Texas Has Done Wonders For My High Blood Pressure

The past couple days I've been feeling more light-headed than usual, with a couple incidents of being downright dizzy.

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I've long had a high blood pressure problem. I first learned of this in 1985 when a doctor got all dramatic over my high blood pressure. I explained that my blood pressure was highly labile and very reactive to situations where I was nervous.

Such as visiting a doctor.

I remember an incident, about a decade later, in a Moab, Utah grocery store. I was feeling stressed out, mostly due to not being all that pleased with my travel companions. The pharmacy in the grocery store had one of those blood pressure checking machines.

I may be remembering what happened wrong, time and nightmares may have augmented what actually happened. But, the way I remember it, my blood pressure was something like 279/156. An alarm went off and a message flashed warning of an eminent stroke.

What I remember for sure is I was not pleased.

At that point in time I was in good shape, or so I thought. I definitely was not overweight. I was in Moab to go mountain biking.

In the years since the Moab Alarm, eating right, exercising a lot and trying as best I can to avoid stressful situations, has had my blood pressure being not quite so dire.

So, this morning, with me feeling so light-headed, I thought this might mean my blood pressure is being a bit low.

I have a self-testing blood pressure device. I'd not used it in a long time, til this morning. I was a bit surprised to see numbers I've not seen before. As in 96/61 with a pulse rate of 46. I re-took it several times with similar results.

Is this a good thing? Or have I swung too far in the other direction? Do I need to add some stress to get my blood pressure back up again? Cut back on the exercise? Gain some weight?

It's very perplexing. I think I'll go with choosing to believe I'm being extremely healthy.

Texas Sunday In The Dark, Not The Park

That's the view looking down on my pool, about an hour til noon, Sunday, February 8. The forecast had me hoping for something better, as in nice clear blue sky along with warm temperatures. And no rain.

Instead, when I went to Krogers about 9am, to get milk, I was greeted by falling wet stuff.

This has wreaked havoc with my plans to BBQ pork and ride my bike from Gateway Park to the Fort Worth Stockyards, a ride I have not pedaled in months.

I am on Day 6 of Detox and Night 5 of no insomnia. Blood Pressure 118/49, Pulse 52. I am being one healthy specimen. We won't talk about what my BP was a couple months ago. Suffice to say, a stroke was eminent.

A lot of doctors either don't know, or don't tell you, so I will. Removing all Toxic People from your existence will knock between 10 to 30 points off your BP readings. With the side benefit of enjoying a much more peaceful, healthy present moment, with no threat of incoming toxicity.

I must resign myself to the fact that this does not appear to be a bike riding day. I must now search for a Plan B.

My Blood Pressue Is High

I had an early morning doctor's visit today. I was up by 5 am. I drank my usual amount of coffee while reading the morning paper and checking in on my computer.

I have had highly labile blood pressure readings for years. I hate going to see a doctor. No good ever comes of it. More often than not I lose an important body part.

The last time I lost an important body part, upon my first doctor's visit that ended up with the important body part loss, my blood pressure was through the roof. The doctor was quite concerned. I told him it was because I'm a nervous wreck due to the idea of losing an important body part. I told the doctor the blood pressure would quickly be back in healthy range.

I don't think he believed me. As I stood at the receptionist's counter, making my appointment to lose an important body part, another nurse snuck up behind me and started taking my blood pressure. It was much lower. See, I told the doctor, you made me nervous.

I remember one time, in Moab, taking my blood pressure on one of those supermarket blood pressure machines. If I remember right alarm bells went off. That particular high blood pressure incident was due to the fact that I was traveling with some difficult energy sucking people. When they finally left so did my high blood pressure. Like I said, it is highly labile.

I believe I was in danger of eminent stroke my entire time last summer up in Tacoma. I could tell my blood pressure was through the roof. I remember feeling my blood pressure start to drop as soon as I entered Sea-Tac airport for my return. As we lifted off I could tell my blood pressure had reduced to totally normal.

When my blood pressure is bad it can be in the 190/120 zone. When it's good it can be in the 110/60 zone.

I find it troubling that my blood pressure does not stay in the good range, no matter what is stressing me. I'm not overweight, I get a lot of exercise, I eat very nutritionally, I don't consume excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages unless I'm in the type situation that causes my blood pressure to rise, I don't put salt on anything, I'm not African-American, as far as I know. My one bad sin is I drink coffee.

I've quit coffee before due to the high blood pressure. Being off the caffeine drug for a month had no noticeable affect on the BP. Coffee withdrawal is a horrible thing. I don't want to go through that again.

Other than the high blood pressure apparently I am in excellent health. I am going to fix this high blood pressure problem of mine. Somehow. It has vexed me for way too long.