My Blood Pressure's Supposed to Go Down - Not Up!

In all of my other busy business, right in the middle of my day yesterday I had to go to the doctor. Being overweight and having a PPP (Piss Poor Predisposition), I have hypertension. I have been trying to regulate it with medication and dieting for the last year. If you read my previous post, you may remember that this time last year I was trying to get pregnant. Well, I discussed this with my GP and we tried a safe med. Once B & I stopped all that fertility hoo-hah and made the decision to adopt, I decided that 3 pills a day was a little irritating. So I made an appointment with my GP and asked if I could have just one pill a day. I informed my GP about the "no more fertility treatment ever" plans and she prescribed a new med that I take once a day. As of yesterday I had been taking this med for 5 months. Within that 5 months I have been so tired and fatigued on a daily basis that going to work is a struggle, my house has accumulated enough cat hair to crochet a blanket for Ruby, have enough stacks of unsorted junk mail to make a really cool maze for Darwin and Eliza (the cats), and could probably write my memoirs in the dust on my mantle. I looked up the medication I was taking along with the side effects (fatigue and low libido) and I decided that we needed to re-evaluate my medication. After re-giving the front desk all of my information for the second time and getting my picture taken (What the Hell is that?), I finally made it to the exam room, list of issues and needs in hand. When I complained about this lack of energy to my GP this is how the conversation went:

Me: " I would really like to change my blood pressure medication. I have no energy, no libido, I am tired all of the time and it's really bothering me. I also think I need a stronger diuretic because I am retaining water like a sponge" I then began pressing on my arms which produced yellow rings of loveliness.

Dr: "Well, you're on a beta-blocker and that's a common side effect. I prescribed it because you're trying to get pregnant. Are you still trying to get pregnant?"

HELLO!

Me (very nastily): "No, we are adopting, and I distinctly remember telling you this at my last appointment. It's not something I would forget." Smug, small smile.

Dr: "Oh. Really. Well then let's prescribe you some of the good stuff, so you won't feel so bad. Let's try Diovan."

Me: "Does it include a diuretic?"

Dr: "No, do you want one?

At this point I could only nod my head up and down - my words would have been too ugly.
She then explains how the Diovan (with diuretic) works.

Me: "I also need a letter from you for our adoption application. Because I take this medicine, I need you to tell them that it is controlled by medication and I am healthy enough to raise a child."

Dr: "Can I hand-write it?"

Me (nastily again): "No. It needs to be typed, on letterhead and signed with your credentials." It was sooooo hard not to add "DUH!" to the end of this statement.

Dr.: "You can pick it up Tuesday."

After that I basically grabbed my little bag of samples and got the hell out of Dodge. I believe I will be finding another doctor ASAP.

And I took off work for this?

Books:
Only one cause I'm a student - dammit!
4th of July - James Patterson