We start this new month with some sunny spell, and there was possibly full sunshine at 7am, as per the forecast. Much of the day will be dull, but maybe there will be full sunshine for 9pm - just as the sun is setting !

  Yesterday was another day when not much happened. I can probably dispose of it in just a few paragraphs, but even that may not be quick enough to finish before the big thing today - which is a visit to the surgery at 9.30am to discuss my blood pressure. I think my blood pressure is fine at the moment, but my pulse rate at resting is a bit higher than I like. I hope the outcome of today's visit will see my next prescription include Amlodopine. That drug seem to be the one that was keeping my pulse rate down until it was stopped before I had my heart valve replaced, and never restarted. The difference is clear to see in my records of blood pressure. One thing I did yesterday was to print out my blood pressure results for May and June this year, plus July of last year.

  I'm now back from my appointment at the surgery. It sort of went OK. The young lady I saw was (I think) an "Assistant Practitioner". I think that make her not quite a doctor, but better than a nurse. She might need a counter signature, but it seems she can prescribe drugs - although maybe only drugs that are in effect repeat prescriptions. She has sent my next repeat prescription through to the Pharmacy next door, and rather optimistically says I should be able to collect it after 5pm today.

  The prescription should include a low dosage of Amlodopine - the drug I was hoping to get back on to make my resting heart rate slower. It is only a low dosage as a trial. What she wants (or what one of the doctors has told her I need) is a 24 blood pressure monitor strapped to me for 24 hours. I have had one before, and it was fitted at the hospital. Apparently they can now do it at the pharmacy, and that is useful because the walk is a lot shorter, and avoids climbing the 2 flights of stairs at the hospital (or using the lift). I will be called to the pharmacy probably sometime in the next week (or when they have managed to find enough cash to buy a set of batteries for the machine).

  I found the walk to and from the surgery to have been mildly knackering. If I recall correctly, it was the same the last time I went there, but the next day I walked to The Jolly Farmers, and home again, and felt fine doing it (except for aching ankles for the last 5 minutes of the walk home).

  Incidently, before I forget, the Practitioner I saw insisted on checking my blood pressure. I told her it would be very high after a too fast walk to the surgery, and my white coat syndrome kicking in hard as it always does in the surgery. I said I would be surprised if it was less than 200mmhg (for the systolic pressure). I was surprised - it was only 180 - only mildly very dangerous !

  Back to yesterday..... About the only thing I can think of to add was about my eating. My lunch involved a fair bit of ice cream, and some BBQ beef flavour corn hoops. My dinner was 4 smoky jumbo sausages with the rest of the coleslaw. I don't care what Michael says, those jumbo sausages are edible, but nothing the get excited about, and no reason to buy more of them. For dessert I finished off the tub of ice cream, and that was more than was probably good for me. I also had a small punnet of cherries as well. They should have provided a bit of fibre, although it didn't seem to do any good when I went to to the toilet this morning - either time !

  I only spent some of the evening watching TV. I spent a small amount of time washing my hair to save time this morning. I also may have read for almost an hour, in smaller segments, last night. Then it felt like time for sleep. I had intended to try to sleep earlier last night because I thought I might be getting up early this morning, but with a 9.30am appointment I could almost have dared a lie in (but I didn't).

  Maybe if I had started writing this soon after getting up, I might have been able to remember something about my sleep last night. Apart from feeling sure I got up to pee at least once, I can't seem to remember anything about it at all. My first memory is getting up, and going to the toilet. I definitely had a pee, and I think I had a small poo too. A bit later, and getting a bit close to the time when I needed to get dressed to go out, I had another, and bigger poo. That one was a bit uncomfortable, and the worst thing is it only reset my weight to exactly the same as it was yesterday morning....although I had had a small breakfast, and maybe if I had not eaten it might have shown a lot of 100 or 200gm.

  My blood glucose was very high this morning. I am not entirely sure why, but maybe the ice cream and cherries did not help. I got readings of 10.4, 9.3 and 10.2mmol/l, or an average of 9.97mmol/l. That was a terrible way to start a new month, and I really ought to fast all day, but I have eaten 6 mini pork pies so far this morning. I'll try and be more careful for the rest of the day, but there is not a lot in the cupboard, or fridge, that is particularly low in sugar.

  I thought that now I have finished breakfast, and I have my breath back after my rush to, and also from the Group Practice, I would check my blood pressure. In the surgery the headline figure, the Systolic pressure, was 180. Just now I scored a rather good 114/60 with a pulse rate of 58. The pulse rate was particularly good, and maybe the 114 was a little bit too low.

  My original plan was to walk to The Jolly Farmers soon, and maybe I will still do that, but I have to admit I have little enthusiasm for it right now. I can foresee that I will be making most of today up as I go along. One definite is that very soon, once I have uploaded this to my server I am going to lay down on my bed, and read. I'll most probably have a snooze too.