Found Not Lost

I have high blood pressure (hypertension) and I take medication for it. It took us (my doctors and I) a few months to settle on the right medication for me and it seems like my condition is finally starting to stabilize. Did you notice how I said doctors above? That’s because in the course of finding the right treatment for me, I had to change physicians to find one who has a plan that I could live with and agree with. It also took me a while to figure out that I have the option of changing doctors. Even longer to ask the right questions regarding my health. I think I am not alone in wrongly thinking that I need to listen to doctors and not question them.

I finally found a doctor that I can really talk to, and ask questions of. If you have hypertension, I think there are a few basic questions that you should always ask your doctor:

1. What’s my blood pressure and what does it mean? If you don’t know what systolic and diastolic means, don’t just take the numbers given to you, ask your doctor to explain to you what they mean.
2. Ask what range your blood pressure falls on. Is it too high, too low? What is the normal range?
3. What’s the ideal range I should be in? This will be your goal, so make sure you ask.
4. Can I fix my condition without drugs? What lifestyle changes should I make?
5. If I have to take drugs? What’s available? What do you recommend?
6. Do I have to stick with your recommendation or can you prescribe one that fits within the limits of my insurance? Ask this so you won’t end up paying for a designer drug that your doctor gets commission for and is not covered by your prescription insurance.

Finally, always go for your check ups to monitor your progress. Sometimes even the most informed decisions you and your doctor make about your medication need to be adjusted.