Well, why do I have to be the weird one??! Every piece of literature I've read about this diet and other VLCD's says that losing weight will normally bring blood pressure down and often quite rapidly. Not in my case. Mine has gone up so now I have high blood pressure. Great! Actually I've been quite upset about it but now have put it into perspective and realised that it's not the end of the world and that it's not going to stop me finishing this diet.
I went to the doctor this morning to get my results from the 24 hour monitor. The doctor was also baffled by the increase despite the fact that I've lost weight. He wasn't very proactive though and almost said I should off the diet (at which point I started crying - yikes!). Anyway, he backed off when he realised what it meant to me and batted it back to Lighter Life. He said he wanted to start treating me but that I should check with LL whether there was a causal link first as, if there is, I should come off the diet rather than be treated.
So, I spent the rest of the morning checking it out on the internet and ringing various bodies including the British Dietetics, British Blood Pressure Organisation and Lighter Life itself. The consensus seems to be that there is no causal link. No-one had ever heard of VCLD's causing an increase in BP so they concluded that it must be another reason. Possibly, I have always had hypertension tht only manifests itself at certain times??
LL said that they were happy for me to continue on the diet and that I should explore treatment with my doctor and keep them informed. The BP Organisation nurse (who was unbelievably helpful and pleasant) gave me a list of things to talk about with the doc so I'm going in armed for my next appointment. After all that I felt a bit drained but at least happy that my LL journey is not coming to a premature end.
I was "working from home" yesterday but, as you can probably tell, didn't do much so think I had take a few flexy hours when I fill my time sheet in on Tuesday!
On the plus side, my brother and his family arrived again for the night as they were flying off to Canada this morning from Manchester airport. We had another good evening. They had a chinese takeaway as Lachlan was desperate to have Crispy Duck (which he remembered from his last visit 4 years ago when he was 6!). After eating D and Graham and I went out to the pub and we had a good long chat, culminating in G and I chatting over a whiskey (his not mine!) about life, love and family. It was brilliant to re-connect with him. I know he's not the perfect brother I used to think he was when I was a kid but he's the only one I've got and I love him. We talked really openly about Mum and her mental deterioration, Hilary and her manic family, ourselves, Hadi, Diarmuid, having children, him possibly adopting another child. The lot. He probably doesn't remember much as he'd had a few but I do and I treasure it. I'm looking forward to seeing them all again in June - miles slimmer too!
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Hi Lesley- just to say thank you so much for writing this blog which I found shortly after I began Lighter Life just last week- official first week loss is 9.5lbs for me! reading your blog kept the hunger pangs away in the first few days and now I seem to be in control of hunger for the first time in my life. You inspired me to start my own blog which you can find at http://welcomelighterlife.blogspot.com/
I also wanted to say that I have experienced what you are experiencing- my blood pressure goes up as my weight goes down! My doctor has said this is unheard of too. I have a theory though (which I discussed with a fellow LL dieter)- I think if people carry a lot of weight then very suddenly go into ketosis it is a big shock to the system- and our bodies have lost our back up reserves of glycogen. So I wonder if our blood pressure thing might be a survival or panic instinct albeit a rare one? i think this because I experienced exactly the same on Atkins (lost 4 stone on that) which also makes you go into ketosis. My blood pressure went pretty high during the first couple of months, but calmed down again after that. Don't know if this will help you, but try not to worry about it and remember everythign you are doing is leading you to improved health- imagine that fat dropping away from your vessels and arteries, imagine your heart breaking free of it all. With all the exercise you do, you must be healthy person- keep on keeping on!
Kathy
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