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

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

monitoring your blood pressure

MONITORING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
as you can tell from the picture this is my blood pressure cuff i bought from cvs a few years ago
i have checked it versus blood pressure readings in the doctors office and from others blood pressures cuffs so i know its accurate
this one cost me around $40

i have monitored my blood pressure off and on for years
knowing now what i know and with the new blood pressure guidelines
well 
i should have been more aggressive over the years at maybe seeking treatment before i did

at one time they said 140/90 was ok
then it was 130/80
but 
now its 120/80

recently i was on facebook and saw this link from the american heart association on how to manage your blood pressure
i am careful so i rarely click on any posted website unless i really know its legit
what with all those bot things that i see many of you reposting
i always say yep those bots are controlling our thinking and our politics
i wonder which of those bots are russian or chinese or north korean
you never know
but
i felt the american heart association one would be ok
so
click on it i did

i worked my way down the page 
i watched the videos 
i actually learned the proper way to take your blood pressure
i learned what your blood pressure should be

using this info i thought about the last 10-15 years
yep i should have been on meds much earlier

if those guidelines had been in place years ago i would probably have been more aggressive about having my blood pressure treated 
i waited until i got my diagnosis and that was one of the recommendations was maybe do more aggressive blood pressure treatment with medication 

i had done diet and exercise but my blood pressures would wax and wan between normal and slightly abnormal
i eventually opted for treatment

since i was sick with whatever i had in mid march i have lost my appetite and have lost about 25 lbs since then
i still think it was covid 19 and hope to have the real almost 100% accurate antibody test when it becomes available
my original covid 19 nose swab viral test was negative 
the antibody tests that folks are getting are sort of screening tests and have a high false positive rate and a slight increased false negative rates

when i was sick i lost at first 15 lbs in 2 weeks than another 10+lbs over the last few weeks
as i lost my weight i was on my blood pressure meds and my blood pressure started getting too low
so my blood pressure meds were stopped
when i got the shingles my pressure shot too high one day so the meds were restarted
it was either the shingles or the shingles meds that made the pressure go up
then
as my appetite dropped and my weight dropped so did my blood pressure
such that i eventually had to stop my blood pressure meds
my weight stabilized  and has remained 25 lbs down
as has my blood pressure remained normal
ie
120/70 

i am a living experiment how a controlled diet mild exercise and weight loss can control ones blood pressure

now as i gain my weight back i realize there will be a point where i will probably have to restart my blood pressure meds again
so
when that time comes this time i will not hesitate to do so
i continue to monitor my blood pressure

remember
it is important while you are in your middle ages to have a normal blood pressure
eg
a blood pressure of 130/80 or greater during those middle ages may not be good for your
heart
kidneys
brain
so
monitor your blood pressure
if you have to take medication do it
those three organs i listed above will appreciate it

the organicgreen doctor

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