It has been almost a year since I seriously embarked on a weight loss journey, and as I chronicled here in this blog, the main motivation for this was not necessarily to look better, but to be able to be a healthier me. If you were with me in the beginning, you would have known that the major catalyst for this decision was a sudden heart attack to which a dear colleague of mine succumbed to. That was a serious wake up call for me. Also, given my history of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and the fact that we have a family history of hypertension (my mother being one of those with the condition), I realized that I really have to make changes in my lifestyle so as to avoid developing the condition myself.

Recently I had the chance to talk more seriously to mom about her hypertension and what she does to manage her condition. This came after she talked to me about how glad she is I am finally making strides in my diet. She explained that given our family history and other risk factors, she was glad I was not going to go down that path anytime soon.

My mother is 54 years old but she was diagnosed with hypertension in her late thirties after giving birth to  my youngest brother. Prior to that, her pregnancies with me, my sister and our other brother were essentially normal. Throughout her adult life, she also never had problems with her blood pressure, cholesterol or anything like that. However, during her first postnatal visit to the OB/GYN, they found out that her blood pressure was at 200/180 and was told she could have a stroke at any moment. The doctor immediately sent her to a cardiologist who gave her a nitro pill under the tongue (she doesn’t remember what it was called though ) and prescribed her ADALAT GITS. Adalat Gits (nifetidine), according to MIMS Philippines, “belongs to the class of dihydropyridine derivative selective calcium-channel blockers with mainly vascular effects. Used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases”.

When trying to trace the cause of her hypertension, mainly because it came on so suddenly, the doctor said that one major cause of the hypertension was her lifestyle and diet. At that time, a typical day for would be filled with countless sticks of cigarettes, irregular meal times that was mostly composed of high salt and fatty foods (one of her favorites was bagoong or shrimp paste), and poor sleeping habits (she often slept at 2-3 in the morning for example). Also, she admits that during that time, she had used drugs and similar substances on and off.

After that scare, she became more aware of her diet. For one, she lessened her intake of bagoong. She also decreased her intake of fatty and processed food. However, she did not eliminate it completely. It took her some time to stop smoking, and to be honest, until now she is quite dependent on cigarettes. However, she has been successful on giving up the other substances that she used to be dependent on. Initially, she was taking the ADALAT GITS on a daily basis. She also began taking Reliv, a diet supplement. However, after about a year, her blood pressure stabilized and so she did not need the medicines anymore. Her doctor told her to monitor her blood pressure and to continue her diet and lifestyle changes. She was told, also, to just take the medication if her blood pressure went over 100.

Although she is no longer taking any medication, herbal or synthetic (meaning diet supplements or regular medication), she recently underwent CHELATION TREATMENTS. Chelation therapy is traditionally used to remove heavy metals from the body but is also commonly used as alternative treatments for heart disease. A word of caution though, although popularly used, as far as present studies go, there are no approved medical research has found any benefits to chelation therapy for other diseases or ailments (as stated in Wikipedia J)

Though this was not really meant for her hypertension (she started it in order to target her smoker’s cough), she says it has made a big difference. As she put it, this has helped improve her blood chemistry and circulation. According to her, she used to have to take the adalat gits about 3-4 times in a month, but after the chelation treatments she underwent last August, she has not needed a single one, even during the Christmas season where we had so much lechon, roast beef and similar dishes in celebration.

One reason she tried the these treatments was because she recognized that all the chemical substances, even if it is a “prescribed medication” is not very kind to the liver. She says that taking herbal diet supplements that are all-natural are better alternatives because it does not damage the liver the way synthetic medication does. Further, she longs to live a longer and fuller life that is not dependent on medication so she really works hard at maintaining a healthier lifestyle.

She admits, however, that there are still improvements that she can do in her daily lifestyle. For now, her typical day is still not very “healthy” as she still has irregular sleeping habits and she still smokes. Typically, she sleeps anywhere between 4-7 am before getting up at about 9:30-10 to get to work. Being a freelance businesswoman, she does not have to go to the office or what not so her time is more flexible. The day is usually devoted to running errands when they need to be done and then she heads off to fetch my brothers at school at around 5pm. Then she goes home and rests a bit and just does things that entertain or keep her busy. However, she points out that a big, big change in her lifestyle is being able to cut down her cigarette intake from about 3-4 packs a day to about one pack nowadays.

One thing she never did (or does actually) is become a proactive patient. Although she is a compliant patient, she never made the effort to do research about how to treat her condition or about her medication. If ever, which is quite rare in fact, she would ask me to Google the name of her medication just to read what it is, but thats about it. When asked what she suggests people with hypertension should do to manage their condition, she answered “eat the proper food, don’t smoke, and learn how to deal with the everyday stresses of life. Learn to ignore the people who agitate you and more importantly, let God into your life”.

Being witness to her hypertension, what I have observed with my mother is that she is less tense and she spends less time complaining about being dizzy and icky all the time. I guess the active steps she has taken to effectively manage her condition have really made a big difference in her life and this allows her to be more active even as she has gotten older. In fact, though her chronological age may have increased, in my opinion she seems “younger”  now than about a year and a half ago. Her skin is better for one, her face is less sunken and sallow, and now, she is able to be more active and pleasant in many, many ways. Although she is not “cured” of hypertension, she now lives a fuller and happier life This is a goal I too want to keep as I continue my weight loss journey.