Reasons I tweak*

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
User avatar
Gilgamesh
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 1711
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 11:31 am
Location: Northeast US mostly
Contact:

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by Gilgamesh »

marthaNH wrote:Also -- Gilgamesh, if you see this [...]
Martha, I'm seeing everything, but swamped for a couple days, and, more importantly, want to think more before replying about a lot of things. One thing now: thank you for posting the results of your experiments! And I know what you mean about the sore fingers.
marthaNH wrote:I'm taking such a small dose of such a widely-prescribed and considered safe drug (enalapril) that I'm actually thinking of increasing my dose a tad (to 3.75 mg a day from 2.5) to see if I can keep systolic under 100 all the time. Why not? I went through some chaos when I probably did myself some damage. I can't undo it, but maybe lower will be better.

That's a serious "why not?" by the way. If anybody thinks "not!" feel free to share!
Without time to go through my still badly organized notes, and relying on my swiss cheese memory, two things come to mind: 1) I've seen some studies that suggested that lowered BP via meds -- even more so than lowered "naturally"!! -- is correlated with better cognitive outcomes. But -- important -- double-check quality of studies. 2) Some studies indicate really low BP is correlated with worse outcomes in older age. But check A) cut-off for "really low", B) cut-off for "older age", and C) possibility of entirely non-causal relation.

And check whether enalapril was used in studies mentioned in my #1.

All the above by way of trying to offer something useful towards an answer to the non-rhetorical "why not?" question (though concluding tentatively: can't think of any reason -- on the contrary!). The matter is relevant to me, as well (mostly because of others in my family, though if I go further off CR...).

Back to work,
GB
marthaNH
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:47 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by marthaNH »

Thank you for reply and suggestions, Gilgamesh! I started the new drug regimen and appreciate your thoughts. I have to go think about work myself this holiday weekend (launching a class on Tuesday). No hurry.
User avatar
Stavia
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 5255
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:47 pm
Location: Middle Earth

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by Stavia »

Martha honey be careful. Too low a systolic BP in older people is associated with increased all cause mortality.
Gs questions: cut off for older is 65. Cut off for too low is 100.
It is definitely causal when renal perfusion is lowered below a critical threshold. We need enough physical pressure to get the blood thru the tiny tubes of the kidneys. It may be non causal in other cases.
But we never run people that low on meds. The lowest we feel safe is 100 in a tiny person. Even if they are younger than 65. You may be compromising your renal perfusion.
marthaNH
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:47 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by marthaNH »

And thank you, Stavia. I am going to keep a close eye on this.
marthaNH
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:47 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by marthaNH »

Since blood pressure is in the news and we were just talking about it, thought some might find this "Heart Age" calculator useful.

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/cardiovas ... rtage.html

And regarding glucose management, which we've also been talking about here, I found that my one most convenient convenience food, canned beans, are not just a *little* higher up on the glycemic index, but rather quite a bit higher. And so if one wants to keep eating legumes, soaking and cooking them at home may be worth it. I don't have the article handy, but the index number went from something like 41 to 70+. Kind of a big deal if you're having trouble keeping a lid on things already.

And just in general, I think I learned at the front door that this site, forum, and group were formed because its members had already learned that we didn't have any way to get good advice about prevention based on big clinical trials, peer review, and all that. There is almost nothing on offer. So my approach is to do whatever I can to put myself in the best overall health possible, and just roll the dice (while making thoughtful, fairly conservative bets) on all the work-in-progress research on prevention that is out there. I know that there won't be a whole lot to choose from and that most of my bets are unlikely to pay off in any game-changing way. I don't feel like I have a whole lot to lose. I follow what I feel comfortable with and trust the people that strike me as likely to be trustworthy. That doesn't mean I feel sure that they are right, and if an optimistic program for prevention turns out not to work, I won't call anyone a fraud without evidence of intentional misrepresentation.

That last bit is not in response to anything or anyone in particular. I just read the new material day to day and on this I don't feel like arguing with anybody, just clarifying the reasons I tweak. :) If there's anyone brand new reading this, maybe that will keep them from taking what I have to say too seriously.
User avatar
Julie G
Mod
Mod
Posts: 9187
Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:36 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by Julie G »

Beautifully said, Martha. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Re. legumes, as much as it pains me, I've decided that they're just not worth it for me. I was occasionally eating chick peas/hummus and feeling awful each time. Others may feel great after eating them, but not me :?
marthaNH
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:47 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by marthaNH »

You know, Julie, I am just uncommonly lucky in the food tolerance department. I'm reminded of it nearly every time I come on the site. My doctor confirmed last year that I have what looks like a very healthy set of intestines, and I am grateful. If switching to home-cooked beans doesn't make them behave a lot better in the blood sugar department, though, they're hitting the bricks no matter how much I like them.
marthaNH
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:47 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by marthaNH »

Like a lot of people on here, I have stopped eating a whole lot in the way of starchy foods. But I find it inconvenient to put pasta completely off limits. I just get bored sometimes with the restrictions, and noodles are so versatile and easy to dress up. So I thought I would share this. My sister told me about "organic edamame spaghetti" at Costco. I thought it was going to be awful, but it's not. I enjoy it, in the same way that four or five years after I stopped drinking beer I found that I enjoyed some of the non-alcoholic beers. It can't stand up to a side by side, unadorned comparison with the real deal, but it has a lot of fiber, modest "net carbs" -- something like 11 grams for a 200 calorie serving -- and a lot of protein with very little methionine. So it helps me hit some targets and stay out of trouble with others. And it gives me some variety and lets me be a little bit lazy.

For what that's worth. I do enjoy it. Just don't want to oversell it to people who've been eating really good regular pasta, because it is definitely not the same food.
marthaNH
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 554
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:47 pm

Re: Reasons I tweak* -- focusing on stress

Post by marthaNH »

I have been stopping in on an irregular schedule since September or October or somewhere in there, because my work commitments were a little out of control. I was trying to get a new online course launched for one of my two employers, and there was a whole lot of up-front work involved. I was also revamping most of my courses, just trying to improve various aspects. My quality of life suffered. I couldn't shop or cook the way I liked, it was hard to find time for my walks and workouts, stress levels went up and quality of sleep went down. Leisure and social time dwindled to near nothing. I had a series of problem-student crises -- two with mental health issues, another one aggressive and hostile, the usual cat-herding issues that come with trying to get people to follow instructions and meet deadlines.

Then I found that my department had dropped the ball -- registration for spring came and went without my course listed, even though I had a whole stack of email confirming it. It was just a screwup, one of a series that has turned a steady part-time gig into an unpredictable situation. I broke out in hives for the first time since my mother neared death almost twenty years ago.

So the short version is, I walked away from the bad job, am going to try to do a better, calmer, job at the one that remains (which is the one that pays my health insurance), and find a way (or ways) to replace maybe half of the income. I'm starting to actually plan for retirement, which feels weird, but good. I don't want to stop working, but I sure don't want to keep living like I have been. I need to get some financial advice and get serious about planning for the next 25 or 30 years. I'm 60. I'm not well-off, never have been, but I do have some resources. I just hadn't planned to tap into them yet.

So I'm going to try to make the most of the opportunity by really focusing on understanding the physical and mental signs of stress and the best strategies for peaceful living. I also need to think more carefully about expenditures. But I feel kind of good about it. At one point during the semester, I got out of bed (I had taken work to bed with me) and stuck a note on my bulletin board vowing that the next five years from that point -- it was 10:54 pm on October 21st -- were going to be the happiest of my life. When push came to shove, I realized that I had to walk away from an unsustainable work situation to have a prayer of pulling that off. So here we go.
circular
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 5565
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Reasons I tweak*

Post by circular »

Congratulations MarthaNH! Maybe it will be the old image of stepping off a cliff turning out to be more like stepping off a curb :-) Lowering stress should help you see your way forward more clearly. Namaste
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
Post Reply