Thread by @dr_lovelee

Doing this space yesterday reminded me of my own Hypertension diagnosis & how it affected my life:

Firstly, I was shocked when my dr told me I have a high blood pressure. My BP had always been on average 110/70 for MANY years. I did annual checks regularly “for points”..

https://twitter.com/dr_lovelee/status/1493188872322404352

But when I started my practice I “got busy” & slacked a little (a lot)..

2 yrs went by. Life happened. I went through patches of STRESS - work & personal life.

Then I went for a full medical because I was going to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. Then BOOM - BP is around 150/110..

We think it’s white coat hypertension syndrome: that I’m nervous as a dr patient.

Off I go to Mt Kili. My BP on the mountain fluctuates between 135/85 to 145/90 when we do daily checks with my guide.

Hike went more than well. Guide says I’m an overachiever for my summit time😁

That was 2015/Aug.. I come back home. I have a killer headache for a week.. I blame altitude sickness.
I get back to work after a week’s rest.

FF a yr later, I book an appointment to see dr again becoz I have persistent headaches.

I’ve also been checking my BP & it’s been ⬆️⬆️

So we agree that I need to go on Meds.

- I’m 36yo, Fairly healthy
- I eat well, I exercise regularly.
- Weight is pretty stable & within “recommended”.
- I don’t drink much, no smoking ever

However, I have strong history of ⬆️BP on mom & dad’s family side. Both parents have it

I start meds. BP immediately normalises within a week & my headaches disappear.

I can now go back to intense exercising as I set a new goal to run comrades marathon.

I can now run long distance without fearing bursting an aneurysm/ having a heart attack along the way..

Moral of the story:

I could’ve been difficult & denied my health status based on my lifestyle & age at time of diagnosis.
But I chose to go on meds because:
- I wanted to live
- I have 2 kids
- I didn’t want to have a poor quality of life in case of a preventable stroke etc.

I dealt with my disappointment at being told that after all I have done to try & avoid typical lifestyle diseases I still got one of them.

Mind you, when diagnosed I started stressing about also getting diabetes & high cholesterol as we have that too in my very close bloodline.

I was shattered.. but quickly pulled myself towards myself, popped my one pill a day & went on with my life..

I went on to run TWO comrades marathons 2018/2019. & will be resuming big mountain hiking soon now that I’ve also fully recovered from my bicycle accident.

My ⬆️BP was most likely triggered by stress - because the genetic predisposition was already there. It was just waiting for perfect conditions to happen.

Now it’s so well controlled. I’ve gone for > 1month without meds after discussing with my dr, to see what happens.

It remains very stable when I’m not stressed. But, stress catches one off guard you know.

Between raising teens, being self employed & living in satan’s lair that is Joburg.. stress is hard to avoid completely.

So, I reduced the dose &continue to take meds as stroke insurance🙂

Life happens. Bodies change as we grow.

Some things aren’t worth wasting time &energy fighting..My genes are what they are

All I can do is play my part in being as healthy as I can be. & take my BP meds so I can live to see the life I’m working towards♥️

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness is NOT THE END of life.

It could in fact be THE BEGINNING of a better life as you now know how to manage yourself/ your health better. 😇

#HeartMatters
#Hypertension
#HeartHealth
#DrLovelee
#OnHealth

#DrLoveleeOnLife❣️