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Well doctor, your staff prefers to take my blood pressure while talking to me and putting a thermometer in my mouth which I'm certain violates the protocol and

Well doctor, your staff prefers to take my blood pressure while talking to me and putting a thermometer in my mouth which I'm certain violates the protocol and the target numbers were lowered by a significant amount a few years ago to boot and most people would resent pharma companies even in the best of times, so may I just accept my miniscule stroke risk in peace please and maybe focus on the underlying issues? I already have to piss all the time from the chlorthalidone which costs more than Netflix, though it was developed a half-century ago and is made by the ton. You missed the dehydration signal in my metabolic results and your renal imaging req came up clear but cost $2k. Can you do anything to help me live because the medical industry is doing a lot to make not living look good, or not being a patient.

LeafItAlone 3y ago
Sounds like you either need to communicate with your doctor better or find a new one. Doctors are human and not all-knowing (no matter how some may come across) and the patient needs to be part of their care.
deleted 3y ago
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matheusmoreira 3y ago
Actively talking during blood pressure measurements can cause false positives. Listening and sampling of temperature in parallel shouldn't. Target systolic blood pressure in hypertensive adults is still 120-130 mmHg. The stroke risk is certainly not "minuscule", people die a lot less when they take the medicine. Underlying issues are likely to be exacerbated by hypertension since it causes continuous damage to major organs. Chlorthalidone is not the only anti-hypertensive medication available, there are other effective drugs with no diuretic effect, I suggest you talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of each class of drug so you can make an informed decision. They are certainly not risk free. Costs of testing and medicines are a matter of private and public policy, your doctor has zero influence on that, it's not their fault.
- midnightauro 3y ago
  I left a specialists office because the staff had a nasty habit of walking me UPSTAIRS and then straight into a chair with the cuff going on. I was pretty sick at that point and bedridden at times so going upstairs had my heart rate meeting Jesus for the first few minutes of activity. They tried to take me off my medications that could be “raising your blood pressure before you have a stroke”. I went to a sane office who asked me to continue daily home monitoring and accepts my current pcp’s measurements. Somehow the drastic intervention in the prior paragraph has ever come up again.
  - matheusmoreira 3y ago
    That's obviously gonna cause false positives. Physical exhertion causes the heart to respond to the greater demand for oxygen. I used to see patients in a clinic that had an elevator and stairs. Dealt with that every day.

LeafItAlone 3y ago

Sounds like you either need to communicate with your doctor better or find a new one. Doctors are human and not all-knowing (no matter how some may come across) and the patient needs to be part of their care.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

matheusmoreira 3y ago

Actively talking during blood pressure measurements can cause false positives. Listening and sampling of temperature in parallel shouldn't. Target systolic blood pressure in hypertensive adults is still 120-130 mmHg. The stroke risk is certainly not "minuscule", people die a lot less when they take the medicine. Underlying issues are likely to be exacerbated by hypertension since it causes continuous damage to major organs. Chlorthalidone is not the only anti-hypertensive medication available, there are other effective drugs with no diuretic effect, I suggest you talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of each class of drug so you can make an informed decision. They are certainly not risk free. Costs of testing and medicines are a matter of private and public policy, your doctor has zero influence on that, it's not their fault.

midnightauro 3y ago
I left a specialists office because the staff had a nasty habit of walking me UPSTAIRS and then straight into a chair with the cuff going on. I was pretty sick at that point and bedridden at times so going upstairs had my heart rate meeting Jesus for the first few minutes of activity. They tried to take me off my medications that could be “raising your blood pressure before you have a stroke”. I went to a sane office who asked me to continue daily home monitoring and accepts my current pcp’s measurements. Somehow the drastic intervention in the prior paragraph has ever come up again.
- matheusmoreira 3y ago
  That's obviously gonna cause false positives. Physical exhertion causes the heart to respond to the greater demand for oxygen. I used to see patients in a clinic that had an elevator and stairs. Dealt with that every day.