I'm on statins, beta blockers and blood thinning drugs.

Statins. They start you off on the cheapest. I had muscular problems and after a couple of changes am now on one that seems to suit me.

Beta blockers. These make me tired, so I take them at night - problem solved.

Blood thinning drugs. They want you to have Warfarin, cheap as chips, but lots of problems with what you eat affecting their potency. I successfully argued the case for one of the modern direct thrombin inhibitors, despite my GP baulking at the cost.

" What a disaster. The side effects are awful. Muscle cramps, fatigue, loss of libido too and being fairly grumpy. I ask you, me: grumpy. Ha!"

Extremely well done to get to 67 and still have some libido to lose!!

If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend reading online NHS notes, and other reliable web sites.

I have highish cholesterol, 5.2 then 4.8 were my last two readings. The nurses told me to improve my diet and cut back on saturated fats. However, I rarely eat processed food, never eat red meat, never eat cream or butter, rarely drink milk, 8oz cheese per week, no fizzy drinks, lots of fresh veg, soya milk, wild salmon etc, so I have a very good diet. I searched online and discovered that a) there is a genetic component to cholesterol readings, b) the connection between elevated cholesterol readings and illness is not quite so simple, and c) saturated fats are not necessarily bad, and some/many might actually be good for you.

I have been told too much nonsense by doctors to believe them. Often what I am told about an illness is plain wrong. Doctors are very busy, medicine is more art than science, and the science changes each decade/year/minute.

Blood pressure is affected by diet. Beetroot can lower blood pressure, temporarily anyway. Eat a healthy diet, get good exercise, and I tend to think drugs will not be needed, unless you have a serious condition, where a doctor is needed. I have lowish blood pressure, due to diet and exercise.

If I post tomorrow to tell you I have died from a heart attack, well, I guess in that case the above is wrong.

Most folk are on "something or other" at age 65 plus. My advice would be to jaw jaw with the doctor rather than war war.

In any case-it sounds bizarre I know--but having to take this and that to keep you "going" means you HAVE to be monitored by a doctor once every 6 months of so via bloodtests, blood pressure et al. Think of it as an enforced 6 month MOT test!

If you recall the 1950's and 1960's, often nobody was on "anything" and only went to the doctor when in crisis. Good for them-but sadly there were unlucky ones who ignored their symptoms totally and fell off their perch far too young!