Monday, August 11, 2008

Habanero Salsa and High Blood Pressure

I want to write about 2 things today.

First, a warning. When you are at Qdoba and they ask what kind of salsa you want--mild, medium, hot or extra hot--think twice and think hard before getting extra hot. They are telling the truth. It is habanero salsa and it is the hottest salsa I have ever tasted. It was literally painful to have it contact my tongue. And I continue to suffer as it makes its way through my intestinal tract. Mind you, I am a spicy food lover. My spice-o-meter is generally set for very high tolerance, so I'm not just whistling dixie here. Don't suffer--I have done that for you.

Next, on a more serious note--I went to the doc for a sore shoulder 2 weeks ago and was shocked to find that my blood pressure was 160 over 90. Yikes.
Sometimes being in pain can cause your bp to be high. I went again today and it was still 154 over 84. Ten minutes later it was down to 144 over 80. Later, at CVS, it was 133 over 78. I am very skeptical about taking the medicine that the doc has prescribed. Do I have actual high blood pressure or just "white coat syndrome?"I have agreed to take medicine for a month to see if it helps, but I'm not very happy about it! I mean, I definitely don't want to have a stroke, but I don't want to be old and taking 40 pills a day, either!

Sheesh, middle age is full of hurdles.

9 comments:

pnlkotula said...

You and Paul can commiserate. I use a lot less salt cooked into things than we used to. He tried for a while to lower it with diet and exercise, but he just wasn't consistent enough. You, on the other hand, are already eating much healthier and doing more exercising. Is it part of your genetic makeup? It is for Paul. I'll think good thoughts for you.

Janine Serresseque said...

Thanks, Lisa. High BP does run in my family, but so does eating terrible food, so who knows?

Joy W. said...

Hey Janiney!
Try the Ukrops bp machines. They are better, I believe, then cvs's. You sit down at Ukrops, which is a good thing. Most cvs's you stand up.
This has happened to me before. When I went to the dr. for something and they said my bp was high...not stroke high, but like 154 over a normal number. Anyway, I had a lot of attention on it and so every time I went to the dr. I was stressing about what the bp number was going to be. Which, of course, kept it higher than the normal range. I found that since I've been keeping tabs on it at Ukrops, and it's been primarily fine. Last time I checked it was 118 over 68 or something like that. And that was in the middle of packing everyone up for vacation. I'll bet you do have some white coat attention on it. Just keep checking on it....I really do highly recommend Ukrops near their pharmacy to do that. I'll keep thinking good thoughts about it!!!
Love,
Joy

Janine Serresseque said...

Thanks, Joy! I started the meds today, but I'm hoping to be able to go off of them. I'm going to buy a blood pressure monitor tonight after work.

pnlkotula said...

Paul uses a LifeSource digital model UA 767. He really likes it, and found it to be very consistent.

Anonymous said...

Did you get the monitor? I think "white coat syndrome" is a very valid possibility. Checking it w/ a good monitor when you are relaxed could give you a better idea what it might normally be.

Another thought I had was--having you been taking any allergy/cold med with a decongestant in it? I can't take sudafed or any generic form of it because it makes my blood pressure go up. I found that out after a nasty respiratory infection that had me going back to the doc in the box a few years back. Once I stopped taking that stuff, my bp went back down and hasn't been a problem since.

Good luck and keep us posted. We love you out here in blog land!

Anonymous said...

If you're still on birth control (oral) then that will also increase your blood pressure each year you take it. Cruel, isn't it?

I guess you gotta figure that becoming a mommy is even MORE stressful.

Janine Serresseque said...

I can't wait to get off birth control! I'm almost there. I didn't know that the high bp side effect increased with age! Yes, you are right, cruel is what that is.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear about your blood pressure woes. Though everyone in my family suffers from HBP and high cholesterol I seem to have escaped them so far. Don't know why I remain so healthy 'cause I'm in horrible shape but I'm perenially working on that ... I have read that spicy foods can help to improve HBP so keep on eatin' those habineros. BTW, since we returned from our Mexican vacation my new cooking kick is Mayan cuisine. Very fresh, clean flavors and much more interesting than what we think of as authentic Mexican which actually isn't authentic at all. Very fun to discover a new cuisine!