[1/16/2001 1:31:28 PM | Bert Shapiro]
I have scheduled the second cataract operation for next Wednesday. The first one, which was done last month, is marvelous. I will need reading glasses but, at distance, I can see now without glasses--about 20/20. Later, I will describe the experience in detail. Now, I have a different problem, which has been with me for a long while. My blood pressure is high. It is even a little high with medication. The doctor wants to give me more pills to experiment with--and that is the crux of the problem. Blood pressure management is a classical black box problem. There is no test to determine why you have high blood pressure and then indicate the correct drug. All they have is inputs and outputs to observe, but they cannot see what is inside the box. They give me pills and I observe the results. It is a little like fixing a computer you have no specs for when you have a box of miscellaneous parts you can try. You put them in and swap them until you find the good one. If you put one in that blows up the machine, well, hey! that's a problem.
So far, the only pill that I can take without seriously inconvenient side-effects is Avapro, and its co-hort, Avalide. They don't bother me, but they do not do the complete job. My BP is about 145 over 93 with a pulse of about 65 while resting. If I get up and do anything, it shoots up. The sacred goal of doctors these days is less than 140 systolic and less than 90 diastolic. I have been through Ziac, Diovan, Hytrin and Clonidine patches. Each one has its own special adorable side-effects. Some are affected and some are not. I was. Next on the list is Vasotec, which is supposed to be one of the better drugs they have. To be continued...

I have scheduled the second cataract operation for next Wednesday. The first one, which was done last month, is marvelous. I will need reading glasses but, at distance, I can see now without glasses--about 20/20. Later, I will describe the experience in detail. Now, I have a different problem, which has been with me for a long while. My blood pressure is high. It is even a little high with medication. The doctor wants to give me more pills to experiment with--and that is the crux of the problem. Blood pressure management is a classical black box problem. There is no test to determine why you have high blood pressure and then indicate the correct drug. All they have is inputs and outputs to observe, but they cannot see what is inside the box. They give me pills and I observe the results. It is a little like fixing a computer you have no specs for when you have a box of miscellaneous parts you can try. You put them in and swap them until you find the good one. If you put one in that blows up the machine, well, hey! that's a problem.

So far, the only pill that I can take without seriously inconvenient side-effects is Avapro, and its co-hort, Avalide. They don't bother me, but they do not do the complete job. My BP is about 145 over 93 with a pulse of about 65 while resting. If I get up and do anything, it shoots up. The sacred goal of doctors these days is less than 140 systolic and less than 90 diastolic. I have been through Ziac, Diovan, Hytrin and Clonidine patches. Each one has its own special adorable side-effects. Some are affected and some are not. I was. Next on the list is Vasotec, which is supposed to be one of the better drugs they have. To be continued...

In the beginning was the blog. And the blog was blank and unformed. Nearby cyberspace saw the blog and saw that it needed to be shaped and there was much excitement and discussion about what should be done. Vasymolo saw the blank blog and said, "Take it easy." His very name meant, "take it easy". He said, " I will fill that void. My ten-digit non-ergonomic finger paints will soon make mincemeat of that space, and fill it with color and all manner of scribbling." Cyberspace heard that and said, "Proceed." For in that land, form ruled content.

Having received his charge, Vasymolo, true to his nature, had a snack and went to bed, the better to contemplate how he would actually fulfill his mission.