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!!!!!!!!

[KatieG]

I prefer to diet by changing habits... an important thing will be not denying yourself the things you love, honestly.. make it okay to have, say, maybe a piece or two of that delicious bacon once a week, or even once every other week, especially as you adjust!

So if you desire that small treat, ask yourself first "am I having this because i want it? need it?" If you think you need it, don't eat it. If it's because you want it, and truly are hungry, have a little bit.

Personally, I went from almost 2 liters of soda (im talking mountain dew here..) a day to no soda at all - then again, I quit cold turkey. (Didn't have an effect, either... I just decided "this doesn't taste good to me. it doesn't satisfy me" and I walked away from it.) Ive found that if I cut down on sweets and bad food (I have bad food once a week - when I borrow my mom's car to get groceries and run errands, I eat at either In N Out or Wienerschnitzel.), and eat slower, and serve myself smaller sizes, that Ive been losing weight and my blood pressure's dropped to be much healthier!! (lost 50lbs last year, and Im down to normal blood pressure)

Also, Ive found that with or for breakfast either a nut and dried fruit granola bar, or a rye cracker with light butter and some thin-sliced cheese is filling, healthy, and delicious!

And cook more!!! Always makes it taste better..and since most cooks taste while they cook, your stomach will tell your brain it's full sooner, so you won't find yourself craving the greasy, fatty, unfulfilling foods you "can't have anymore".

You still need salt, I recommend using kosher salt over table salt, it has a stronger flavor so one small pinch works better than shaking the shaker. Fresh ground pepper is better than preground - more flavor! "Healthy" doesn't have to mean "nasty". You want pizza? Make it at home. Make your own spaghetti sauce (I have some yummy recipes if you'd like), use fresh parmesan over the powdered shakey jar (you use way less and it is SO delicious on pizza/spaghetti/etc). If you can't have red meat, use turkey; a little worchestershire sauce will turn it from turkey to "hey what kind of beef is this? it's delicious!".

Gah, rambling, sorry >,<.

[Double U Leather]

Twin,

I just got through reading all of this about your health, and I must say I'm sorry to hear it. What really bites is the part about having to be a certain "number" for DOT requirements. I don't have to worry about that since I'm self employed. The point I'm getting at, is the fact I don't know or care about my BP or cholesterol or whatever else. I eat at least one quarter pounder with cheese everyday, and have for I don't know how many years. I chew snuff, drink coffee, and use Neat Lac without proper ventilation. Bottom line for me is...if I don't go to the doctor and have them tell me what's wrong, then I'm going to continue living thinking there's nothing wrong. And, until I fall over or some part of me starts hurting so bad I can't handle it, I refuse to go to a doctor. That was the case this past spring with my teeth. They finally started hurting so bad, I had to go to the dentist. End result, had a few pulled, a new bridge put in, and I'm off to the races again. They wanted be to come back every 4 months for cleanings, blah, blah, blah and I told them I'd see them when other teeth began to hurt too bad. I'm near 50 and with any luck at all, no other teeth will hurt until I die, and at that point they won't hurt either!! Just hang in there, and if I were you, I'd have me a a fried egg/bacon sandwich. And of course, fry the egg in bacon grease. Here's a side note....My folks are both near 90 and have cooked in bacon grease their whole life. The eat bacon everyday for breakfast. My dad puts butter on everything including chocolate cake!! They also eat alot of wild game. They both still hunt. Anyway, the doctors say that both of their hearts are as healthy as someone in their 60's. I don't know if it's the bacon grease or the buckskin, but it's workin' for them.

[Suze]

butter on chocolate cake is sooo good

warm out of the oven and real butter (mom used to call it the lazy man's frosting)

[TwinOaks]

Went for a check at the local doc-in-a-box this afternoon. They told me they can get me started but want me to get a regular doctor (primary care) b/c there needs to be some blood work done, etc., to make sure I'm on the right med. I've been on my diet for a week and a half now, have lost about 8 lbs, and when they check the BP, I was 15 points lower across the board. The doc said that if I lost another 5-10 lbs, and get some regular excercise I probably won't have to take ANY meds.

Speaking of meds, the one she prescribed is a diuretic. ?????? It warns 'may cause dizziness, avoid direct sunlight / prolonged exposure to sunlight'..........my next job ticket (Friday?) is to relamp a roadsign.....during the day, outside, in my bucket truck. Maybe I should go to medical school so I can be smart, too.

[roo4u]

unless you have specific things that are causing your bp to be high a diuretic is usually the first step in getting meds on board and will be followed by whatever else. some people can use only that for quite a while before they need an additional drug.

[Torquewrench]

Try to get the BP down with diet/exercise. If the DOT doc finds out you are on BP meds you will only get a one year card. I've got another year and a half to get mine under control.

Diet and exercise are helping. You also know the med. review board is going to make new suggestions to DOT to be considered soon. I hear rumors of taking BMI into consideration, too high and a sleep ap. test is needed.