Day 27

Theoretically it's Day 27 of 50, but I may have to change the end date for the project since I took such a long time off.

I was antsy to go do something today, so I started to go for a walk again for the first time since I last blogged here. I only went a short distance though--maybe 6 or 8 blocks. It wasn't because I wanted to work back up slowly, but because my iPod wasn't charged! The iPod really helps me get moving & stay moving, & I didn't have the motivation without it so I came home early. But at least I got moving again, to some extent.

My blood pressure finally got back to a decent range on the meds, but without another refill, I'm not sure what to do. My diastolic number continued to stay fairly high up, and today, after another 2 days off the meds again, it's all creeping back up. It would be nice if walking alone would lower it & keep it in check, but that didn't work last time. Here's hoping that someday soon I get insurance again!

30 Days Left...

This ticker represents part of what inspired me to start this project:



And this one represents the date the project is supposed to end:



I picked the date I met my husband, June 11, as the date to end the official No Potato Project simply because it was a date I could easily remember (we celebrate it ever year), which happened to be around 50 days from the time I thought of the project.

But now that I haven't walked in days because of my skyrocketing blood pressure, I'm not sure what to think. Not sure whether to extend it or postpone it or cancel it or what. They do say walking and aerobic exercise are the best thing you can do for your blood pressure, but I wanted to get it at least slightly under control before continuing, lest I drop dead of a heart attack while walking! I've been on the meds for nearly a week now, and my blood pressure was still 148/112 a few minutes ago.

Day 15

The project is on hold... I took my blood pressure on a whim last night and found out it's in the severely high range. In the past, I always had low blood pressure. Even during this last pregnancy, it was in the normal range, but a week after I delivered, I developed late-onset pre-eclampsia with very high blood pressure. I was hospitalized for 2 nights, and after I got out I remained on blood pressure medication for about a month. I weaned off the medication and my blood pressure still seemed to be stable (still slightly elevated at times, but not scary high, and sometimes normal or lowish). After my last check-up, I stopped checking my blood pressure. That was 2 months ago.

So, last night I was curious when I noticed my blood pressure monitor sitting there, and took a reading...it was 178/109! I panicked so much that the next reading a few minutes later was even higher--188/118! That's higher than it was when I was admitted to the hospital. After I rested a few minutes, it went down to 151/93. Today it's in the 160s/90s. I really have no idea what to do. This far after pregnancy, it should not be related to the pregnancy or pre-eclampsia. Getting exercise is supposed to help, and I've had much more exercise lately than normal! And I don't even have a regular doctor and our insurance just lapsed. I do have a 14-day refill remaining on my blood pressure meds, so I'm getting that filled today, and then I don't know what to do. I'm really dizzy & have vertigo...so I'm trying to just rest today & not push myself. But I'm nervous. It's weird that I even checked last night, and I don't know how long it's been that way! (My husband also checked his so we could make sure the monitor wasn't just acting screwy, but his was quite a bit lower than mine whenever he checked.)

Day 14

Again I didn't want to walk, but did. I thought I'd go on a shorter walk this time, so I took off on a different route than I've walked before, but I ended up completing most of my normal route after that anyway. This time I walked about 40 minutes, probably around twice as far as usual. (Of course, then I walked back in the house & immediately grabbed some bread & a soda, immediately ingesting more calories than I probably just burned off!)

Day 13

Today I got past a major hurdle--starting up again after taking 2 days off. We were really busy Wednesday & Thursday, which translated into no walking or exercising. And I really, really didn't feel like doing it today, either, but I knew if too many days went by, that would be the end of that. So, even not feeling up to it, I took a walk around my usual course, similar to the route I walked my first day out. I didn't take any extra detours as I often do, because I never felt any extra energy or motivation kicking in, but hey, at least I went!

Day 10

It's a good thing I'm blogging about this and decided to tell everyone, because otherwise I might have skipped out on it today. I didn't feel like walking today, probably because it's really humid outside, and I'm feeling kind of low anyway. But I went, though this time it wasn't a great escape because I was thinking hard the whole time! Anyway, add another 1+ mile to the tally.