Let me preface this with this, I am alive, and well. But I seriously thought I was near exiting this world. Enjoy the story, it does have a funny, happy ending.
So pine tree pollen is spiking hard here in NC. Bad enough that I’m having trouble with my athsma at night.
I’ve been going to a pain clinic for my back pain. They wanted me take an order to the VA for an MRI for my spine. So while there dropping off the letter, I asked what I needed to do to make an appointment to get another inhaler for athsma. Last one was three years ago. So the person at the counter said, “just a minute, I’ll check into it.”
Before he gets back to the front desk, I hear a nurse call my name as if I have an appointment. She takes me back to an exam room, asks a few questions, and tells me she needs to give me a basic exam, because the inhaler is a steroid… yada… yada…
Im thinking hiw great is this! VA has some free time and they take a walk in! Wow! Unheard of! …you could hear the gears start grinding like the proverbial monkey wrench just fell in. She took my BP and it wasnt high, it was über high. 220/120 
. So she took it three more times… diastolic not below 110 
. Nurse looked really worried.
Leaving out the next 90 minutes of conversation…
So they issued me a new BP test unit. I assure her I know how to use it (
) and was also told to double up on my BP meds.
So… this morning. I measure my BP 2 hours after taking the new dosage of meds, and first time it measured 230/140 . After six more tests, and repositioning my butt in the seat, etc… etc… it wasnt getting better. About an hour later after googling massive hypertension, I kick myself. Basic troubleshooting. I should just started there. I put the cup on my arm again, 
. 
I had been putting it on wrong. I was putting on my forearm up to the elbow, on the wrong side of the elbow!
I put it on correctly and measured 139/82. Not wonderful, just barely high. But with all that false high measuring I was really getting stressed out. Not to mention getting all worked up researching stage III HYPERTENSION, and discovered there is no stage IV but instead its called HYPERTENSION CRISIS. Oh yeah, that made me feel really great.
I was never so happy to have made a mistake. Im usually the guy that acts like a know it all, too.
The moral to this story, when the nurse offers to show tou how to use something correctly, dont try to act all macho, “oh, I know how”. Unless you are preparred to go for a roller coaster ride! 