Ok – so I started this new adventure of health last February. It wasn’t
because I was self-motivated; it was because I was diagnosed with High Blood
Pressure at 40. Seriously – high blood pressure.
Here's how it all began. I went in last January for my annual mammogram and OBGYN visits. The nurse at my OBGYN took my blood pressure and then she took it again and then she had another nurse take it. By that time I was a little concerned so I asked her what it was. When she told me, I was shocked. 182/118!! Yikes. Normal is 120/80 guys.
They were so concerned that my doctor asked if she could tell my sister about it as she had an appointment that same day just a little later. I said no, I would do it. The doctor also told me I needed to get in to see someone with a week. Again yikes!
I went home nervous and scared and unsure about what was happening and why. This was a Thursday. My health insurance provides a service where they can assist in helping you find a doctor, so I called the hotline when I got home. They were able to get me to a doctor the following Tuesday, Feb 3, 2015. When my sister got home, I told her. Then I told the rest of my immediate family and some close friends so that they could help hold me accountable for getting treatment. I don't like going to the doctor. Boo.
I was a bundle of nerves over the weekend and by the time my appointment rolled around, I was a wreck. Luckily my new doctor was very nice and kind but also very concerned. I started medication that day and the doctor told me that I'd need to go on a low sodium diet and cut out soda and sugar. What he
didn’t say was that I was dangerously close to becoming diabetic as well.Yikes, yikes!!
This all started at the beginning of February and now 7 1/2 months into this adventure, I feel like I'm in a place to share. It's probably not life changing for anyone else but me but maybe it'll help someone who was struggling like me.
I want to share what I've learned about diet and exercise and health so far over these last 7 1/2 months.
Nothing that I'm going to share is new information. It was all things I knew I should be doing but just wasn't. I wasn't motivated to do them until I had to go to a doctor.
Here's my goal now - to effect a change in my lifestyle (eating/exercise) enough that means I can go off the daily blood pressure medication. That's my goal.
Stay tuned for more posts on how this adventure has evolved for me.
