Did I tell you that I had an allergic reaction to Lexoxyl (thyroid drug) too? Guess what the only different inactive ingredient was: yellow dye #6. Same as HCTZ. Thought you might be interested in that info for your research.

Are you gearing up for your exercise? Did you swim yet? Prevention said to just start with 10min a day of continuous walking. Apparently the heart needs exercise
that keeps going & doesn't stop & start like some sports do. I think of it like a stream moving along at a steady pace preventing debri from building up along the sides.

Yes, acid reflux does cause a lot of pain & potential damge to the esophagus. The b/p meds contribute greatly to acid reflux. It works great to avoid eating much at night with my meds. Fortunately, my one med Lebetalol dulls my taste buds & greatly decreases my appetite so I'm not as interested in eating. I just have a slice of cheese & 16 oz of milk at 6p-7pm plus yogurt & raspberry jam with my meds. I eat all my other food in the am before 11am. This way I can swim later without reflux.

I used to take AR meds but one day, I just gagged on them. I decided then & there that there was some other way & I was going to find it. The meds never worked that well anyhow so why bother. Sure I have to do without a lot of foods that cause AR but it sure is worth it to have a good night's sleep in my bed instead of sitting up all night in a lazyboy. If I could just do that with my b/p meds, I would be the happiest woman on the planet!!!

Which leads me to losing weight. We've both got to do it, Beth. My son was on my case last night on the phone !!! He has lost another 10 lbs. No b/p meds for him. Of course he is over 6 ft so he can eat a lot more than I can. Whatever it takes, I'm going to do it!!!

Dr. Dean says that it doesn't matter how you schedule your meals as far as weight loss goes. Once a day or 6 times a day. He said to go for what fits your lifestyle. I know that deprivation is a real turn off. He said to design a program that lets you have your favorite food in small amounts so you don't get to feeling you are deprived. But I know certain foods I can't have around without being tempted so I just have other food that I like but can limit portions.

Did you see that experiment about the monkeys who were on the low calorie diet? Apparently, one monkey ate normally & the other one ate a 20-30% reduced calorie diet. The second monkey looked younger & had increased brain power. Both sound like good goals to me. Fam

Hello Famnd,

Good thing I'm at the boards early this am!! As usual, you are giving me alot to think about and to research.

Did I tell you that I had an allergic reaction to Lexoxyl (thyroid drug) too? Guess what the only different inactive ingredient was: yellow dye #6... Wow! What kind of reaction did you have? I would assume a similar reaction but I'm asking the question because with bp meds, different mixtures cause different reactions. Yes, I will have to look into that...I need to pull up the pharmacology on all the meds I've taken and compare the ingredients. This is not easy for me to do as chemistry was NOT my favorite subject....sounds like you did better in the sciences, :) .

...Are you gearing up for your exercise? Did you swim yet? Prevention said to just start with 10min a day of continuous walking. Apparently the heart needs exercise
that keeps going & doesn't stop & start like some sports do. I think of it like a stream moving along at a steady pace preventing debri from building up along the sides...

Well, the old swim bag is on my dining table, the pool schedule is somewhere on my desk, and I've found some loose dollars so I have no excuse. I've got a weather related project that must be done today, so how about I make a contract with you that says I will get to the pool tomorrow am and swim 10 laps. I've been doing ok with my walking, (diet is shot) so swimming 10 laps shouldn't be difficult. I like your analgy of a stream moving along by the way...those journaling skills come through at the most interesting times, ;) . Although I've read your posts of journaling, I don't think I've ever commented about them but I think it is an EXCELLENT idea for lots and lots and lots of reasons....but I really should talk about that somewhere else.

Yes, acid reflux does cause a lot of pain & potential damge to the esophagus. The b/p meds contribute greatly to acid reflux. It works great to avoid eating much at night with my meds. Fortunately, my one med Lebetalol dulls my taste buds & greatly decreases my appetite so I'm not as interested in eating. I just have a slice of cheese & 16 oz of milk at 6p-7pm plus yogurt & raspberry jam with my meds. I eat all my other food in the am before 11am. This way I can swim later without reflux.

I'm sorry you have to deal with acid reflux...and am amazed at how creatively you address the problem! The yogurt and raspberry jam leaped out at me because I love both...but are you saying that you eat your "meals" before 11 am???

I used to take AR meds but one day, I just gagged on them. I decided then & there that there was some other way & I was going to find it. The meds never worked that well anyhow so why bother. Sure I have to do without a lot of foods that cause AR but it sure is worth it to have a good night's sleep in my bed instead of sitting up all night in a lazyboy. If I could just do that with my b/p meds, I would be the happiest woman on the planet!!! Yes, I used to take the acid refluc meds...although I had some discomfort, I took them because the acid would make me cough, and sometimes I would wake up in the night having to "barf" because it was so bad...I'm glad I don't have to take the AR meds anymore because I've read some not so good things about long term use.

Which leads me to losing weight. We've both got to do it, Beth. My son was on my case last night on the phone !!! He has lost another 10 lbs. No b/p meds for him. Of course he is over 6 ft so he can eat a lot more than I can. Whatever it takes, I'm going to do it!!!...

Oh Famnd, I feel as if I've let you down...I read your post about losing the weight and I was so very, very, very happy for you but I didn't post my good wishes right away and then I got side tracked...Yes, we both have to lose weight and we can do it! I was doing well when I had plenty of fruit in the house...I didn't run out for chocolate bars or cookies or ice cream!!! But now it's back to my old habits (although I'm still drinking skim milk so that's progress). I was also eating from the garden, oh how I love to do that, but with fall here, fresh veggies are going to be more difficult to come by. My plan for today is to go out and buy some fresh and frozen fruit (I love frozen blueberries mixed with milk in the blender). I also picked up a hard copy of the dash diet so I'm going to try a few of those recipes. Do you have any "plans" for tackling those pounds?

Dr. Dean says that it doesn't matter how you schedule your meals as far as weight loss goes. Once a day or 6 times a day. He said to go for what fits your lifestyle. I know that deprivation is a real turn off. He said to design a program that lets you have your favorite food in small amounts so you don't get to feeling you are deprived. But I know certain foods I can't have around without being tempted so I just have other food that I like but can limit portions. I'm with Dr. Dean except for the fact that I, too, can not have certain foods in the house...

Did you see that experiment about the monkeys who were on the low calorie diet? Apparently, one monkey ate normally & the other one ate a 20-30% reduced calorie diet. The second monkey looked younger & had increased brain power. Both sound like good goals to me. Fam

:D :D :D I'm not sure I want to look like a smart young monkey! But the point is well made. No, I didn't see that experiment, but I do recall other experiments that suggested skinny critters lived longer than overfed critters did...but then I think of the people I knew who were heavy/obese and who lived long, healthy lives.... the difference, I think, is that they ate healthy fresh foods, healthy fats, and got lots of exercise...gotta get those blueberries and get into that pool!!!

So good to hear from you, my friend.

Take care.

Bethsheba

Hi Beth,

Just re-read my PI on HCTZ to refresh my memory. It is dated 11/99 so I will have to see if there are any changes if I can find a newer one. Anyhow it said that the adverse effects occurred with the 25mg dose so I was wondering what dose you were on. The 12.5mg dose produced the same side effects in people whether they were on a placebo or a 12.5mg HCTZ. I'm going to try to reduce my dose down to 12.5mg. It also said that adverse effects are directly related to dose.

Have you been swimming? Still walking too? I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. I got so hot last week & tired of coping with all this heat while trying to keep up with stuff. Feel better this week cause it is cooler. I'm trying to plan what I'm going to eat at least the day before so that I keep to 1200 cal. Better go & read so I can get to sleep otherwise my mind keeping going. Fam

Hi Fam,

Am so sorry not to get back to you. I've had a loss in my family and I'm having a difficult time dealing/coping right now so I'm just to say a few things and sign off.

That info you came across re hctz is interesting...again, the drug "worked" for me but I suspect it "wrung me dry". I don't know what dose of hctz I started out on so I will have to check with my doctor's office for that info. My side effects were almost immediately severe as I remember thinking at that time that I could no longer take day trips because of fatigue (my favorite shopping center is about 1 hour away and I couldn't make it there and back without pulling over in my car and sleeping). The one side effect that progressively got worse with increased dose, was lack of bladder control. On a minimal dose, coughing and sneezing was a problem (and again, another side effect of the hct), but on the 50 mg I think it is safe to say I had no bladder control whatsover. I have no problem at all now...and didn't before the hctz. So much for hormones and age, :) !

No I haven't honored my contract with you...and I'm so very sorry. My personal situation has taken every ounce from me and the things I need to do to take care of myself, walking, swimming, eating meals, etc have gone by the wayside. Tomorrow I must focus on 3 squares. My pressures are up which is a concern...must take time for pampering. A friend has invited me to stay with her so I'll be going for a "retreat" for a few days next week for mental health reasons.

My friend that lost TONS of weight the healthy way planned "two" meal plans...one at 1200 (or whatever) calories she'd ideally like to eat, and then she'd add another 500 or so calories in case she was just really, really hungry. That way, if she had to "binge", it was a part of a healthy plan.

Ohhhh, do I know what you mean about the heat...if I ever get hot flashes, I'm going to fry.

I plan on listing the ingredients of my meds on a spreadsheet so I can compare...but haven't gotten around to it yet. Haven't gotten around to calling that University satelite clinic either. Must do both because at this rate I'll be back on meds.

I'm glad you posted, Fam...think of you often. Your comments and insights stimulate my brain. And I value your wisdom and advice. While I'm at it, will you keep an eye out for our firefighter? I'm not going to be around for awhile...and I'm really concerned about him.

I suspect I'll be gone for a couple of weeks...so take care! Hope your thyroiditis doesn't flare, and hope your bp is "relaxed".

Am glad we stay in touch.

Bethsheba

Beth,

So sorry to hear of your loss. It's best to experience the pain now than keeping a "stiff upper lip" & then having a breakdown 5 yrs later because you didn't deal with at the time. That's what I learned in Psy class & have found it to be very true after my losses of family & friends.

Your b/p will probably be fine cause it has been okay for awhile. Worrying about it will make it worse. Take aspirin if your Dr. approves as a preventive (only need 1/4 of a reg aspirin) once a day. Maybe that will help you feel better about your b/p. Taking a hot bath for 20min will decrease your systolic about 20points. Longer baths will cause some constriction of blood vessels as the body tries to maintain balance. Remember sleep & just sitting down decreases b/p.

Don't worry about the calories so much now. A little comfort food helps with the sadness. My favorite is a plate of spagetti (only one ounce of spagetti) with a plate of tomato sauce & veggies along with some grated cheese is yummy & low in calories & fat. Add some olive oil to top it off. This dish puts me right to sleep even if I have to sleep in my lazy boy cause of the acid relflux. Tell your friend she has a good idea of an extra 500 cal in her back pocket.

Take care & so glad you have an understanding friend to help you through your difficult time. I'll do what I can to help the FM. We will miss your posts. Fam