I’ve had high blood pressure for over a year. That’s bad. As in really bad.
They call high blood pressure the “silent killer” because it wreaks havoc on the heart and the kidneys. It weakens the arteries and can even cause an aneurysm.
It’s no laughing matter.
Burying my head in the sand has not been an effective treatment.
Don’t get me wrong. I have made a few attempts to get it under control:
Conventional: Went to awesome doctor (Dr. Stewart) to seek treatment. He gave me two prescriptions and recommended some follow up tests.
Problem: Grace was 4 months old and the medication would have required that I stop breastfeeding.
Crunchy: Went to chiropractor (Dr. Bence) 3 times per week for 5 months. Pressure started coming down.
Problem: I couldn’t handle the frequency of the appointments and it was too far from home.
Stupid: Hoped it would go away if I just ignored it. You know, like teeth.
Problem: It didn’t work.
Needless to say, I’ve been a terrible patient and the problem hasn’t gone away.
Enter: new plan
I’m going to lose weight.
The “baby weight” as I’d like to call it accounts for about 35lbs of mass beyond a healthy weight for me.
It should really be called the “stuff your face with carbs for 3 months to stop feeling sick during your first trimester weight” but whatev.
I figure I owe it to myself to see whether losing the weight will bring my BP down. If it does, awesome! If not, I can explore medical options knowing that I did my part first.
I know I was all “let’s get honest on the internet” the other day, but I still break into a full body sweat when I think about revealing my number.
Therefore; my current number (weight) shall remain anonymous. For the time being anyway…
I’m still mourning the passing of Blair’s McFatty Mondays, so I’m starting my very own Weigh-In Wednesdays!
Each Wednesday I plan to weigh myself to see how I’m progressing, and ::cringe:: I’ll report back to the interwebs to keep me accountable.
I’d love to do a link up for anyone who might be interested in joining me on my journey, but I’ll have to figure out whether it’s even possible on my current blog platform. Stay tuned!
