A different view

For the last few months I have been dealing with pain because of a body shift from a previous injury, among other things. I have gone back to chiropractic adjustments. The problem is gradually improving, but there are still days when the pain needs more help. Having to be careful of medications that can raise blood pressure I only take them when absolutely necessary, usually at night.

Yesterday morning I was having a problem with my ear. It was not pain, but pressure and very annoying. I went on with my morning and assumed it would get better. I kept a hair appointment, which I had been putting off. Looking in the mirror I decided to keep the sides and back short and leave the top a little longer. It was not a major change, but I left Marvelous Cuts very happy with the different view.

My ear was still giving me problems so I made an appointment for that afternoon to see if I had the beginning of an ear infection. I was given the choice of 3:00 p.m. with Lita, my usual primary care person, or 1:00 p.m. with Ben, a new member of the team. I choose the latter.

I couldn't have made a better choice. As Ben entered the exam room he shook my hand and introduced himself. The connection was positive from the start. Instead of sitting down at the computer, as Lita usually does, he actually talked to me as if I was a real person. After washing his hands he began trying to find the cause of my discomfort. Nothing was visible and he decided I might have some fluid in the ear that he couldn't see yet. He suggested briefly using an over the counter product to dry it up.

I mentioned the pain problem I had in another part of my body and asked his opinion about pain medications. This led to a very informative discussion about blood pressure etc. Lita did not believe pain can cause it to go up. He and I disagreed with her opinion. I had been told not to monitor my BP because it made me nervous when it was higher than I expected it to be which caused it to go even higher. Ben and I disagreed with what I had been told. He said I should monitor it 2-3 times a week. I also found out I had been taking it at the worst possible time, which was mid afternoon. It should be taken in the morning.

Increased BP has been a hard concept for me to accept as most of my life it ran 110/60. Apparently as one ages things change.

Even though Ben couldn't find a cause for my ear problem, I left the office very happy that I had found a new primary care provider with a different view.