsight - as my dad would say "age and experience will always beat youth and enthusiasm".

---

Age can get you in various ways - in my case, I went to the doctor because I kept getting urinary infections once or twice per year. Men shouldn't get urinary infections very often, due to the length of plumbing involved...

Got sent off for a blood test, then a day or so later I got a forceful phone conversation with the doctor, along the lines of "you have an appointment at the hospital tomorrow, be there". I am now in the 3rd year of treatment for prostate cancer, a month's worth of radiotherapy followed by a 3-year course of hormone drugs. Hopefully the drugs will finish in December, as long as my PSA score remains very low (currently too low to measure apparently, but that's mostly due to the drugs). Fortunately mine was stage 2, meaning that it hadn't spread into my bones (I was checked for that anyway, as part of the investigation).

Then it's 2 years of monitoring to make sure it's gone away... Very scary times for me and my wife in the beginning (she suffered depression because of the stress in the family).

So fellas, if you get to 40+ and your waterworks start to misbehave, TAKE NOTICE and see a doctor. Catch it early enough and it's far more treatable. Don't ignore it, whatever you do - the doctor won't criticise you if it's a false alarm.

We have to remember, that a thousand years ago, living to the late 20's was rare. and even a hundred years ago, 50-60 was VERY old

yet I do not feel old at 60, but ask me again in a year or so !!

"So fellas, if you get to 40+ and your waterworks start to misbehave, TAKE NOTICE and see a doctor. Catch it early enough and it's far more treatable. Don't ignore it, whatever you do - the doctor won't criticise you if it's a false alarm. "

Mine did David, refused me tests, as they are irrelevant, even though my Dads brother died of prostate cancer at 57, and Dad had it at 63

Luckily I have written evidence from the then head practitioner to say the above, so if I do get it, I will sue for millions

I paid for an independant test, and came back clear

The PSA test is what saved my life. Diagnosed at 44. I should never have had the test but the doctor did the works. The rules state (iirc) over 50 for white men, 45 for black men (genetically more prevalent).

If I'd waited till I was 50 it would have been game over as it was already aggressive and starting to spread.

So after reading this thread how many men are going to the doctor's? Probably none as we're all fine really, it's nothing etc ☹️

I was told it was for over 60, colour never came into it, as im pink

Wait until you get to 64 like me

quote:

---

TextSo after reading this thread how many men are going to the doctor's? Probably none as we're all fine really, it's nothing etc 

---

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/projects-and-policies/consensus-on-psa-testing/psa-consensus-for-health-professiona ls&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjHhdDsxITqAhVklFwKHWwaAboQFnoECAMQAg&usg=AOvVaw1Kd_pY0g1F7yDRJSANG_lI

It definitely is 50 generally and 45 for men at risk for PSA Tests. Also if anyone is worried they should do the blood test twice before they do a manual test. So they're only doing the manual test if there is something to concern them.

I'm generally fit and healthy. I drink too much but otherwise I'm ok. I used to do quite a lot of hill walking and one day in deep snow I just couldn't keep up and I was knackered. Thought nothing of it then on another walk I had chest pains and a mate told me of a friend of his with similar symptoms who was in hospital after a heart attack. So I went to see the doc. Life changed then, off to hospital for an exercise stress test, consultant told me I needed a triple bypass and I must just put my feet up and do nothing until the op. In the end I opted for stents (an engineering fix appealed to me rather than butchery). Glad to say that 8 years later I'm still absolutely fine. I was bloody lucky, caught in time before a heart attack.

If you're put on statins and they don't agree with you (muscle pain is a common side effect), go back to the docs and insist on a change until you find one that you can tolerate. I started out on the common cheap one (can't remember the name) which made me feel awful and I switched to Atorvastatin which is just fine with me.

The final twist in the tale is that I was booked, all expenses paid, to be second mechanic for a classic 60s GP car in the Monaco Historic race. The consultant banned the trip saying the worst place in the world to have a heart attack is Monaco unless you're a multi millionaire. Bugger!. but I'm still here, 73 in August.

This might make some of you youngsters think a little about lifestyles.

Eighteen months ago I was sitting listening to a talk when I suddenly felt queasy so I left the room and went outside until it cleared. Ten minutes later I was back inside and feeling ok but when I left around 30 mins later I started to feel unwell again and this time it continued. Nausea but no aches or pains. Around an hour later I was driven to A&E where they prodded and listened then they told me that I had had a massive heart attack so they fired me up to a ward. Later that evening they had to break out the jump leads and give me a jump start. Then a two hour blue light journey to Aberdeen followed where they had to break out the jump leads again before installing a stent. At some point in time time that evening I decided to retire as I had already passed the sell by date.

Six days later I was released and the 100 mile journey home was exhausting. Now my diet has totally changed, no junk food, 99% healthy stuff now, lorry loads of fruit and veg, lots more exercise, cycling and walking but I still indulge in strong coffee daily.

Before all that I was a driver, a non smoker, a very light drinker, around about 82kg, my blood pressure was just on the edge of high now it's normal and ticks over at 45 bpm at rest. Candesartan, Bisoprolol, Asprin and Astrovastatin are the daily dosage until the end. Hill walking is on the to do list when this lockdown is over.

Now I want to build a roadster based on an Mx5 so again I find myself poring over these wonderful pages.

Blimey lots of eye opening stories there thank goodness so many actually did go to the doctors! Blood pressure is a real sneaky one, it's like your cars brakes going bad slowly over time and you only notice when you drive someones else's and smack you head off the steering wheel...

The reason I went to the doctors in the first place was there was some blood in my urine which gave me a fright, a big fright as first thing pops into my head is prostate cancer however it does not seem to be that at all and basically my blood pressure had reached a tipping point where my kidneys could not prevent blood entering my urine or so I have been told. That aspect has completely gone now my blood pressure is a lot lower and even when I got home the next day it was no where near the 185/120 at the hospital. If anything is going to raise your blood pressure it's being in a hospital being poked with needles

I'm a lot happier now and although my BP is still high I can see in my charts its coming down everyday, as is my weight. I'm taking 5mg Amlodipine once a day for 30 days (so far), for a tiny pill it's doing quite a bit . Here's my spreadsheet I knocked together to track my progress which I'll take to the doctors on Thursday in case just going there raises it!

The top line is an average of the 3 tests below btw

Cheers







[Edited on 15/6/20 by Mr Whippy]

One thing I didn't mention in my post about prostate cancer and me - Ipswich Hospital Oncology have been brilliant, in conjunction with Macmillan Cancer Support. I went to a Macmillans presentation when this all started, with some people coming in from other regions; their experience was nowhere near as good as mine, to the point where the Ipswich Macmillan nurses were taking those people aside and helping them to fill in forms for all the benefits they didn't know they could have.

I was, at the age of 57, having sporadic chest pains when doing anything strenuous.

Having done some online research, I kind of knew it was angina, but it took me a month or so to finally pick up the courage, and go to A+E.

This was my birthday, as I had the day off work anyway, 5th March.

After four postponed surgeries due to Covid 19 and other factors, visits to four different hospitals, I had triple heart bypass on 18th May.

Five weeks later feeling better all the time, brisk walking about 4 miles a day. I can`t drive my track car yet, but hopeful for an outing later this year.

Cheap smart watches are pretty accurate nowadays with their blood pressure monitoring. I've checked mine with the one in the Doctors and it seems to be bang on. Quite handy as it charts my blood pressure through the day along with blood/oxygen and heart rate. I just wish it possible to check my blood sugar the same way (I'm T1 diabetic).

I wouldn't treat the measurements as gospel, but better than carrying a machine around

Mine is a cheap chinese analogue watch with a tiny screen that connects to my phone through bluetooth.

Interesting thread I will endorse not putting off a visit to the GP if things don’t feel right.
About 5? years ago mid 50s I started to put on a bit of weight. Climbing stairs was hard work and I felt lethargic. It was OK though as I worked with 2 blokes in their 70s and that’s what they were like. I was just getting old !!
Other strange things- temperature regulation was out the window - U could spend an afternoon in the sauna watching people come and go. Yet on sunny days if the air con was on in the car I could get white fingers.
My wife who was a GP said there was definitely something wrong but I was too busy to go and see about it. Eventually she took a blood sample and sent it in to the lab. That evening I got a call saying I should go to hospital urgently. Turns out my thyroid had packed up completely. Daily tablets for ever more, weight came off feel much better and younger!! It could have been sorted much quicker, the doctor at hospital found it hard to believe that I had held a job down while in such a state of ill health!!
Hope this saga helps some one to decide to go and get sorted out!
Atb
Mike

I think it is definately a bloke thing; to pretend nothing is really wrong. Translated to Australian "She`ll be right mate".

My wife gave me a very hard time, as I had kept my chest pains from her for about a month, before coming clean.

Yep, definitely an interesting and thought provoking post. I remember getting an invite letter for a 'health MOT' when I turned 40.... that was 6 years ago and I've still not done it!!

I can't really say that I feel unhealthy, but I'm definitely not as fit as I could be. But losing my uncle recently and now my mum being diagnosed with cancer (operable thankfully), I think it's about time I get a review.

quote:

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Originally posted by Slimy38
Yep, definitely an interesting and thought provoking post. I remember getting an invite letter for a 'health MOT' when I turned 40.... that was 6 years ago and I've still not done it!!

I can't really say that I feel unhealthy, but I'm definitely not as fit as I could be. But losing my uncle recently and now my mum being diagnosed with cancer (operable thankfully), I think it's about time I get a review.

---

So Mr Whippy how how's the heart going? Had the graph kept coming down?

I'm probably going on a bit but I want to bang the drum a bit on prostate cancer and cancer in general. I had ZERO symptoms and was just at stage three when they removed it. A few more weeks and my prognosis would have been a LOT worse.

My dad had a site on his face which didn't heal, he didn't go to the doctor for a year. Turns out it was cancer. Ate half his face, spread to lungs and kidneys. Amazingly an experimental treatment has saved him (so far). Treatment funding is only temporary, not looking forward to when it ends. He had a second mark, went to doctors after a could of weeks. It was also cancerous, was removed under local anesthetic and that's the end of it. If only he'd not waited.

quote:

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Originally posted by Fandango
I think it is definately a bloke thing; to pretend nothing is really wrong. Translated to Australian "She`ll be right mate".

My wife gave me a very hard time, as I had kept my chest pains from her for about a month, before coming clean.

---

Hi,

Reading through the posts there are some real harrowing stories, wow.

My BP is well under control now and virtually normal though the doctor said I had high cholesterol so have switched to a very healthy diet of fish, shell fish, masses of veg, rice & chicken so I expect that will sort itself out soon enough. Feeling so much better and it turns out that there were in fact a lot of symptoms I'd not picked up on or even recognised as such due to it being such a slow process. Really glad I did go to the doctors in the first place as I think it would have ended up badly very badly...

As for everyone still recovering I wish all the best.

Cheers