Early Signs of RA?

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri May 04, 2012 8:54 pm

http://www.highbloodpressureinfo.org/no ... range.html

This chart used to be used to determine high blood pressure according to age. My avg blood pressure, according to this chart, should be 131/86, which is what it is, generally, give or take a few points. However, if I took my blood pressure chart into my PCP, I might be urged to go back on BP medicine again.

Coconut oil will raise HDL levels, they say, and it has worked for me better than exercise. At least, something raised my HDL, and the only thing different I was doing was eating a lot of coconut oil.

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Fri May 04, 2012 10:39 pm

Thank you for posting a link to the chart. It's very helpful and I've bookmarked it.

Gloria

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Fri May 04, 2012 11:07 pm

Welcome!

mzh · Post by **mzh** » Sat May 05, 2012 5:23 am

Marliss, that link and outgoing links in it gives me a tremendous amount of help with my non-bowel issues! Thank you, thank, THANK YOU!

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Sat May 05, 2012 5:31 am

Thanks Marliss. This motivated me to get out my blood pressure monitor and check. I only got one a few months ago because my doctor at my annual physical was worried about my blood pressure because it was "high". She wanted me to just stop in a few times in the next week or two to re-check it, thinking pills of course. Instead a bought a monitor and checked myself. It was lower at home. I stopped worrying. And today lower yet after a month or so of gf/df/sf/ef. I don't know whether or not there is a relationship but between the chart and my new low readings I feel no need to seek any treatment. The book I mentioned by Gilbert Welch talks about the dangers of overtreatment. He has a chapter on high blood pressure. I don't remember the details but his general message is that there is a danger to overtreatment that is often over-looked, with high blood pressure and other conditions as well. I constantly feel that my doctor, who I like, concerns herself with the peripheral things in my life while being of no help when dealing with the elephant in the room, my dysfunctional gastro-intestinal tract. To be fair, she tried to figure it out, sent me to a bunch of specialists, but when nothing significant was revealed decided that it wasn't going to kill me and learning to live with it was the best that could happen. I am so glad I found this place. I'd rather learn to live with a limited diet than learn to live with not being able to leave the house.

Jean

MBombardier · Post by **MBombardier** » Sat May 05, 2012 4:25 pm

Y'all are welcome!

Deanna in CO · Post by **Deanna in CO** » Sat May 05, 2012 5:54 pm

Marliss,

The only problem with that chart is that if my doctor used it, my blood pressure, which has always been around 100/65 or so, would be considered well below the minimum for my age!. (Not that I'm terribly worried about it - as Jean mentioned, my "dysfunctional gastro-intestinal tract" is of far more concern these days than my low blood pressure, which has rarely given me any trouble.)

Jean,

"I'd rather learn to live with a limited diet than learn to live with not being able to leave the house." - Amen!

Deanna

humbird753 · Post by **humbird753** » Wed May 09, 2012 1:18 pm

Tex, I totally agree with you (and believe it or not I understood it - lol)!

I have done some reading about lower cholesterol being an issue for some people with IBD's. Do you know what a person can do for that if it is an issue for them?

Paula

humbird753 · Post by **humbird753** » Wed May 09, 2012 1:26 pm

JFR wrote: I'd rather learn to live with a limited diet than learn to live with not being able to leave the house.

Paula

mzh · Post by **mzh** » Wed May 09, 2012 2:50 pm

It always amazes me that we can have organ transplants, send people to the moon, have space stations, have such mind-boggling technology at our finger tips but we have no one who can figure out why we have diarrhea if we eat one wrong, often unidentifiable, food!

Post by **tex** » Wed May 09, 2012 8:54 pm

Paula wrote:I have done some reading about lower cholesterol being an issue for some people with IBD's. Do you know what a person can do for that if it is an issue for them?

Well, the problem should be corrected as digestion improves and the intestines do some healing. Eating foods high in animal fats and using oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids should help, if you can tolerate them, but sometimes when MC is active we can't tolerate very much fat in the diet, unfortunately, because we can't digest if very well so we can't absorb it very well.

Tex

mzh · Post by **mzh** » Thu May 10, 2012 5:45 am

My husband as low cholesterol, low BP, low heart rate and no D. When he was younger and far more stressed he was cramping and had D just like we do. Now he tends towards constipation. He also has added a lot more fat to his diet so I guess he's handling it correctly. I'm also eating more fat and my cholesterol dropped 100 points! I don't know what to make of that. I'm probably handling the fat b/c of taking 3 mg Entocort daily or every other day. (I just can't seem to get off it even after several tries.) Any thoughts on these scenarios?

Post by **tex** » Thu May 10, 2012 9:54 am

Marcia wrote:Any thoughts on these scenarios?

Well, that seems to fit my theory. IMO budesonide doesn't actually improve digestion, (that is, fat digestion specifically), per se, but one would think that suppressing the inflammation would help digestion and absorption in the long run. Research verifies that corticosteroids suppress inflammation by suppressing the number of mast cells in the epithelia of the intestines, (despite the fact that doctors claim that no one knows how corticosteroids suppress inflammation). This suggests to me that they may not have a significant effect on T cells, and T cells may dominate the fat/fatty acids absorption issue.

Tex