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  1. #1
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Trying to get healthier. The irony.

    Last year I went off of caffeine and high fructose corn syrup. Entirely. I noticed that my energy was down but just attributed it to winter and withdrawal. Ten months later, I decided to cut down on cane sugar. Not eliminate it entirely but just a couple of bites of cake or chocolate every few days. I'm just blah now all of the time.

    It turns out that caffeine, high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar all raise blood pressure. Many people think that cane sugar is worse than salt.

    I have a genetic predisposition to high blood pressure. My mother weighs 120 pounds soaking wet and still takes meds. I've been taking them for 20 years on a very low dose. It's been a few weeks since the lower cane sugar and I'm just tanking. I was almost in a major car accident. The guy blew the red going about 40 mph and missed me by inches. I was upset but my heart rate didn't increase. At all.

    So now I need to go to the doctor to get evaluated for lowering my meds or getting off of it altogether. In the meantime, apparently I need to eat dessert to keep my blood pressure up. The irony.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Seems like if it's not one thing, it's another. Your body needs some sugar. Have you tried honey? Hope you can get it worked out.
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  3. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Wish I knew what to tell you except definitely get checked to see if those BP meds are still appropriate for your current situation. About your heart rate not going up, a cardiologist I used to work with had his own personal theory that each person is born with a set number of heart beats and when you've reached that magic number, you're done. By his logic, exercising to bring down your resting heart rate and/or taking meds like beta blockers to keep your heart rate down was a good thing. It's possible one of your meds is keeping your heart rate from spiking. He admitted his theory had no basis in fact, just his own personal quirky ideas.

    You must eat dessert- dang! I wish I had that issue around here!

  4. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    It is such a balancing act. You do NEED sugar, salt and fat. Not as much as some people consume but a bit.

    Smartrock, I like your cardiologist's quirky idea. A friend of ours recently had the typical signs of impending heart problems, thought (MEN!) indigestion, visited his doctor who sent him to a cardiologist and Wham, Bam - double bypass. We've known him since we were all in our 20's and he is in better shape now than he was then. He was told genetics played a big part in his arteries getting all clogged up but if he hadn't also been careful of what he eats and stayed fit it would likely have killed him.
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  5. #5
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    The meds actually are beta blockers. Unfortunately, they do have some potential side effects. They make me more sensitive to sunlight for instance which is a pain so I garden fully dressed year round. The other is that they can slow your metabolism. They block adrenaline. I think I need some of that adrenaline back.

  6. #6
    Best Friend Retriever annkie's Avatar
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    My hubby who's only 33 yrs old discovered he has heart disease. Both of his parents have it and he got both of what each has! Still talking to doctors. But he also had to cut out all of caffeine and go on heart meds that lower his BP. His was low to begin with. He walks around like a zombie. He use to drink insane amounts of caffeine. So I'm sure having nothing at all is miserable. I found that for me exercise even light to moderate boosts my energy.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by annkie View Post
    My hubby who's only 33 yrs old discovered he has heart disease. Both of his parents have it and he got both of what each has! Still talking to doctors. But he also had to cut out all of caffeine and go on heart meds that lower his BP. His was low to begin with. He walks around like a zombie. He use to drink insane amounts of caffeine. So I'm sure having nothing at all is miserable. I found that for me exercise even light to moderate boosts my energy.
    Caffeine is really hard to go off of. I went cold turkey and asked my husband to drive me places because I was so out of it. I have to say though that long term it's so nice to be evened out instead of needing a soda to get me going. Another hard thing about it is the, "what do I do with my hands" factor. It becomes such a ritual to get the fix and habits have to be changed entirely.

    I'm sorry that your husband drew the short straw. My biological maternal grandfather died of a heart attack at 35. I remember having a really high heart rate and massive anxiety when I was a child but my mother didn't really like doctors so I wasn't diagnosed with high BP until my 20s and have been on beta blockers ever since and they've really helped. I got lucky though with getting the right meds. It's possible that the meds they have your husband on aren't the right fit. My MIL complained about exhaustion and disorientation with hers until we got the dosage right. All good thoughts.

  8. #8
    Best Friend Retriever annkie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by janedoe View Post
    Caffeine is really hard to go off of. I went cold turkey and asked my husband to drive me places because I was so out of it. I have to say though that long term it's so nice to be evened out instead of needing a soda to get me going. Another hard thing about it is the, "what do I do with my hands" factor. It becomes such a ritual to get the fix and habits have to be changed entirely.

    I'm sorry that your husband drew the short straw. My biological maternal grandfather died of a heart attack at 35. I remember having a really high heart rate and massive anxiety when I was a child but my mother didn't really like doctors so I wasn't diagnosed with high BP until my 20s and have been on beta blockers ever since and they've really helped. I got lucky though with getting the right meds. It's possible that the meds they have your husband on aren't the right fit. My MIL complained about exhaustion and disorientation with hers until we got the dosage right. All good thoughts.
    He has another consultation with a specialist. Suppose to have heart surgery "procedure".

    He switched to decaf. He use to drink INSANE amounts of coffee. The amounts he drank probably would kill me. But decaf kinda fulfills that physical habit.


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