visiting the doctor

in case you've missed it, i'm well into my 3rd iteration of the cold i've had since before christmas. i was sick as a dog on christmas, and then again about 2 weeks ago, and now i'm on day 5 of a lovely hacking cough. which finally prompted me to go to the doctor - the last time i was this sick consecutively, i ended up being diagnosed with chronic bronchitis.

doctor's visits: trauma. i avoid them at whatever cost. excuses, selling my first born to walgreens, whatever it takes. so i wasn't happy about the fact that i had to go, but more unhappy about the fact of what going to the doctor actually constitutes: a trip to the scale and a look at the blood pressure. i was less concerned about the scale - i know where i should be because i've actively been watching it for the last 5 months. it's the BP that freaks me out.

rewind: back in 2003, i went into a major depression, and was put on an anti-depressant. i had to go to the doctor practically every time i was home from school for re-evaluation. after a few visits, my blood pressure was "high" consistently, and the doctor prescribed some pills. which made me physically ill. so she switched them. and i still was sick every time i took one. so i just stopped taking them. there's a good chance it was psychological, but even the slightest discussion of doctor's visits and blood pressure machines make nervous.

so the visit yesterday: not bad. scale made it look like i was at 298.5, but we'll see what the scale really says on thursday. BP: "elevated" was the word of choice. i think it was 130 something over 84. possible contributors: dehydration (i had only had a couple glasses of water at that point), the decongestant i'm on, coughing fits. no one seemed particularly concerned. which is good.

i need to schedule a physical. it's been awhile since i had one of those, and staying in touch with the doctor, even if it's only once a year, is probably one of those habits that healthy people have.

oh, and the doctor gave me this awesome cough syrup that's 100x better than nyquil in knock-out factor. i slept like a passed-out drunk last night. it was FANtastic.