Thursday:
Wow, isn't time just flying by!
We've had some cool rainy weeks, great for the garden and putting out bushfires but it doesn't seem like summer. I'm back at work so I'm not seeing the sun much.
I had a few days off this week and ran around trying to get everything done, as you do. One thing was going to the doctor to follow up on some issues. I've put on a bit more weight and my sleep apnoea has come back, leaving me snoring and waking frequently when I stop breathing (when I was first diagnosed it was 15 times an hour - every 4 minutes - but losing weight seemed to fix the problem). I was exhausted all the time. But once I realised what was causing my tiredness, I still felt very resistant to using my CPAP machine again. Even the relatively quiet and comfortable version I have is still noisy and intrusive. There is a huge heavy tube hanging off my face! And warm moist air blowing up my nose. But sleep apnoea is dangerous - I literally stop breathing and have to wake myself up to breathe again. So instead I am back on Duromine. I am feeling very determined to get my weight back down, and it's so much easier with the Duromine. It just shuts off the switch that makes me crave food all the time, even when I'm not hungry. Yet I really enjoy the food I do eat! I'm satisfied with a small amount of deliciousness. Hopefully a few weeks of losing weight will get the fatty weight off my neck and let me breathe better when asleep.
I had an itchy mole that we have taken a photo of to check for changes. And (TMI warning!) another serious issue is that I've noticed some blood after wiping on the toilet. My GP sent me to a specialist, and his examination found haemorrhoids but they didn't seem to be bleeding so he put me on the waiting list for a colonoscopy so they can make sure nothing sinister is going on. It will probably be a couple of months wait. I'm not actually worried, but it's important to get these things checked. We have a lot of cancer history in my family.
My GP also sent me to get some blood tests done, we discussed so many things that now I'm not even sure what they were for!
So, that is my life at the moment. How is yours?
Showing posts with label sleep apnoea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep apnoea. Show all posts
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Archery
Thursday:
We went to archery yesterday, at Sydney Olympic Park (where they held the Olympics). Tim has quite a lot of experience and actually had his own bow as a child (still stashed away at his dad's house somewhere), I've done it a few times, Jasmine once at school, Aiden never. Since we all like fantasy stuff which includes a lot of medieval Europe settings, archery appeals to all of us. Pity the park isn't really that close to us.
Tim did really well, getting several bull's eyes and popping the balloon on his target. I did ok at the start, got worse, then improved back to my starting level! An average of 2 out of 3 arrows at least hitting the board. Jasmine only a few hits. Aiden was the dark horse, after never having picked up a bow he got two bull's eyes including one right in the very middle of the middle, a perfect shot, and also popped his balloon. He had a smaller bow and a slightly closer target for kids, but not that much closer! You can see in the photo. I didn't get many photos as we were all shooting at the same time and the instructor made sure we all walked up to get our arrows at the same time so we couldn't really muck around or we'd delay everyone.
It was fun. I think Tim could have gone for another hour but my fingers were sore.
Jasmine has been doing holiday gymnastic sessions. She is getting quite serious about it. She does partner work, with her as the 'big' partner lifting a little girl and will be in competitions this year. She can do full splits now, and all the stuff I could never imagine being flexible enough to do like touching her forehead to her knee. Still is still doing dance classes (tap, modern and hip hop) but not at performance level and she seems to like acrogym more now.
My sleep has been so bad lately that I dragged my CPAP machine out again, as I do periodically. I hate wearing it, but I know I should. [I have sleep apnoea, which means I stop breathing frequently while I'm asleep, in my case 15 times an hour which is 'moderate' level. It is often related to obesity, when the neck muscles relax all the fat pushes down on the airway and closes it off. You wake with a gasp, often not really aware of it before you go back to sleep, obviously meaning you get a terrible night's sleep. It is not my only sleep issue but it is a major one.] The CPAP machine blows air continuously up my nose which holds the airway open. I have the one with just a nose attachment, not a full mask. It is as comfortable and quiet as they can make it, but it's still very annoying having a big hose attached to your nose when you are trying to sleep. Often I give up because I just can't get to sleep at all. In summer it is sweaty and horrible but at least that isn't a problem now.
I gave the machine a good clean and managed to keep it on for two hours, getting a bit of sleep during that time. But by then my nose was very sore, it takes me a while to build up tolerance, like wearing a new pair of shoes. I'm such a delicate flower. So I took it off, planning to wear it a bit longer the next night. But then yesterday I came down with a cold. Sneezing and runny nose. So I can't wear it. Or won't. Yuck. Hopefully I'll get over this cold soon. I don't think it's the nasty flu going round, I don't have muscle aches or anything.
Tim is home this week, I think he would have liked to get away but Jasmine has an activity or party literally every day so we can't (Aiden is a homebody like me). He has been doing lots around the house. I mentioned that 'Spark Joy' book to him about decluttering and he went and sorted his clothes and threw heaps out!
I've had four weeks off and I'm quite keen to get back to my course. I feel a bit adrift and purposeless at the moment. Of course it's lovely to have lots of time to read and play computer games (and see my family of course, but I see them anyway) but I am ready to get back to work. Mental work. Not housework. Never keen for that.
We went to archery yesterday, at Sydney Olympic Park (where they held the Olympics). Tim has quite a lot of experience and actually had his own bow as a child (still stashed away at his dad's house somewhere), I've done it a few times, Jasmine once at school, Aiden never. Since we all like fantasy stuff which includes a lot of medieval Europe settings, archery appeals to all of us. Pity the park isn't really that close to us.
Tim did really well, getting several bull's eyes and popping the balloon on his target. I did ok at the start, got worse, then improved back to my starting level! An average of 2 out of 3 arrows at least hitting the board. Jasmine only a few hits. Aiden was the dark horse, after never having picked up a bow he got two bull's eyes including one right in the very middle of the middle, a perfect shot, and also popped his balloon. He had a smaller bow and a slightly closer target for kids, but not that much closer! You can see in the photo. I didn't get many photos as we were all shooting at the same time and the instructor made sure we all walked up to get our arrows at the same time so we couldn't really muck around or we'd delay everyone.
Jasmine has been doing holiday gymnastic sessions. She is getting quite serious about it. She does partner work, with her as the 'big' partner lifting a little girl and will be in competitions this year. She can do full splits now, and all the stuff I could never imagine being flexible enough to do like touching her forehead to her knee. Still is still doing dance classes (tap, modern and hip hop) but not at performance level and she seems to like acrogym more now.
My sleep has been so bad lately that I dragged my CPAP machine out again, as I do periodically. I hate wearing it, but I know I should. [I have sleep apnoea, which means I stop breathing frequently while I'm asleep, in my case 15 times an hour which is 'moderate' level. It is often related to obesity, when the neck muscles relax all the fat pushes down on the airway and closes it off. You wake with a gasp, often not really aware of it before you go back to sleep, obviously meaning you get a terrible night's sleep. It is not my only sleep issue but it is a major one.] The CPAP machine blows air continuously up my nose which holds the airway open. I have the one with just a nose attachment, not a full mask. It is as comfortable and quiet as they can make it, but it's still very annoying having a big hose attached to your nose when you are trying to sleep. Often I give up because I just can't get to sleep at all. In summer it is sweaty and horrible but at least that isn't a problem now.
I gave the machine a good clean and managed to keep it on for two hours, getting a bit of sleep during that time. But by then my nose was very sore, it takes me a while to build up tolerance, like wearing a new pair of shoes. I'm such a delicate flower. So I took it off, planning to wear it a bit longer the next night. But then yesterday I came down with a cold. Sneezing and runny nose. So I can't wear it. Or won't. Yuck. Hopefully I'll get over this cold soon. I don't think it's the nasty flu going round, I don't have muscle aches or anything.
Tim is home this week, I think he would have liked to get away but Jasmine has an activity or party literally every day so we can't (Aiden is a homebody like me). He has been doing lots around the house. I mentioned that 'Spark Joy' book to him about decluttering and he went and sorted his clothes and threw heaps out!
I've had four weeks off and I'm quite keen to get back to my course. I feel a bit adrift and purposeless at the moment. Of course it's lovely to have lots of time to read and play computer games (and see my family of course, but I see them anyway) but I am ready to get back to work. Mental work. Not housework. Never keen for that.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Still creek?
Monday:
I went for a little walk this morning, around 20 mins. My plan is to gradually explore the surrounding streets, maybe print out a map and mark off where I've been. It will go a bit quicker if I walk more than once a week! We're near the bottom of a hill here so whichever way I go it's uphill on the way out and downhill on the way home. Within a grid of straight main roads, the smaller roads are all little twisty dead-end streets which are nice to walk around. Today I walked across our road and looked at the little creek directly opposite (there are no houses on the other side of our road).
Looking back at our house:
The start of the little creek (I wonder what it is called? It might be "Still Creek" but I'm not sure, for some reason I found it very hard to find out on the internet - maybe it's just a stormwater drain!), it comes out from underground right opposite our house:
I went beyond the creek to the streets on the other side and went up the hill and around. I don't mind hills at all (although I felt it in my calves later in the day!) but I do mind the heat (too hot already at 7:15am) and the flies. Bothersome. Oh well, at least for once I didn't walk on garbage collection day! One thing I noticed was that every street I went on or past started with a B. I wonder if there are other enclaves around here where the town planners chose another letter?
Here is another photo of my kookaburras, Dash and Dobby. The other two the kids called Spike and Hiccup. I can't tell any of them apart yet so I address them randomly by whichever name I feel like.
And here is Boris again:
I did the grocery shopping in the morning and in the afternoon I loaded up the car with stuff to go to the local tip/recycling centre (which I'll do tomorrow). Some boxes are not suitable for passing on as moving boxes and we also have packing materials like Styrofoam and other bits and pieces that we need to get rid of. I think it was seven trips up and down our short but very steep driveway. No wonder my calves are sore! When we have a bigger pile of clean packing boxes I'll advertise them again.
I have a confession to make. I haven't used my CPAP (face mask, or rather nose pillows, for sleep apnoea) for months. I got sick of tidying it away every second day when we had regular open houses to sell our Canberra house, and then it was packed, and when we moved it was still packed, and then we had some really hot nights. Have you tried to sleep in summer with plastic strapped to your face? Also sometimes I feel it causes as many problems as it solves. It might help while I'm actually asleep, but I have so much trouble getting to sleep while I'm using it. I'm tethered (by the nose) to a machine that makes my face sweat. Nevertheless, it might be better for me to get four hours of restful sleep than six or seven of interrupted sleep where I wake 15 times an hour. I'm certainly not getting enough sleep. Dark circles under my eyes are not improving my looks.
I finally met one of our neighbours this afternoon, as he was watering his front lawn. He and his wife had the really noisy party on Saturday, which I did not mention, he is retired I think but I guess that doesn't mean he's forgotten how to party! They have a elderly friendly Labrador dog who I have patted through the fence before. He told me they were the first house on the street so they've been here for a while. I'm glad to have finally met one neighbour.
I went for a little walk this morning, around 20 mins. My plan is to gradually explore the surrounding streets, maybe print out a map and mark off where I've been. It will go a bit quicker if I walk more than once a week! We're near the bottom of a hill here so whichever way I go it's uphill on the way out and downhill on the way home. Within a grid of straight main roads, the smaller roads are all little twisty dead-end streets which are nice to walk around. Today I walked across our road and looked at the little creek directly opposite (there are no houses on the other side of our road).
Looking back at our house:
The start of the little creek (I wonder what it is called? It might be "Still Creek" but I'm not sure, for some reason I found it very hard to find out on the internet - maybe it's just a stormwater drain!), it comes out from underground right opposite our house:
I went beyond the creek to the streets on the other side and went up the hill and around. I don't mind hills at all (although I felt it in my calves later in the day!) but I do mind the heat (too hot already at 7:15am) and the flies. Bothersome. Oh well, at least for once I didn't walk on garbage collection day! One thing I noticed was that every street I went on or past started with a B. I wonder if there are other enclaves around here where the town planners chose another letter?
Here is another photo of my kookaburras, Dash and Dobby. The other two the kids called Spike and Hiccup. I can't tell any of them apart yet so I address them randomly by whichever name I feel like.
And here is Boris again:
I have a confession to make. I haven't used my CPAP (face mask, or rather nose pillows, for sleep apnoea) for months. I got sick of tidying it away every second day when we had regular open houses to sell our Canberra house, and then it was packed, and when we moved it was still packed, and then we had some really hot nights. Have you tried to sleep in summer with plastic strapped to your face? Also sometimes I feel it causes as many problems as it solves. It might help while I'm actually asleep, but I have so much trouble getting to sleep while I'm using it. I'm tethered (by the nose) to a machine that makes my face sweat. Nevertheless, it might be better for me to get four hours of restful sleep than six or seven of interrupted sleep where I wake 15 times an hour. I'm certainly not getting enough sleep. Dark circles under my eyes are not improving my looks.
I finally met one of our neighbours this afternoon, as he was watering his front lawn. He and his wife had the really noisy party on Saturday, which I did not mention, he is retired I think but I guess that doesn't mean he's forgotten how to party! They have a elderly friendly Labrador dog who I have patted through the fence before. He told me they were the first house on the street so they've been here for a while. I'm glad to have finally met one neighbour.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Pre-diabetes and sleep apnoea
Thursday:
I've been a bit worried lately about my pre-diabetes. I ran out of test strips for my meter a while ago but I have more now; yesterday I tested my blood glucose level six times during the day after eating my usual kind of diet. Five of the numbers were bad. Ironically, the only normal one was a couple of hours after two big homemade choc chip cookies.
One of the (many) reasons I struggle to start eating healthy is that I get paralysed by choice. Should I just count calories or go low-carb or low-fat or Paleo or no-sugar or no-sugar AND no-grain or CSIRO diet or Weight Watchers or carb cycling or intermittent fasting or intuitive eating or just exercise a lot while eating whatever I like? I flip flop between wanting to make huge changes to get fast results, or baby steps to be more sustainable. Too many choices!
Well my body is telling me more and more clearly that it cannot handle "normal" amounts of carbohydrate. It's not just a matter of being overweight and all the problems that brings, every time my blood glucose spikes it is doing my body damage. Destroying beta cells in my pancreas. Damaging blood vessels. Downward spiral into diabetes.
So the choice has been made for me. Carb moderation. I am not cutting out any particular foods/quasi-foods, but I am restricting carbohydrate to one serving in each meal and snack. One piece of fruit. One potato. One slice of bread. A couple of squares of chocolate. I know that so far my blood glucose levels are totally under my control as long as I watch my carbohydrate intake.
I don't know how I can have little bursts of worry about this then slip back into apathy - or at least not caring enough to stay committed.
My other area of focus right now is my sleep apnoea. With people inspecting our home I would have had to pack up and unpack the CPAP three times a week and I just couldn't be bothered. Also I've had the flu with runny nose and sore throat and cough etc, which does not go at all well with a CPAP mask (I use nose pillows). The result is, I haven't used it for a month or so. Well my flu is better (finally) and today is the last inspection with the auction this evening. No more excuses. I'm using my CPAP every night until we move (I like short term goals). I hate wearing it, but I need it. My brain needs oxygen. And it's hard to be at my best when I'm constantly tired.
The past couple of weeks I've been saying to myself "I'm too stressed right now, I'll worry about it after we sell the house" so it might seem odd I'm talking about this today rather than tomorrow (assuming we even sell tonight). But my body is giving me very clear signals I need to deal with it now. And what am I asking of myself, after all? Eat a bit less carb, wear my CPAP. Hardly torture.
I've been a bit worried lately about my pre-diabetes. I ran out of test strips for my meter a while ago but I have more now; yesterday I tested my blood glucose level six times during the day after eating my usual kind of diet. Five of the numbers were bad. Ironically, the only normal one was a couple of hours after two big homemade choc chip cookies.
One of the (many) reasons I struggle to start eating healthy is that I get paralysed by choice. Should I just count calories or go low-carb or low-fat or Paleo or no-sugar or no-sugar AND no-grain or CSIRO diet or Weight Watchers or carb cycling or intermittent fasting or intuitive eating or just exercise a lot while eating whatever I like? I flip flop between wanting to make huge changes to get fast results, or baby steps to be more sustainable. Too many choices!
Well my body is telling me more and more clearly that it cannot handle "normal" amounts of carbohydrate. It's not just a matter of being overweight and all the problems that brings, every time my blood glucose spikes it is doing my body damage. Destroying beta cells in my pancreas. Damaging blood vessels. Downward spiral into diabetes.
So the choice has been made for me. Carb moderation. I am not cutting out any particular foods/quasi-foods, but I am restricting carbohydrate to one serving in each meal and snack. One piece of fruit. One potato. One slice of bread. A couple of squares of chocolate. I know that so far my blood glucose levels are totally under my control as long as I watch my carbohydrate intake.
I don't know how I can have little bursts of worry about this then slip back into apathy - or at least not caring enough to stay committed.
My other area of focus right now is my sleep apnoea. With people inspecting our home I would have had to pack up and unpack the CPAP three times a week and I just couldn't be bothered. Also I've had the flu with runny nose and sore throat and cough etc, which does not go at all well with a CPAP mask (I use nose pillows). The result is, I haven't used it for a month or so. Well my flu is better (finally) and today is the last inspection with the auction this evening. No more excuses. I'm using my CPAP every night until we move (I like short term goals). I hate wearing it, but I need it. My brain needs oxygen. And it's hard to be at my best when I'm constantly tired.
The past couple of weeks I've been saying to myself "I'm too stressed right now, I'll worry about it after we sell the house" so it might seem odd I'm talking about this today rather than tomorrow (assuming we even sell tonight). But my body is giving me very clear signals I need to deal with it now. And what am I asking of myself, after all? Eat a bit less carb, wear my CPAP. Hardly torture.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
CPAP compliance
Thursday:
I think one of my big problems at the moment is my lack of CPAP compliance. I'm supposed to wear my CPAP every night because of sleep apnoea. I was really good when I first got it. Then I got the flu and couldn't use it for a while, and since then I've been struggling. I rip it off after six hours (I call that a win) or four hours or two, or I'm lying awake and it's annoying me so I take it off before I even get to sleep, or quite often I decide I have a slightly blocked nose or sore throat so won't even try.
But I have to wear it for a reason. I need it to get proper sleep without waking up every four minutes or so. Today I had two naps in my comfy chair, one in the morning and then one after my kids got home when they kept trying to talk to me! My eyes just kept closing. Unacceptable. That is an unprecedented level of tiredness for me.
So I hereby make a new commitment to wear it every night. If it bugs me, well I just need to get used to it again.
I think one of my big problems at the moment is my lack of CPAP compliance. I'm supposed to wear my CPAP every night because of sleep apnoea. I was really good when I first got it. Then I got the flu and couldn't use it for a while, and since then I've been struggling. I rip it off after six hours (I call that a win) or four hours or two, or I'm lying awake and it's annoying me so I take it off before I even get to sleep, or quite often I decide I have a slightly blocked nose or sore throat so won't even try.
But I have to wear it for a reason. I need it to get proper sleep without waking up every four minutes or so. Today I had two naps in my comfy chair, one in the morning and then one after my kids got home when they kept trying to talk to me! My eyes just kept closing. Unacceptable. That is an unprecedented level of tiredness for me.
So I hereby make a new commitment to wear it every night. If it bugs me, well I just need to get used to it again.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Revisting sleep apnoea
Friday:
Basically all the weight I've lost over the past ten weeks was in the first four. Is it time for a new strategy?
The original Beck diet book suggests having a back up diet plan for if your first one doesn't work out. My current plan is just counting calories (following the CSIRO general guidelines which are relatively high protein, medium carb, low fat) but I haven't been sticking to it very well lately. My back up plan was to rejoin Weight Watchers so I am considering doing that. I was a member for about six months over two years ago with limited success - but a big part of the problem with it was that my group was very small and all elderly ladies (lovely people but not at the same stage of life as me) and it closed due to lack of numbers in that timeslot. If I could find a better group then that might fulfil a need for group support and accountability. I've looked at local times and I have two options, Wednesday lunchtime, which is convenient but might have the same issue of a small non-employed demographic, or Saturday 8am which is earlier than I like. All the others are times I can't go to due to various early-evening commitments, mainly kid sports.
My main hesitation is that I'm not sure it would help at the moment. I think my current lack of motivation is due to constant tiredness, and until I get that under control paying WW lots of money isn't going to do anything for me.
So what I am going to do is for the next week or so I'll make sure I wear my CPAP all night (I wear it every night, but sometimes it annoys me and I take it off in the early hours of the morning). When I'm sure it's loaded up with readings of what is going on, I'll take it to the sleep lab for analysis. They'll be able to tell me if I'm apnoea-ing even with the CPAP. Maybe I need the settings changed or something. Once I have that information, I'll be able to go forward from there. I shouldn't be this tired all the time, struggling with constant headaches, falling asleep during the day sitting up, wanting to eat to revive flagging energy, difficulty coping with minor problems. I should have followed this up a while ago but that is the problem with being too tired to get things done!
Basically all the weight I've lost over the past ten weeks was in the first four. Is it time for a new strategy?
The original Beck diet book suggests having a back up diet plan for if your first one doesn't work out. My current plan is just counting calories (following the CSIRO general guidelines which are relatively high protein, medium carb, low fat) but I haven't been sticking to it very well lately. My back up plan was to rejoin Weight Watchers so I am considering doing that. I was a member for about six months over two years ago with limited success - but a big part of the problem with it was that my group was very small and all elderly ladies (lovely people but not at the same stage of life as me) and it closed due to lack of numbers in that timeslot. If I could find a better group then that might fulfil a need for group support and accountability. I've looked at local times and I have two options, Wednesday lunchtime, which is convenient but might have the same issue of a small non-employed demographic, or Saturday 8am which is earlier than I like. All the others are times I can't go to due to various early-evening commitments, mainly kid sports.
My main hesitation is that I'm not sure it would help at the moment. I think my current lack of motivation is due to constant tiredness, and until I get that under control paying WW lots of money isn't going to do anything for me.
So what I am going to do is for the next week or so I'll make sure I wear my CPAP all night (I wear it every night, but sometimes it annoys me and I take it off in the early hours of the morning). When I'm sure it's loaded up with readings of what is going on, I'll take it to the sleep lab for analysis. They'll be able to tell me if I'm apnoea-ing even with the CPAP. Maybe I need the settings changed or something. Once I have that information, I'll be able to go forward from there. I shouldn't be this tired all the time, struggling with constant headaches, falling asleep during the day sitting up, wanting to eat to revive flagging energy, difficulty coping with minor problems. I should have followed this up a while ago but that is the problem with being too tired to get things done!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Doctors
Wednesday:
My mum saw her oncologist yesterday. She found out at the end of last year that she had breast cancer that had spread to her bones, and since then has had chemo and radiotherapy and bone strengthening injections. The result is good, the tumors in her breast and pelvis have shrunk, and none of the others have grown. So I guess that is good. She finally has some kind of prognosis, now that they can see she's responded well to treatment, they told her "a few years". Better than a few months. But with her own father still going strong at 96, dying in her mid-70s will be way too young. Her mother died of a different kind of cancer in her 80s.
She had one mammogram about 20 years ago but found it unpleasant so never had another one.
I would hate for my kids to know that I had all the warning signs for various health problems and did nothing about it and died in my 50s of a heart attack.
I had my own doctor visit this morning. Tim had the car and it's only a kilometre away so I walked. Quite tiring. Still have this cough (still can't use my CPAP). But nice to be out in the crisp late-autumn sunshine. I told her I'd got the reminder letter about doing the glucose tolerance test and she was surprised and said she thought every second year was often enough. But I'd already made the appointment and been carb loading for the past two days so she gave me the referral anyway. And said two years next time. I do really like my doctor but my only problem with her is she doesn't always take things as seriously as I do (which might be good for me!) and she doesn't seem to think pre-diabetes is worth keeping a close eye on. She added a string of other tests for them to do at the same time so I had to ring the pathology place to tell them. Lucky they were fine with it. I was a bit nervous because when I booked the test I kind of had to lie and pretend I had the referral in front of me which of course I didn't as I didn't have it yet. And I thought I was being so clever. Oh well, organised now.
We also talked about my sleep apnoea (I hadn't seen her since my diagnosis) and I told her my blood pressure had gone up but the sleep doctor guy had said it would go down again when I got some sleep. She tested it and it was fine! So that is awesome news. Back down to my usual low levels. Even though I haven't been able to use my CPAP for two weeks.
Of course she told me losing weight helps fix sleep apnoea. My weight has been going up about half a kilogram each day with the carb loading. Luckily that ends at 9pm tonight then I fast for the test, and then I can get back to normal eating. That is, not my usual normal! A healthier version.
And finally she looked at my eye, which started hurting yesterday afternoon and by bedtime was a bloodshot red ball of pain. A bit better today but still sore. She couldn't find a scratch so gave me some ointment for conjunctivitis.
I've been testing my blood frequently over these past few days and I'm pretty sure my status of pre-diabetic will be the same. The numbers haven't been too bad, even with all the carbs. So I'm feeling like I can tackle everything.
My mum saw her oncologist yesterday. She found out at the end of last year that she had breast cancer that had spread to her bones, and since then has had chemo and radiotherapy and bone strengthening injections. The result is good, the tumors in her breast and pelvis have shrunk, and none of the others have grown. So I guess that is good. She finally has some kind of prognosis, now that they can see she's responded well to treatment, they told her "a few years". Better than a few months. But with her own father still going strong at 96, dying in her mid-70s will be way too young. Her mother died of a different kind of cancer in her 80s.
She had one mammogram about 20 years ago but found it unpleasant so never had another one.
I would hate for my kids to know that I had all the warning signs for various health problems and did nothing about it and died in my 50s of a heart attack.
I had my own doctor visit this morning. Tim had the car and it's only a kilometre away so I walked. Quite tiring. Still have this cough (still can't use my CPAP). But nice to be out in the crisp late-autumn sunshine. I told her I'd got the reminder letter about doing the glucose tolerance test and she was surprised and said she thought every second year was often enough. But I'd already made the appointment and been carb loading for the past two days so she gave me the referral anyway. And said two years next time. I do really like my doctor but my only problem with her is she doesn't always take things as seriously as I do (which might be good for me!) and she doesn't seem to think pre-diabetes is worth keeping a close eye on. She added a string of other tests for them to do at the same time so I had to ring the pathology place to tell them. Lucky they were fine with it. I was a bit nervous because when I booked the test I kind of had to lie and pretend I had the referral in front of me which of course I didn't as I didn't have it yet. And I thought I was being so clever. Oh well, organised now.
We also talked about my sleep apnoea (I hadn't seen her since my diagnosis) and I told her my blood pressure had gone up but the sleep doctor guy had said it would go down again when I got some sleep. She tested it and it was fine! So that is awesome news. Back down to my usual low levels. Even though I haven't been able to use my CPAP for two weeks.
Of course she told me losing weight helps fix sleep apnoea. My weight has been going up about half a kilogram each day with the carb loading. Luckily that ends at 9pm tonight then I fast for the test, and then I can get back to normal eating. That is, not my usual normal! A healthier version.
And finally she looked at my eye, which started hurting yesterday afternoon and by bedtime was a bloodshot red ball of pain. A bit better today but still sore. She couldn't find a scratch so gave me some ointment for conjunctivitis.
I've been testing my blood frequently over these past few days and I'm pretty sure my status of pre-diabetic will be the same. The numbers haven't been too bad, even with all the carbs. So I'm feeling like I can tackle everything.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
New mask
Monday:
I've been having a bit of trouble with the mask for my CPAP not staying on properly so I called them today. Even though my follow-up appointment wasn't until Friday they managed to fit me in today which was lovely of them. I have two new mask arrangements to try, one of them feels much more secure, so I'll see how it goes.
The technician also looked at the information captured by the machines and while I'm wearing I'm not having apnoea events (average of 0.1 events per hour) so I just have to use it consistently. At the moment I'm still taking it off in the night, after about 4 hours.
It was really good to hear that it is working and therefore worth the effort, I needed to hear that today. I am super tired. Forgot my phone (never do that), walked away from the bakery leaving my bread sitting on the counter, missed two turn-offs when driving, walking up to school to get the kids was like running a 5k.
Aside from that, I am doing ok.
Sad thing this afternoon. Mother of someone who recently died contacted me to see if I had any memories of him or knew anything about his book, apparently he contacted me to edit his manuscript and got a quote but never sent it to me. I wasn't able to tell her anything, I didn't even remember him unfortunately (a couple of emails three years ago that didn't lead to anything, so I'm not really surprised). She is self-publishing his book in his memory. I felt bad having to say I'd never even seen his book and didn't really remember him. He was only 22 when he died.
Cuddle your children while you can.
I've been having a bit of trouble with the mask for my CPAP not staying on properly so I called them today. Even though my follow-up appointment wasn't until Friday they managed to fit me in today which was lovely of them. I have two new mask arrangements to try, one of them feels much more secure, so I'll see how it goes.
The technician also looked at the information captured by the machines and while I'm wearing I'm not having apnoea events (average of 0.1 events per hour) so I just have to use it consistently. At the moment I'm still taking it off in the night, after about 4 hours.
It was really good to hear that it is working and therefore worth the effort, I needed to hear that today. I am super tired. Forgot my phone (never do that), walked away from the bakery leaving my bread sitting on the counter, missed two turn-offs when driving, walking up to school to get the kids was like running a 5k.
Aside from that, I am doing ok.
Sad thing this afternoon. Mother of someone who recently died contacted me to see if I had any memories of him or knew anything about his book, apparently he contacted me to edit his manuscript and got a quote but never sent it to me. I wasn't able to tell her anything, I didn't even remember him unfortunately (a couple of emails three years ago that didn't lead to anything, so I'm not really surprised). She is self-publishing his book in his memory. I felt bad having to say I'd never even seen his book and didn't really remember him. He was only 22 when he died.
Cuddle your children while you can.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Sleep!!
Friday:
Night three with the CPAP was awesome. I was so tired that I'd fallen asleep earlier sitting up in my chair, so it probably helped that I could barely keep my eyes open. I managed to get to sleep pretty quickly, I woke a few times and at least once had to readjust the nasal pillows (turns out if it's getting loud it's because they aren't in right) but basically slept through until 6am. That is SEVEN HOURS sleep! With only maybe three waking interruptions. How amazing is that?
I took of the CPAP then because I felt wide awake and didn't think I'd get back to sleep but then I did, for another hour or so. It was a dark rainy morning which made sleeping in easy. If you count that, although presumably I was doing the apnoea thing every few minutes, that is 8 hours sleep.
The CPAP hardly bothered me at all, so I am getting used to it already. Huge leap from yesterday.
I felt hardly at all inclined to snap the children's heads off this morning which was a welcome change. I was still pretty tired from about 11am but I can't catch up months of poor sleep all in one night. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather a darkness, of closed eyelids.
Night three with the CPAP was awesome. I was so tired that I'd fallen asleep earlier sitting up in my chair, so it probably helped that I could barely keep my eyes open. I managed to get to sleep pretty quickly, I woke a few times and at least once had to readjust the nasal pillows (turns out if it's getting loud it's because they aren't in right) but basically slept through until 6am. That is SEVEN HOURS sleep! With only maybe three waking interruptions. How amazing is that?
I took of the CPAP then because I felt wide awake and didn't think I'd get back to sleep but then I did, for another hour or so. It was a dark rainy morning which made sleeping in easy. If you count that, although presumably I was doing the apnoea thing every few minutes, that is 8 hours sleep.
The CPAP hardly bothered me at all, so I am getting used to it already. Huge leap from yesterday.
I felt hardly at all inclined to snap the children's heads off this morning which was a welcome change. I was still pretty tired from about 11am but I can't catch up months of poor sleep all in one night. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather a darkness, of closed eyelids.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Night two
Thursday:
Night two was worse than night one with the CPAP. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get to sleep. I dozed a little but mainly tossed and turned and got up twice for the bathroom in two hours (I was right, the tubing can reach the ensuite so I don't have to unplug anything, I just walk in there with it all still on!). The air pressure on the CPAP starts quite low but after a while it slowly ramps up (that's why they asked me how long it takes me to get to sleep) and after a two and a half hours I felt like Darth Vader.
I think the problem was just that I couldn't stop thinking about the process. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Keep mouth closed. Breathe in, breathe out. I tried telling myself I was doing nose breathing meditation but that didn't seem to help. So shortly after 1am I took it off and went to sleep quite quickly.
I'm not discouraged (although I admit I was hoping for instant success), I know it can take weeks to get used to. So I'll just keep putting it on every night. Try to get through the days without biting anyone's head off. Write a little every day even if I don't want to and I'm only producing rubbish that will be edited out later. Find things to enjoy other than food.
Night two was worse than night one with the CPAP. I don't know why, but I just couldn't get to sleep. I dozed a little but mainly tossed and turned and got up twice for the bathroom in two hours (I was right, the tubing can reach the ensuite so I don't have to unplug anything, I just walk in there with it all still on!). The air pressure on the CPAP starts quite low but after a while it slowly ramps up (that's why they asked me how long it takes me to get to sleep) and after a two and a half hours I felt like Darth Vader.
I think the problem was just that I couldn't stop thinking about the process. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Keep mouth closed. Breathe in, breathe out. I tried telling myself I was doing nose breathing meditation but that didn't seem to help. So shortly after 1am I took it off and went to sleep quite quickly.
I'm not discouraged (although I admit I was hoping for instant success), I know it can take weeks to get used to. So I'll just keep putting it on every night. Try to get through the days without biting anyone's head off. Write a little every day even if I don't want to and I'm only producing rubbish that will be edited out later. Find things to enjoy other than food.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Sleep apnoea
Wednesday:
Turns out I have mild to moderate sleep apnoea. I wake up an average of 14.5 times per hour (22.7 during REM sleep) because I am not getting enough air. Every four minutes. Actually, the report said that the study didn't have any time with me lying on my back (I think I was lying very still most of the time, aware of all the equipment strapped to me) and that's when most occurrences of sleep apnoea occur, so if I lie on my back sometimes on other nights my incidence of stopping breathing might be higher. Looking at the chart was really interesting, when I am awake my breathing is smooth waves of in and out, once I am asleep they are low jagged rocks and sometimes almost flat lines.
We discussed options and I decided to try the CPAP machine, I get to hire it for five weeks to see how it goes before I buy one. When the technician was programming it for me she asked how long it takes me to fall asleep and I said about an hour. She seemed very surprised that it took so long but I have been that way all my life and my ten year old daughter is the same. We checked the sleep study and it said 63 minutes on that night. I consider an hour pretty good, there have been times in my life when it has been much worse than that. I just don't know how to go to sleep. I don't understand how my husband can get into bed an go to sleep straight away. How do you do that?
So I tried the CPAP last night. It is super-quiet, quite comfortable with soft little bubbles of plastic sitting just inside my nostrils (I was expecting a whole face mask but it only goes over my nose, with a strap around the back of my head) and the pressure of air up my nose wasn't too bad at all.
What was bad was if I opened my mouth. The air is going up my nose constantly (when I breathe out through my nose that air is diverted out away from the air tube) so when I open my mouth the air rushes down the back of my throat and out my mouth which feels very odd. But much worse is if I go to breathe in through my mouth, that has competition from the air trying to flow out my mouth from my nose. And it feels like I can't get a breath at all. It causes a moment of suffocation panic. I can still breathe but it feels like I can't and it is horrible. I have to remember not to keep gasping for air, but to close my mouth and breathe steadily through my nose.
I went to sleep fairly easily but at 2am I woke to go to the toilet and decided not to put the CPAP back on. The sleep doctor had suggested taking a few nights to get used to it, and I wanted a break and to able to move around more easily. And my mouth was really dry which I blamed on the CPAP but now I think it wasn't that because I had the dry mouth all night without the CPAP. A few hours later, after little sleep and a nasty headache, I tried to put it back on but it was tricky to get right in the dark and my dopey state so I gave up. So I am very tired again today. The technician did tell me not to take it off when I went to the toilet, she said to unplug the mask from the machine and take it with me, but I thought that was silly as it seemed so easy to take on and off. Silly me. Actually the tubing is probably long enough that I could get into the ensuite without even unplugging it!
So there you go. First night partial success. I was a bit overly optimistic about how quickly it would change my life. It will take a bit of getting used to.
I am feeling very motivated to lose some weight so I don't have to wear it forever. About 85% of people are helped by losing weight, apparently.
The last few days my eating has been atrocious. Fat, salt, lots of everything. Partly influenced by PMS, but also a kind of procrastinating optimism - I won't be so tired soon and it will be so much easier to be motivated after I get my magic CPAP machine ...
My weight is up to 83.8 this morning. Awful. Probably lots of water retention with the bucketloads of salt plus PMS. Concentrating today on drinking lots of water to flush it out, and eating fresh fruit and vegetables.
Turns out I have mild to moderate sleep apnoea. I wake up an average of 14.5 times per hour (22.7 during REM sleep) because I am not getting enough air. Every four minutes. Actually, the report said that the study didn't have any time with me lying on my back (I think I was lying very still most of the time, aware of all the equipment strapped to me) and that's when most occurrences of sleep apnoea occur, so if I lie on my back sometimes on other nights my incidence of stopping breathing might be higher. Looking at the chart was really interesting, when I am awake my breathing is smooth waves of in and out, once I am asleep they are low jagged rocks and sometimes almost flat lines.
We discussed options and I decided to try the CPAP machine, I get to hire it for five weeks to see how it goes before I buy one. When the technician was programming it for me she asked how long it takes me to fall asleep and I said about an hour. She seemed very surprised that it took so long but I have been that way all my life and my ten year old daughter is the same. We checked the sleep study and it said 63 minutes on that night. I consider an hour pretty good, there have been times in my life when it has been much worse than that. I just don't know how to go to sleep. I don't understand how my husband can get into bed an go to sleep straight away. How do you do that?
So I tried the CPAP last night. It is super-quiet, quite comfortable with soft little bubbles of plastic sitting just inside my nostrils (I was expecting a whole face mask but it only goes over my nose, with a strap around the back of my head) and the pressure of air up my nose wasn't too bad at all.
What was bad was if I opened my mouth. The air is going up my nose constantly (when I breathe out through my nose that air is diverted out away from the air tube) so when I open my mouth the air rushes down the back of my throat and out my mouth which feels very odd. But much worse is if I go to breathe in through my mouth, that has competition from the air trying to flow out my mouth from my nose. And it feels like I can't get a breath at all. It causes a moment of suffocation panic. I can still breathe but it feels like I can't and it is horrible. I have to remember not to keep gasping for air, but to close my mouth and breathe steadily through my nose.
I went to sleep fairly easily but at 2am I woke to go to the toilet and decided not to put the CPAP back on. The sleep doctor had suggested taking a few nights to get used to it, and I wanted a break and to able to move around more easily. And my mouth was really dry which I blamed on the CPAP but now I think it wasn't that because I had the dry mouth all night without the CPAP. A few hours later, after little sleep and a nasty headache, I tried to put it back on but it was tricky to get right in the dark and my dopey state so I gave up. So I am very tired again today. The technician did tell me not to take it off when I went to the toilet, she said to unplug the mask from the machine and take it with me, but I thought that was silly as it seemed so easy to take on and off. Silly me. Actually the tubing is probably long enough that I could get into the ensuite without even unplugging it!
So there you go. First night partial success. I was a bit overly optimistic about how quickly it would change my life. It will take a bit of getting used to.
I am feeling very motivated to lose some weight so I don't have to wear it forever. About 85% of people are helped by losing weight, apparently.
The last few days my eating has been atrocious. Fat, salt, lots of everything. Partly influenced by PMS, but also a kind of procrastinating optimism - I won't be so tired soon and it will be so much easier to be motivated after I get my magic CPAP machine ...
My weight is up to 83.8 this morning. Awful. Probably lots of water retention with the bucketloads of salt plus PMS. Concentrating today on drinking lots of water to flush it out, and eating fresh fruit and vegetables.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Tomorrow
Monday:
I finally have my appointment tomorrow to get my sleep study results. I doubt they have called me in for a 1 hour appointment to say "you don't have sleep apnoea", but you never know. I shouldn't self-diagnose.
Although...
I first went to my GP maybe four years ago, to say I was tired all the time and was that normal? My children were sleeping through the night, my shoulder pain was reduced enough that it wasn't keeping me awake, I wasn't under stress. She sent me for a blood test and said apart from slightly low Vitamin D (for which I went on tablets) there wasn't anything wrong with me. She didn't pursue it any further. I figured I was just tired because I was overweight and didn't exercise much.
Things escalated a few months ago when the tiredness got much worse and I could no longer cope. So I did some internet research and looked for a solution more aggressively. I happened to see a different doctor which may have made a difference too, she was keen to explore a few different options.
If it turns out I have sleep apnoea, then I may have had it for years and it's just got worse. Maybe I didn't need to be tired every day for the past few years. That would make me kind of angry. If I can get up the energy.
Oh well, we'll see.
Not doing so well on the healthy eating front. Too tired to cook dinner tonight and ordered pizza. At least I went for a walk this morning, but I somehow think it didn't make up for all those extra calories.
I'm off to bed. Sweet dreams, everyone.
I finally have my appointment tomorrow to get my sleep study results. I doubt they have called me in for a 1 hour appointment to say "you don't have sleep apnoea", but you never know. I shouldn't self-diagnose.
Although...
I first went to my GP maybe four years ago, to say I was tired all the time and was that normal? My children were sleeping through the night, my shoulder pain was reduced enough that it wasn't keeping me awake, I wasn't under stress. She sent me for a blood test and said apart from slightly low Vitamin D (for which I went on tablets) there wasn't anything wrong with me. She didn't pursue it any further. I figured I was just tired because I was overweight and didn't exercise much.
Things escalated a few months ago when the tiredness got much worse and I could no longer cope. So I did some internet research and looked for a solution more aggressively. I happened to see a different doctor which may have made a difference too, she was keen to explore a few different options.
If it turns out I have sleep apnoea, then I may have had it for years and it's just got worse. Maybe I didn't need to be tired every day for the past few years. That would make me kind of angry. If I can get up the energy.
Oh well, we'll see.
Not doing so well on the healthy eating front. Too tired to cook dinner tonight and ordered pizza. At least I went for a walk this morning, but I somehow think it didn't make up for all those extra calories.
I'm off to bed. Sweet dreams, everyone.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Tired and sad
Tuesday:
I am really struggling with life at the moment. Months of not enough sleep are taking their toll. It's probably been going on longer than that, but in the last few months it's become critical. I think I am now mildly depressed. I've had real, deep depression just after my first child was born, ten months of PND, so I know what that is like and this isn't nearly that bad. But I have a constant mild sadness, inability to cope, lack of energy. Hard to separate tiredness from any other possible problems. But either way, tiredness is at the root of it.
I'd told the doctor and the sleep doctor that I haven't been aware of stopping breathing, which is the actual primary symptom of sleep apnoea. Night before last I did it, woke suddenly taking a big breath. And I realised I have been doing it occasionally for a while. I just (oddly) hadn't connected it to sleep apnoea. I think because I was expecting to feel like I was choking or something. But this feels like I've just forgotten to breathe.
I don't want it to be sleep apnoea. I don't want to wear one of those CPAP masks and try to sleep with it on. But on the other hand, imagine getting a good night's sleep. Imagine not being tired all the time, falling asleep during the day, waking often at night, headaches, irritability, depression, forgetting things. At least if I get some kind of diagnosis maybe they can help me. I should get the results soon, maybe by the end of this week.
My weight yesterday was 82.2kg. Going back up.
I am really struggling with life at the moment. Months of not enough sleep are taking their toll. It's probably been going on longer than that, but in the last few months it's become critical. I think I am now mildly depressed. I've had real, deep depression just after my first child was born, ten months of PND, so I know what that is like and this isn't nearly that bad. But I have a constant mild sadness, inability to cope, lack of energy. Hard to separate tiredness from any other possible problems. But either way, tiredness is at the root of it.
I'd told the doctor and the sleep doctor that I haven't been aware of stopping breathing, which is the actual primary symptom of sleep apnoea. Night before last I did it, woke suddenly taking a big breath. And I realised I have been doing it occasionally for a while. I just (oddly) hadn't connected it to sleep apnoea. I think because I was expecting to feel like I was choking or something. But this feels like I've just forgotten to breathe.
I don't want it to be sleep apnoea. I don't want to wear one of those CPAP masks and try to sleep with it on. But on the other hand, imagine getting a good night's sleep. Imagine not being tired all the time, falling asleep during the day, waking often at night, headaches, irritability, depression, forgetting things. At least if I get some kind of diagnosis maybe they can help me. I should get the results soon, maybe by the end of this week.
My weight yesterday was 82.2kg. Going back up.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Five electrodes and two motion sensors
Friday:
I picked up my sleep study equipment this morning, and was instructed in how to use it. So tonight I get a lovely night's sleep with a band around my chest, another one around my waist, five electrodes taped to various places around my head and neck, a motion sensor pad taped to each food, a sensor clipped onto one finger, and (most fun of all) little tubes up my nose! Everything plugs in to the box on the chest band, with all the cords taped down all over your body so they don't get tangled, and you're ready to go. How delightful.
The sleep doctor guy said that my sudden high blood pressure was quite usual with sleep apnoea. Also, obviously, the extreme tiredness and the restlessness at night. And my weird heart palpitations which I hadn't even mentioned to anybody because, well, I moan about my health so much and that just sounds so overly dramatic. A sort of fluttering in my chest combined with breathlessness, just for a few seconds. But he said that is such a common side effect of sleep apnoea that it is one of the main reasons doctors refer people for a sleep study! So, there you go.
After a bit of a dip in mood yesterday, during which I ate a Magnum chocolate-covered ice-cream (because, you know, that is how I deal with stress, I eat), I got a hold of myself. You know the best thing about having pre-diabetes, hypertension and (maybe) sleep apnoea? They can ALL be benefited by the same treatment of losing weight and exercising!
The Mayo Clinic has these 10 tips for dealing with hypertension (high blood pressure):
1. Lose weight. I'm on it. Restricting calories, plus see points 2 and 3.
2. Exercise. I've started with extra walking (On top of getting kids to school and getting around uni, which was still more than I had been doing in the holidays). 9783 steps so far, will make sure I get to 10,000. Today I walked around the university between a tutorial and going to the sleep clinic. I went up and down some unnecessary stairs as well. When half an hour of walking no longer leaves me sweaty and exhausted, I'll start adding in some jogging. I don't need to spent every second of the day studying.
3. Follow the DASH diet which is specifically designed for people with hypertension. I need to investigate it further, but it seems to be a real-food plant-based low-diet. I've had about 24 hours of eating healthy (healthier) so far, and I'll do some research on DASH and see if I need to tweak more.
4. Reduce sodium to 1500mg per day. Salt is a biggie for me. I love salty food and add salt to everything. I'm going cold turkey on added salt, there is enough in foods naturally for human health. I use lots of other spices anyway so I just have to deal with temporary seeming-blandness. I haven't had dinner yet, but I am up to 919mg of sodium already on my online tracker, probably mostly from the (wholegrain) bread I had at lunch and some dressing. Urg, wholegrain. Like pieces of rock in your food. But I'm dealing with it.
5. No more than one alcoholic drink per day. No problem. I have maybe two drinks a week.
6. No smoking. Easy.
7. Cut back on caffeine. I only drink tea, but I'm thinking I'll cut back from two to one cup per day. I suppose chocolate has caffeine too, but I'll be eating a lot less of that anyway, see points 1 and 3.
8. Reduce stress. Tricky one. What I am mostly stressed about is my health! Exercise is supposed to help.
9. Monitor blood pressure regularly. Ok, will do.
10. Get support from family and friends. No problem there.
I'm on it!
I picked up my sleep study equipment this morning, and was instructed in how to use it. So tonight I get a lovely night's sleep with a band around my chest, another one around my waist, five electrodes taped to various places around my head and neck, a motion sensor pad taped to each food, a sensor clipped onto one finger, and (most fun of all) little tubes up my nose! Everything plugs in to the box on the chest band, with all the cords taped down all over your body so they don't get tangled, and you're ready to go. How delightful.
The sleep doctor guy said that my sudden high blood pressure was quite usual with sleep apnoea. Also, obviously, the extreme tiredness and the restlessness at night. And my weird heart palpitations which I hadn't even mentioned to anybody because, well, I moan about my health so much and that just sounds so overly dramatic. A sort of fluttering in my chest combined with breathlessness, just for a few seconds. But he said that is such a common side effect of sleep apnoea that it is one of the main reasons doctors refer people for a sleep study! So, there you go.
After a bit of a dip in mood yesterday, during which I ate a Magnum chocolate-covered ice-cream (because, you know, that is how I deal with stress, I eat), I got a hold of myself. You know the best thing about having pre-diabetes, hypertension and (maybe) sleep apnoea? They can ALL be benefited by the same treatment of losing weight and exercising!
The Mayo Clinic has these 10 tips for dealing with hypertension (high blood pressure):
1. Lose weight. I'm on it. Restricting calories, plus see points 2 and 3.
2. Exercise. I've started with extra walking (On top of getting kids to school and getting around uni, which was still more than I had been doing in the holidays). 9783 steps so far, will make sure I get to 10,000. Today I walked around the university between a tutorial and going to the sleep clinic. I went up and down some unnecessary stairs as well. When half an hour of walking no longer leaves me sweaty and exhausted, I'll start adding in some jogging. I don't need to spent every second of the day studying.
3. Follow the DASH diet which is specifically designed for people with hypertension. I need to investigate it further, but it seems to be a real-food plant-based low-diet. I've had about 24 hours of eating healthy (healthier) so far, and I'll do some research on DASH and see if I need to tweak more.
4. Reduce sodium to 1500mg per day. Salt is a biggie for me. I love salty food and add salt to everything. I'm going cold turkey on added salt, there is enough in foods naturally for human health. I use lots of other spices anyway so I just have to deal with temporary seeming-blandness. I haven't had dinner yet, but I am up to 919mg of sodium already on my online tracker, probably mostly from the (wholegrain) bread I had at lunch and some dressing. Urg, wholegrain. Like pieces of rock in your food. But I'm dealing with it.
5. No more than one alcoholic drink per day. No problem. I have maybe two drinks a week.
6. No smoking. Easy.
7. Cut back on caffeine. I only drink tea, but I'm thinking I'll cut back from two to one cup per day. I suppose chocolate has caffeine too, but I'll be eating a lot less of that anyway, see points 1 and 3.
8. Reduce stress. Tricky one. What I am mostly stressed about is my health! Exercise is supposed to help.
9. Monitor blood pressure regularly. Ok, will do.
10. Get support from family and friends. No problem there.
I'm on it!
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