I wish you weren’t becoming a member but welcome to the Amlodipine club! I always had great blood pressure, on the lower side. After my transplant my doctor put me on blood pressure medicine. I questioned the need and he said I now have post transplant hypertension. I didn’t know that was a thing. Ithas been doubled since.
Agreed- not a club I want you or anyone else to be in. But many of the chemos have caused blood clots in my ankles, lungs. I’m permanently on Zarelto - ugh. And like Kev, prior to big health issue, never had anything wrong with me.
But, here is my cautionary tale: I’d been on oral chemo drug for 6 yrs., had planned a trip to Disneyworld with adult son (you’ve seen the photo many times); in the middle of trip, my oncologist calls me from her personal cell number (odd), and lets me know the scans I did a week prior showed multiple blood clots in ankles and that I needed to come in ASAP and get shots to disingrste them, and also said don’t get on a plane.
Hahahahaha
I said, well, I already was on a 5 hour flight and I’m in Florida! The injection wasn’t a normal product pharmacies carry. So I call every pharmacy within an hour of hotel, finally find one. I have to take the shot in my stomach every day for 3 days before I can get on plane.
So, I had waited 20+ yrs. to take this kid to Disneyland and we had each day planned and I wasn’t missing anything. My only question to dr was, Can I go on roller coasters- she said yes. I said, then I am good.
Took the Uber to pharmacy, got the box of injections, put in backpack. Uber drops us off at Disney entrance- while my son grabs us a wheelchair, I go in bathroom and do stomach shot (gee, that was fun). I get in wheelchair and off we go! Repeat each day. Had the time of our lives.
The most difficult part was sitting him down on the morning we were flying home. I had to be honest and let him know there was a small possibility the blood clot would move and I could go into cardiac arrest or just die. I gave the Carrie Fisher example. In that moment, I saw him grow 2 inches more into manhood,, and he said, We got this!
So, for anyone hesitating to get annual checkups, or not take prescribed meds, just do it!
