Blood Pressure Meds

Last week, I got really hit by the side effects of the new blood pressure medicine I was prescribed.

I managed to get them changed to a lower dosage, but that hasn't really helped; I'm still very sleepy, dizzy, and unfocused, though not as intense as last week.

I want to go back to the hospital, but the only time I have is on Friday, which is a national holiday. So I've decided to stop taking the medicine for now and track my blood pressure. I know talking to my doctor is best, but I just don't have time. I also know that if I can get some exercise in and eat better, then I should be able to deal with this problem naturally! A good friend of mine managed to do that, even in a very stressful job!

High blood pressure worries me because it was the underlying cause of Hisao's early death. He'd had high blood pressure most of his adult life, but never got treated for it. Except for the occasional severe headache, he wasn't sick; it really is a silent killer. We didn't know how bad it was until he went into heart and kidney failure. His heart had weakened so much that it could pump blood effectively. He ended up with fluid around the heart and kidney failure. This was 3 years before he passed away.

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, I went into full panic mode. All I could think about was that was what killed Hisao, I didn't think about dealing with it naturally, or what I could do myself, I just accepted the medicine. Now, I want to take responsibility for my health and address this problem more naturally.

I think it's all part of being more consistent. 

I was talking to Hannah about being consistent, she said that I was very consistent in writing this blog, so what is the difference between that and exercising, eating right or cleaning? I realised that I enjoy writing, I love the challenge of finding something to write about and then crafting a good post. I don't enjoy exercise, not being able to eat what I consider nice, comfort foods (bread, sweets, etc.), and I hate cleaning. 

But I'm going to have to change that. I have to enjoy exercise to get in enough in a week, about 150 minutes a week. I need to challenge myself to find healthy ideas for meals and snacks, and embrace low-sugar ideas. Cleaning is going to be the most challenging! Maybe listen to something while I'm doing it. Any ideas?

Just a few photos of my daft cats! These animals raise my blood pressure sometimes, especially when they are fighting. But at the same time, having a cat on my lap, purring away, helps my blood pressure come down!

Fluffy found the best place, in front of the heater.

Being Consistent

 I'm on a couple of Facebook groups for diet and weight loss.

I'm amazed and inspired by some of the stories I read. Some people start out at really heavy weights, some are over 500lbs (226 kgs), almost bed-bound, some house-bound, but they consistently work at losing weight; it might take years, but they get there. No private trainers, no fancy foods, just working at it every day. One lady I read about said that she struggled to walk down her drive, but she did it every day. Once she could do that, she added two more steps, then two more until she could manage a mile. Small things done everyday bought big changes for her.

I know my problem is being consistent. I try something for a while, but then I just stop. In Japanese, they say mikka bozu, 三日坊主, literally a 3-day monk. The saying comes from the fact that to become a Buddhist Monk takes a lot of discipline and hard work; most give up after a few days!

I realised this morning that my inconsistency rules my life. I start things, diet, exercise, study, even cleaning, but don't keep at them. 

I have my reasons; the exercise was too hard, the diet too boring, the study too hard and cleaning, who wants to do that?

But are they reasons or just excuses to keep the status quo? 

But I'm not really happy with the status quo; I want to change. I have to lose weight, I need to get off the high blood pressure meds as they don't suit me at all. Even the lower dosage makes me sleepy! I want to be able to walk more when I go out with Hannah. I would love to buy clothes from a store, not just online! 

I have enough reasons and some motivation, but keeping on is so hard.

One thing I've thought about is scheduling my life more. Make a schedule to exercise and study, make a reward schedule for sticking to my diet, maybe buy myself something little to keep on or treat myself to some nice tea or fruits. Make a cleaning schedule for the house and garden so I don't keep thinking "I'll do it tomorrow" As my Mom always said, tomorrow never comes.

I have my to-do lists, but they are vague time-wise. Today I have a chance to go to the 100 yen shop, I'll see if they have some schedule books. If I find something, I'll post it here.

I'm getting too old to be constantly failing at everything!  I need to turn things around now!

Just a couple of photos of the lovely flowers in the garden!

Lovely colour

And nosey cats!

My Bedroom

 Bedrooms should be nice, peaceful spaces where we can relax.

I've always wanted that kind of space, the ones that you see in magazines or online, where everything is tidy, and there is a feeling of being able to sleep.

But reality is different. No matter where I've lived, my bedroom is always the dumping ground. When other rooms are being tidied, and things don't have a place, they always end up in my room, for now! Then "for now" turns into forever!

On Saturday, I decided to tackle Christopher's room. He can clean by himself, but there were things left in his room from when we moved in, and they've never been moved out. He didn't know what belonged to whom or what to do with the big drawers of extra blankets. I managed to figure out most of the stuff, clothes mainly, of course, everything needed washing as the stuff had been sitting in boxes and on the floor covered in dust. Guess where the clean clothes end up after they've been washed, yep, my room!

Clean laundry pile.

This is about a week's worth of laundry. I keep asking people to come and get their laundry, but it's always later. There's a big box underneath, so maybe not that much. I can hope!

I thought about sorting out the laundry, but I didn't have the energy. I wanted to do something, so I decided that I could sort one drawer. Better than nothing, also finishing one job always motivates me to do more.

That backfired big time.

I found an envelope with some old photos in it and old letters to Santa from the boys. I sat and cried. I have so many regrets from my kids' childhood; they really suffered at school because of bullying, and my reaction was always knee-jerk reactions. 

Here are the letters, kind of cute!

I also found a very strange photo of Mom, pulling faces!

This photo made me smile!

A rather emotional afternoon, maybe I should have tackled the laundry?

There's More To Do Than Can Ever be Done

This line from the song Circle of Life is my mantra at the moment. There's always something that needs to be done, and I never have enough time in a day, week, month or even a year to finish.  I end each day with it'll do for now!

Yesterday the weather was really nice, sunny and warm, the awful biting wind had died down. I decided to have a little walk up to some of our land. I took a video on the way.

On my walk, I noticed that the gardens and fields were looking nice.  Fields were ready for planting, trees were in bloom, and there were even some daffodils!

Daffodils always remind me of Mom. She would buy a bunch every spring, she said that they were her father's favourite flower, she bought them to remember him. Now I see them and remember her.

We got to our land, and it was worse than I thought it would be!

These are two parcels of land that we own. There are at least 12 more scattered about. I have the addresses, but I don't know where they all are. We own some up in the mountain that has old-growth trees on it. I only went there twice, so no idea where it is!

On one piece of land, there's a storage hut. I had a look inside, there's lots of stuff in there that I have no idea what it's for. A load of hay, I think that was used to keep the roots of the trees warm. I've seen that done around here. There are bags of soil or compost or something, I can't figure out the Japanese! I'll have to ask someone to see what it is.

There are also some lovely wood planks. I'm wondering if we can use them for something.

Lovely wood planks, what can I use them for?

A couple of other photos of the inside of the hut.

Just stuff thrown in.

Bamboo and sticks.

Today I decided that instead of vacuuming the ceiling, yes, I have to do that as well here, as spider webs keep appearing, I made a quiche for lunch. No brainer really, struggle to vacuum the ceiling or spend time enjoying myself making a nice lunch. The spiderwebs will be there tomorrow, maybe David can help me!

Today's lunch was quiche.

I made a couple of salads, a few chips and vegetable soup to go with it.

Today's lunch.

White Day

 Today is White Day in Japan. 

It's a friendly, gift-giving tradition celebrated one month after Valentine's Day. It's a chance for the men who received gifts on February 14th to reciprocate.

White Day started in 1978 by Japan's National Confectionery Industry Association to encourage men to give marshmallows to women as a return gift for the chocolates they received on Valentine's Day. An early nickname for this day was Marshmallow Day, but over time, the name shifted to White Day to include a wider range of white-themed sweets and gifts.

The holiday also reflects the Japanese cultural concept of okaeshi, or returning a gift to show appreciation. An okaeshi gift should be about half the value of the original gift. Okaeshi isn't just for White Day; it is part of Japanese culture. It can get a bit out of hand, you give a gift, get one back, have to return another one and so on!

The idea of White Day started in Japan, but the tradition has spread to other East and Southeast Asian countries, including South Korea, China and Taiwan. 

Like Valentine's Day gifts vary depending on who you are giving them to. Also, in modern times, the gifts aren't just confectionery. Many people give accessories, flowers or small luxury items.

The past week, supermarkets have had big displays for White Day; it's really being marketed. I think part of this is because there are fewer couples than in the past. Young Japanese just don't date or marry. 

But that's a whole other post!

I wanted a picture for this post, but couldn't find anything, so I used AI. Hope you like it!

Hospital And Hairdressers

 Last night I decided not to take the blood pressure medicine this morning, but I did!

I think it's a habit now. My morning routine never changes. I get up, make obento, make breakfast, clean the kitchen as I go along, drink 3 to 4 cups of water, take my medicine and eat breakfast. 

I was worried that I would be too sleepy and dizzy to get ready as the side effects kick in very quickly. It was hard, but I managed to leave just after 8 o'clock, as planned!

Mikey and I arrived at the hospital at about 9 o'clock.

On the way there, the weather really deteriorated. There's a saying in Japanese, Sankan Shion, 3 days cold weather, 4 days warm weather. It's very true, yesterday was lovely weather, warm and a bit cloudy, but I was alright walking round the garden for a while, I didn't need a jacket. Today it feels like winter, with ice rain and strong winds.

A couple of photos I took on the way to the hospital, just after I took these, the rain started.

We were heading into that storm cloud; the blue sky was where we came from.

I only had to wait an hour to see the doctor. 

I know I complain about living in Japan, and it can be hard here, but I'm very grateful for the medical system they have here. It's not perfect, but it is good. After hearing what happened when my Dad had a fall, having to wait for an hour for an ambulance when the hospital is just a 20-minute drive away, then 12 hours for X-ray and blood work results, I wonder if I would even get to see a doctor on such short notice. I know here that I can walk into a hospital and will be seen within a couple of hours. I don't think I could have gone on for weeks with the blood pressure medicine making me so ill, I would have just stopped taking it, which isn't advised.

The doctor changed my prescription; the tablets were 20mg, the new ones are for 10mg, half the dose. I usually get 3 months' worth of medicine, but decided to get just one month to see if this dosage is alright.

After that, we drove to my hairdresser's. I've been going to this place for about 30 years now. It's run by 2 sisters, but one has retired.  The lady who did my hair is now 80 years old, but still working, still has a lot of energy. We were talking about my hospital visit, she told me that she has never been in hospital, doesn't take any medicine or supplements. She says that she works, exercises, sleeps well and eats healthy food with a few treats! Sounds like a good model for a healthy life. The one problem she has is that she doesn't like to have customers too early in the morning; she likes to take her time to wake up and get ready for work.

I'm not too sure about my haircut. I think it's a bit too short, but it'll grow. I might get a colour when Hannah comes, she can do it for me.

I look awful in photos, and I'm no good at taking selfies, but I want to show my hair. No laughing!

Bit too short!

I'm red, and my eyes are swollen because of allergies!

I hope this new medicine works, I have a lot I have to do and want to do, I really don't have time to be sick or sleeping all the time!

Is This Normal?

 Last week I started a new blood pressure medicine. For a week, I felt alright, but yesterday I started to feel awful.

My weekly schedule isn't very busy. Tuesday and Wednesday, I go to the other city to teach a few classes. I know that on Thursday I'm going to be a little tired from that, so I make Thursday my easy day. 

Yesterday, however, I felt totally exhausted. Not just I've done too much, and my body feels tired, but more like I was drugged.

My alarm went off at 5am, I couldn't get out of bed; the room was cold, which makes it harder to get up. I felt like I was in a fog; I couldn't think clearly at all. I managed to drag myself out of bed, but just making an obento and breakfast felt like an enormous task. I often joke that I'm like a zombie in the mornings. Yesterday, I really was in zombie mode, I watched as the sausages burnt, I couldn't think what to do! I went back to bed and slept all morning. I managed to write a post, but I think there were many mistakes. I didn't even try to make lunch!

David made a quick lunch, I slept again after that. 

Mikey and I left at about 2:30, my first class was at 4 oclock. 

When we got to the community centre, the room I use was being used for an emergency meeting. Also, I was feeling a lot worse, completely drugged, throwing up, and my head started to pound. Mikey cancelled classes and changed his classes so we could come home early.

I went to bed before 10 p.m., slept until midnight, then woke up for the toilet and slept until 5 a.m. I managed to make obento and breakfast, I felt a tiny bit better than yesterday. But I needed to sleep again after.

David decided to change his room around this morning, a lot of banging, running the vacuum cleaner and cats fighting, but I slept through most of it!

I made a good lunch. Whenever I feel a bit off, I always think good, healthy food will help.

I made hamburgers, rice, salad, tofu and avocado salad plus a tomato soup.

Good lunch.

It was until I put ketchup on my salad instead of mayonnaise.

Why?

I called Hannah this afternoon and asked her to call the pharmacy about the medicine. She did that, but they couldn't help, so she called the doctor. I have an appointment for tomorrow morning, good!

It's likely the medicine, since it's the only thing that changed last week. All of the important numbers from the blood check were okay, the doctor didn't see any red flags for other problems.

I know I'm blowing this out of proportion, but all yesterday and today, I kept thinking about my Mom and Hisao. Mom was 64 when she died, I'll be 64 this year! Two days before Hisao passed away, I noticed he wasn't looking well, his colour was off, I asked if he was alright, he said yes, just very tired! That's what has been going through my head the past two days!

I'm going to have a little walk in the garden now, change my air a bit, it might help!