Doctor visit

Yesterday I went to the doctor because my blood pressure prescription had run out. I had forgotten that I'd had a blood test done in October to make sure it wasn't messing with my liver or potassium, so we went over that too. The liver and potassium were fine. Here are my other numbers:

• Total cholesterol - 219 (should be 200 or below)
  
• Bad cholesterol - 139 (should be 130 or below)
  
• Good cholesterol - 33 (should be 40 or above)
  
• Triglycerides - 216 (should be 200 or below)
  
• Blood pressure - 130/90 (should be 120/80)
  

My last doctor (actually, she was just a nurse practitioner) would have FREAKED over these numbers. She was one of those over-reactors who was unable to discern between legitimate concern and just being dramatic for no reason at all. That's mostly why I found a new doctor 2 years ago. I like this guy. He looked over my numbers, told me they were all "just a little beyond what we'd like"... but then said, "Hey, and who's perfect, right?" He laughed and said everything was fine.

Actually, my numbers have been MUCH worse in the past. They've also been better at times. :) The blood pressure was probably high due to the fact that I'd just shoveled the walk in front of East of Chicago, and the roads were a little hairy getting there. So he gave me a new prescription for lysinopril (10 mg) for my bp. He also said I might want to try a prescription Niacin instead of the over-the-counter I've been taking. He said they just came out with one that doesn't flush too bad. So I'm going to do that to try to raise my good cholesterol. I've always had trouble getting it up (the cholesterol), and this is higher than it's been in awhile actually. A couple years ago I changed my bp meds from atenelol to lysinopril because I'd heard the atenelol could work against good cholesterol.

I also asked about the pain I sometimes get on the left side of my chest. Not the front-left, but under my arm. He said it didn't seem to be heart-related at all, but more of a "structural" thing. My dad has always had the same problem. His doctor had him quit drinking caffeine. It's not THAT bad for me to give up the coffee.

All in all, a good visit to the old doc. But now I need another blood test in three months to see if the prescription Niacin works any better than the over the counter.