How I Was Able to Quit My High Blood Pressure Medication.
How You Can Too!
I was on Lisinopril (high blood pressure pills) for over ten years. When my doctor first prescribed them to me, I felt old. I was 52 years old when I started on high blood pressure medication.
It is not shocking to know that high blood pressure comes from poor health.
- Excess weight
- Excess sugar
- Excess eating
- Lack of exercise
These are just some of the things that contribute to hypertension or, better known, high blood pressure. Well, I was guilty of all the above. Desserts and candies were my favorite foods. Watching TV or surfing the Internet were my favorite pastimes.
30 Years of Sitting
Living life was fine for a while. Sure, I had to buy more oversized clothes to fit in, but life was good. Then I started to have lower back pains. Thirty years of sitting behind a desk and living a sedentary lifestyle were beginning to take their toll. Working 10–14 hours a day on my butt is terrible for the lower back. The new modern saying is “Sitting is the New Smoking.” Sitting for hours at a time is horrible for your lower back and health.
Hello Pain Specialist
Years forward, I needed to see a pain specialist for my lower back. He recommended a procedure with a special syringe injected into my spine and heated up to sear the nerves causing the pain. My lower back on my right side responded well to the treatment. But, unfortunately, my lower back on my left side still had pain.
The pain specialist suggested the next step would be surgery. However, he said I was morbidly obese, and surgery would be a risk. He told me he could do no more for me. He suggested I lose weight and exercise. I went home devastated. I knew I was overweight, but the words “MORBIDLY OBESE” just knocked me over!
Searching For Weight Loss Answers
I went home searching for answers on the Internet. How would I lose weight? I read that the best form of exercise is walking. Easy enough. So, I started walking on a treadmill every day. Starting with 10 minutes a day, I gradually worked up to 30 minutes.
Something was working. I lost a couple of pounds, and I felt great! Soon, I started walking outdoors in the fresh air doing laps around a local park, and walking a mile and a half every day. I wanted to speed up the weight loss process, so I read the book “The Obesity Code” by Dr. Jason Fung. I learned about intermittent fasting and how people who lost weight could get off their high blood pressure medications and reverse their diabetes.
Only 30 Pounds Gone, But…
I lost weight! The combination of walking five days a week and learning how to do intermittent fasting did the trick! I lost 30 pounds, and my clothes fit loose, everyone who knew me said I looked different!
I was more than ecstatic! I thought I would have to lose more than 30 pounds to look and feel different, but a 30-pound weight loss will make a HUGE difference in someone’s looks and health.
Doctor Says What????
A very recent routine doctor visit gave me a scare and a surprise at the same time. The nurse took my weight, and she was happy to see I weighed less than my last yearly visit. She took my blood pressure, and my blood pressure was low. Well, way beneath my high readings in the past. 106 over 73, to be exact! WOW! I was very concerned and asked the nurse if it was correct?? The doctor soon came in, and I expressed my concern right away. He told me my drop in blood pressure was due to the walking and reduction of weight. He told me to cut my blood pressure medication in half until he could look at my blood work. A few days after they drew my blood, I got a call from my doctor’s nurse. She told me my blood test results returned, and they were excellent! She stated I could stop taking my blood pressure medication! YIPPEE!!!!!
The Time it Took to Accomplish
My journey to weight loss, better health, and no more blood pressure pills took nine months. It was not an overnight or quick fix. But it was doable and so worth it!
I hope that someone reading my article will take the steps needed to improve their health. You will need to decide in your mind first before starting your journey to better health. Hopefully, you, too, will be able to get off your blood pressure pills.
Live life and live life to its fullest!
