Thanks Ladybird that was very informative. The locum I saw mentioned in my post above said he would never give Ven to anyone, as the side effects list is as long as your arm. However the other doctors in the practice tend to dish it out to all and sundry whether they need it or not. The original doctor I saw who says I have high BP took no notice of the note I handed him from the paramedic that attended me the night before stating I was showing ALL the side effects from Venlafaxine, and that I was the second person he'd seen that evening with the same reaction to the same drug. The doctor merely said 'one tablet wouldn't have produced all those symptoms, you're definatley diabetic and have high blood pressure.' I could have slapped him because he just didn't listen to what I was saying or taking notice of what the paramedic had written in his note.
Anyway, this week I've had to monitor my BP for a week, as one doctor told me I definately had high BP while the locum was convinced I didnt. The results, my blood pressure is normal, and was only high probably due to the reaction to Venlafaxine and also panic/anxiety attacks. But this last week it's been totally normal. Infact, perfect for someone my age, I'm 63. So I will have great pleasure in hearing what the doctor who said I was liable to have a stroke or heart attack due to my high blood pressure, has to say about the results.
I now have to wait til the end of May for another HB1Ac test, to tell whether I am really prediabetic, diabetic or not diabetic at all.
This has proved very interesting allbeit very stressful and worrying. If the test shows I'm not diabetic or pre diabetic it tells me just how serious the changes are in our bodies when given a drug we are allergic to, but even more worrying, how some doctors treat the symptoms the reaction present as if they were true conditions and not side effects. And it's worrying to wonder how many people could be out there being treated for all sorts of things they don't have because they also had similar reactions with certain drugs.
I've been sticking on a low carb/no carb diet, which is helping me to lose weight, and hopefully will also affect the next HBA1c test results.