I'm off to the doctor in a few minutes, but I got some numbers last night to see where things stand. Keep in mind that everything is relative when it comes to these numbers, so I'll be giving you my own interpretation of them. (And I might have new numbers to give you after the doctor visit.)
Blood pressure: 151/89 (classic BP = 120/80)
Pulse: 45 (!!!)
Blood sugar: 124
Weight: 118 kg
None of the above numbers is particularly good, but things aren't quite as bad as I thought they'd be. I'm expecting the doc to prescribe something close to what the hospital had been prescribing me, so those meds, in combination with the Newcastle diet, ought to bring some of my numbers back down.
BP is obviously in the hypertensive range; that definitely needs to come down. Since I'm back to stairs training, though, I expect to see some real results in a few months.
My pulse last night was scarily low, and I wonder whether that was just a function of my meds (I've been taking the remains of my hospital-prescribed meds for the past few days). I feel fine, but I've never been down as low as 45 beats per minute. There are athletes who get down that low, but I'm not an athlete, so all I can think is that this isn't natural.
Blood sugar is about where I'd expect. When I got tested almost two weeks ago at D&F hospital, I was shocked to see that my BS number was over 200. If you ever want to be "scared straight" by something, a BS number like that will do the trick. I've been Newcastling since then, and I'm using up the last of the meds I'd gotten last year, so I've brought my numbers back down to a saner range. 124 is still too high; ideally, a person should be at 99 or under, and even better would be to have a BS in the 70s.
Weight: at 118 kg, this confirms my suspicion that I never got back up to my original weight of about 128 kg, but it does mean that I regained a ton of weight last year by allowing myself to get off the chain. So: 18 more kilograms to go to get back to 100 kg, but my goal still remains about 90 kg (roughly 200 pounds). I think I'd be a happy camper at that weight.
Right—so that's where things stand for the moment. I might or might not report whatever numbers I get from the doc today; those numbers won't matter as much as the numbers I get from my next visit with the doc in a few months. The above figures represent my current baseline; I'll just go from there, and we'll see what happens.
At this point, I have no excuse when it comes to health: after over a year of study into what makes a person healthy, I'm practically qualified to be a dietitian and physical trainer myself! It's just a matter of living up to my ideals, which really aren't that lofty.
Wish me luck.
UPDATE: blood-test results are a mixed bag.
Blood sugar: 109 (down from last night)
A1c: 10 (!!!!)
That's the highest my A1c has ever been, so that's pretty awful. Of course, A1c is a three-month average, and I've only just restarted the Newcastle diet, so we'll see where I am in a few months. The doc didn't bother taking my blood pressure, but he did increase my blood-sugar meds after seeing the A1c. I'm supposed to see him again in a month. If he's planning to take my A1c again in a month, that's going to be a bit bizarre: normally, big blood samples are taken every three months at minimum. Anyway, I'll grab my newly prescribed meds—the doc is mostly following the hospital's prescription—today (if the boss lets me go early) or tomorrow, and we'll go from there.
In all, despite the bad numbers, I'm actually feeling somewhat positive. Back on meds, back to dieting, and once my toe heals up, I'll be back to walking.
That very low pulse scares me a bit--an abnormally low pulse was what tipped doctors off to my dad's condition (which you know all about). Did the doc say anything about that at all?
ReplyDeleteMy pulse seems to be more normal now. We'll see whether this happens again now that I'll be back on a meds regimen.
ReplyDeleteHopefully it was just a fluke!
ReplyDeleteHow's your dad doing, by the way? It's been a few months since his surgery. Feel free to answer by email if this isn't a conversation you want to have in public.
ReplyDeleteWell, the best news is that you are back on the road to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Just keep an eye out for all those enticing off-ramps that lay ahead and avoid them, especially the ones that say "cheat."
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Nah, it's OK (and thanks for asking). He's doing fine. He recovered quite quickly, all things considered. He stopped doing the physical therapy program they had him on (with doctor approval, of course) because he didn't feel like he was getting enough out of it--he gets more exercise on his long daily walks. They also finally took him off the super-high-protein diet they had him on. I don't remember what the exact figure was, but he had to consume a ridiculous amount of protein every day, which meant drinking protein shakes for lunch, which he did not enjoy. So, yeah, if you saw him today and didn't already know that he had recently had surgery, you would never guess.
ReplyDelete