I hate that at this weight I have high blood pressure. I know it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it really shows how out of shape and unhealthy my body really is. My poor body is screaming for me to lose weight, and so far I've been ignoring the warning signs. Recently my blood pressure has been creeping up and up. I noticed that I get flushed really easily, especially in the afternoons. Today I checked my blood pressure while having one of these flushes, and it was 170/110! Christ that's high! I've always been borderline high blood pressure, hovering in the 130/85-150/95 range. But 170/110, that's real high blood pressure. There's nothing borderline about that (note: normal blood pressure is 120/80, with high blood pressure over 140/90). I definitely haven't been drinking enough water lately, and I know I'm eating way too much salt, and I recently went back on birth control pills (which in the past have notoriously raised my bp), but I'm sure my weight is a big part of the problem.
Most people don't worry about their blood pressure until they've had some kind of problem like a heart attack or stroke or something. I'm starting to pay attention now, because I don't want to be one of those statistics. You know the ones, fat 30-somethings dying from weight-related causes. I think of famous people that have died from obesity, and it makes me worried that as I get older I'm dodging death everyday. Chris Farley died at 33. He died of a drug overdose, but his autopsy revealed heart disease was a major underlying factor in his death. John Candy died in his sleep at 43 from a massive heart attack due to his obesity. Cass Elliot (AKA Mama Cass) was rumored to have died choking on a ham sandwich, but her autopsy showed that she too died of a massive heart attack. She was 32. She was 5'5". She was over 300 pounds. That terrifies me! I'm 32, I'm 5'6", and I'm just shy of 300 pounds. I'm a ticking time bomb. My health has not been great in the past couple years, and I wonder if my weight is part of the reason. This scares me.
I am working hard to make changes in my life now. I'm keeping a food journal everyday. I'm watching my portions. I'm trying to get in some exercise (which will hopefully increase greatly when my new elliptical trainer arrives). I'm trying to drink lots of water everyday. I'm even trying to find ways to find peace and calm in my life to reduce stress (which can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease). I know these changes are necessary. I know these changes need to come now. But I'm scared that I've made a commitment to change too late. I worry that I may drop dead anyway. What a horrible thought! I guess it just really hit me how serious this all is, and it makes me want to get down to my goal weight as soon as possible. I won't let this get me down. I'll keep on working towards my goal until I reach it, because I don't want to be yet another statistic!
About Me
- karaokekitty
- I'm a medical/ science/ nonfiction writer living it Texas. In my quest to get healthier, I've tried to refrain from my favorite activity of baking yummy goodies! I've shifted my life from one in front of the tv to one in front of the computer - I guess I've gone from couch potato to mouse potato!
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12 comments:
Weight is a huge factor in blood pressure. The heavier a person is, the more stress their heart is under. I'm new to blogging, so hello and I hope to hear from you.
Okay so you had a wake up call... I am right there with you.. went to the doc for a check up in Dec.. he told me that if i did not lose weight by May I would have to be on BP meds.. and that is not going to happen to me if I can help it... that was my biggest motivator for starting my program... wake up calls are good.. and your conviction sounds super.. you are right. nothing will deter you from your success..Have a great weekend..
im not THAT overweight, but yeah...
that's scary, about the blood pressure and all. *shivers* *goes paranoid*
High Blood Pressure – High Blood Sugar Levels – High Salt – I feel like I could go a month eating pocket lint and still see all of the above skyrocket in addition to gaining 5 pounds. I was at one time drinking any where from 6 to 8 cans of coke a day. I went to drinking only water and after 6 months lost a whole 3 pounds.
I don't have any such wake up calls. I almost wish I did, maybe it would motivate me to lose weight.
At 5'4 and 225ish lbs, I have excellent blood pressure and my sugars are great. Even during my pregnancy when I was almost 300, my bp and sugars were excellent, much to the surprise of my doctors.
Late last summer, I checked my blood pressure at the drug store and it was high (155/92). Kept checking it everyday for a week and it remained high, made an appointment with the doc - who wanted me to watch my sodium intake, walk everyday and lose weight. I went back a month later (10 pounds lighter) my blood pressure was in the 130's/80's. One month went by (another 7 pounds lost) and my blood pressure was 124/76. I lucked out and didn't have to be put on blood pressure meds. I'm 43.
I have lost over 100 pounds and still have about 70 to go. I am only 32 and I don't have any problems with blood pressure yet and my last blood test came back fine. I am calorie counting trying to lose the weight before the problems start!
Cheers
Cheryl
http://foodobsession.wordpress.com
I'm 47 and never had any BP problems until 4 years ago at my highest weight. I ended up on two different blood pressure medicines. In the past year, I've lost weight and exercised. I started out very small with exercise. I'm still on one medicine but I got rid of the other. If I can show my doctor that I lost weight since Christmas, I can get rid of the other one.
I started weighing over 300 pounds btw, in February 2006. I've lost about 55-56 pounds so it can be done. Don't it get you down.
I hate not knowing which blood pressure reading is accurate - the result with the regular cuff or the lower result with the larger cuff. Are readings on fat arms accurate?
I was at the doctor just yesterday and had my wakeup call too. My bp was 170/110. I have an appt to go back in 2 weeks to talk about ways to lower my bp. I need help!!!
I’ve seen ads on TV for Caduet. It has two ingredients. One is Amlodipine and the other is Atorvastatin. With my RxDrugCard I can get 30 tablets of Amlodipine for $9 and 30 tablets of Simvastatin for $9. I’ll bet they are charging more than $18 for this new drug! Don’t pressure your doctor into giving you something just because it’s new. Do your homework. Find a drug card like I did at www.rxdrugcard.com. I think that RxDrugCard.com is the best drug card available for prescription discounts.
First, congrats to all of you who are losing weight and gaining control over your BP and health! I am 33, 5'4" and about 145 pounds (15-25 pounds overweight). My BP was out of control! I fought hard against having to take drugs for it, but it was too high to wait for weight loss to bring it down. I was on 3 drugs and then I worked with the doctor to get down to just 1 (Metoprolol). She just had to increase my dose last week b/c BP was 170/110 and I was getting migraines and general headaches more often. I already feel better (sometime you do need the drugs). I also wanted to metion that while my BP was very high, I was taken off birth control and left off for over a year and I kept looking for a way to get back on besides "the shot" or "the implant" (I didn't want either) and the doctor finally agreed on Nuvaring, I forget if it's the lack of estrogen or what but something about it makes it less risky for people with high BP. Hopefully that's usefull info for you :)
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