Trouble... · 9:37pm Sep 6th, 2023
Both personal and professional. I’ll start with the former: Following a bout with severe stomach pain a couple weeks ago (which turned out to be bad gas but distended my gut enough to strain some of the area muscles), I have been diagnosed with hypertension—high blood pressure—and thus far I’m having trouble bringing it under control.
I had a burger and salad for lunch today, and my BP spiked from 135 this morning to over 160—Normal systolic reading is 120 or lower—I guess because of the salt content and the caffeine in the diet soda. I’m on medication and despite that high reading it’s otherwise been slowly trending down over the past week. But it’s causing me a lot of existential angst, lying in bed at night fearful of a stroke and dying as I can feel the increased pressure in my scalp like a crawling sensation when it’s bad. Not painful, just very disconcerting, leaving me constantly aware it’s there.
For the record, I’m not sedentary at all. I’m a very active person who runs at least 4 miles twice a week, weightlifts two or three times, and averages well over 20,000 steps a day according to my Fitbit. Yeah, I’ve got about twenty pounds of gut I’d love to lose, but otherwise I’m fit and try hard to keep myself that way. So why is this hitting me now?
Might just be simple age. Regardless, it would seem that dietary changes are in order, as is a change of medication or dosage if my current prescription doesn’t help do the trick. Cutting out sodium is probably my first priority, and cutting back on caffeine and alcohol the second. In their place, add more fiber and potassium, and losing weight should probably be up there as well. I’ve come down off my high of 205 lbs by about eight pounds so far, but more is needed.
Not helping is that we’re under another impossible deadline at work, though this time I think I’ve got an acceptable reason why their latest one is unworkable. I’ll plead my case in a meeting tomorrow. But the upshot of all this is, my attention isn’t exactly on writing at the moment. The new Midnight Rising chapter remains in progress at just north of 8000 words, with only one major section remaining, but the will to work on it is a bit lacking right now.
But if I need a distraction, that might suffice. I’ll keep folks updated as to what’s happening going forward.
Don't know if you live in the states or not, but try buying zero sugar caffein free soda, it's done wonders for me and stopped my acne. Even the off brand is good. Also another good way to lose weight is low carb bread, 1 calorie per slice. Other than I got no other tips for you. Just glad to know you're not gonna die on us out of nowhere. Stay safe, Stay Aware.
Bless you, Sensei. My oldest brother has been battling with high blood pressure for years now - he got it in his late 30's. My mother is on medication to control her blood pressure and heartbeat as well. There are a lot of people in the same boat as you and it sucks. Heart disease sucks. You're in my thoughts and if you ever feel up to talking about it, you know where to find me. And if you don't, know that I'm thinking about you and hoping for the best possible outcome. Never believe for a moment that you're facing this alone.
Cutting salt out is a big weight loss technique, too, but cravings can be rough if you go cold turkey.
“Drink water!” -my ol’ drill sergeant.
Hoping things level out soon for you.
5745526
Your drill sergeant is wise. I've lost 70 pounds by drinking water and I'm the process of losing 60 pounds right now doing the same! Alas, losing weight is easier than keeping it off for good.
We are the most healthy young, after that it is a steady decline
To bad we don't age backwards
Hope you get better soon
I use Beet Root supplements 1000 mg by Nature's Truth. Two capsules in the morning and two at night. They are a natural way to lower blood pressure that doesn't have any chemical interactions with other medications. You don't have to buy the fancy Beet powder sold by the trendy companies. It's should be at your vitamin aisle in the grocery store or Walmart. I turned 65 recently and my doctor wants to know how I dropped close to 30 pounds and lowered my blood pressure. I told him I pulled the old Master Sergeant out of my back pocket bought a gym membership and started eating better. Hope this helps..so now I will continue to "Shut up and soldier ". Good luck!
5745522
I live in the states, and I do like diet caffeine-free Mountain Dew among other things. Acne’s no longer an issue with me, but yeah, I need to avoid sugar for now.
5745526
Exactly. But I’m told that eventually, the cravings subside and your need for salt falls back to something more sensible.
Thanks. Yeah, I’ve been drinking a ton of water lately to the point I have to pee frequently at night, but there’s only so much it can do. Last night, I had a small plate of shrimp alfredo--a very rich food, made with a ton of cream and cheese--and my heart started racing/BP went through the roof afterwards regardless of the amount of water I was drinking. Took me hours to get to sleep and my heart to settle back down, and even this morning, my BP remains elevated over what it was yesterday morning. So it appears that stuff that’s too rich is going to set me off as well. Wish I had an easy answer to all this.
5745567
Yep. As they say, father time is undefeated.
But we can still do plenty to mitigate the effects of aging, including eating well and exercising.
Thanks!
5745523
Appreciated, Kohai. It often runs in the family, though not so much in mine. It’s usually a problem that defies an easy solution except to make unpleasant lifestyle changes that force you to cut out—or at least severely cut back—much of what you enjoy. You know me and my food. I also enjoy my morning coffee and evening alcohol. I have to take a serious look at cutting back on all of them now.
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It’s good to know my friends are with me, believe me.
If this fandom gave us and taugt us nothing else, it was that. Sucks to live alone and have to face this alone. I’ll find you online before too long, promise.
5745579
Beet root, huh? Reviews of it look decent, so I’ll give it a try. 65 years young and a military vet? Good to meet you, sir. Always a pleasure to meet another older brony who doesn’t like to act his age.
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I already get plenty of exercise, but maybe I could do more frequent cardio. That’s where gyms are handy, because you can do it in air-conditioned comfort instead of 95-degree heat and humidity in summer. I gave up my membership after they doubled the monthly rate, as I found that a simple bench, pull-up bar and set of dumbbells at home could let me do most of it.
Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully you were able to get your deadline pushed back!
5745745
More like I got it foisted off on someone else for the most part, but it still works.
Hope you feel better soon