Under Pressure Pt. 2

Ok, so now I don't have high blood pressure.

As I stated in a previous posting, I had a very high blood pressure reading during a health screen for a program my work has. I was fairly nervous about it and decided not to wait before making an appointment to see my doctor.

I got to the office and the nurse took my blood pressure. Normal. Then my doctor came in and took my pressure reading. Also normal, even slightly lower than the first one at 114/74. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed by the significantly lower reading, but happy when she stated that I most certainly don't have hypertension. (But I do most likely have pre-hypertension.....yay!)

We spent some time reviewing my blood work and measurements. I really appreciated my doctor taking the time to listen to the endless questions I had. In the end though, the prescription remained unchanged. I have to eat better, lose weight, and exercise more. I have already started using my gym membership more frequently than I was, which wasn't very hard to to. (It has been nice to see some of you there.) Then, this morning I downloaded a ton of info on a diabetic diet my doctor recommended as my blood sugar was slightly elevated and she wants me to better control that.

My doctor reminded me of some unfortunate things I have going for me in the way of family history. As I said before, my mom has been on blood pressure medication forever and my dad has already had quadruple bypass surgery and is a diabetic. So I potentially have all that to look forward to no matter what I do. My doctor told me that because of my history, even with the right diet and exercise, she wouldn't be surprised if she had to put me on blood pressure meds within the next five years.

I'm still optimistic about the diet and exercise bit though. I'm just getting started with this and I already feel better. And I'm not worried about what's going to happen with my health in the future. Life really is too short to spend a lot of time worrying. I'm going to work with my doctor to monitor this stuff, we're going to catch any problems early, and I'm going to make the lifestyle changes I need to make.

My next appointment is in six months. I'll let you know how it goes....