Yes, Tennessee, we have a problem

Did you know that Tennessee is the second most medicated state in America?  I'm not talking about illegal drug use (although we're pretty darn high in that category too).  I'm talking about medications for legitimate medical problems.

Part of that is because over 65% of Tennessee adults are classified as obese or overweight.  There are a lot of health issues that are the result of obesity.  Heart disease.  Stroke.  Some cancers.  Gallbladder disease.  Joint problems.  High blood pressure.  Sleep apnea.  Diabetes.

Oh, and about diabetes--did you know that over 10% of Tennessee adults have diabetes?   And that over half of those could be eliminated with weight control and lifestyle changes?

So before I get started on the mother-of-all prescription drug problem in Tennessee (Opioids), let me admit that I am on three prescription drugs, which place me in the top 23% of American prescription medication usage.

I take two blood pressure pills and a Statin.  More on that in a minute. 

If you read this space regularly, you know that my lifestyle is good.  I exercise pretty much every day, ride a bicycle 3-4 days per week, eat mostly healthy, and visit my primary care physician, my gastroenterologist, and my dermatologist regularly.  I do most of the things that we know to do to stay healthy.

But as for the blood pressure thing, you can only run so far from your genetics.  High blood pressure runs in my family.  Broadly and deeply.  I have very few relatives that aren't affected.  My mom and dad for sure.  My grandparents, probably.

In my 40's, my blood pressure was already running in the range of 140/90.  Not terribly high but I guess I just couldn't believe it was happening to me.  I have always been hot pursuit of good health, beginning as a child of five when my dad had his first heart attack. 

So I ignored it.  After too many visits to my primary care physician where my blood pressure was too high but I scoffed at that because surely it must be a fluke, he insisted I get medicated for it.

Which indirectly leads to that Statin thing (a recent addition).  You see, I have a rather significant level of atherosclerosis.  Plaque lines my arteries.  We used to call it "hardening of the arteries."

Part of that is probably due to ignoring high blood pressure for too long.  The other part is that darn gene pool of mine.  Either way, Statins have been shown to help with that.  And a cholesterol level that has creeped up as I've gotten older.

So here I am.  Testimony to the fact that even the most vigorous, seemingly healthy among us needs to pay attention to medical care, not just the healthy part that is exercise and diet but doing what we should do medically.

As for those Opioids--Tennessee is among the country's worst in Opioid use.  The statistics are hard to track down because it is such a widespread epidemic.  I'm going to write more about this later but let me just add a couple of scary statistics.

Oxycodone prescriptions would have supplied every adult in Tennessee with 21 pills in 2016.  And Hydrocodone prescriptions would have provided every person over 12 in Tennessee with 51 pills. 

Yes, we have a problem.