Thank You, Tina Turner

Thanks to singer Tina Turner, I am now taking blood pressure medicine.

After hearing about how her untreated high blood pressure caused her to have a stroke and severely damaged her kidneys, necessitating a kidney transplant and dialysis, I started checking my blood pressure with a machine I had bought online. It shows that my blood pressure is just a tiny bit above where it should be. This was confirmed when my blood pressure was taken as part of routine screening during a couple of recent doctor appointments for other issues. I also have a family history of high blood pressure, with both my mother and my father suffering from it. My younger sister already takes a low-dose blood pressure medication. So clearly high blood pressure runs in my family. Fortunately, I have been able to avoid it until now.

So today I saw my primary care doctor. She confirmed that my blood pressure is just a wee bit high. She started me on a very low dose of a medication that’s supposed to lower my blood pressure. I will go back in six weeks and report the findings from my at-home monitoring. I also will report any unwanted side effects. If she needs to change or adjust the medication, that’s when it will happen.

She also reminded me that I am overdue for a colonoscopy, something I have been postponing. So I reluctantly agreed that she could send in a referral for a colonoscopy. She did say it might be several months before I can get in, but that’s OK with me. Intestinal cancer was another thing from which Tina Turner suffered, so it’s good that I’m going to get this taken care of, as unpleasant as the preparation is. My doctor added that as unpleasant as the preparation for the colonoscopy may be, it’s a whole lot better than dealing with colon cancer.

So thank you, Tina Turner, not only for your music but for inspiring me to take some steps to avoid some of the health issues that plagued you.