Dear Mr X….permit me to share our story
Nurturing yourself is not selfish – it’s essential to your survival and your well-being.”
Women are so celebrated and somehow the men are almost always left out…..
Well, let me tell you a little about My Friend… Mr. X.
Meeting him wasn’t just a coincidence, it was an eye-opener for me. It made me realize how much men are ignored in the society especially Healthwise. Well, I’m not laying the blame on the society per se but The MEN THEMSELVES. IRONICALLY…
Back to him
I met him in Abuja last year. He’s a 37-year-old hunky, dishy, hot, drop-dead gorgeous guy who is also well to do.
What exactly is this gist about…I know what’s going through your mind. Chill. Lol
So we met at a friend’s wedding. He was the best man. I was just a guest who interestingly picked the bouquet. Hehehehe. So as usual the MC officially wed us. Hahahaha
That was the beginning of our friendship.
So we got talking not so often though. Chatting was a better means for us even though this too wasn’t frequent. I got to know he is an Engineer who works with one of the largest Oil companies in Port-Harcourt.
Not married. Both parents are alive. He’s also into business, so he is just so much of a busy man.

While we were chatting one fateful night he informed me he was having serious headache, palpitations and feels dizzy. So I figured out he may be stressed out.I encouraged him to have enough sleep and if it continued, he should see his doctor first thing in the morning.
This brings me to my main reason for this discussion. Honestly, you won’t believe his response. You know our men are so concerned with the women in their lives that they nearly almost always forget to care for themselves.
They go about thinking they’re too strong. Powerful and immunity covers them. Well…let’s see.
“Doctor?” He asked
“Yes of course” I replied
“Hmmmmmmmm. I don’t have a Doctor o. Neither have I ever visited a hospital.” He said.
What? For me that was strange
Ok. He was 37 years.
So you mean a 37-year-old full-blooded man has never visited a hospital? 37 years on earth?? Wow!
“So what do you do when you fall sick? Don’t you go to the hospital for a routine check-up? What exactly do you do concerning your health?” I tried to ask so many questions at the same time because I couldn’t comprehend the fact that a 37-year-old had never been to a hospital. What!!!?
It was at this point it dawned on me that Hypertension could also be a possible cause of his symptoms. However, there was not enough reason to say that.
But for the avoidance of doubt, I asked “When last did you check your blood pressure?”
“Hmm… some months ago.” He said.
And it was 180/…..he tried to recall but wasn’t sure of the diastolic pressure.
180??? So what have you done about it?
I asked curiously having in mind he has never visited a Doctor as he said.
Nothing. I’ve checked it severally it’s always within that range but I figured out it’s due to the nature of my job. He replied.
Do you know what got me upset? This is someone that loves his girlfriend so much that when she complained of slight abdominal pain. He called me and was fidgeting. For abdominal pain o. Yet his own life, he took for granted.
Yeah shocked right? I know.
He is not my boyfriend tatafooooo. Amaigbo wie not kie you. Hahahahahahahahahhaahahahhahaha
I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t just believe He wasn’t joking. How could someone take pride in Ignorance? Are you a Doctor? Even if you’re are you to treat yourself? How could someone vomit such venom with so much alacrity?
Well, these were the things that went through my mind, but of course, I remained calm.
“Ok. Please tomorrow first thing in the morning go to a hospital. See a Doctor. Tell him exactly how you feel and let him have you examined and your Blood pressure checked.” I told him
I was a bit persuasive so he was forced to accept.

To cut the long story short… His blood pressure was 200/100mmHg.
Do you know what this means? 200? And he has been walking around. The complications of Hypertension are endless and it doesn’t matter how strong you think you’re. If a stroke hits you, you will realize how hard life can be. It is better prevented, always remember this.
Currently, he’s on drugs, very adherent to his drugs, and has been so grateful to me.
What is HYPERTENSION
It is when the blood pressure is above 140/90mmhg in an adult.
It is the one of the commonest non-communicable diseases in Nigeria.
It has a lot of causes 95% of these are * INCURABLE*.
It could be genetic or acquired
Some of the risk factors include:
Symptoms
Virtually none.
And it can go unnoticed for years until complications begin to manifest. This is why it’s called a Silent killer
This is the reason why every adult should regularly go for medical check up. Infact we all should have our blood pressure checked irrespective of age and sex.
Once your blood pressure is under control you have almost nothing to worry about.
Some of the complications include:

- Stroke
- Poor vision
- Heart failure
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack and sudden death)
- Kidney failure
- Peripheral vascular diseases
In fact, the list is endless. And the complications are IRREVERSIBLE.
Would you rather have a stroke or have your blood pressure under control? The choice is yours.
Nurturing yourself is not selfish – it’s essential to your survival and your well-being.”
THERE’S NO EXCUSE. Just virtually anyone can be Hypertensive.
So dear men, take care of yourself. It’s the only place you have to Love.
We care so much about you.
The purpose of Men’s Health week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. This month gives health care providers, public policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury. The response has been overwhelmin
I hope you enjoyed my story.
Mr x is doing so fine now…and……..
49 replies on “MEN’S HEALTH WEEK”
I enjoyed reading this, your storytelling skills are👌👌
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Thank you 😍
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Nice piece.
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Thank you
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Wow! Nice one Dr Ola.
The story part was so captivating.
Thanks for teaching us too.
Hypertension kills gradually and it should be given immediate attention
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Thanks Dearie
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Nice one dear. I enjoyed it .
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Thank you
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Nice job
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Thank you
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Splendid!!
What a way to drive the message home..
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Thank you dear
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Thanks for sharing Dr Ola…. U just saved a soul…. And your story… I enjoyed every line 😋…
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You are welcome. I’m glad you found the content helped
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I enjoyed the story part..
Kudos darling
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Thanks dear
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I give credit to Dr Ola, she is doing pretty good and she is an opener to us all…thanks dear. In addition, i found out that on average, women live longer than men and the average life is about 7years longer world wide and one of the ” many reason” men die first is they are often at higher risk of developing heart disease than women. Infact men are 50% more likely than women to die of heart disease which is one of the major complications of poorly treated HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.
Tips;
* Eat healthy & dec salt intake.
*Maintain a healthy weight & inc physical activity.
* Limit alcohol & don’t smoke.
*Manage stress.
* monitor ur bld pressure at home and see ur dr regularly.
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Thanks….. Nice piece you have here.
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Nice piece Dr Ola
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Thanks dear
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I must commend u @ Dr ola, u ve’ been an eye opener. In addition, women live longer than men with an average life of about 7years longer world wide. One of the major reasons why men die first is heart disease which they are often at higher risk than women, infact men are 50% more likely than women to die of heart disease
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So true. Thanks dear
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This is very good dear
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Thanks dear
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Great content dear
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Thanks dear. I’m glad you found it helpful
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Nawa ooo. It explains why a very young boy I used to know died. Are these symptoms also seen in patients suffering low BP?
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Ok. Sorry about that.
There’s really no such thing as low BP. The Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. So it’s even recommended for us. So anything less is healthy
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Wow.
This is new.
Thanks for enlightening me.
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You’re welcome
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Nice one.
Information about our health is what we really need. Many have the wealth but they lack information about their health.
More grace.
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Thank You Austn. Yes that’s exactly the problem especially this part of the world
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Wow……..nice piece dear. The way you passed the information is 🤐. God’s grace dear
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Thanks dear
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Nice one🙂
He Is lucky he had symptoms cos htn is usually asymptomatic, the so called silent killer.
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Exactly….he’s lucky
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Nice one dear, I love the way u took us to the main deal, through that beautiful story
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Thanks dear…
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Lovely!
HTN is a silent killer. I’m often amazed when people tell me “I know when my BP get high and that’s when I take my drug.” I’m like “why wait till it get high when it can be controlled!”
Majority have this erroneous believe that it’s curable; that’s a big fat lie. It can only be controlled. The more people get sensitized about this, I think the rate at which they come down with its complications will be reduced.
Nice one, Ola!
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Thanks so much Chief.
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Information is power
Thanks so much for sharing this
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You’re welcome
I’m glad you found our content helpful
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Nice one Dr Ola..
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Thanks dear
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I lost a patient who came in with a BP Of 290/150mmhg,a known hypertensive, 45years,who wasn’t compliant with his drugs. We can’t over emphasize how these matters are so neglected in our society. These deaths are so painful bcos they can be very well prevented. Thanks alot for sharing! Nurturing yourself is indeed not selfish.
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Thanks so much chief for sharing this story. I hope this gets to everyone out there. Thanks once again
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Uwc doc
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Nice one dear
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Thanks dear
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