My Story (Part III, let’s face it, this is going to go on and on and on)

In the fall of 2009 I went to see the Cardiologist. She was very nice and seemed so interested; she spent an hour and a half with me. We talked about what I was experiencing and she went over my blood test results and took my bp. She said my bp was elevated. I explained about the GYN appointment and subsequent bp readings and she determined that I had high blood pressure. Also from my blood work, she determined that my cholesterol was high (I’ve always been kinda borderline). Her first recommendation was that I quit smoking (yes, I smoke, please don’t judge), however since she figured I wasn’t going to up and quit my nasty habit overnight, she would prescribe some medication (Norvasc 10mg.) for my hypertension and explained that once I quit smoking I could probably be taken off the meds. She also prescribed Niacin for my high cholesterol and suggested that I purchase a blood pressure monitor to check my bp in the morning and at night and to keep track of it.

I had never had any serious medical issues before this. I had never needed to take medication for anything except the occasional antibiotic. I called myself a “pill virgin” because I rarely took anything but Ibuprofen once in a while. The cardiologist also suggested that I come to her main office (her office was in the next county down) to take a Treadmill Stress Test. I scheduled the stress test for that weekend. At the time I didn’t question this doctor one bit. She was so nice and kind and really listened to me (something I rarely experienced with doctors in the past), she even gave me her cell phone number, just in case I needed to get in touch with her.

That weekend, I went for the Stress Test. I passed with flying colors; I didn’t even break a sweat. She said that my heart was in very good condition except that I had a bit of muscle thickening, but she figured that my hypertension was the cause. At this point I hadn’t begun taking the medication she had prescribed, but was to start that week.

I began taking the medication without incidence. I was on it for a week, then my world came crashing down.