How Low Can You Go: Blood Pressure and INH

During my months in blogging darkness, I had (maybe still having) some bouts with low blood pressure.  Supposedly this isn't anything to worry about since my dear nurse didn't have any adverse reaction.  My normal BP is about 105/65.  Not bad, particularly when I'm not exercising and all that stuff.

As I mentioned in my last post, two Public Health visits ago I went in and my initial BP read 80/55.  She shifted it to the other arm and it came in at about 95/60.  So that's great, right?  Probably...However I, with my paranoid mind, have made a few ties to a couple of things.

1. The night before I went in to Public Health I felt dizzy and weak.  I don't watch much TV, and have only a single show that I try to watch.  Fell asleep in the middle of it.  Complained that I felt like my body just needed water and lots of it.

2. The day, after having my blood pressure measured I continued to be weak and almost fainted twice. I continued with the same symptoms.

Coincidence?  In my heart of hearts, I don't believe so.  Even though her final measurement was fine, I've NEVER had to have my BP taken more than once. And 95 is still low for me.

Let me list some signs and symptoms of low blood pressure:

• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Fainting (syncope)
• Lack of concentration
• Blurred vision
• Nausea
• Cold, clammy, pale skin
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Thirst

Dizzy - check, Fainting (or almost) - check, Lack of concentration - check, Fatigue - check, Thirst - check.
Hmmm...

So let's say (hypothetically) that my blood pressure was low.  That I was suffering from hypotension.  What's the cause, is it normal, is it INH and most importantly, what kicks it back to normal?  Well, if I'd been keeping track of my food, my diet and other things like I'd started out doing, I'd probably be able to better answer this as it applies to me.  But alas, I have to go from memory, which was practically wiped clean because of my hypothetical hypotension bout.  Or at least, I can blame it on that.

I'll be pondering this more...lots more research to do...

Catching Up - Month 8

Whew - eight months in and not feeling so hot.

BUT, I have myself to blame.  My diet is shot - I eat practically whatever I want.  While many people would say there is no correlation, I think that for my body and the symptoms I experience, there sure is!

Let me tell you what it's like - my neck hurts, my hands hurt, I have practically no energy and I am suffering from allergies this fall.  The arthritic symptoms in my hands are constant, I go to bed at 9:30 every day and find a general lethargy pervades my life.

Can I blame INH?  Possibly for a part of this.  But I know that if I was doing my best to eat, exercise and be healthy, I'd feel fine.  I KNOW IT.

I want to get this out on the blog because I appreciate all of your comments to me to GET IT GOING!  I want to share my remaining few months and recap the last four or five.  My slide into INH rebellion and my hopeful return.

Stay tuned, and thanks for all the prodding!

Month 1, Day 21

This morning, I woke up on top of the world.  I dug out my old Tom Petty Wildflowers CD and blasted it on my way to pick up my son from Grandma's.  With the windows rolled down, the heater on and blue skies ahead, all of my problems seemed trivial.  I kept quoting a line from Tom Petty to everyone I saw:
People come, people go, some grow young, some grow cold.

Tonight, I'm tired, nay- exhausted - my hands hurt and I'm ready for bed.  Got up at around 8 and it's 9 at night now.  So much for long days.

The fatigue is really getting to me.  I'm not sure I can blame it all on INH, but certainly the aching hands and some tiredness is feasible.  The one variable today is that I had a big bowl of Mac N Cheese.  The cheese was fake so it was all still Vegan (here's the recipe, and yes it's YUMMY!) but not gluten free.  I gobbled the pasta down like there was no tomorrow.  It's possible that I'm having a reaction tonight to the whopping load I've put on my digestive track tonight.  Or, maybe I'm having a slight allergic reaction to gluten and my body can't handle the histamines.

But that doesn't explain my usual fatigue of late.  Either way, back to gluten free.  If it makes me feel better, then I'd like to keep it up.  Now, if only I could find a way to help my hands...

Month 1, Day 16

Very tired today.  This could be caused by my cycle (sorry guys) or something else.  But man, I am TIRED! Didn't want to get up today - draggin' my arse around.  Would gladly have stayed in bed for another 3 hours.  Yes, the time just changed, but even before that I was experiencing this.
Could be any number of things...

Now, for ladies only.  About menstruation...

I usually find that with a relatively healthy diet, non-stressful month, my cycles are fairly easy - last about 7 days, heavy, but no real emotional havoc done.  This month was about the same, but I haven't taken anything for the cramps (acetamenophyn aversion), and fatigue city!  Not complete yet, so I'm not sure about length.  I'm assuming it will be about the same as well.

Month 1, Day 9

Fatigue.

For the most part, I'm been fine.  But I've been noticing this low-grade fatigue over the last week.  I don't think it has anything to do with being lazy, sick or overworked.  I think it has to do with INH.

It's not exhausting me or making me keel over at the end of the day into a pile of bones.  It's just a feeling of lethargy.  Like I need to push a little harder to make things happen.  I need to psych myself up more to do active things. After last week's experience with the Lactic Acid, I realize that I don't want to have another episode of that.  What would be ideal is daily exercise to avoid anything dramatic.  But of course, that is difficult for me, since I'm out of shape.

So, work into it, they say...and so I must.  And most likely, the daily exercise will give me more energy!

On a different note, someone told me today that I look really healthy! I guess going from zero pills daily to 8 pills, better diet, lots of water and better nutrition daily says something, even if one of those pills are INH.  I think that when the body is clean, it makes it much, much simpler to process out toxins in the body.

Last night I made a Blueberry Banana Bread (Awesome Source) because I wanted something yummy.  It was absolutely delicious:

3 large over-ripe bananas
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup (80 ml) vanilla soymilk (or apple sauce)
1/2 cup (120 ml) agave nectar
2 cups (240 g) white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat flour) (Note: I used Brown Rice Flour instead of whole wheat to avoid gluten. 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (240 ml) blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or wipe a 9x5-inch loaf pan with oil (I used a silicon loaf pan).

Mix the soymilk with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and let stand until it curdles. (If using apple sauce, skip this step and add the lemon juice to the bananas.)
In a large bowl, mash the bananas and add the remaining lemon juice, soymilk, and agave nectar. Stir well to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, and stir just until the mixture is well-combined. Fold in the blueberries.
Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
Servings: 12