Old People Problems

While I'm not an old person by age, my body is somewhat older than my chronological age. I've suffered from hypertension since I was a teenager, and refused to have it treated until my mid-20s (simply because only old people would have such a disease, right?).

Since then, I've been prescribed a medicine cabinet of anti-hypertension medications. The thing about these drugs is they do have side-effects. Today I was reminded of one side-effect if you fail to take one of your pills. In downing my grandma-sized handful of pills this morning, I unknowingly dropped a pill on the floor. It turned out that pill was a beta-blocker. By 3PM I was out of my mind, a heart rate of 100+/minute, and lightheadedness.

Luckily, a bought of collective sanity allowed me to deduce that I must have not taken one of my pills this morning. Returning to the location of my pill dispenser, I spied a white pill on the floor; it was the culprit! I went ahead and took it, because I couldn't imagine a night spent in that shape. My heart pounding out of my chest and my ears ringing were enough to set my mind.

Some people say they don't notice when they miss a dose of their blood pressure meds, but, unlike them, I certainly know when I've missed a dose!

Now with almost 30 minutes passed since I took my little white pill--and a resting heart rate safely in the 70s (and still falling)--I feel much more at ease and calm.