Quit Smoking, and a scare.

[RockerTerri]

So, anyway.

I have been back and forth about quitting smoking for some time (yeah, dumb to smoke, I know) and anyway, had a scare today.

Yesterday I checked my blood pressure in one of those machines at wal-mart, and it was high; 147/93, and i am currently taking spiro...so, yeah, that scared me into quitting.

Quitting hasnt been an issue, I have hated it for some time, so just spent the day with friends and tried to keep my mind off of it. Tonight, found myself back at wal-mart, and checked it again, just cause...151/101. OK, am now scared.

Went to the local hospital, where the triage nurse will do little things like check BP for you. Apparently being scared made it worse, as it was 161/103 by that point. She told me to calm down, breathe, relax...I did, checked again, and I was 143/91. Better.

Gonna make a few diet changes, get my lazy butt up and walking again every day, and see where it goes in 2 weeks or so. Would have thought being on the spiro would make it lower...i dunno, maybe it was all just nerves? Yesterday when i checked it at the walmart, i had JUST had a smoke, and a bunch of caffeine. Today, I was pretty anxious.

I need to calm down. Im 33 though, too young for BP problems like that, especially when I am already USING spiro.

Kinda scary, you know?

Terri

[eileendover]

Blood pressure can go up and down within a short time period. And it is definitely affected by stress, even the stress of having your doctor or nurse taking it.

My SO is a nurse and takes my BP at home using her blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. It is always always lower than when I go to see my doctor. Once she came with me to the doctor and they both measured my BP (it was the same) just to be sure her cuff wasn't wrong.

Whenever my doctor was concerned, he had me take my BP at home at several different times of day over a period of a few days. He reviewed that when comparing my readings to his. More readings throughout the day is a much better indicator.

And having a cat in your lap does help too - really.

[RockerTerri]

Wonder if the stress of me quitting smoking threw it off; IDK why, but that really scared the hell out of me.

My life just started gettin' good, and I wanna be around for a looong time.

[Hope]

I'm only a couple of years older than you are, and when I went in to have a minor procedure done last fall the nurse took my BP, it was 208/120. I was pretty nervous, but there is NO reason for BP like that, ever. I went in to see my GP the next week and he put me on some medication and my BP is back down to a reasonable level... But besides the pills - the one thing that controls my BP more than anything else is exercise.

Seriously - get in the pool, get one the bike, - whatever, but you need to move around.

[RockerTerri]

Will do.

[Melissa A.]

Take care of yourself.

Hugs,

Melissa:)

[Elizabeth 66]

I was not much older than you when i had high blood pressure, much higher than that, at that time i used to have lot of salt, i reduced that and my blood pressure!

[TerryTerri]

On April 8th I completed 18 months of being smoke-free! I smoked for 35 years and the last 5 of those years I had been ernestly trying to quit. I lost track of how many times I tried to quit and failed. However discouraged I was at times, I did NOT give up. THE defining things that finally allowed me to get over the 'hump' and put the cigarette down (hopefully forever) was the medical risk to taking estrogen and smoking. It is higher with age and being in the late 40's area, I considered smoking and taking estrogen simply TOO big a risk. So, using the fact that I wanted to take estrogen and knew I was realistically headed toward that, I was FINALLY able to put the smokes down.

I smoked a pack a day of Camel full flavor Menthol. I didn't toy around with light and dainty sticks! I wante the full power, knock your lungs out sticks!!

Anyway, you say you are taking Spiro, but didn't mention if you are taking Estrogen. If you are taking Estrogen, you might wish examine the cancer risk you are putting yourself in by mixing those two. It was the final push that allowed me to FINALLY quit that horrible inslaved habit!

[Faith_G]

I saw your other thread about weight loss, that will help a lot with your blood pressure. I had high BP back when I was heavy, it's been on the low side of normal since I got down under 170. Now on the spiro I have to be careful not to stand up too fast - so I know it's probably a little low now.

[RockerTerri]

I am taking Estro and Spiro...did you mean a cancer risk from mixing THOSE, or a cancer risk from estro + smoking? The dangers of mixing estro and smoking were a primary reason for quitting.

That, and its been a whole 2 days and i feel better than I have in about 5 years....

Terri

[TerryTerri]

The cancer risk is from smoking and estrogen, and it increases greatly with age over 35 and 40. Not spiro and estrogen.

I encourage you to look it up on medical reference sites and such. Educate yourself. Don't blindly believe some old bat (like myself) just cause they said so.

[RockerTerri]

TY for the heads up, but Its no longer a concern for me!

Pretty happy tbh; kicked the habit. Of course, compared to being trans, everything that was formerly "difficult" kind of...isnt so difficult anymore, by comparison.

[giuseppina]

Congrats on kicking the habit, everyone. From the studies I've seen, a few extra pounds is less risky than smoking.

Weight loss, physical activity, and stress management are all proven strategies for reducing blood pressure.