Changing lifestyle in one big swoop... (colonoscopy, daily basis, thyroid, blood pressure)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Last week I had my BP checked at a dentist office and it was 175 over 120...the poor assistant kept checking because neither of us believed it, needless to say it just went higher...
I came home and started researching, hubby bought a BP monitor...
I now need to quit drinking any alcohol, quit smoking (I know), exercise on a daily basis and change my diet totally...oh did I say cut back on stress with the aforementioned.
I don't want to do meds if at all possible so I am on a mission. I have been drinking water, about 2.5 to 3 quarts a day (dehydration) and they would have probably given me a diuretic BP med for one of them, and I now have it down to 140s over 90s. Hit the treadmill today for 30 minutes...went grocery shopping and tried to stay on the outside aisles with yogurt, fruit, fresh veggies, etc. We don't eat bad, but I love gravies, homemade creamed soups, a lot of not so good things tossed in (bacon, cheese...).
Sorry for the long post, but has anyone else done this or tried without meds and succeeded? What did you do? Did I mention cutting stress with all of the above...
Last week I had my BP checked at a dentist office and it was 175 over 120...the poor assistant kept checking because neither of us believed it, needless to say it just went higher...
I came home and started researching, hubby bought a BP monitor...
I now need to quit drinking any alcohol, quit smoking (I know), exercise on a daily basis and change my diet totally...oh did I say cut back on stress with the aforementioned.
I don't want to do meds if at all possible so I am on a mission. I have been drinking water, about 2.5 to 3 quarts a day (dehydration) and they would have probably given me a diuretic BP med for one of them, and I now have it down to 140s over 90s. Hit the treadmill today for 30 minutes...went grocery shopping and tried to stay on the outside aisles with yogurt, fruit, fresh veggies, etc. We don't eat bad, but I love gravies, homemade creamed soups, a lot of not so good things tossed in (bacon, cheese...).
Sorry for the long post, but has anyone else done this or tried without meds and succeeded? What did you do? Did I mention cutting stress with all of the above...
My mother started taking L-Arganine (it's a natural amino acid) and it helped.
Last week I had my BP checked at a dentist office and it was 175 over 120...the poor assistant kept checking because neither of us believed it, needless to say it just went higher...
I came home and started researching, hubby bought a BP monitor...
I now need to quit drinking any alcohol, quit smoking (I know), exercise on a daily basis and change my diet totally...oh did I say cut back on stress with the aforementioned.
I don't want to do meds if at all possible so I am on a mission. I have been drinking water, about 2.5 to 3 quarts a day (dehydration) and they would have probably given me a diuretic BP med for one of them, and I now have it down to 140s over 90s. Hit the treadmill today for 30 minutes...went grocery shopping and tried to stay on the outside aisles with yogurt, fruit, fresh veggies, etc. We don't eat bad, but I love gravies, homemade creamed soups, a lot of not so good things tossed in (bacon, cheese...).
Sorry for the long post, but has anyone else done this or tried without meds and succeeded? What did you do? Did I mention cutting stress with all of the above...
By the way, Granny, I don't know how old you are, but until recently, the first number of your blood pressure could be as high as your age plus 100 and the doctors did not get concerned about it. It is a natural reaction to the aging process. Due to the fact that your circulatory system looses elasticity when you age, your heart has to push a little harder to compensate. In order to get enough blood (and oxygen) to your brain.
If you are under 65, then I might be a *tiny* bit concerned (but not much), but if you are over 65 it shouldn't even be a consideration.
Nobody has died from blood pressure that is 175 over 120.
20years...I am 54, I have had low BP for years, not been to a doc in years so I had no clue...it had gone up in their office and at home to 188 over 127...when I did the research with dehydration in the picture...that is why I started downing water and it went down a lot with just that. I do medical transcription at home for work so I am at the computer a lot. I get up to eat, toss laundry, let the dogs out, clean something, go back to my chair, so I am pretty sedentary also (the need for exercise). In my work I rarely see BPs this high and if I do they send them to the hospital, or they are on meds for the most part. I will check out the L-arginine
Mike, I have seen that too with potassium and mag...so looking for natural sources to add with fruits, veggies...I am 'slurping' bananas, melon...sloshing comes soon I actually found a bottled water with potassium and magnesium added...
Well, Granny...........I am also 54, soon to be 55 and have made it off of BP medicine. I agree doctors are all to quick to prescribe but that is awful high (188/27). There are some differing opinions on the high BP and you can read threads on that but I would be in the doctors office tomorrow with one that high and working on it myself if you really are at 140/90 or so. You definitely need to be taking it at home daily or weekly with a good monitor. The drug store BP guages are not so good.
Are you overweight? Losing will help greatly.
Quitting the smokes will help though mine went up shortly after I quit - nobody could explain that to me but maybe the stress.
Cut out all added salt - monitor - salt makes a huge difference for some folks, but not everyone and as you get older you can become more sensitive to salt-where maybe before you were not. And you would not believe the foods that have a lot of salt in them! Read the labels and track it.
Bananas good in potassium but not a superfood and there are better choices for this - too much sugar! I use "no salt" to boost my potassium and am very careful to measure it out as too much can be dangerous. Also look at labels and get a feeling, spinach is great. Basically why pay for a special bottled water when it is so cheap elsewise as all they do is add the same stuff. Low sodium V8 has a lot of potassium as well (Same stuff as no salt) Magnesium good for heart health - I take a cheap mag pill every night.
Lemon water makes a nice detox, and diuretic.
Black coffee has a lot of potassium and is a diuretic. For some it raises BP, but for me it seems to lower it.
Fish oil (some controversy) - I buy Double Strength, treated to remove mercury and take 2 nightly. ALSO CoQ10, I am taking 200mg a night and my husband's cardiologist, my doctor, and Doctor Oz all agree in the value of CoQ10 for BP control.
I can tell direct impact the day after excercise on my BP. When I broke my toe and did not excercise for a week it went up 10 points on both.
FWIW, my BP runs average 105/65 now - resting pulse around 65.
-----------
Now - where is that first colonoscopy? Colon cancer is one of the most detectable and treatable cancers and it is time to get checked. Also the pap smears, and other after 50 checks are in order! Stuff happens to granny as she gets older! She needs a full blood panel, thyroid check etc.
Consider getting a copy of Younger Next Year for Women. Cheap book great read good advice. I have been following that Since Nov and have lost 63lbs since October.
If you are overweight, loose weight.. I know a man that had high BP and his doctor wanted him on the medicine.. he refused saying he wanted to try to get it down on his own. After loosing only 13 pounds, his BP was better than it had been in years.
If you haven't changed your eating habits, eat healthier, make smarter choices. I would try whatever it takes before I got on the meds... People just don't realize how important eating right is.
I'd suggest that the BP elevation may have been from the stress of being in the dentists office. Track your BP daily, at the same time of day, over at least a month. This will give you and your physician a better picture of your BP history. The stopping smoking and decreasing/ending alcohol consumption are common sense, so, good for you.
Walk for at least 30 min. every day. This will do as much for you as anything. Your goal should be a 10% reduction in body weight to begin with. Do it with common sense and pay attention to the glycemic index as you construct your new eating habits.
Last edited by lifelongMOgal; 08-11-2010 at 09:35 AM..
Thanks and wow people, I am really liking the suggestions Every little bit helps. I am not overweight (5'4" and 125 pounds), but I am soft from sitting so much during the day I thought the rise was stress from the dentist's office too, so hubby got the monitor and it was reading about the same a day later After a day of super hydrating as I don't drink that much water and with the heat in AZ, it did drop to 140s over 90s and has kind of stayed there. I started the treadmill yesterday, may as well use it for what it was intended for right... I have started reading food labels for the first time in my life and it is pretty eye-opening. It took almost 5 minutes just to find OJ that was juice with nothing added. I do take a multivitamin, vitamin D, and fish oil now, but need to look into the other supplements mentioned.
Thanks and wow people, I am really liking the suggestions Every little bit helps. I am not overweight (5'4" and 125 pounds), but I am soft from sitting so much during the day I thought the rise was stress from the dentist's office too, so hubby got the monitor and it was reading about the same a day later After a day of super hydrating as I don't drink that much water and with the heat in AZ, it did drop to 140s over 90s and has kind of stayed there. I started the treadmill yesterday, may as well use it for what it was intended for right... I have started reading food labels for the first time in my life and it is pretty eye-opening. It took almost 5 minutes just to find OJ that was juice with nothing added. I do take a multivitamin, vitamin D, and fish oil now, but need to look into the other supplements mentioned.
Given your height/weight forget the weight reduction and work on fitness and increasing balance and flexibility. It will help keep you from those dangerous falls later on. Since you are just starting out go easy and work your way up gradually. No reason to give yourself an injury that stops you in your tracks. Slow and steady wins the race.
Getting out in some sunlight is a great way to get vitamin D (before 10am and after 4pm in the summer). Vitamin D also helps calcium absorption which is important for us women. When it starts to cool down maybe walk with some friends outside and keep those social connections or make some which are so important for good brain health. My grandmother took up golf at the age of 76 to make some social connections and force herself to get out when she moved to a retirement community.
Olive oil and garlic additions to your menu can give you some of that flavor instead of the cream sauces you like. Tart cherry juice is great for natural anti-inflammatory action and also contains melatonin which can help you sleep at night. http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/hyp.../melatonin.htm
I've found this link very useful for learning to read labels and choose foods based on nutrition content. Hope it is similarly helpful to yourself and others: http://nutritiondata.self.com/
Last edited by lifelongMOgal; 08-11-2010 at 10:37 AM..
Reason: spelling & link added
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I thought the rise was stress from the dentist's office too, so hubby got the monitor and it was reading about the same a day later 
After a day of super hydrating as I don't drink that much water and with the heat in AZ, it did drop to 140s over 90s and has kind of stayed there. I started the treadmill yesterday, may as well use it for what it was intended for right... I have started reading food labels for the first time in my life and it is pretty eye-opening. It took almost 5 minutes just to find OJ that was juice with nothing added. I do take a multivitamin, vitamin D, and fish oil now, but need to look into the other supplements mentioned.
