We spent a glorious four days at Staysail RV Park in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. We were there to visit our dear friends Dan and Sherrie, and as we always do, we had a blast.
Zoe, Dan, Steven, Linda, Sherrie and Dan! The view from our window at Staysail RV Park.
Steven finally gets to drive!! Scoopy gets a bath.
We are now in Bellingham, four days away from the official start to our trip to Alaska. The “To Do” list is long, at least in our minds. The problem is we don’t always write it down, so we’re left wondering what is it we really need to do. So rather than actually doing things, we talk about making a list. 🙂
Remember that whole “plans written in Jell-o” thing I wrote about previously? Yeah, that nearly happened. An unexpected issue came up that almost put the big kabosh on our entire trip. I happened to take my blood pressure Thursday morning and man, it was sky high. We jumped in the car and drove to Rite-Aid to confirm my little machine hadn’t gone off the rails. It hadn’t. Long story short, this high blood pressure event caused Steven and I to decide a trip to the ER would be the prudent thing to do.
First there was the ER doctor and then two cardiologists were called in, one for the consult and the other for the testing. As you can imagine, I blew through my very high insurance deductible in a matter of hours. 🙂 I spent the day there having every test imaginable. EKG, chest X-ray, even an exploratory angiogram. The nurse handed me a nitroglycerin pill and I ask, “what for?” She said, “for your chest pain.” I said, “I don’t have chest pain.” That was the end of that pill.
My blood pressure fell dramatically while I was in the ER. The nurse said it’s like taking your car in for repair and the mechanic can’t duplicate the issue. My EKG was perfect, my angiogram showed no blockage (big, fat arteries, they said…) and my chest X-ray was fine. I do have some moderate calcium build-up, which isn’t surprising considering my history of smoking. Even years after quitting it comes back to haunt me. (Don’t smoke, people!!)
In the end, I came home with blood pressure medication. One of the cardiologists gave his best elevator speech (twice!!) for why I needed to take statins every day for the rest of my freaking life, but that prescription went unfilled.
The good news is that I have been cleared for Alaska!
WE’RE GOING TO ALASKA!!!
The bad news is that the doctors basically told me to sit on my ass for a couple of days, so I am not really getting much done. We did make a trip to Trader Joe’s today, but that’s about all we’ve accomplished. Oh wait, before we left Oak Harbor we did wash Scoopy. That was a big damn job, but I figured if that kind of exertion didn’t give me a heart attack, then I’m golden.
UP NEXT: Oh, Canada!
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Dang girl! Good thing you checked it before you left for the great unknown. I resisted statins for a year but couldn't get my cholesterol under 200 on my own, although I did drop it 11 points. So have now been on 10 mg/day for five months and I'm at 156. Yay, and no side effects. Hope you continue to feel fine and your numbers stay low :-)))
Don't start me on the whole cholesterol/statin thing. 🙂 No, really, don't start me!! Here's the thing, they didn't even check my cholesterol. In all the blood work they did, they don't have a clue what my number is. What does that tell you?
Good to hear that you are OK and ready for the big journey. Just don't get sick in Canada like I did. Not a big deal, I only passed out a half dozen times. LOL!
Awww, thanks. I'm happy to have a good outcome, but could have done without the expense. 🙂
I am pretty sure you did not share that on your Alaska blog! Yesterday Steven re-upped our OnStar so we would have a sat. phone. Still, if I go, I go. Would have happened with or without a trip to the budget-busting ER. 🙂
Dang girl. So glad you're A-OK!!! Enjoy Alaska!
Thank you! 🙂
Wow, that must have been scary. Glad they didn't find anything. That's why I never check anything – just looking for trouble, I think.
LOL, if it were up to me, I'd never check anything either! Ignorance is bliss right up until you keel over. 🙂
Wow – glad to hear you are ok!
We will be seeing you soon!
Can't wait! We got a few things done today, so we're almost ready. Four more days!
glad to hear you are okay, Linda!..Americans may not want get sick in Canada but us Canadians don't want to get sick in the good ole USA..one stitch for me a few years back..$1500!!
take care of yourself..happy that Alaska is a go!!
Isn't it ridiculous? The good thing is that I met my high deductible fairly early in the year. It would really piss me off if this happened to me in, like, November or December. 🙂
Well, krikey, that's not good. Glad they didn't find anything serious, although I'd almost rather they find something you can fix then wonder what happened. Anyway, happy you are ok and still planning the big trip. Regarding that trip, I forgot to ask you if you have Mike and Terri Church's Alaska guide. I'm sure you've already been told to get the current Milepost. It's invaluable. But I found lots of interesting stuff, places and campgrounds in the Church book that did not appear anywhere else. I would not go to Alaska again without one.
Without a blood test I would not take statins. Lots of people have muscle weakness with statins, so if you don't need them, do not take them.
Why would they even suggest it if not for cholesterol??? I'm with you on no thanks! The joys of Alaska are bound to keep your BP calm anyway 🙂 – enjoy your travels.
Prevention of a heart attack, for which there is no evidence indicating it's effectiveness, particularly in women. Even if I had a blood test indicating high cholesterol, I would not take a statin, but that's just me. You are lucky not to have any known side effects.
We actually do have that book, only I think I left it at the ranch. 🙁 We did get the Milepost, but haven't even cracked it open yet. I guess I'd better do that before Wednesday!
Well, you need that sent to you ASAP. Much more valuable than Milepost, we thought.
So sorry that you had to go through that unpleasant little adventure! But so glad to know that all is well and that you can travel happily to Alaska knowing that you have big, clean arteries. :-)) Seriously, our bodies do all kinds of wacko things all the time — and then self-regulate. Perhaps you've been feeling a bit stressed about your Alaska trip? All those lists (or lack of and just thinking about them). Wishing you a relaxed and happy beginning to your trip.
Glad that emergency visit went OK. I have been taking statins for 14 years-no problems and good blood work.