Some aspects of my life defy the norms. I enjoy a happy, long, satisfying, and stable marriage. I run several miles a day and eat healthy foods most of the time. My weight is ok and I'm somewhat fit for my age. Here's the defied norm: I have high blood pressure. When I was first noticed there might be a problem, I was experiencing some stress that had ebbed and flowed for many years in our lives, but was peaking (again) at that time. So I just thought that was the cause of the spike in my bp. I thought if I meditated and prayed and listened to plenty of pan flute music, that it would go down. I just needed to "let go and let God" and amp up my detachment quotient. I didn't want to take medicine because I am pill phobic, and afraid of side effects. Those scary medicine commercials list the heinous possibilities so fast because they don't really want to have to admit that the "helpful" medicine might make your arms fall off. Anyway, it didn't go away with all my fervent praying, humming, chanting, or floating up denial river. The diastolic and systolic readings kept getting higher, scary high. Long story short, I cried uncle and admitted I better get on something to control it. My bp is now normal thanks to my medicine. I feel much better, even though I didn't even realize I felt bad when I was ignoring the issue. The only side effect I have is that 9 minutes after I take it, I fall asleep. That's not really a big deal, as long as I am ready to pack it in for the night. What's the moral to this whiny blogstory?Simply this: denial bad, medicine good. And there are some things in life that crop up that there's no explanation for. Stubbornly hanging on to that notion and ignoring the problem is stupid and can be dangerous. You probably have something perplexing you right now...my advice? Put on your big girl panties and take that medicine, go see a counselor, fix a relationship, whatever it takes.
3 comments:
hahaha the part about arms falling off: so true. i think that part of the comercials are hilarious.
anyway...come read my blog too! yay
Popcorn - I'm proud of you. I so understand your not wanting to take it, because you are the picture of health. You have so many reasons to stay healthy and thank God we have these medical resources at our fingertips. 100 years ago - who knows???
Popcorn,
For me it's an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and hydrochlorothiazide. That's fancy words for ACE inhibitor and HCTZ, a common diuretic. Yawwwwwn...it sometimes makes me a little sleepy too right after I take it. The drowsiness wears off after a little while. High blood pressure is nothing to mess around with. Good decision.
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