Speaking of Heart Palpitations...

Hello Everyone!

I mentioned in my last post that I was having some health "issues" last week. Go figure. Most people don't think they'll lose 86+ pounds and THEN have health issues but I did. I turned 40 and started falling apart. LOL!

You may have noticed that I didn't post anything about my weight loss last week, that's because there wasn't a loss... at all. I had a bad week previously with lots of migraines and just feeling bad in general. I've been diagnosed with migraines in the past but really only get them once every four months or so. I was getting one a day and it wasn't as painful as my "regular" ones but I was feeling "foggy" and irritable. I continued to work out and found that my running was really the only thing that made my headaches feel better.

A week ago today, I was feeling pretty lousy but I am the kind of person who believes that the more you worry about feeling lousy, the lousier you'll feel. I just try to persevere and not worry about it. I went about my day and got ready to get weighed at 1:00 like I do every Thursday. I knew it wasn't going to be a good week weight-wise but I also knew that I hadn't eaten too badly and that it couldn't be that bad. WRONG! I was up 3.8 pounds at the scale! Miss Phyllis knew that it couldn't be a true weight gain because I certainly hadn't eaten three entire pizzas that week and she got really serious and said, "Something is not right with you." Remember, I have been working with her for over a year now and I have never had a big gain, ever. I think the biggest I ever had was about a pound. 3.8 was quite a change for me. I started to tell her all the problems I was feeling and she mentioned that perhaps I should have my blood pressure checked. Hmmmmmmm, blood pressure? I've lost 86 pounds, I can't have high blood pressure any more, can I? Well actually, yes, yes, I can.

You see, when I was obese, I was on the "borderline" for having high blood pressure but of course it was always blamed on the fact that I weighed 252 pounds. My dr. would wag her finger at me and tell me that I had to lose weight and that we should "keep an eye" on my hypertension. We never really did but I was aware that I had issues.

Cut back to Thursday. After our weight loss meeting, Phyllis and I got the YMCA's blood pressure cuff from the fitness staff and we went to the employee area to take my blood pressure. I don't even want to tell you what it was but it was HIGH... really, really, high. Phyllis looked at me and told me, "Caren, you cannot work out with your blood pressure that high." I started to cry and realized that my blood pressure must have been running high for a very long time. It was such a relief, but very scary at the same time. After looking back, we realized that I've been under a lot of stress, that I had been trying some new food products that coincidentally had lots of sodium in them and that all of that combined just got to be too much for my body and I was having headaches, shakiness, and irritability all as a result. Thank Goodness for the 3.8 pound water weight gain because it really clued us in to what was going on with me.

Phyllis suggested that I call my doctor immediately and when I told them what was going on, they were able to fit me in within the next hour. I ran home, got The Son off the bus and packed him some snacks, fixed myself up a little bit since I had previously been in my work out clothes and off to the Dr. we went. They did an EKG which freaked me out but thankfully, it was fine. The Dr. prescribed a medicine for me that had a diuretic and a blood pressure medication in it and I was hesitant to take it but did a little research, spoke to my BIL who is a doctor and also spoke to Phyllis and they convinced me that it was in fact the best option. I also made an appointment for Monday morning to go back for another blood pressure check.

I had my scrapbooking weekend and honestly, still felt pretty bad that Friday and Saturday for half of the day but as the weekend went on, I started to feel much better and began to realize how badly I had actually felt the weeks before. Duh. When I went to the doctor on Monday, my blood pressure was down to 128/78! Hooray! The nurse practitioner who I saw that day (and LOVED) said that I should feel really proud of myself because the actual blood pressure medication takes a good two weeks to work and that the diuretic in combination with the low-sodium diet I'd been consuming for the weekend is what actually helped to lower my blood pressure. She also mentioned that I should be happy to have had symptoms because many people don't have symptoms and then end up in the ER suffering from far more serious problems.

So, why did I share all of this with you? I'll admit it's a little personal and I could get accused of "over-sharing" again. I shared it with you so that on the off chance that anyone else out there is feeling like I was, they might have a little clue into what is going on. I am so grateful to my friend, my boss, my guru Miss Phyllis who is so knowledgeable and who knows me so well that she was able to help me figure out what was going on. I am so grateful that I am not suffering from those "migraines" anymore and that I feel smart and less irritable again. I am on blood pressure medication now which sucks but at least I am feeling much, much better. I am also thankful that I've realized I have a hypersensitivity to too much sodium. It's something I really have to watch now but you know what? It just helps me eat healthier, it also helps me be a better nutritionist because when this happens to one of my group members, I'll know exactly what is going on just like Phyllis did with me. I look at all of this as a positive from which I can only get better.

I am fairly confident that I will have a good result at the scale today. If I don't have a loss, it's because of my scrapbooking weekend and all the yummy desserts I ate there but I am pretty sure I'll be back down to my lowest weight I've been or at least right around there. I'll keep you posted...

Thanks for making it this far if you were able to, have a great Thursday! Stay healthy!