Thread: My PT Story

So it was late May of this year, I went to the doctor because my blood pressure medicine perscrpiton had run out of refills. I stupidly thought I could just quit blood pressure medicine and be OK. After a couple weeks without my medicine I knew I was in trouble because my head absolutely throbbed non-stop, in fact my headaches had grown so severe that I could think of little else. I finally surrendered and decided to go get the prescription squared away. My blood pressure was of course through the roof and the results of my physical were predictably unimpressive.

The doc told me my BP and cholesterol were both very high (duh, I'm supposed to be on medicine for both and hadn't had any for nearly two weeks.) He then asked if there was any history of diabetes in my family. I flippantly answered, "No Doc, my folks have always been stroke, heart attack or emphasyma people, no diabetes here." He told me my blood sugar wasn't diabetic yet but was borderline and it wouldn't take much for me to become diabetic.

Behind the bravado though, if I was totally honest with myself I was very scared. Physically I felt like a man 30 years older than I am. I tired quickly and rarely had much left after a "strenuous" day at a desk job. Indeed alot had changed since I retired 5 years ago. Back then I could do five mile runs in less than 45 minutes in a gas mask with a half can of Copenhagen in my mouth. Now, it didn't take much at all for me to be out of breath and or ready for a nap.

When Blugill passed away, the voice in my head said, "That's you if you don't do something real fast." Mark was far too young to die of natural causes as am I but the truth of the matter is that my lifestyle choices seemed to be leading me in that direction real quick. I figured that I spent at least half an hour every day removing hair from my face, why not spend some time making sure that I'd be around to enjoy my shaves (wife, kids, grandkids, etc.) for the forseeable future. Since then I have run at least 20 minutes 4-5 times a week. From a portly 246 in late May my weight has come down to a svelt 213. The intensity of my training steadily increases as the weight comes off and I get in better shape. I've nearly weened myself off blood pressure medicine. I check it daily and can normally go 4-5 days between doses (I take my BP meds only when the BP reads 130+/90+. The weight continues to come off at a rate of 2-3 lbs a week. and I'm planning to start training after the first of the year for a half marathon. Many years ago, I told myself it would be really cool to run a full marathon the year I turned 50. The half marathon I'm training for is in March and there's a full marathon in December (2 months after my 50th). I'm wearing clothes I've not been able to fit into for years and it's amazing how much better I feel in general. I'm not on a strict diet but I am a bit more mindful of what I'm eating and how much. I continue to enjoy my pipes and cigars. Other than a whole bunch of exercise, the only thing I'm really doing different is I've cut down significantly on my drinking and I tend to drink a LOT more water than I used to.

Congrats and keep it up. They always say that losing weight and getting healthy is easy. The hard part is making to conscious decision every day to actually do it. Look forward to hearing how you do in the half marathon.

Congrats to you and I hope you keep up the good work. Good luck with the training .

I commend you for your new attitude and efforts and results.

my only comment, as a long time Blood pressure med user is that those meds are not designed to be taken on an as need basis. They build up in your system and slowly bring your pressure down. Taking them now and then a few times is really unwise. You should discuss that with your M.D

My BP is borderline. Not high, but I have to keep an eye on it. it's usually around 130/80.
If you have high BP, sometimes the cause can be things you eat. I disovered that hot and spicy food raises my BP noticably. At a time when my BP was sometimes elevated, I was eating my lunch, which was stir fried food I had prepared myself. The sweat was rolling from my brow (chili pepper) and I suddenly thought: 'If it has this much of an effect on the outside, perhaps it has an effect on the inside as well.

Since then I toned down my food, and my BP has dropped 10 points.

There are many things that can affect your BP and everyone is different. Genetics is probably #1. If you have a predisposition towards it foods, salt especially, stress, medicines, being overweight, lack of exercise can all help make it worse.

Most folks (probably 90% or more) get no symptoms from it. Usually the first you know is when you get a heart attack or stroke. High BP will cause your heart to enlarge and your blood vessels to deteriorate. If you plan on being on this earth any length of time controlling your BP is as mandatory as stropping a razor every day. It can destroy every major organ in your body.

I'm one of the few that is very sensitive to BP and I can always tell if my pressure rises even slightly.

My wife has the opposite problem. 90 over 60 is her normal BP.
During pregnancy she was eating salt by the bucket in order to try and raise it some.

Originally Posted by Bruno

My wife has the opposite problem. 90 over 60 is her normal BP.
During pregnancy she was eating salt by the bucket in order to try and raise it some.

Your wife is lucky. She'll probably live to be 100.

GI, Kudos for taking action. 'Would prefer you hang around for a while.

Thanks for all the well wishes. It would seem I've spit in the face of all the odds for quite some time. Being a southerner, my diet was pretty rich in fried stuff, pork fat and of course the universal condiment, Tabasco Sauce. Genetics were not friendly either. As I said in the OP, my folks have historically been stroke and heart attack people. Especially on my Mom's side of the family, they all have ghastly hypertension and lots of them have died between their mid 30's and 50's from sudden massive strokes. When I was in the military and led an extremely active lifestyle, those factors all seemed to be kept in check and I was quite healthy. My post-military life was, well sendentary at best so of course, my weight shot up, my fitness level plummeted and all those health problems that were previously kept in check by an active lifestyle started to come out in mass. Now that I'm back to an active lifestyle, it would seem that I'm on the way to again controlling and minimizing the effects of all of those negative factors. Yesterday, I broke the 1 hour mark; for the first time in at least six years I ran for 1 straight hour not only that but I felt great doing it and even managed a kick at the end. The sheer improvement in just overall how I feel since I've taken to regular exercise is remarkable.