Well. That was much better news than I'd hoped for.
Last November, after a good summer and fall, activity- and health-wise, my physical turned up high cholesterol, which surprised my doctor and stumped me. So I checked to see what might need modifying in my diet, not expecting much because even my doctor agrees my diet is good. To my regret, I found out my favorite blueberry scones had 40% of my RDA of cholesterol. (These are the scones at Starbucks, I'll mention for anyone else having trouble.) So, I cut those out, switched to lower-fat milk in my cappuccino, went back four months later... and it was still up.
I have lousy luck with medications, generally. I'm allergic to four families of antibiotics, and if someone's going to have a screwy reaction, I'm it. Benadryl does not put me to sleep; Sudafed does, even the version with caffeine in it. You get the idea. So my doctor and I did NOT want me on another med. (I'm on a muscle relaxer which seems to be the exception to this rule; it and good therapy are two of the main reasons my lupus is in remission and my fibro is sorta kinda vaguely under control.)
So in May I started walking in the park daily -- until the heat landed with a thump. In late June, I got serious and pulled out the walking DVDs and in August, I got a gym membership and set up my iPod cardio playlist again. For the last 11 weeks, I've been working out 3 days of every 4 on average and for at least 30 minutes if not 45-70. Mostly cardio (hiking, elliptical, walking DVDs, swimming) although I also take a ballet exercise class once a week that's as likely to have yoga, weights or Pilates.
I went back for a follow-up on Aug 19, told my doc what I was doing and discussed what meds I might have to go on if my bloodwork hadn't improved significantly, and the side-effects of those meds, how long I'd need to be on them, etc. I love my GP: he *talks* with me. And listens to me.
Today I got my blood work results -- and no scrip. My bad cholesterol is down 32; my overall cholesterol is down 42. I'm still at the relieved state, although there will probably be happy dancing later. Now I just have to keep it up, but hell, it's working: keeping it up will be easy, knowing that!
Short version: my cholesterol has improved so much I don't have to have meds for it, I just have to keep working it down farther. Thanks to:
tarshaan ,
alysswolf , and anaith for the encouragement; to
draconis for encouragement and being an exercise buddy so often; to
highlander_ii for recommending Adagio tea * (man, that's some good jasmine green!); and to
pat_t for recommending the walking DVDs.
* If you decide to order tea from Adagio, let me know and I can send you a $5 off coupon.
highlander_ii sent me one and it covered my S&H completely and still took a dollar off my order.
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I have lousy luck with medications, generally. I'm allergic to four families of antibiotics, and if someone's going to have a screwy reaction, I'm it. Benadryl does not put me to sleep; Sudafed does, even the version with caffeine in it. You get the idea. So my doctor and I did NOT want me on another med. (I'm on a muscle relaxer which seems to be the exception to this rule; it and good therapy are two of the main reasons my lupus is in remission and my fibro is sorta kinda vaguely under control.)
So in May I started walking in the park daily -- until the heat landed with a thump. In late June, I got serious and pulled out the walking DVDs and in August, I got a gym membership and set up my iPod cardio playlist again. For the last 11 weeks, I've been working out 3 days of every 4 on average and for at least 30 minutes if not 45-70. Mostly cardio (hiking, elliptical, walking DVDs, swimming) although I also take a ballet exercise class once a week that's as likely to have yoga, weights or Pilates.
I went back for a follow-up on Aug 19, told my doc what I was doing and discussed what meds I might have to go on if my bloodwork hadn't improved significantly, and the side-effects of those meds, how long I'd need to be on them, etc. I love my GP: he *talks* with me. And listens to me.
Today I got my blood work results -- and no scrip. My bad cholesterol is down 32; my overall cholesterol is down 42. I'm still at the relieved state, although there will probably be happy dancing later. Now I just have to keep it up, but hell, it's working: keeping it up will be easy, knowing that!
Short version: my cholesterol has improved so much I don't have to have meds for it, I just have to keep working it down farther. Thanks to:
tarshaan ,
alysswolf , and anaith for the encouragement; to
draconis for encouragement and being an exercise buddy so often; to
highlander_ii for recommending Adagio tea * (man, that's some good jasmine green!); and to
pat_t for recommending the walking DVDs.
* If you decide to order tea from Adagio, let me know and I can send you a $5 off coupon.
highlander_ii sent me one and it covered my S&H completely and still took a dollar off my order.
Original post on Dreamwidth | Leave a comment on DW | Read
comments on DW