The Anonymous Widower

Fighting My Way Through The Covids

I owe it to the memory of my great-great-great-grandfather; Robert, who arrived in this country around 1800, from Konigsberg in East Prussia, that I fight my way through the covids.

He had to leave Konigsberg because he was eighteen, male and Jewish! Unless, you were a member of a privileged family, you had to leave. As he had just finished his apprenticeship to be a tailor, he at least had a trade and could carry the tools he needed in a small case.

He became a tailor in Bexley and lived to a good age. I am also sure, that he contributed coeliac disease to the family’s gene pool.

In this post, I will talk about various topics, as I fight my way through to normality.

On the mother’s side of the family, the male line in Huguenot, who probably arrived about 1750.

Did I Fall Because Of A Blood Pressure Problem?

I had a fall in my bedroom, a couple of months ago, as I wrote about in An Accident In My Bedroom.

My GP thinks I might have a blood pressure problem, so I’m now taking my blood pressure sitting down and then standing up for five minutes before taking it again.

These are my readings.

• September 1st – 132/74/182 – 123/102/79
• September 2nd – 145/75/85 – 138/51/82
• September 3rd – 102/77/69 – 123/64/87
• September 3rd – 143/74/75 – 150/64/74
• September 4th – 140/54/64 – 139/64/73
• September 4th – 124/62/92 – 120/51/79
• September 5th – 106/67/51 – 138/52/64
• September 5th – 127/78/67 – 136/62/73
• September 6th – 10:45 – 138/104/76 – 116/53/55
• September 6th – 16:00 – 138/63/54 – 137/88/74
• September 6th – 22:00 – 136/71/59 – 131/77/61
• September 7th – 09:30 – 147/98/76 – 152/82/75
• September 7th – 22:30 – 164/80/74 – 145/61/77
• September 8th – 09:15 – 121/77/66 – 119/71/66
• September 8th – 11:45 – 109/47/70 – 119/48/78
• September 9th – 08:45 – 114/70/73 – 137/51/73 – 129/64/92
• December 9th – 11:00 – 107/146/73 – 143/43/83 – 116/49/87
• September 9th – 20:00 – 131/54/84 – 140/53/78
• September 9th – 21:30 – 131/78/80 – 156/64/81
• September 10th – 10:00 – 148/77/74 – 141/78/63
• September 10th – 13:00 – 106/61/82 – 122/60/81
• September 11th – 09:15 – 137/44/71 – 135/80/66
• September 11th – 10:00 – 126/72/72 – 116/58/70
• September 12th – 10:30 – 119/69/78 – 117/66/70
• September 12th – 20:00 – 111/68/75 – 140/78/69
• September 13th – 10:45 – 112/73/61 – 109/57/69
• September 13th – 15:30 – 106/59/62 – 110/43/65
• September 14th – 09:30 – 116/63/91 – 109/61/85
• September 14th – 17:15 – 117/59/97 – 126/57/79
• September 15th – 08:30 – 134/78/54 – 107/75/76
• September 16th – 06:00 – 113/79/77 – 130/66/80
• September 17th – 09:00 – 117/69/91 – 113/50/63
• September 17th – 22:00 – 118/54/85 – 146/76/86
• September 18th – 09:00 – 147/81/69 – 139/71/67
• September 18th – 21:00 – 124/109/69 – 113/60/83
• September 19th – 10:00 – 143/57/66 – 152/83/75
• September 19th – 19:00 – 118/57/55 – 121/74/81
• September 20th – 09:50 – 143/69/52 – 135/67/66
• September 21st – 09:30 – 158/72/73 – 150/73/66
• September 22nd – 09:15 – 147/49/77 – 149/59/73
• September 22nd – 20:22 – 108/65/82 – 141/66/73
• September 23rd – 08:10 – 140/63/70 – 109/73/60
• September 23rd – 15:00 – 97/65/83 – 109/61/68
• September 24th – 09:00 – 134/52/74 – 143/62/62
• September 25th – 09:00  – 149/70/69 – 130/92/77
• September 25th – 13:00 – 108/75/78 – 135/68/73
• September 26th – 17:30 – 120/62/77 – 124/63/68
• September 27th – 10:00 – 139/64/74 – 132/70/74
• September 28th – 08:00 – 140/73/77 – 140/73/60

Note.

1. The first reading is sitting down and the second is after standing up for five minutes.
2. My blood pressure meter isn’t the best.
3. I didn’t note the times, when I started.
4. The third reading is taken about four minutes later.

I don’t know anything about understanding these readings.

Managing My INR

My GP and I have agreed that I should be on 3.5 mg. of Warfarin a day to control my INR.

• So I alternate between 3 and 4 mg.
• I also test my INR every two days.

These are my figures for the last few days, with my Warfarin dose.

• September 1st – 4 mg – N/R
• September 2nd – 3 mg – 2.5
• September 3rd – 4 mg – N/R
• September 4th – 3 mg – 2.7
• September 5th – 4 mg – N/R
• September 6th – 3 mg – 2.8
• September 7th – 3 mg – N/R
• September 8th – 4 mg – 2.4
• September 9th – 3 mg – N/R
• September 10th – 4 mg – 2.3
• September 11th – 3 mg – 2.7
• September 12th – 4 mg – N/R
• September 13th – 3 mg – 2.5
• September 14th – 4 mg – N/R
• September 15th – 4 mg – 2.2
• September 16th – 3 mg – N/R
• September 17th – 5 mg – 2.2
• September 18th – 3 mg – 2.8
• September 19th – 4 mg – N/R
• September 20th – 4 mg. – 2.5
• September 21st – 3 mg – N/R
• September 22nd – 4 mg – 2.2
• September 23rd – 3 mg – 2.3
• September 24th – 4 mg – N/R
• September 25th – 3 mg – 2.4
• September 26th – 4 mg – N/R
• September 27th – 4 mg – 2.1
• September 28th – 3 mg – 2.4

Note.

1. If the INR is 2.5 or greater, I take 3 mg that day and 4, the next.
2. If it’s less than 2.5, I take 4 mg that day and 3 the next,
3. I also check the 30 day average of my Warfarin dose and currently it is 3.6.

One advantage about Warfarin, is the degree of control, you have of your INR.

A couple of years ago, I needed to have a small operation on my mouth.

The surgeon wanted to use an anaesthetist to boost the bill.

• So I said, what INR would be safe and he said 2.1!
• In the end I reduced it, by not taking four mg of the drug.
• After the successful operation, I brought it back up to 2.5, by taking an extra four mg.
• I suspect it cost me a tenner for the extra strips!

Good value and I avoided the lottery of anaesthesia.

I’m Drinking A Lot

In a four-hour period a few days ago, I drank two litres. Is that excessive?

It did include half a unit of alcohol, but was mainly mugs of tea.

And I still felt the need to drink more.

General Health

Like most coeliacs, I know on a gluten-free diet, I’m doing fairly well in the pandemic.

Not one of us has had a severe dose of the covids. But then I’ve never had flu since I went gluten-free and I’ve only had a flu jab since 2005.

Could this be related to the fact, that the gluten-free diet gives us a strong immune system and seems to protect us from cancer, according to research by Joe West at Nottingham University?

September 7, 2020 - Posted by AnonW | Health | Blood Pressure, COVID-19, INR