Controlling High Blood Pressure....Naturally....The Journey

I asked my doctor how to get off my blood pressure medication. I didn't ask if it was okay. I said I was doing it and wanted to know how. He told me and I followed his instructions. After a month of weaning off the drugs, I finally took my last little piece of a pill a few weeks ago.

My body told me it didn't like what I was doing about three weeks into the month long process. I got worried that it wasn't going to work and maybe I really did need to be on the meds....but I continued.

At first my pressure was all over the place with a lot of high readings and very few normal readings. I was concerned.

Then slowly it started to turn around and I was getting more good readings.....not 120/80....but better than it was. I was encouraged.

Then the news came about my bad Ultra Sound and my pressure went up again. I was frustrated.

I got the benign biopsy results the day before we left on vacation. The first day of vacation, my blood pressure was BELOW normal! I was shocked.

When we got back from vacation, it went right back up again. I was so confused.

I thought that perhaps it was time to throw in the towel and just go back on the drugs.

Then I sat down and really thought about it. It was so obvious to me that my mental state had a lot to do with my pressure. How on earth could I change who I am in order to control my pressure? I thought about how I hustle from place to place....I never just walk. I'm always in a hurry...even when I don't need to be.

I thought about how I am always thinking about "what's next" instead of enjoying "what's now".

I thought about how fast I breathe all of the time. Never ever taking a nice deep breath to calm my mind and soothe my soul.

I thought about how I rarely take time to "smell the roses" even though I mean to.

I thought about my diet...I thought it was okay....what was I not seeing?

I thought about my lack of enthusiasm about my physical therapy program and walking on the treadmill. I was doing it, but I wasn't "into" it.

It was all pretty overwhelming, but what I realized was that even though I thought I was doing everything I could to bring my pressure down....I really wasn't.

Not taking the meds was really, really important to me. If I didn't need them, then I didn't want to take them. So......after reading a lot more about high blood pressure...this is what I did.

I took a good look at my diet. I found lots of hidden salt in many of the foods I was eating. I increased my potassium and my fish oil supplements. I started walking further and faster on my treadmill. I walked like someone with a purpose. When I started to hustle down the hall at work, or to my car in the parking lot or through the grocery store.....I stopped....and I reminded myself to slow down. I wasn't in a race. I posted a note above my computer at home that says "120/80". I drew a smiley face in one corner and a heart in the other. I posted a note on my bulletin board at work that says, "Slow down" and "Breathe". I started doing some deep breathing a number of times a day, especially if I felt my old habits creeping in. I purchased some wonderful herbal hibiscus tea from etsy shop, Tea For All Reasons, because I read that it's good for high blood pressure. I stopped to smell the roses.

Guess what? Slowly my blood pressure came down. I started getting more and more good AND normal readings. I still get a high reading now and then, but most of my readings are very respectable. While my pressure isn't where I want it to be all of the time just yet....I honestly believe I am on the right path. Whether it will continue to improve, I don't know. We will see.

I can't say what one thing is making the difference, or if it is all of the things thrown together. It doesn't matter to me. I thought I knew myself really well, and I found out we never stop learning about ourselves. The more I learn...the healthier I become.

Our bodies and minds are amazing. I think a lot of the time we reach for what we think is the quick and easy solution to a health problem, rather than putting forth the effort to find a natural solution.....and trust me....it's hard work. Sometimes drugs are very necessary, but sometimes it's just a matter of giving our bodies what they need to function the way they are made to function.

My journey continues.....I'll keep you posted.

Getting off Drugs....the Legal Kind

I figured this was as good a time as any.....to try getting off of my blood pressure medication. I'm walking daily. I'm eating well. I'm exercising.

A heart specialist threw me on the meds a couple of years ago when I had some fluctuating blood pressure readings and a couple of episodes of atrial fibrillation. It wasn't a huge deal...all of the tests they ran were normal....but they decided I had to be on the meds because one of the side "benefits" of the drug was it's ability to regulate heart rate. So, I very reluctantly gave in.

The heart specialist was the doctor that told me, "This is your last question," when I kept asking how he knew I would have to be on the meds for the rest of my life and his answers weren't working for me. He was rude and arrogant and I left with the prescription and never went back.

Two years later I want to know if I need to be on this stuff or not, and the only way to know that is to get off of it and see what my body does. If my pressure skyrockets or my heart is unhappy, I will go right back on.

I'm doing this under a doctor's care, so don't worry. I had to cut my dose in half for two weeks and then cut it in half again for two weeks. I have one more week of that and then I stop...and see what happens.

I really don't mind being on the meds IF I need them....but like I said...I didn't think I needed them then and I don't think I need them now. Of course, I could be wrong and if I am, I will be a good little girl and start taking them again.

I monitor my pressure daily...sometimes a number of times a day which is really ridiculous, but it is a little scary. I've had some high readings, but that is not uncommon. The problem is when your blood pressure is high for extended periods of time. Mine is not.

Have you ever felt so strongly about something that you just had to do what you felt was right...even when most everyone around you thought you were wrong? That's me right now.