Weight; Frustrations, Gripes, Complaints and Negativity

Della

Della

Well-known Member
Location
Ohio
Went to the doctor last week for my annual blood tests and script renewals. An excruciatingly painful blood pressure cuff revealed that my blood pressure, usually around 140 was now 207. The nurse said it was probably higher but she had to stop because I was begging her to. Heh. I had tried three BP medications for that the year before and none of them had worked so doc and I had given up on it.

So I came home determined to lose weight. I read that losing weight can reduce blood pressure by as much as 47 percent!

I started eating 1200 calories a day and fasting from 6pm to 11am.

In four days I had lost two pounds. Probably only water, but still very encouraging.

Then my new blood pressure pills came in the mail. Metoprolol a beta-blocker. I've taken it for two days and already gained one pound while still on the diet. According to GoodRX they almost always cause weight gain and make it nearly impossible to lose weight.

So I have a condition caused by excess weight and I'm taking a pill for it that causes weight gain.o_O

[I'm starting this seperate thread for venting our complaints so as not to discourage the dieters who are on a good positive path. I've been following Kate's Accountability/Support thread and my congratulations to all those who are doing so well!]
 

Della said:
[I'm starting this seperate thread for venting our complaints so as not to discourage the dieters who are on a good positive path. I've been following Kate's Accountability/Support thread and my congratulations to all those who are doing so well!]
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Ah, I just found your post, @Della . Whether or not you wish to join the support group, I will be following your journey. You can do this! My big complaint at this time is how even after doing great for days in a row, the blasted number on "the torture device" goes up. UP! I recently read that even hot weather can add a pound or two from retention and I think that stinks to high heaven. :mad: You got this, Della!
 
Weight loss is very frustrating and so many competing schools of thought on how to lose weight make it even more frustrating!

Medications for conditions caused by weight gain prevent weight loss? Yup I can see why you're frustrated. Keep researching and you'll find the answers for you and your body.
 

Thanks @CallMeKate and @PeppermintPatty for inviting my grouchy self to your accountability thread, but I'm purposely staying away from it due to my current attitude which is one of throwing in the towel.

I first gained my extra 60 pounds the year I quit smoking and I've since lost and regained that 60lbs at least five times. You know what they say about people who keep trying the same thing and expecting different results.

I may try again in a few months after my body has adjusted to the new blood pressure pills, but right now I just can't stay on the plan and watch that guaranteed five pound gain happen. I'm already experiencing the expected fatigue. I'm not usually this tired this early in the day. Beta-blockers work by slowing down the heart rate which means a slower metabolism and less benefit from aerobic activity.

Still my doctor seemed to think the 207 blood pressure is the big concern, so I'll just think about that for now.

Wishing you guys all the luck!
 
Della said:
my doctor seemed to think the 207 blood pressure is the big concern, so I'll just think about that for now.
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I think it is, blood pressure can be weight and fitness related, but not always. Getting your blood pressure down is important.
Della said:
I first gained my extra 60 pounds the year I quit smoking and I've since lost and regained that 60lbs at least five times. You know what they say about people who keep trying the same thing and expecting different results.
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Been there, done that, just that mine has been more the 100 lbs. Right now I am down ~160 from peak, and still would like to lose a bit more.
Della said:
I may try again in a few months after my body has adjusted to the new blood pressure pills, but right now I just can't stay on the plan and watch that guaranteed five pound gain happen. I'm already experiencing the expected fatigue. I'm not usually this tired this early in the day. Beta-blockers work by slowing down the heart rate which means a slower metabolism and less benefit from aerobic activity.
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Maybe a better goal for you in the shorter term is just not to gain more weight. That's not a bad goal. For me not bingeing and eating reasonably well is more important than losing weight. Not that I don't want to lose some, I do.
Della said:
Thanks @CallMeKate and @PeppermintPatty for inviting my grouchy self to your accountability thread, but I'm purposely staying away from it due to my current attitude which is one of throwing in the towel.
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I don't see you throwing in the towel, your posts and this thread suggest otherwise. I wish you luck in whatever you end up doing, and now that I know this thread is here I may check in from time to time. You should post wherever it makes sense for you to post.
 
Try not to get too discouraged Della. It’s understandable that you’d feel like throwing in the towel when you gain weight after trying so hard.

My first reaction was to write to you here but I wrote to you in the “weight loss ‘accountability’” thread in hopes that you’d get some additional support. I’m sorry. That was my mistake.

You have additional challenges with your weight loss but I still think it’s doable and losing 2 pounds one day and gaining back a pound the next is what most of us go through. Weight loss fluctuates. It always has and always will and it’s the same for everyone.

About you being grouchy! You aren’t the only grouchy one here, trust me. We are post menopausal women, with depleted estrogen, going through all kinds of hormonal challenges. Many of us get grouchy. It seems to be part of the package.

If your doctor is concerned about your blood pressure, then that should be your number one concern. If cutting down on calories is stressing you out, which it seems to be doing, I think putting it off is a good idea for right now. Adding additional stress isn’t going to help your blood pressure any.

I’m really sorry you’re going through this Della. I truly can empathize with your situation. Keep well and listen to your doctor.
 
Shoot in June my doctor expressed concern at my having BP over 130 a couple of times a year on visits. Tho i've had low BP most of my life. So i started taking it at home a minimum of 1 time a day most every day since then. The few weeks i took 2-3 X daily, noting time of day and activity level and emotional state just before taking. Then the wrist cuff unit i had died (not just battery--it was several years old and was 'caput'. So i got one with cuff that goes on upped arm and there was 10 day gap till new one arrived. The new one will actually tell me if cuff too tight or lose for accuracy and i finally found the sweet spot for 'just right' --lucked out and it was at a seam, so i didn't have to try to mark it somehow.

For another couple of weeks i tracked it 2-3X daily after various levels of activity and in different emotional states. The highest it got was 141/95 on a day when i'd been very active then got a phone call that the one sister i have left had just gotten out of hospital. She's always something of 'flibbertygibbet' so it was almost a relief when she had one of her DILs get on phone to give me details. But a week later in an email she seemed to have forgotten they had to remove a section of bowel due to a 'mass' (later learned to be benign) and obstruction. As annoying as she can be (we do better at a long distance) throughout our lives we had the most interests and values in common.

Since then the Systolic has been136 twice and 131 one time out of dozens of readings. Most the Systolic is between 120 & 130 and Diastolic between 65 and 80. Tho both readings are often below the bottom number of 'normal range. Yet in the early mornings when it is more often something like 117/45-65 and sometimes lower is when i have the most energy and get the most done, without feeling exhausted afterwards. And i'm sure the higher than normal temps we've had this July had a part in the few higher than 'normal' readings we've had as they were always PM readings after taking daughter to work and going to store.

i kept written records, and when i see doc on Thursday this week if the reading is high i will refuse medication and show her. With my readings so frequently in the normal and below normal range don't think it would be a good idea to take meds to lower it further. Also want to ask what she knows about 'Pulse Pressure'. That number obtained by subtracting Diastolic from Systolic # and what i've read says it should always be a minimum of 25% of the Systolic reading. i'd never heard of it till i was confirming what i knew about 'normal' BP readings and a hospital site mentioned it.

Thing is different doctors focus on different indicators. You can see this clearly if you check different Hospital sites (John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic) and look at different YT videos by different doctors, which i did trying to understand why i feel so good in the mornings but my BP often so far below 'normal'. When it comes YT you have to pay attention to the source--is the doctor one who specializes in a field you're trying to learn about? i'll take the advice of cardiologist over a chiropractor on BP even tho i've had some beneficial treatments from chiropractors. The same way when i had a sudden onset of sleep issues and migraines i went to neurologists instead of piddling around with a male GP that wanted to 'wait and see' when i told him my symptoms had rapidly escalated.

Bottomline we have a right to manage our own bodies, but also the responsibility to learn not only what the 'experts' consider 'normal' or 'acceptable' but what is normal for us.
 
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Thank you for that, Feywon! I was hoping someone who knows a few things about blood pressure would share, the way you just did. I fluttered around the 140 mark for years and didn't worry about it. Why it's so much worse this year, I don't know.

I can't be having a stroke! I still have my son to take care of.
 
Had my regular 3 month visit to GP yesterday. (They do blood draws to monitor Cholesterol and Thyroid levels).
As i said in comment #7 i've been monitoring BP since last visit when she had concern about my BP there. i've discovered that my two main triggers for spiking BP are rushing and emotional upsets. Physical activity doesn't as long as not rushing.

When i showed her the chart i have of readings from different times and after different levels of activity that showed spikes were very rare and situationally effected, she agreed i was fine and i should just watch that i don't stay above 130 Systolic for days on end.

i'm on a statin for my cholesterol but i've also been watching my intake. We laughed about the fact that it has taken me 2 years to ask about what level of alcohol consumption is ok since the literature for my med warns against it.

i actually so rarely want a drink that i kept forgetting to get her input on it. But my 1 or two dark beers per summer month, and occasional shot of rum or brandy in tea or coffee during winter are acceptable.
 
I have been taking a beta-blocker also, @Della , and after reading your OP, I wondered if maybe that is part of the reason that I have to work so hard to lose even a little weight.
I looked online and other people were saying the same thing,
Tuesday, I had an appointment with my doctor to start me on an SGLT2 inhibitor , which is supposed to help with my heart and kidney failure. He said it also helps to lower blood pressure, and so does the Entresto that the cardiologist put me on for the heart failure; and that I needed to make sure that my BP does not go too low.

I asked him if I could lower my dose of carvedilol, since the other two are already helping with blood pressure (and mine is not a problem anyway, it is mainly for the heart failure), and he said to cut the dose in half.
I did that, and started taking the new SGLT2 inhibitor, and it seems to be helping me already.
I have been losing and gaining the same two pounds over and over for the last month, and I am hoping that this time maybe I will actually keep losing weight and not bloating up and gaining it back each time.
 
Della said:
Then my new blood pressure pills came in the mail. Metoprolol a beta-blocker. I've taken it for two days and already gained one pound while still on the diet. According to GoodRX they almost always cause weight gain and make it nearly impossible to lose weight.
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I have been on Metoprolol since June of 2012 and find it impossible to lose weight and I only take 25 mg a day. How much are you taking, if I may ask?
 
Hi, Oslooskar! I'm taking 50mg Metoprolol plus 20mg Olmesartan. I've gained a few more pounds but I'm no longer making any effort to lose either. Blood pressure still jumping up and down, 180 one day, 140 the next. I'm almost hoping these won't work so he'll take me off them.

I honestly think if I could stop all my medications and stick to a low calorie diet, my blood pressure would finally go down.
 
I have my own challenges and little advice to offer.

I'm on medication for high blood pressure myself. So far things do seem to be working and I've even lost 10 pounds over the past 2 months. I'll have to see how this pans out from here. Rebounds are pretty familiar.

I don't have answers for you, so I'll have to settle for sending you good wishes.
 
@Della
At least you got blood pressure medicine. All I got was diuretics. And not even the one I know I can take. He gave me two and they were dehydrating the daylights outta me and making my asthma worse.

I would love to lose weight but with the asthma/COPD and my very physically demanding job, and my age, I don't have any energy left to exercise. I am already suffering from chronic fatigue. If I start trying to exercise I'm concerned I will keel over from exhaustion.

Plus my A1C is high and he gives me meds that raise my blood sugar. *SMH* I don't understand these doctors sometimes. I too feel like giving up.
 
@MarciKS
For goodness sake! Do you and your doctor talk? It's harder for them to give time, I know, but you are in a dangerous situation with your health. Tell him, for example the meds raise your blood sugar!

Re: weight. You are diabetic. Can he give you Ozempic?
 
Della said:
I honestly think if I could stop all my medications and stick to a low calorie diet, my blood pressure would finally go down.
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Have you tried going on a very low sodium diet? Also, what about Dr. Walter Kempner's time tested and proven, fruit and rice diet? In my own case, I was put on Metoprolol because my heart was beating too fast and I was, and may still be, in A-Fib. My blood pressure has never been high except when I have it taken in hospitals. In fact, a moment ago it was 118/75. My heart problem came about most likely from too much exercise when I was in my late sixties. I am now 81.
 
Pepper said:
@MarciKS
For goodness sake! Do you and your doctor talk? It's harder for them to give time, I know, but you are in a dangerous situation with your health. Tell him, for example the meds raise your blood sugar!

Re: weight. You are diabetic. Can he give you Ozempic?
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I don't know about the Ozempic. We talk but he doesn't always listen. He does his own thing. I am not always compliant because I refuse to take meds that are causing me adverse effects. I tell him. I told him about the two fluid pills and he told me I couldn't stop taking them. No plans to end up in the ER because I got sick from taking meds that were making me sick because he told me I can't stop taking them. I know what meds I can take and I tell him but he's always pushing new stuff on me and I don't like being a lab rat. Sometimes I feel like when we get older we get dismissed a lot.
 
MarciKS said:
@Della
At least you got blood pressure medicine. All I got was diuretics. And not even the one I know I can take. He gave me two and they were dehydrating the daylights outta me and making my asthma worse.

I would love to lose weight but with the asthma/COPD and my very physically demanding job, and my age, I don't have any energy left to exercise. I am already suffering from chronic fatigue. If I start trying to exercise I'm concerned I will keel over from exhaustion.

Plus my A1C is high and he gives me meds that raise my blood sugar. *SMH* I don't understand these doctors sometimes. I too feel like giving up.
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If you have a physically demanding job I wouldn't think you have to worry about exercise at this point. Diet is most important but I'm guessing your fatigue keeps you from planning and prepping healthy meals to take to work or have ready when you get home?
Fiber really does help lower A1C and blood pressure.
What dies your diet look like if I may inject my nosy self into this discussion. 😊
 
oslooskar said:
Have you tried going on a very low sodium diet? Also, what about Dr. Walter Kempner's time tested and proven, fruit and rice diet? In my own case, I was put on Metoprolol because my heart was beating too fast and I was, and may still be, in A-Fib. My blood pressure has never been high except when I have it taken in hospitals. In fact, a moment ago it was 118/75. My heart problem came about most likely from too much exercise when I was in my late sixties. I am now 81.
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No, I actually haven't tried low sodium although I've researched a little and learned that it's the ratio of sodium to potassium that matters mosh so I try to take that problem from the other end and make sure I eat a banana every day for it's potassium. Which brings me to the "fruit and rice" diet. Maybe that's how it works? I'll definitely look that up! Thanks, Oslooskar!

I'm surprised you're taking Metoprolol for A-Fib, my husband has that and only takes Eliquis.

I agree with you that lowering the heart rate with Metoprolol has a very fatiguing effect and I hate that. It's hard to tell if my low-energy is from that or simply my age.
 
I dislike with a passion bordering on anger, when you have someone who tells you that they're fed up of being fat and are going to pay upwards of $25 a month for gym membership.

I went through a huge weight loss over 18 months. The missing mineral was Selenium. It fixed my hypothyroidism and she'd the extra pounds and I'm glad of it. Along my regular walks, Tai chi and yoga, it's been wonderful.

Even the doctor at the A&E was happy of my results.

Taking vitamins is good, however, if you're not taking the best ones with the minerals required, then you're not achieving the best you can get.

She's bipolar, diabetic and in hospital today for sciatica. Honestly, I give up... As she's in Canada, I recommended Centrum for women over 50+. I know it would be beneficial for her, but my Goddess she's so stubborn... Especially trying to save her money after needing to go through debt management. Seriously, I'm 👿👿👿
 
I read something recently about BP cuffs being size specific, but most offices only have 1 size which if the cuff is too big will effect the readings. Perhaps that is part of why the OP's readings went wild and cuff was so painful.
 
oslooskar said:
Also, what about Dr. Walter Kempner's time tested and proven, fruit and rice diet?
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Whenever I need to lose a few pounds follow his diet with only these adjustments - instead of white rice I sometimes substitute brown rice or cooked rolled oats, also eat some green and cruciferous vegetables along with the fruit. No fats or fatty foods, no animal or soy proteins.

It's like magic. What's weird is how well it works for diabetics and how well it works to help them.
againstthegrain said:
I read something recently about BP cuffs being size specific, but most offices only have 1 size which if the cuff is too big will effect the readings. Perhaps that is part of why the OP's readings went wild and cuff was so painful.
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I've experienced very tight, painful BP cuffs now and then. Sheer torture. When I get a very high reading in a doctor's office I ask the nurse to please remove the cuff and retest in a few minutes. My BP drops back down to my normal range during the second reading - sometimes over 30 points. The nurses are always astonished at the difference.
 
When I was 50 I was diagnosed with HBP, tachycardia and asthma. I was slim and walking 6-8 miles per day fast. I was put on the beta blocker you mentioned and gained 50lbs over the next year. As I gained weight I was tired and cut down walking to 4 miles a day.

I have to always be on a beta blocker because of my heart. Once I was fat I also needed a water pill. About every 4 years my BP pill would quit working and I would try a different one.

16 years later during covid I decided I needed to lose weight because of covid. I continued walking but made sure to get between 8-10k steps a day and only ate 1600 calories per day.

Within 6 months I lost 50lbs and have kept it off. I was able to eliminate the water pill and reduce my beta blocker. I literally weighed and measured everything I ate. I quit drinking anything with calories except for coffee. One day a week I wouldn’t count calories and go out to eat to keep my body from adjusting to the same number of calories a day.

I also ate my big meal at lunch and a snack at night. That gave me more time to burn it off. Since starting the beta blocker 19 years ago I am always tired but push myself through it. Good luck with your journey.
 

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