Blood Pressure Spikes = Dental Delays

The Road To Better Health Can Be Stressful

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

After years of avoiding the dentist like the plague—and the pandemic—I finally made an appointment last week. And kept it. No rescheduling. No last-minute cancelation under the guise of “an emergency” (unless you count my existential dread as one).

I walked through those doors yesterday and sat my grown-up self down for my first dental check-up in…let’s just say “a while.”

After waiting over an hour for the first appointment of the day, a dental assistant called me back and proceeded to do my x-rays and take my blood pressure. I was prepared for the former but not the latter. I blinked at the blood pressure cuff like it was a surprise quiz I hadn’t studied for.

“Oh, we do this now?” I asked rhetorically.
Apparently, yes, they do that now.

Let’s just say the numbers weren’t cute. My blood pressure was HIGH. Like “Are you okay?” high. Like “Maybe don’t show me the bill yet” high. The dental staff had my blood boiling. I’ve rarely met such a gaggle of incompetence. Having to endure their noisy bullshit and endless delays pissed me off to the highest of pisstivity.

Even though I did finally find a kind dentist and hygienist just past the support staff’s rudeness and stupidity, no routine exam and cleaning should take nearly four hours to complete. Just saying…

For the record, the US healthcare system is completely ridiculous and needs a complete overhaul in my opinion. And not just because it makes my blood pressure shoot through the roof.

So today, I have two missions:

1. See a doctor and get my blood pressure problem addressed.

2. Resist the urge to smack another rude crew of office staffers.

Yes, it’s a new doctor and team. But let’s just say my first impression of the medical clinic I’ve been assigned to—thanks to my HMO insurance—has been less than stellar. After attempting to make an appointment—the first available appointment was in two weeks—I’ve decided to go the “walk-in and wait” route.

It’s likely to be a long day for all involved.

The truth is, the whole experience is a reminder that avoidance comes at a cost. Not just dental health, but stress, anxiety, blood pressure—and my patience and pride too.

I’m also trying to remember that showing up, even when it’s expensive, frustrating, and time-consuming, is still progress. My reentry into basic self-care continues to be messy, awkward, and stressful. Three months ago I wouldn’t have been able to do this, so let’s keep the momentum train going!

So I’m gritting my—much cleaner—teeth and bearing it. Hopefully, I’ll eventually walk out of the dentist’s or doctor’s office with a smile instead of a stress headache.

Or at least some free floss.

Keep calm and brusha brusha!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = MAY 7

BIRTHDAYS

• 1812 = Robert Browning = English poet and playwright

• 1833 = Johannes Brahms = German pianist and composer

• 1840 = Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky = Russian composer 🌈

• 1885 = George "Gabby" Hayes = American actor

• 1899 = Alfred Gerrard = English sculptor and academic

• 1901 = Gary Cooper = American actor 🌈

• 1909 = Edwin H. Land = American scientist and Polaroid Corporation co-founder

• 1911 = Ishirō Honda = Japanese filmmaker

• 1917 = David Tomlinson = English actor

• 1919 = Eva Perón = Argentinian actress and 25th First Lady of Argentina

• 1922 = Darren McGavin = American actor and director

• 1923 = Anne Baxter = American actress

• 1927 = Ruth Prawer Jhabvala = German-American author and screenwriter

• 1943 = Terry Allen = American singer and painter

• 1946 = Thelma Houston = American singer and actress

• 1950 = Tim Russert = American television journalist and lawyer

• 1954 = Amy Heckerling = American filmmaker

• 1968 = Traci Lords = American actress and singer

• 1969 = Eagle-Eye Cherry = Swedish singer-songwriter

• 1974 = Breckin Meyer = American actor, writer, and producer

• 1975 = Angélica Lozano Correa = Colombian lawyer and politician 🌈

• 1987 = Aidy Bryant = American actress and comedian

EVENTS

• 1625 = State funeral of James VI and I is held at Westminster Abbey.

• 1718 = New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne.

• 1824 = Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premieres in Vienna, Austria.

• 1846 = The Cambridge Chronicle, America's oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• 1867 = Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material.

• 1912 = Columbia University approves plans to award the Pulitzer Prize in several categories, after its establishment by Joseph Pulitzer.

• 1946 = Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded.

• 1952 = The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.

• 1994 = Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.

• 1998 = Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Interpreter Appreciation Day

• National Packaging Design Day

PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy.”
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

“In a word, there are many thorns, but the roses are there too.”
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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