It Had To Happen......

[TwinOaks]

Well, life has finally caught up with me. I went to get my DOT physical today, and found out I have High Blood Pressure. I'm having a good-bye party this weekend so I can bid farewell to lots of close personal friends.

Gone are Pizza, Fast Food, etc, etc. I'm okay with that, but I'll have to find a doc in the next week and get on medication. My wife has done some research and it looks like I'll also be giving up smoking, CAFFEINE (hang on, it gets worse) and I MUST give up B A C O N. AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So, before I totally break down and have a full blown conniption fit, can some of y'all chime in, lie to me, and tell me how it ain't all that bad to be on a salt/grease/sugar/caffeine/flavor-free diet?

[bigo5552000]

Its not all that bad!! You will be fine!

[Ferg]

Well, life has finally caught up with me. I went to get my DOT physical today, and found out I have High Blood Pressure. I'm having a good-bye party this weekend so I can bid farewell to lots of close personal friends.

Gone are Pizza, Fast Food, etc, etc. I'm okay with that, but I'll have to find a doc in the next week and get on medication. My wife has done some research and it looks like I'll also be giving up smoking, CAFFEINE (hang on, it gets worse) and I MUST give up B A C O N. AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So, before I totally break down and have a full blown conniption fit, can some of y'all chime in, lie to me, and tell me how it ain't all that bad to be on a salt/grease/sugar/caffeine/flavor-free diet?

My wife would say I am not the one to give anyone else advice on this subject but here goes anyway.

I have high blood pressure (corrected with cheap medication), over weight (I try to make sure I get all my veggies every week, french fries has to be one of them), Sugar corrected with cheap medication, and I have no cholesterol problems. I will soon be 77 years young. I love sweets, my wife is a fantastic baker and cook. BACON !!!!! never give it up. I have never smoked so that is a "non-consideration for me and I am a Tea-Totaller, don't drink and never have. I watch my salt intake, no problem, I seldom add salt to food after it is prepared, love black pepper, drink more than my share of Pepsi and orange juice. I have never drank caffeine free soda pop, I always thought you were supposed to use it for charging wet cell batteries. I can still outwork most people I know that are less than half my age, I love my life and my family and am looking forward to living to be 100 years old. Especially since my wife is twenty years younger than I. LOL

LIVE IT UP BOYS and GIRLS!!! The politicians are tryin- to get it all and I won't let 'em.

Have a great Weekend folks.

ferg

[dbusarow]

Well, life has finally caught up with me. I went to get my DOT physical today, and found out I have High Blood Pressure. I'm having a good-bye party this weekend so I can bid farewell to lots of close personal friends.

Gone are Pizza, Fast Food, etc, etc. I'm okay with that, but I'll have to find a doc in the next week and get on medication. My wife has done some research and it looks like I'll also be giving up smoking, CAFFEINE (hang on, it gets worse) and I MUST give up B A C O N. AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So, before I totally break down and have a full blown conniption fit, can some of y'all chime in, lie to me, and tell me how it ain't all that bad to be on a salt/grease/sugar/caffeine/flavor-free diet?

TwinOaks,

Not sure where you got that list of things to give up but I think it is a do-gooders fantasy list.

About 10 years ago I went in to a new chiropracter for an adjustment. As part of her standard for all new patients she did a mini-physical. Height, weight, pulse, BP etc..

She left the room after taking my BP and came back a few minutes later with the address of and directions to her personal physician. Who she had just called and who had agreed to see me immediately. My BP was so high she was concerned that I'd stroke out on the way to the MD!

I left the doctor's office with a prescription which I filled on the way home. A followup visit a couple of days later showed that the BP medicine was doing its job. I was text book normal.

The MD suggested I give up smoking, but for general health concerns, not for BP reasons. I didn't, I just cut back a little.

I did switch from regular salt to kosher salt. Get it in the canning aisle at your grocery store. I love it.

No one ever even suggested giving up caffiene. If they had suggested giving up bacon I would have laughed at them.

Long story short, I started taking the blood pressure medicine religiously, I cut down on salt and also switched from regular to kosher salt. That was it.

Stop worrying, take your meds and be happy.

Dan

Edited September 17, 2010 by dbusarow

[Hilly]

You don't have to give up anything. Just take 2 pills in stead of 1, and replace that last slice of pizza with a 12 pack of beer!

[EricDobson]

If you're gonna try making big changes to your diet anyways, check out the book Eat To Live. I've known a few people who have had great success with this plan, losing weight, lower blood pressure, and overall health. I just had my first go at it a couple weeks ago and it's not nearly as bad as I would've thought. Eat as much as you want (of the right stuff) and you don't have to cut anything out completely, just moderate it, which is really easy to do when you've filled up on the good stuff first.

A lot of people have drastically reduced their blood pressure without any medication by following the book. I'm not a super-fan or anything, just reporting what I've seen and experienced. It's not perfect, but pretty great if you can stick to it.

[TexasJack]

I don't think you really have to give up all that much. Docs are big on giving up salt, but rarely does that result in acceptable BP. Less weight and more exercise help a lot. Beyond that, there are some pretty good meds that help.

[terrahyd]

A few years ago I was visiting my 99 yr' old grandmother,,(the woman who raised me on a dirt farm in Kansas) and noticed she had tears in her eyes,,I ask why and she replied she was sorry she had to feed me all those eggs during those years ,,but what else would we have eat'n ....( some doctor had told her they were 't good for her) .I assured her that after 99 yr's eating eggs, chicken, turkey,bacon,ham,garden greens, and my favor't strawberries, that she did just fine and I was fine also..

I know the doctors mean well ,but????? .

rest in peace my lady ...Doc...

[Billy P]

I'm almost 58 yrs. old and have diabetes pretty bad. The hard to control diabetes came from a Dr. giving me the wrong medicine. It, the sugar messed up my arteries and caused me to have 2 heart attacks. I have the high blood pressure problem too. I don't use much salt, mostly kosher or sea salt, take my meds, and my bp runs like a 25yr old now. I've cut smokeing down from 3 pks a day to about a pack and trying to quit, but not for the bp. It seems every time you see the Dr. he tells us if you put in your mouth and it taste good spit it out. Bum that I'm gonna go one day and if it's not one thing it will be another, so I plan to enjoy a few things along the way. Billy P

[TwinOaks]

Thanks for the encouraging words. Viewing my initial reaction.....I may have over reacted a bit. The thing is, I'm a DOT driver, and I have to meet the requirements or lose my DOT health card. No card, no job. So....I'm planning on a doctor's visit to see about some meds. In the meantime, I'm on a spouse enforced, low salt, high(er) exercise diet, with a reduction of goodies.

Hmmmmm ............if I lose my job, I might have to take up full time leather production..............PASS THE POTATO CHIPS!!!!!!!!