First visit to the new doctor

I finally made my first visit to a new general practitioner. I'd been with my old family doctor for around 20 years and was not looking forward to seeing someone else. He didn't ask me before announcing his retirement in February though, so here we go.

The new doctor is much younger. He wore jeans and a button shirt. His office is in the Brooklyn Medical Center about a mile from our house. It appears to have a lab and x-rays and everything right there, so that's nice. Dr. "B" was nice enough too, though not as 'down-home' as Dr. A (those are their initials, not any kind of ranking). The receptionist and nurse were nice as well. I think it will work out.

I was only there because my prescription expired for my blood pressure medicine. And, wouldn't you know it, my blood pressure was super high while at the office (160/102). I admit, the top number has been higher than it should be for a while, but not the bottom number. I have a bp machine both at work and home, and I keep a pretty good eye on it. It's usually around ~130/78 or so, which I don't think is bad at all. I checked it at home right before I left and it was 160/88. I was already nervous about it being high before I even left. In fact, I've been nervous about it all week since I made the appointment. Of course, I checked it as soon as I got home and it was 146/79.

I don't know why I get so nervous about having my blood pressure checked. I feel so stupid. The doctor told me not to worry about it - since I had a list of my last two months' readings, and I'd like to think he felt I am fairly on top of it. He also read through my previous doctor's notes. He said he would like to get it under 120/80, and get my heart rate up in the 60s or 70s. My heart rate is normally in the upper 40s or 50s. I realize 120/80 is "ideal", but I think it's a little unrealistic to expect a guy my age to be that low, even more so to get my heart rate that high. Dr. A always said my heart rate was low because of my running. So I was a little disappointed in that.

My weight was at 167.9 pounds (fully clothed and holding my phone). I gained a bit during the quarantine but it's slowing coming back down. 

All in all, though, I was happy enough with the new doctor. He wrote me a new prescription for what I've been taking and wants to see me again in four months to see how I'm doing. My nerves have settled down too. If only I could keep from being nervous when I go...

"A cheerful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)