Monday, September 24, 2007

High Blood Pressure

Unlike my other Blogstars, I think I am still in recovery mode from Saturday’s run!!! Aside from a slight blister on the back of one of my heels (not sure why that happened) and a chaffing abrasion under one of my arms (I HATE arm flab!)….I didn’t end up too worse for the wear after Saturday, except for just some general leg soreness.

It’s still lingering today, which reaffirms for me that I am sadly out of shape.

Not like it was news to me, so I don’t dwell on it.

Tonight I am meeting with a new running group for the first time…and am hoping to get an easy 2-3 mile run on the books. We’ll see how it goes.

On a different note – I got some GREAT medical news on Friday!

Since you all don’t know me – I have had issues in the past with high blood pressure. When my first son was born 10 years ago, it reared its ugly head as PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension). And it never went away. It improved somewhat in the years between my pregnancies, but never entirely got back to normal. After I had Son2 three years ago, they put me back on BP meds, and I was a bit resigned to my fate of being considered *hypertensive* for the rest of my life. Obviously, it didn’t help that I was also overweight and mostly inactive at that time.

So when I started running last year, in the very back of my mind…..as something I never mentioned to anyone….was the hope that maybe SOMEDAY I would be in good enough shape, and at a healthy enough weight that I could get my BP back under control. Well, by last summer……I was running consistently and had dropped my weight to 149 pounds. Unfortunately, my doc at the time was not willing to take me off the meds (JERK). Not sure why, but I didn’t push the issue.

I hadn’t thought about it again until last Monday when I ran out of medication, and had an appointment on Friday to get it refilled. And yes…..as you might have guessed……..my current doc (who is a sports medicine specialist) had decided to let me try and go without the meds!!!!!!!!!!! My BP in the office was 123/80, when usually it skyrockets since I am so nervous about it being high, LOL! That was with being off the meds entirely for a week. So he has decided to let me chart my BP readings for the next few weeks, and if there is no spike again – I am DONE!

I can’t express how happy this makes me! The thought of being 34 years old and tied to BP meds for the rest of my life didn’t exactly razz my berries.

All my readings over the weekend were normal, so I am THRILLED!

And the kicker is – I still have 20 pounds to lose (again) and am not nearly in the physical shape I was in just a year ago. So the way I see it, things can only get better!

Maybe it’s just the Oh-No-I’m-Turning-35-Crisis, but I am confident this is the year for me. I am committed to getting myself back in shape and staying HEALTHY!!!

14 comments:

Pat said...

I hope you can drop those meds forever.

Are you going to get some running in down in Mexico? I love to run in other locals.

aerorunnergirl said...

Congrats! I hope you've kicked your drug habit for good! :)

Marcy said...

That is WONDERFUL news!!! ;D ;D ;D Hopefully this is it f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

Dan Seifring aka "OBRATS" said...

Good job kicking the meds. Here's to the both of us losing the last 20. OK for me it is more like 30 but who is counting.

Tigerlilly said...

that is fantastic... nobody should be on meds at 35...45...55... Yeah, ok, so I just think meds are terrible for you! I'm glad you were able to kick them to the curb!

I have to laugh when I saw the pics of your running friends. I went to high school with Angie! I saw her last year when I was down there for our ten year reunion. She told me her story and how she was blogging.. and that is when I got hooked on blogging! She is such a love!

Margo said...

Congrats on your BP improvement! And thanks for stopping by my blog.

Emil Von Runner said...

I'm also on BP meds and feel far too young to be, but every time I get my BP measured at the doctors office it is off the charts. My wife measures it at home though and it's fine. I hope that my being healthier brings me to the point that you just got to. Congratulations!

Lost4now said...

That is great news!! At this rate just think what great shape you will be in by the time you are my age!!

Andria said...

Oh wow! That is great news. Congrats on ditching the meds and here's to a new life without them and yay for the non-jerk doctor who decided to give it a try.

Isn't running great?

Michelle said...

Congrats! What a great accomplishment!

I found your blog through J-Mom's - I'm just another thirty-something mom of two boys who's addicted to running : )

J~Mom said...

That is fantastic news!!!!!!!!! Yeah for running and better health!!!!

Anonymous said...

woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff said...

Pokey -- just checking out your blog for the first time. Very cool. (Thanks for finding mine, too!)

Very exciting to be off of the meds. A seemingly simple but major accomplishment. Congrats.

Nancy said...

Just looked back and saw this post. Fantastic. Your BP does usually drop from regular running, a wonderful side effect. Mine was super low last time I was in. YEAH. Just keep an eye on it to make sure you are covered.

Congrats...