Under Pressure

Another day, another snowstorm.  My daffodils have not brought spring.  At least the snow is moisture, which our local farmers have been praying for.

The little yoga girl at the top of my blog has come to a screeching halt.  I was looking forward to crossing the halfway mark in April, and that just did not happen.  Not really sure what's going on, but last week, while using my treadmill, I began to feel "funny", with pounding in my head and a sort of weird fuzzy feeling.  I've been using a heart monitor, and the reading was consistent, but I dialed down the speed of the treadmill and started the cool down process to finish my workout.  After my heart rate went back to the resting pulse, I took the monitor off and checked my blood pressure.  It was up.  Way up.

Since then, I've been checking and recording my blood pressure once or twice a day, at different times.  I put the cuff on and sit still, feet flat on the ground, for at least ten minutes, then hit the button to inflate the cuff.  The readings vary, but they're all too high.  I've also got fluid build up in my hands, legs, and feet.  Not good.  I don't use salt, I don't drink alcohol, I limit my caffeine intake to two cans of soda, max. I drink lots of water, too.  So there is something going on other than bad habits.  I have an appointment to see my doctor, and in the meantime, I'm walking outside instead of using the treadmill, since it's much less intense.  I'm trying to rest and avoid stress, which.....well, that just isn't going to happen unless I move to an island by myself.  But I'm trying.  I have a feeling the culprit is the hormones I take for my breast cancer, but I'll wait for the doctor to tell me that before I think about that too much.