Well, the meds I started taking yesterday seem to be working somewhat. The medical problem is hypertension (a.k.a. high blood pressure), but it's the kind of high blood pressure that makes nurses' eyes bug out when they read it. Or sometimes they just get kind of pale. My girlfriend finally pestered me into getting it treated last month. The problem is, I haven't been responding to the meds they prescribed, and yesterday when I went in for a follow-up, it was record high, even for me. The doctor said, "[Based on this reading,] some of my colleagues would call an ambulance and have you taken to the hospital right now, but you've been living with this for years, so we're just going to treat it with a different medication. In the meantime, you probably shouldn't do any strenuous exercise."
In general, I'm a fairly healthy guy, but apparently I have a massive genetic predisposition for this kind of thing.
It does make me wonder what they do to reduce blood pressure in the hospital. Leeches?