ET tomorrow...

mooshy08 · August 2012

feeling very anxious. My Dr. called me today to tell me I have high blood pressure and wants me to start medication. Like I don't have enough stress. I'm scared now. I'm already at risk because of my age (40) & my weight, now blood pressure...UGH!! I never had issues before & I'm healthier now than I was before I started this process in March. I've lost 20+lbs, eating healthy, smaller portions, more veggies & fruit. I just don't get it. There is a history of it in my family but I thought with my diet & exercise it would skip me. I pray that it has to do with all the meds I've been taking & after it's all out of my system it will go back to normal. I took a pill tonight cause I have the ET tomorrow & wanted it to start working asap so it doesn't get worse or delay or cancel ET. My Dr, spoke to my GYN about whick medicine to put me on while going through this and possibly getting pregnant. I read the fine print & I don't like what it says. Sorry for the vent & thank you for reading...but I'm freaking out!!!

luvboston · August 2012

How high is your bp?

mooshy08 · August 2012

It was 145/92.

jmorta04 · August 2012

Just wanted to say GL!

CutieGirlLissie · August 2012

Just wanted to wish you GL tomorrow!! Sending you sticky vibes!

sunshinebride07 · August 2012

Good luck!!!

MrsGlitteryHooks · August 2012

Good luck with the ET.

Rvnsgrl81 · August 2012

GL today! FX for lower BP soon! Sending you lots of sticky vibes today!

Killer Tomato · August 2012

Wishing you GL with the ET tomorrow. I don't have any good advice about your blood pressure, but maybe some meditation or breathing exercises could help with the stress? Try not to stress about the fine print on the meds, and trust that the doctors have weighed the risks, and the benefits outweigh the risks. Hopefully it will go back down soon! Again, GL tomorrow!

rebaann · August 2012

I wanted to wish you good luck! I just switched my regular bp medicine to Aldomet in anticipation of our ET.

Excitedtostart · August 2012

GL with the ET!

I'm glad your RE was insistent about starting you on medicine. That is a high BP, and hypertension is a very deadly disease. It's the Silent Killer because you don't feel high blood pressure, and by the time you do feel the effects of it, the damage is done. Your body can tolerate insanely high BPs for short periods of time, but sustained moderately high BP is what leads to damage in your body. Think of your hypertension medicine as another tool to help bring your family together and make sure you're all healthy.

Get a BP cuff for home and learn how to take your blood pressure. The pharmacist can show you how, and your Dr can write you a Rx for one, your insurance probably covers it. Start taking your BP two or three times a day, every day at about the same time. One BP reading doesn't tell the whole story. Also, be sure to take your pulse each time. It's not difficult to learn how, and your BP combined with your pulse is a better figure than either of those two alone. Write all of this down, you can keep it in a doc or a spreadsheet, or just on paper. You'll need to check in with your Dr more frequently for the first few months, perhaps every 3 - 6 weeks x 3 - 4 months. Bring your readings with you and look at them together, that can tell you a lot. Not all BP meds work the same way, so if your pressure is higher in the morning (which is natural, to a point) then you may need one medicine. It seems like a lot to take your BP everyday, three times a day, but you do a lot of things everyday. You brush your teeth twice a day. You wash your hands 8 - 12 times a day. You probably take your temp every morning. It seems daunting, but it isn't once you make it a habit.

Keeping up with this habit will also keep you in check. You'll quickly be able to tell the days you had dinner from a box the night before, or days when you had a lot of fruit and veggies. If you can do 3 BP checks a day, every day for 6 months, you have a better chance of regulating your blood pressure long term than if you don't.

Having said that, don't freak over a single number. Your Drs weren't concerned about that one number you had, they're concerned that you are constantly in that range. The bottom number is more important, that's the constant pressure in your pipes (blood vessels) at any given time. So if the pressure is CONSTANTLY HIGH (caps for emphasis), then it's too much. Hypertension is classified as your bottom number being greater than 90, but really we like it in the mid to low 80's. You don't need to bring it down very much, but the bottom number is also harder to bring down.

The top number is the pressure in your pipes when your heart contracts and pushes blood from the heart into your blood system. That number is easier to bring down, typically. We'd like to see that number in the 130's, and the closer to 120 you can get, the better.

Things that will help in addition to medicine:

Exercise: absolutely, positively a huge tool to lowering your blood pressure.

If you're not walking already, walking 30 minutes a day (everyday) will make such a huge change for you. It really does help.

Diet: If it comes out of a box, it's bad for your blood pressure. End of story. The more you can get away from boxed food and snacks, the better off you'll be. I happen to love food from a box, so I'm not wagging my finger at you. Just be aware that Boxes are Bad.

Soda - it's bad for hypertension. Diet soda, regular soda, any kind of soda. If you can cut one thing from your diet completely, I would start here.

Obviously more fruits and veggies will help you eat better. Fresh can be expensive, so if you can't do that all the time (I can't), go with frozen over canned. Canning tends to add salt, frozen doesn't. And frozen seems to keep it's flavor and texture better.

Last but not least, everything has salt in it. A blade of grass has sodium in it. Sodium is integral to life, you can't completely escape from it. So don't be fooled by thinking that things are non-salt because they don't strike you as "salty".

Losing weight: You said you've lost weight, and 20 pounds is freaking amazing!!! Seriously, please pat yourself n the back. That is an enormously huge accomplishment and should be applauded. I've been trying to lose 20 pounds for almost 3 years. I've gained 10. So you're 30 steps ahead of me. Congratulations!

Water: Drink more of it. Salt follows water, the more you drink the better it is for you.

***Caveat: Please don't drink 10 gallons of water in one sitting. More is better, to a point.

Alternative therapies:

Massage, Yoga, Acupuncture, Reflexology, Meditation can all affect your blood pressure. Consider adding these to your arsenal of tools. Your health insurance may cover some of them, or they may have group packages, etc. Some you can do at home (meditation, yoga, maybe massage) but I might stay away from the DIY Acupuncture.

Overall, don't see this as a nail in the coffin. Your Drs saw something that could lead to trouble down the road. You're lucky, you know about this now. You can do so many things to change the course of your health. You can make small changes in your everyday life that can swing the course of your health 40 degrees to the left - avoiding potential health problems down the road. Look at your medicine as a tool that you use now, and possibly for the next two years.

At that point, with your continued weight loss, better diet, daily activity, increased water intake and morning meditations, you won't need medicine. And you will have a very long, happy, healthy life to spend with your family. GL!