welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

do i or dont i

DO I OR DONT I
organicgreendoctor: longevity
those are those words that i mumbled under my breath
like those shakespeare words
to be or not to be
that is the question

so now
its all about
blood pressure

do i or dont i

well according to the new guidelines
heres an article that discusses them
do i or dont i
well
with the new guidelines
more of us will now have high blood pressure
or hypertension
hbp for short

the new goal is 130/80

at first
these three things came to mind

uh oh
now more of us will have preexisting conditions
hbp can get you axed from good insurance rates
if they being congress mess with the no preexisting clause
when looking to buy health insurance

those drug companies are going to make a killing
actually
i realized
most bp meds are generic and are cheap
but these new guidelines will generate more drug costs
more labs and more doctor visits

then
as you push folks blood pressure lower
there is a point on folks where its too low
they get dizzy
they especially the older folks can fall
break bones or get head injuries etc

but
the counter to all this is
by improving blood flow and preventing damage to
the heart the arteries and the brain
diseases like heart disease stroke alzheimers disease
may be prevented or the journey to those diseases
slowed down a lot

for me
personally
i want the envelope pushed to the limit
of where i get maximum benefit from controlling my bp

when i gave up on not taking bp meds
my bp was running around 140+- over 90+-
i felt ok
but
when i read more about how important it was to control
the bp in regards to slowing down alzheimers
i jumped on board with the bp control idea

i dont mind dying suddenly from a heart attack
or a stroke
i just dont want to fall into that alzheimers pit

so
on the meds i went
no second thought about it
i did notice that
when i lost weight and starting eating better
sleeping better exercising that my blood pressure started
easing downward
when i got near 110/70+- that i started getting dizzy when i
stood up and had problems with fatigue
so
i had my dose decreased
my bp stays between 120-130/80s
i feel ok with that
so
im happy with that dose of medicine and no side effects

so you if you didnt already have hbp
you need to decide if you want to take meds
for your new high bp according to the new guidelines

my warning
try diet change decrease salt decrease stress weight loss
exercise
two of my siblings had to get off their bp meds when they
did those things
now they are drug free
with normal blood pressures

but
if these things dont work for you
i say
get on the meds
just be careful with getting it too low
you may have symptoms
but
getting those numbers down in the new normal range
may add years to your life
and or
add better health to your last remaining years

summary
try diet and exercise and weight loss first
add meds if this doesnt work
watch for side effects of dizziness on standing or bending over
try to get your blood pressure to stay in the new guidelines
insist on the cheaper generics
and
live longer

the organicgreen doctor

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