Not the date I hoped for

I went to the GP surgery this morning to have my blood pressure checked. It was high enough to put a frown on the nurse's face. I'm not surprised, and expect this to continue until I have recovered from the operation to come. It's always lower at home. As I have plenty of time, I take a series of readings and record the average. Displayed on a chart this data has the form of a classic hockey-stick curve. The first few readings are high, then they decrease and level out. Whether I include the first few or rule them out, the average is lower than the few readings a practice nurse has time to take. 

High readings are often explained away as due to 'white coat syndrome', the stress being in a surgery. I believe it's the poor quality of medical observation which gives only an impression of a person's condition. It's amazing to think what statistical conclusions are drawn by epidemiologists on the basis of such data reports. 

Medics acknowledge that a person's blood pressure varies according to environment and activity level. The way in which it is measured is bound to be a factor, and individuals will vary in response to having an inflatable cuff on an arm, which unintentionally produces discomfort and pain which impacts on the blood pressure reported. This is why I favour taking a series of readings over a period of time, whether over a day or in succession over half an hour, and then averaging them. For me the critical issue is how cope until the operation is done, without blood pressure putting me at risk.

Today the surgical team is meeting to plan operations and mine is on the list. I called the colorectal surgery unit to find out if a date had been arranged. My concern was that if it's early next week, as I'd hoped, the appointment letter might arrive after the date. This has already happened to me once recently, a result of the bizarre mail out practice of the Local Health Board. Mail from UHW Heath goes to Llandough Hospital before it's dispatched, and sending something on a Friday may mean the letter doesn't reach the sorting office until the following Tuesday. GP surgeries can and do use SMS and email to inform patients and remind them of appointments, but not hospitals. It's crazy!

Anyway, I spoke to one of the surgical consultants' secretaries, who was able to find information on my case. A letter had been prepared for sending, which she read to me. I was shocked at first to hear that surgery had been booked for 17th July next year, and expressed my incredulity and distress. On a second reading it turned out I had misheard her. The date is 17th January, more than a month from now. Any hopes I had of having this cleared up before Christmas were dashed. I just have to keep on coping and hope that my general health doesn't deteriorate in the meanwhile.

At least I know where I stand, at last, three months after my return from Montreux.