The changes I made after blood pressure health scare!
The Omron 3 Series Blood Pressure Monitor is what DDS uses to track his blood pressure at home. His blood pressure registered in a stage of hypertension recently.
For about a month and some change, I’ve been feeling … off. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew that I’d feel light-headed really quickly and out of nowhere. I could be sitting in my chair, standing up talking to someone, walking in my house, etc. The lightheadedness would come and then leave. Very quickly. I honestly didn’t think it was something too serious, as I’ve dealt with this before with COVID and the flu. I figured I had one of those again.
But every COVID test came back negative. The meds for flu wasn’t working. I ended up stopping my streaming schedule and resting, which slowly got me feeling better but it wasn’t complete. It wasn’t until I took some burritos out of my diet that had 80% cholesterol and 60% sodium PER BURRITO that I felt better. To be honest, I had no idea these burritos were so unhealthy!
But I started feeling better, and I made a YouTube video about my symptoms and what was going on. My cousin called me as soon as she finished watching the video. She works in the healthcare industry and she knew those symptoms and was very concerned. She told me to check my blood pressure. I immediately looked up some machines so I could get a quick test, and found the OMRON 3 Series Blood Pressure Monitor. I placed an order and picked it up that day.
The machine was easy to set up, needing only 4 AA batteries. I did my blood pressure reading and I was shocked. The app that connects to the machine said I was in Hypertension Stage 2 — and dangerously close to Hypertension Crisis. I had just cut out the burritos 4 - 5 days earlier, so I began to wonder was I in the crisis the whole time?! I was floored.
And with that … I made changes.
I now check my blood pressure at a random time daily. I’ve seen it fluctuate, but it’s mainly decreasing from that high number. I also ordered an Apple Watch Series 10 (with celluar) and the 46mm band. I use the Apple Watch to help keep track of my movement throughout the day, my blood pressure, and even my ECG. I’m still learning how to set up things on it for better heatlh, but I’m very proud to have gotten this watch, as I realize it makes me want to move more to hit my goals.
I also decided to start taking supplements for blood pressure. I did some research and found out that beets are AMAZING for regulating heart health, so I decided to focus on supplements that contain beets. My cousin recommended beet supplements as well, and we both landed on HumanN SuperBeets Heart Gummies. These gummies are tasty, and they aren’t too expensive either. I’m taking two a day, and I expect it to help regulate my heart health and blood pressure.
My fitness friends have also been on me about exercising! I’ve started doing random exercises at random times, as I haven’t truly exercised in a long time. My goal is to meet up with a trainer friend of mine and begin implementing his strategies and workouts. They have made sure I start doing more movement instead of sitting at a computer all day working.
All in all, I’ve made some changes, but there’s more to come. We are already adding more fruits and vegetables in the house, and I cut back on my sugar intake even more. I barely consume sugar these days anyway, but cutting back more doesn’t hurt!
I look forward to documenting my fitness journey! I will doing my weigh in on May 1 and we will see how the next few months go!
