The Further Adventures of Deluzy: Blood pressure

Health and Wellness

The Google 15
An excellent weight-tracking tool that keeps track of your moving weight average over time so that no single weigh-in is a cause for ecstacy or despair.
Understanding Your Tests
A good preliminary resource for understanding your lab work (though of course it's no substitution for discussing results with your doctor)
FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal
An essential tool for me during my first 6 post-op months -- and a good reality check for anyone keeping track of daily food intake (e.g., calories, fats, carbohydrates, etc.) and activity levels
Gmaps Pedometer
A wonderful tool that allows one to map exercise routes and calculate miles covered and calories burned

Products I Like

Spanx
A line of comfortable foundation garments (and even easy-to-pack clothing) that comes in handy post-op to corrale that wayward, formerly obese flesh and make you feel comfortable. Available online, at Lane Bryant in larger sizes, at Nordstrom in smaller sizes, and sometimes at outlets for less.
Pure Protein RTD shakes
At an average of 35 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbs, and 160 calories, these ready-to-drink shakes work for me because I can chill them, grab them, pack them, and go. Available from a variety of online sources or at GNC stores.
Perfectly Sweet
Expensive but excellent source for sugar-free and no-sugar-added bakery and candy items.
Low Carb Corner
As near as I can tell, this site sells nothing but two kinds of breakfast cereal -- but as one who's avoided cereal since my DS surgery because it contains virtually no protein and far too many carbs, Protein Crunch is a wonderful option (i.e., 27 grams protein, 2 net grams carbs). It's horrifyingly expensive but for WLS cereal lovers, it's worth the occasional splurge.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Blood pressure

Okay, as my doctor pointed out at my visit last week, we may need to get me off the BP meds altogether.

All other meds connected to my obesity-related health conditions (e.g., Type II diabetes, high cholesterol) have been discontinued as of more than a year ago, but high blood pressure remained an issue. Hell, it's all over my family, as are strokes on both my mother's and my father's side of the tree, so that's not a surprise. We did cut my BP med dosage by half after my weight loss stabilized because I was getting light-headed a lot, and that seemed to help.

Now, however, even at the half-dose, I've begun to experience the dizziness and light-headedness again. I don't get it because I'm in the low 160s most of the time now, so the change has occurred without further weight loss. I have no idea what's made it drop further. I don't go out of my way to exercise (sadly). I don't eschew sodium. Maybe it's just my metabolism, continuing to adjust to carrying less weight.

My BP a few minutes ago? (I took it because I was feeling weird ... kind of a low-blood sugar/low BP sort of a feeling --> which, by the way, doesn't feel good). 101/59. If it keeps up this way (as it has for a few weeks), I'm going to ask for a quarter-dose. Off the med, I'm now about 122/80 but that's considered medically borderline-high, not normal -- and as I say, strokes abound in my family.

I want to play it safe -- but I also don't want to collapse because I'm over-medicated!

Posted at 05:10 PM in Health | Permalink