I’ve mentioned before that most days begin with my Bible, coffee, and sitting at the feet of God.  My day isn’t complete without that peaceful beginning.  But I left out one critical element of the picture.  It began inching its way into my beautiful mornings several years ago and has since blended in with the landscape.  I didn’t even realize how out of place it is anymore until a good friend pointed out the humor of it. 

A stupid blood pressure cuff.  It’s one of the only times of the day I’m sitting long enough and am calm enough to get an accurate read, so it’s a natural time to take it.  

About five years ago, my body went haywire.  Within a span of six months, I developed food allergies, mild asthma, thyroid cysts, had a root canal, and oh yeah, my blood pressure jumped up.  This is from a woman held her BP to 110/70ish during her two pregnancies. 

Eventually everything else was resolved thanks to great doctors, but that blood pressure wouldn’t budge.  I was convinced something was wrong.  Blood work, ultrasounds and specialist consultations proved nothing.  Finally the verdict was in:  essential hypertension.  Doctor’s speak for “we have no idea what’s causing this.”  So let me get this straight:  I am now at risk of heart attack, stroke, aneurysm, heart failure, weakened eyes, and memory issues for no reason at all?  Despite my diet, exercise, and overall healthy lifestyle? I was insulted.  Why do all this if my body isn’t going to respond properly?  Why is my body revolting against me when I take (mostly) good care of it?

Reluctantly I began a low-dose water pill that seemed to do the trick for a couple years.  Then again, slowly that number went up, up, up, until finally my super-fit, super-skinny, grain-free, perfectly healthy gynecologist looked me squarely in the eyes, and said, “You need to take care of this. You will never be able to control this on your own.  I thought I could, too, and I finally gave in.”

 But no way I was going to pop more pills for it.  I am an athlete!  I can control my own body!  I will research and comply and bring this down by eating beets! Seriously, I made raw beet smoothies everyday.  They tasted like fruit rubbed in dirt.

In the end, it didn’t work. And when I ended up in urgent care with a sliced pinky finger courtesy of a very sharp mandolin (the kitchen instrument, not the orange), the tech’s eyes said it all when the number popped up at 186/120 and she SOS’d the doctor.  Yikes.

I acquiesced, stopped the beet smoothies (I don’t really miss those), and began the process of finding the right medication.  My patient and knowledgeable doctor tried several until she got the right combination.  It took a couple months, but once we got it right, within three days it was back to 115/80ish.  

The whole process makes me roll my eyes, shake my head and take a deep breath.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve mentioned I have high blood pressure in conversation, and the response is almost always something like, “But you’re so active/healthy/fit/etc.”  All true.  

 BUT – as irritating as it is, it’s not as bad as the alternative: shortening or diminishing the quality of my life.  It’s not about me anymore.  I can’t put my boys at risk of their mom not being fully present in their lives.  My husband deserves to have his wife as long as possible. And I didn’t want to jeopardize any plans God might have for me.  Taking medication goes beyond my own agenda and submitting that I just can’t control it all.  I’ll just file that in the folder labeled God’s wicked sense of humor. I suppose I’m grateful that the medical community has figured out a way to help my condition. It beats being silently killed before I’m ready.

If you’re around my age, your body is probably changing as well.  Our physical exams are more focused on our decreased eyesight, knee pains, mammograms, inconsistent hormones and quirky bloodwork. Gone are the days of getting a quick, clean bill of health.  Some – much – of this we can control by how we move our bodies and what goes in our mouth.  Here’s a great article on 35 ailments that have one prescription (hint: you don’t pick it up at a pharmacy).  I 100 percent believe in this and encourage everyone to consider it with their physician as a first response to health crisis.

 But when you’ve truly done what you can do, or genetics takes over, it’s time to consider the possibility of something else, be it medication, alternative medicine, or even acupuncture.  I get it – it’s embarrassing, irritating and insulting.  (I know I’ve already used that word but it bears repeating because it’s true!)  Talk with your doctor, get an eating and exercising plan, and allow yourself to take that next step, however hard it may be.