The perils of an unhealthy lifestyle

Where do I begin? After more than a week of hiatus, I am back to blogging but I don't really know where to start. Now I understand how life it is living in the 40s. My experience made me realize that life could be very short if you live an unhealthy life. I always utter these words that I will die young, maybe 40 to 45. Realization came when I woke up one morning with shortness in breathing. I thought I was really seriously ill. I thought I will die earlier than my mother was. It put me into a severe panic attack.

Last Sunday morning, despite my condition, I managed to attend the baptismal of my friend Bed's baby and later in the afternoon for the premier screening of the movie of my friend Jing. I thought that shortness in my breathing was just a heartburn. But as the day went on, it became worst and I couldn't even move half of my body. The next morning, after that sleepless night, I couldn't bear the pain anymore and it even got harder for me because half part of my head was aching. I couldn't explain how painful it was. It was just so bad. I asked a friend to take me to the hospital for emergency treatment. We went straight to a cardiologist to seek an emergency treatment. I was given a pain reliever. Initially, I underwent an ECG test and the result was good. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. The doctor gave me some laboratory requests for complete blood chem, urinalysis and X-ray.

I was luckier because before even the storm like "Habagat" came, and that floody and rainy days over the week, I already had my complete medicine to manage my blood pressure. Goshling! HBP could've have killed me that day. For the whole week where Manila was drowned to a high flood, I was calmed because I had a maintenance for my blood pressure.

With all the results in my hand after a week, I went back to the doctor with all the laboratory results. The results were almost normal except for the bad cholesterol which I had much in my body while good cholesterol were only few. I was given a prescription for my HBP and bad cholesterol too. When my doctor checked my blood pressure, my left and right arms showed different results, extremely different with my left arm 120/80 and right with 160/100. Another request for a Doppler echo was given to locate the possible hardening of arteries and to check the condition of my blood vessel.

I realized that I risked my life of possibly having a stroke with the kind of lifestyle that I have. When I consulted a dietitian, I was given 4 months to reduce the 12 pounds excess from my body. I was advised to take 4 pounds every month with proper diet and physical activities. I need to take a lot of effort to detox my body and work hard to sweat it out for a healthier life. I am not yet obese, just a little overweight.

My diet now includes low fat, low salt and strictly no soda.