Making Some Health / Fitness Decisions

This past week not only did we bury Donna’s grandfather but I also had a friend from High School, who was about my same age, pass away from a massive heart attack.  This hit home for me and has had me really thinking a lot about my health the past few days.  In just 3 years I am going to hit 40, a number I used to think was old, but now realize it’s middle-aged and I do not wish to be a victim to deadly diseases like pancreatic cancer.

One of my goals going into 2009 was to lose weight and get into shape.  I assume responsibility for most of the reasons why I haven’t been able to achieve this goal. There have also been a few unforeseeable obstacles thrown my way that have hindered my plans as well.

Low Testosterone (T) Levels

One of these obstacles was the discovery that I have low T levels, this is something that is hereditary for men in my family and for the most part it can be treated easily.  The monkey wrench for me though was that the normal course of treatment for low T levels, Testim gel, has adverse side effects if you are trying to have children.  It all but zaps your sperm count, I know, that doesn’t sound right, but my endocrinologist recently confirmed this to me (after we had spent several months trying to get pregnant not knowing this).

To address the low T levels my endocrinologist prescribed HCG injections.  If you are unfamiliar with HCG, it’s basically the hormone that is produced by pregnant women, it also works to stimulate men into making more testosterone naturally.  The downside of going to HCG was that it took a while for it to get into my system, approximately 2 or 3 cycles before I could tell it was working.

In case you are wondering, when your T levels are low, you barely feel like getting out of bed in the mornings, much less exercise.  By using the HCG, we have finally been able to get to a place where I am feeling better.  My last lab work also confirmed that my T levels are getting back up to where they should be. By far, low T levels have been my biggest obstacle so far this year toward getting into shape.

High Blood Pressure

A few weeks ago while I was having a routine checkup with my doctor he informed me that I had hypertension, or high blood pressure.  I also have an abnormally high pulse rate as well.  This was pretty frustrating for me because up until this point I had never had high blood pressure.

I have always said that I was not going to grow old gracefully, and that’s probably right.  When I see grey hairs starting to come through in my hair, I immediately schedule a haircut.  I don’t know why this is but I just don’t ever want to see myself as old I guess.

To treat the high blood pressure, my doctor prescribed Lisonopril.  I was taking it for a few weeks and checking my blood pressure daily, only to find that it wasn’t bringing my pressure down.  I would routinely register 178/114 and my pulse rate is always about 120.   I have been using an iPhone app to track my pressure so I called the doctors office and let them know that it was still high and gave them my readings.  My doctor called back that same afternoon and instructed me to double down on my blood pressure meds.  So far I haven’t seen a noticeable change other than my top number is a little lower.  I go back in a week or two to see him again for a follow up, hopefully then we can look at some alternatives to getting my pressure down.

Diet and Exercise

Prior to moving to Conway, I had a pretty regular routine where I would get up in the mornings and jog about 3 miles each morning.  Of course some mornings I would skip, but for the most part I was conditioned to where I could jog 3 miles with ease.  Fast forward 4 years down the road, I am married and lazy! I can’t possibly run one mile right now and am scared to even try given the fact that my blood pressure is so high.

I am not giving up though, I am going to talk to my doctor at this next checkup and see what we can try to lower my pressure and I am going to talk to him about my diet and exercise.  When I was single I was able to keep the weight off by eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet and exercising.  Getting married has changed all of that though, in fact, the longest I have been able to get back on this diet and stay on it has been for like 3 weeks.  I have got to get motivated though and stick to my game plan.  My body has always responded well to this type of diet and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work for me again if I can just stay on track.

Once my blood pressure is back to normal, which I am hoping will be in a few weeks through treatment, I plan on getting back into shape by doing a combination of running and walking through my neighborhood.  This is going to take the most dedication I think, I am going to have to make myself get up in the mornings and push myself to get back into shape.  I will be starting from scratch so hopefully even the modest improvements will keep me motivated and not frustrated.