Thursday, September 9, 2010

Things gotta change

I'm feeling a bit bummed out. I had some unsettling news yesterday. Well, it's unsettling for me at least.
I had my annual physical yesterday and my doctor and I decided it was time to try medication for my blood pressure. It has been slowly creeping up for years- actually since I had trouble with my blood pressure when I was pregnant with I13. At that point I ended up on bed rest until they could safely induce labor (not fun- I'll tell you). But, anyway- I'm now on blood pressure medication. Other than a headache today, I really can't tell any difference, but it's early days yet.
But, there need to be changes. There is a chance that losing some of this extra weight I'm carrying around will help things out. Not a guarantee- since my blood pressure was elevated some even before I put on the weight- and both my parents have trouble with it as well. So, diet changes and exercise are now coming up. At least J16 and I are already signed up for our bellydancing class starting next week. It's something.
I'll be posting reports about my progress periodically to keep my honest.
Wish me luck.

8 comments:

  1. I wish you much good luck! So important to keep an eye on blood pressure. High BP runs in my family too. I have been making more of an effort to get regular exercise recently and I feel much better, and hopefully look better too! Try to take some time to relax as well because I am sure that is important for BP as much as all the other stuff. We all rush around so much these days it seems.

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  2. I am on BP meds and I know I need to be on them. My goal is to shed the pounds to and also get off these things one day... Salt is the big thing to eliminate in your diet..by the way I love salty things...Just know it takes time for your body to adjust to the meds..oh some meds do cause headaches. You can change the meds to...Let the doctor know if there is another one you can try..Some causes swelling in the feet..so watch for things that are not normal..Then contact you doctor..Lisa

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  3. I do wish you luck. Hope everything works out so you don't have tp keep taking the meds.

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  4. good luck! belly dancing sounds awesome. it is one of my secret wishes to try, but i'm pretty sure i would be TERRIBLE at it, i am such a coward.

    thanks so much for stopping by and passing along the "flawed mama" blog - i have been really enjoying some of her posts. what a beautiful family! maybe ours will look like that some day... :)

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  5. Sorry to hear, Judy. I was prescribed meds at age 38 for that but I was able to lick it with exercise and diet alone, thank goodness, and I never went on them. I do, however, have a BP machine that I use frequently to stay on top of things. I followed Dr. Kowalski's "8-week Cholesterol Cure" exactly (there's also a BP book) and it's back to normal and I get to enjoy wine every night LOL - I also find that 15 mins on the treadmill will keep my BP low for several hours afterwards. At first I was blown away by the BP and high cholesterol since I am on the small side, but it really doesn't matter when there's family history, and there's lots of it in mine! good luck, I know you'll overcome this, hugs and good luck!

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  6. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your encouragement! Good luck on managing you blood pressure. I love your blog by the way. We are also one of those families that are trying to get back to a more simple way of life. Hopefully we will be purchasing some acreage soon and planting our own garden!

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  7. I was on BP meds a few years ago. When I stopped taking birth control pills my blood pressure dropped to the ideal range (and I'm very overweight). I haven't had any trouble since then.

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  8. Do a half-marathon through Team in Training with me! :D

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Glad you stopped in. I would love to hear from you.