Western Zen: Trying to Reduce Blood Pressure w/o Meds

dragon--

Defining the problem is always helpful.

Using the definition as a justification for crawling under the bed and curling up in the fetal position is not.

Fortunately Faithful Dog is on your better side.

If the skies are pouring rain, do you have an indoor exercise routine you can substitute? What about running in place?

oh sadly i have a treadmill in the house...have i used it? maybe once or twice since we moved into the new house-april. haha. i prefer to crawl onto the bed under the comforter in the fetal position. i know the problem, i hate exercise, but i want the body that those who exercise have, so its a trade off. one that currently the fetal position is winning...however, i found some shoes on amazon today for 29.99-the gel aisics that george was talking about-so hopefully once they come, i will at least get out of bed.

mr.d however commented today that he might start getting up with me and he would rollerblade while i ran with the dog (he doesn't like to run-long story). that would help me alot. funny i don't have much personal motivation but when someone else is involved, i am all over it. amazing.

thanks noddy...i need a swift kick in the butt

Suppose Mr. Dragon were to accompany you on roller blades with a stylish blacksnake whip?

i think we both might enjoy that...

Dragon--

The world is full of delightful people--I'm one of them--who dislike exercise for the sake of exercise. We're also people for whom working up a sweat is a matter of discomfort rather than pride or physical fulfillment.

Personally I give you full points for any morning when you bound out of bed and hit the ground running, running, running. That impresses me no end.

If sociable running (aka rollerblading) would be more fun than Woman Running With Dog, talk it up to Mr. D. Excercise is good for both sexes.

Hold your dominion.

Noddy,

Thank you. I will be happy to share. I have only been diagnosed with fibro for the last 4 years, but my doctor and therapist both conclude that I have most likely had it, lying in a remissive state, for most of my life. The sleep disorders part can be recalled and confirmed back to as early as the age of two when I would beg for tryptophan rich foods from my mom before bedtime. I wasn't just being ornery, I really could not sleep. As far back as I can remember personally, I was always waking during the night, getting up, wandering around the dark house, sitting on the kitchen floor playing with the dog or even just going into my parents bedroom and laying on the rug next to their bed for hours.
That was the beginning anyway. So as not to bore everyone all at once, I'll save more for later.

In response to your comment about carrying extra weight contributing to extra pain, I'm sure it is. Many fibromyalgics actually gain weight due to the more sedentary lifestyle and their physical limitations. Once I began medicinal therapy, I actually lost about 30 pounds, mostly due to lack of appetite. If I'm not hungry, it is really hard to get me motivated to eat and I was down to about 125 at one point on my 5'8" frame. At 141 I am supposed to be at my ideal, both in weight and BMI, but like I said, I feel better 10 pounds lighter and am working towards that again.





You do an amazing job, but what a toll it takes. I am glad that you do find some respite now and then. Learning to relax and to let go of tension and worry and stress is one of the hardest things for someone like you, who has always been the coper, the giver, the listener, the shoulder, the advisor. Everyone's strength. I am happy you have a good doctor who not only knows what you are going through with Mr. Noddy but understands it as well. He must be a gem. Happier still am I that you ARE looking out for yourself now as well. I'm sure its been a long time coming. I keep you in my thoughts all the time.

Lady J--

Thanks for the well-timed kind words. I've two more escapes this year and was feeling slightly swinish about focusing on me-me-me.

You are sooooooo not swinish, Noddy.

Not even close!! You more than deserve YOUR time too, Noddy! Enjoy all of it, guilt free.

You're definitely not swinish. Take advantage of the opportunities now, they might become fewer and farther apart later.

Osso, Lady J., J_B--

Thanks for the kind words, but believe me one corner of my psyche is a magnificent hog wallow, complete with crying towel and box of bon bons.

A universal human trait, if you ask me.

JLNobody--

You make good sense.

so i spoke to a good friend of mine who is an ER doctor on saturday night. he said that people with large muscle mass tend to produce more adrenaline (or metabolize it faster thus creating a demand for it more often-something like that). and thus having been a swimmer in college and having been able to bench upwards of 190lbs in college (as a woman), my muscle mass is pretty big. this, he said, increase in adrenaline constricts the arteries thus causing higher blood pressure.

so the thought now is how do i lose muscle mass. i havent been a competitive swimmer in 8 years, much less done any strenght training. all i have done is recently started running (in the last 4 months). so how does one reduce muscle mass and not get fat at the same time.

this does explain why my cholesterol was off the charts good. and why there is no other reason for high blood pressure. i like this idea...must go with it. but how do you reduce muscle mass?

Lack of use should atrophie muscles, i.e., loss of muscle mass. But I would still be sure to do aerobic exercises, like walking and very light weight resistance exercises. Perhaps you should see a doctor about your cholesterol and high blood pressure in order to determine if you need medicines for those conditions. It doesn't seem to me that losing muscle mass is the sole solution to your BP problem.

well i have actually amazing cholesterol-sorry if i confused that. 154 total, 60 ldl, 75 hdl. they said they should bottle it and sell it, it was so good. EKG was perfect, no kidney issues other than stones which doesn't cause high bp. dad has it, so they theorized hereditary, but since his cholesterol is really bad and his bp can be controlled by controlling cholesterol, mine still doesnt make sense...

i am thinking loss of weight in general will help so i have been exploring better ways than what i am currently doing since i am having trouble motiviating myself to run everyday.

Dragon49, congratulations on your lipid counts. I envy you. My total cholesterol was at one time 321--and I just love eggs. I take Mevacor which keeps me down below 200. My BP is marginally high, which CAN be dangerous. I take Prinivil for that. My weight is normal and I am a low-stress individual, so the doctor supposes that my high bp is "essential" hypertension, requiring medication, and that probably applies to my cholesterol as well. I eat an ideal low calorie and virtually non-saturated/transfat Mediterranean diet, so it is presumed that my high cholesterol is also "essential", the result of liver activity. While I do not like the idea of being on a long-time (life-long) regimen of medications, I think I would die from the BP and Lipid excesses long before I would suffer side-effects of the medicines. It's a trade-off decision.
Good luck to you.

Weekly bp check: 111/65
resting pulse: 75
weight: 169

it's working!

wow i am impressed by your dedication to your diet. that is amazing. good luck to you as well. they haven't been able to nail down why exactly i have high bp other than my dad does. but like i said his is due to his high cholesterol so that kinda blows the hereditary thought. i have started to eat organic foods and much more natural things like fruits, veggies, long grain rice, etc. (only recently). i too am on meds, beta blockers and i keep suffering light headedness from my much lower bp at teh moment. i am thinking of getting a medical bracelet for the beta blockers since i am so good at going into anaphalaxis (and supposedly it stops the uptake of epinephrine so giving me that in the event of a severe allergic reaction wouldn't do much).

JB--congrats, that is awesome!!! i am at 177 (and i was at 167-ugh). bp is down to 110/70 but that is due to the meds more than anything else. resting pulse is down in the 50s also due to meds. i have decided to try your cranwater, it sounds good. also did you say at one time that you were taking primrose oil? i read about that yesterday and was wondering how that was going for you.

Dragon49, I should mention that high cholesterol does not cause high BP; they are separate matters. Your dad's high BP is likely to be one of the causes of yours. Organic foods are good because of their absence of pesticides, but they also have nothing to do, by virtue of their "organic" status, with cholesterol. You do not benefit from LONG GRAIN rice if it is WHITE long grain rice. You want to eat whole grain brown rice. It doesn't matter if it is long grain or short grain.