state of the fishie health

[piranha]

pretty good overall. 3 weeks ago i noticed that my morning diastolic blood pressure was consistently below / in the low 120s, instead of around 140 and i was wondering whether i might be able to dispense with half the metoprolol. so for the last 2 weeks i've only taken the met and micardis in the morning. so far, so good; my overall blood pressure looks fine now, averages to 122/72, which is lower than dr P was shooting for, and with fewer meds.

i credit all the walking and exercycling i've done for much of this, though i've also made changes to my diet. i am _not_ dieting, i am trying to change my eating habits towards lowering my blood sugar, and retaining less water -- but i am not actually on a prescribed diet, nor do i want to be since that doesn't work for me. i've basically cut salt and sugar from things i prepare myself, though i am still eating them if they're in frozen foods, or when we eat out. i am also eating a lot fewer carbs, but i've cut only the foods that rank really high on the glycemic index. i'm slowly cutting down on artificial sweeteners as well, because i don't just want to replace sugars with artificial crap where in 10 years they're gonna find out it's bad for us after all; i want to develop less of a sweet tooth, and then switch back to using natural sweeteners if the blood glucose plays along. this has worked well with salt; i have a salt substitute, but i already use very little of it.

i don't want any change to be too onerous because then i will fall off the wagon.

the celexa doesn't make me sick anymore (well, i take it just before i go to bed, so i don't actually know -- but what i don't know doesn't hurt me in this case :). it's not doing anything to improve my concentration/memory, but it's done good in that it's helped me get over the horrible hump where i didn't even want to go outside. overall the many-pronged approach is providing enough oomph -- celexa, taking daily photos, walking everywhere even if i've been there before (now with the new GPS toy) so i can map trails and count kms walked, and riding the exercycle when the weather is too bad to walk, or i am worn out from the day before.

i weigh myself occasionally, just as a datapoint. lost 17 lbs since i started exercising (do not congratulate me -- this is not a goal of mine, and i don't care that both docs said i should lose some weight; i want to be healthier, not thinner).

the blood glucose thing still has me grumbling, but overall the values are alright; hovering around 6 mmol, and i am not stressing over it. we'll see what my next HBA1c says.

my ticker has felt very normal, just a few palpitations occasionally, nothing that lasts for more than a couple beats. i am very happy about that, i've hated most that i was always listening to my heart and that it seemed to do so many weird things; that was very disconcerting.

dr W (the internist) has referred me to an ophthalmologist to have my eyes checked thoroughly. appointment on may 22 @ 14:45.

Comments

[la-penguinita.livejournal.com]

i weigh myself occasionally, just as a datapoint. lost 17 lbs since i started exercising (do not congratulate me -- this is not a goal of mine, and i don't care that both docs said i should lose some weight; i want to be healthier, not thinner).

Yes, yes, and yes.

I feel better when I'm not as heavy, but I'm NOT on a diet and any weight loss is a side effect. (One I'm happy with, but, again, because it makes me feel better, not because I "should" or I "have to" or anything like that.)

Still...I'm glad that the changes you've made are turning you into a happier, healthier fishie. :-)

health

[betonica.livejournal.com]

Wonderful news! I wish I could be confident that the blood pressure readings I'm getting (around 120/78) are accurate. My blood pressure was *very* high six months ago, but also to be significantly higher when the doctor checked it than when I did. But I've done a bunch of stuff so that the bp seems at least under control, if not ideal (when I go to the MD, whatcha bet they get a reading like 145/90?) and I feel a bit healthier. I wish I could get myself to exercise regularly. Even walking. I don't know what the barrier is - some people seem to have no problem with regular exercise. I envy them.

Anyway, congrats on doing so well, and I'm *very* glad to hear that your heart is doing a steadier, reliable job. Must be a big relief.

Re: health

[eagle]

Suggestion: bring your blood pressure cuff in with you for your next appointment. Doctors are generally quite happy to have you do this and then you can check your reading against theirs right there in the office. If you get around the same reading that they get, go home, use yours again, and get a much lower reading, that tells you that the high readings are possibly just doctor anxiety.

Re: health

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Take your meter to your doctor's office, and they will calibrate it for you. I did, and my meter was spot on, so they figured it was white-coat anxiety, which I would have sworn I don't have.

Re: health

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

You don't need to be aware of it to have white-coat. And it may have associated health risks (basically, it could be a sign that your body, while healthy when not stressed, over-reacts to even minor stress).

[redbird]

Datapointing is useful. Among other things, rapid, unexplained weight loss or gain can be a sign of illness. (This is one reason doctors take those measurements--as I found out when, mid-treatment for something else, I lost about ten pounds in as many days. We tracked it for a couple of months, it stabilized, we don't worry. Had it kept dropping, we'd have had to find out why.)

health status

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

I don't really have anything to say other than that it sounds like you're being incredibly sensible, and making probably the best progress on your health possible. (I regard making too large changes over-optimistically to be less progress than smaller changes that stick.)

[platonios.livejournal.com]

I really wanted to comment on that post for 2 days now and always forgot it or something happened!
Finally I'm here and shouting:



I try to sneak as many vegetables and fruits and fishes I can in my diet (a habit inherited from parents and who I thank for still insisting to send me weekly tones of green stuff)...it sure helps a lot with my blood-test results which are good enough considering my love for chocolate and mint ice cream (<--my fridge is never out of this!) and fat cheeses and many other yummy junks!