I folded

I gave in and went to see the doctor yesterday. M has been having foot problems since last summer, and I don't want to find myself in the same boat if my toe were to heal improperly. I found out that my toe is, in fact, broken. His suggestion was to keep it taped to its neighbor toe for the next couple of weeks. My toe has been hurting more since having it taped than it was before. And it's a pain to walk with my toes taped together.

I was also able to talk to my doctor about another issue I've been having. If you know me at all, I am sure you know that I am always feeling tired. I have always had low blood pressure (at least as far back as I can remember). I also found out recently that my heart rate is higher than normal to compensate for my low blood pressure. So I asked the doctor if my low blood pressure could be related to my tiredness. He said they could definitely be related. Yesterday, my blood pressure was especially low for me (86/60) and my heart rate was around 100. My doctor wants me to add salt to my diet - salt at every meal. We'll see if that works. I haven't added it to any meal yet. I am curious to see if this will do anything.

I am curious because when I was in high school, my mother was put in the hospital because the doctor thought she had or was having a heart attack. It turned out that she had a virus that made her body think she was having a heart attack. It was scary to me. As a result of that illness, my mom found out she had a heart murmur. At that time, her doctor told her to decrease her salt intake (among other things, I'm sure). She still used it for cooking, but a lot of times she just let us add it to our own food rather than putting more in while she was cooking. I just stopped adding the salt to my food at all (I'm not sure why exactly - did I not like salt, was I being lazy, or was I a little freaked out by the situation?). Since that time, I don't salt my food. I do cook with salt, but I don't add any once my food is on my plate. Let's hope it works.

I really like this doctor that M and I found. He is young - has to be in his late 30s or early 40s. He is friendly. He has a nice bedside manner although some of his sayings are a little hokey. I really like that he had a suggestion for me for my blood pressure that was not taking a pill. I am not opposed to taking pills, but I like that he wanted to try something else first. It seems like a lot of doctors (and patients) are looking for a quick fix, and I would rather know what's really going on.