Choices and Health.
Health is being brought to my urgent attention again. People all around me are going on the water pill of late. The water pill you may realize is the first prescriptive remedy for chronic hypertension (high blood pressure). Of course this is because all of us (and around me) march to the steady beat of the clock and age. I am starting to get on in years. The first was Claudia, the second was my father, and now my brother (about 1-1/2 years younger than myself) and my doctor once considered it for myself. Also noted in that exam was slightly high cholestoral levels.
Our Doctor let me work on lifestyle instead of prescribing water pills. About a month later (or so) I went back in and all was fine.
That was a wakeup call and Claudia and I became very good about our lifestyle. We worked out regularly and sustained that routine for quite some time. In fact I got my resting pulse rate down to about 55 beats/minute. However, that has long since fell to the wayside. We have made attempts to restart our fitness program but we have no shortage of excuses (and actually some are not just contrived out of laziness).
This weekend I say my younger brother obsessing over his BP and taking water pills. I finally decided to check my BP. Was not good, some of it is in no doubt due to the heavey consumption of adult beverages that tends to happen when up north but none-the-less it is high time I get back into it.
So this morning I was back in the Y.
This is important. The last thing I want to happen is for me to start getting hooked on pills (actually I take herbs and supplements but those are by choice not by dire health needs). If all it takes is cutting back on my coffee, and boozing, if all it takes is to eat better and work out then so be it. I do not want to become a health wreck in my fifties or sixties.
This is one thing people can do on their own to help keep medical costs down. Granted some of us will be struck by diseases such as cancer that lifestyle has little to do with, but when you can make a choice to be healthy why not take it?
Choose: The bars or the fitness club. Whichever one you choose is fine, but do it with open eyes and don't complain when the consequences of your choice start to arise and do not expect others to help carry the burdens of those consequences.
Our Doctor let me work on lifestyle instead of prescribing water pills. About a month later (or so) I went back in and all was fine.
That was a wakeup call and Claudia and I became very good about our lifestyle. We worked out regularly and sustained that routine for quite some time. In fact I got my resting pulse rate down to about 55 beats/minute. However, that has long since fell to the wayside. We have made attempts to restart our fitness program but we have no shortage of excuses (and actually some are not just contrived out of laziness).
This weekend I say my younger brother obsessing over his BP and taking water pills. I finally decided to check my BP. Was not good, some of it is in no doubt due to the heavey consumption of adult beverages that tends to happen when up north but none-the-less it is high time I get back into it.
So this morning I was back in the Y.
This is important. The last thing I want to happen is for me to start getting hooked on pills (actually I take herbs and supplements but those are by choice not by dire health needs). If all it takes is cutting back on my coffee, and boozing, if all it takes is to eat better and work out then so be it. I do not want to become a health wreck in my fifties or sixties.
This is one thing people can do on their own to help keep medical costs down. Granted some of us will be struck by diseases such as cancer that lifestyle has little to do with, but when you can make a choice to be healthy why not take it?
Choose: The bars or the fitness club. Whichever one you choose is fine, but do it with open eyes and don't complain when the consequences of your choice start to arise and do not expect others to help carry the burdens of those consequences.
posted by Marcus Aurelius at 9:21 AM
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