The back and leg pain is getting better. The doctor had given me instructions to take advil (at about the max dosage) and do some stretches, and also apply heat, etc. Well, I had stopped taking the advil and doing the stretches because it was starting to get better, but I think I stopped too soon. I started the stretches and advil again and it’s helping more this time. Stretching my left hamstring hurts like Hell but it feels MUCH better after having done it.

Blood pressure: after testing low at the doctor’s office (146/80) I was encouraged, but after testing myself during the day, I’m back to being high again, 161/90. I guess that’s better than the 171/100 that it was before starting. I don’t like how the medication makes me tired.

I read the book The Relaxation Response – it is quite interesting, and hopefully the technique will be helpful. It’s basically about how to relax the mind and asserts that this practice (like meditation, but demystified and simplified) provokes a “response” in the body, which is the opposite of the “fight or flight” instinct that powers our adrenaline and renal systems… I am thinking I would like to try some mind-relaxing sessions to see if they help with the blood pressure and general stress levels.