I figured I would tell you about my experience with prescriptions and what happened on this low carb diet. This is just something to keep in mind, if someday down the road you find yourself feeling lousy and taking a bunch of prescription meds. (Always work with your doctor when quitting medications!)
For the last 10 years I have been taking the following meds:
-25mg metoprolol twice a day for high blood pressure and heart palpitations
-40mg simvastatin for high cholesterol
-20mg prilosec every morning for acid reflux caused by a hiatal hernia that I don’t want surgery on.
I also smoked but quit one year and one month ago. (Yay me!) I had hoped that quitting smoking would reduce my blood pressure, but unfortunately, it had no effect.
Two months ago when I started my diet, I stopped eating grains and sugar and I made sure my carbs were less than 10% of my RDI. After three weeks on the diet I quit taking my BP meds because my blood pressure had dropped so much. I hadn’t even exercised at this point! While on the meds, my BP averaged around 130/85. Now my BP averages around 115/75. Some mornings I have readings as low as 90/60! (I’m not sure if that’s good or bad?)
When I cut the carbs my acid reflux stopped as well. On my old diet, if I had forgotten to take the Prilosec in the morning, by noon I had very uncomfortable acid reflux. I’ve had reflux maybe twice since I put down the pill. Both times it was food induced and was easily remedied by a couple of tums.
Cholesterol, well this topic is an iffy, one which I will have to report back on. I will be seeing the doc in 4 months for follow up tests. On the last test I had, (while taking meds) my good cholesterol was borderline low at 40 and my triglycerides were elevated at 173. I will be very curious to see my next test results since I now eat lots of fats. Apparently, some people on this diet have better overall numbers and others have horrible numbers. I hope that I am in the first group but really don’t care too terribly much. Why? Because all the recent studies are now indicating that high cholesterol is not related to heart disease and that only people who have already had a heart attack should take statins. Plus, statins make you feel lousy and old before your time! I don’t plan on getting back on them regardless of what my lab results are. Here is some more information if anyone is interested.
Here and
HereI don’t want to turn this into a carbs are killing you thing, but in my case, I think they might have been. I haven’t felt this good in a long time. I have energy, my body does not ache and I don’t mind working up a sweat any longer. Good health and diet are amazing tools for a happy and fulfilling life. I wish I would have cared about this stuff 20 years ago!
Have a great weekend peeps!