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Changing the Road I’m On

Oscar Foulkes October 10, 2024 Blood Pressure Interventions No comments

I started posting weekly reports on my blood pressure project largely to keep a record of the process. By making it public, I was also making myself accountable for any actions that may have seemed difficult in advance.

I should mention that the anticipation is almost always worse than actually doing the thing. Giving up coffee turned out to be a breeze. Being teetotal for half the week wasn’t an issue. Going out for a ride in the rain made me feel like a hero for taking on the elements. Interval sessions remain a boring prospect, but I never fail to feel great having done a set of ‘four by four’.

After 13 weekly summaries, the reports were turning into something that I couldn’t imagine being worth adding to the tally of words published on the internet. There seemed to be a whole lot of sameness, including explanations when I didn’t get close to BP targets. Post-match press conferences of losing teams spring to mind (but without the entertainment value). I’d far rather have been consistently, and without excuses, reporting progress. Hence the pause in reports.

Over the past three weeks since the last post, I carried on doing the work. I just didn’t broadcast it. The bottom line is that I’ve had incidences of sore throat, general out-of-kilter state, and one very social weekend, which have almost certainly contributed to my BP being elevated some of this time. To be fair, it’s been lower than before I started this project, but it’s been in hypertensive territory more often than is ideal.

This lack of consistency is somewhat like the golf I used to play. I was capable of parring most holes, but there was just not enough consistency with which I played each hole. Instead, on a good round I’d play to my 18 handicap. This may average at one-over per hole, but in practice could involve a few blow-outs.

Over the past four months I’ve had an occasional sense of progress – ladders – but there have also been blow-outs, those sneaky snakes that took me back a bunch of moves. Given the wide range of factors that affect BP, snakes seem to be in greater abundance than ladders.

Given this lack of consistency, I capitulated to the mainstream medical view that medication is necessary. Consequently, I made an appointment with my GP, expecting to stop at the pharmacy on my home to pick up my first prescription.

Instead, the measurement he did during the consultation had my BP under the threshold. Having had a look at the data I’ve collected, he suggested that we hold off on medication for now (his name should be Dr Murphy!).

I’ve seen some shocking golf shots end up contributing to surprisingly good outcomes. Similarly, the process I’ve gone through with this project has not been entirely straightforward. However, I’ve reached a place that’s better than where I started.

For now, my daily and weekly actions remain in place, with a follow-up assessment early next year. I remain open minded to the introduction of medication, should that be deemed necessary.

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on

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