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It is Official...

February 4th, 2007 at 02:10 pm

It was the blood pressure medicine that caused my sudden health crisis in December. I've been off the medicine for over 4 weeks now and feel like a different person.

I was searching one day and found the side effects and symptoms of an overdose of Benicar: fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat; joint pain, stiffness, or swelling; swelling of feet or lower legs, flushed, dry skin; general feeling of discomfort or illness; trouble sleeping; bloating or swelling of face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet; difficulty in moving; rapid weight gain; tingling of hands or feet.

All of that was exactly what I experienced.

Well, I certainly got a very thorough physical out of the whole thing: 2 MRIs, EEG, nuclear stress test, etc. I'm good for another 100,000 miles I think!

Good news is that I joined Weight Watchers on-line 2 weeks ago and have already lost 6 pounds and 5 inches around my belly!!! I had told them that the weight gain was really unusual and that most of it was centered in my abdomen. They just brushed me off though.

I guess I really did know what I was talking about.

Posted in Life Happens | 6 Comments »

6 Responses to “It is Official...”

1. Ima saver Says:
   February 4th, 2007 at 03:08 pm
   You sure did. I hope you can find another medication to control your high blood pressure.

2. JanH Says:
   February 4th, 2007 at 03:41 pm
   Don't you hate it when people don't listen to what you're telling them? You live in your body and you know how it feels! Good for you for sticking with it! I'm so glad you are feeling better!

3. Amber Says:
   February 4th, 2007 at 04:05 pm
   Glad you found he culprit early

4. monkeymama Says:
   February 5th, 2007 at 06:28 am
   I went through the same thing after my last pregnancy - not to the same extreme - maybe 20 pounds in 2 months, but they all brushed me off - of course I Was gaining weight - I am getting old and I just had a baby - LOL. So here I am breastfeeding AND dieting and sTILL gaining weight, though with my last baby I could eat a house and not gain an ounce while breastfeeding. It was the hormones. Once I Stopped breastfeeding it pretty much dropped off over night (a good 15 pounds of it). Though I still have more weight centered around my belly than I ever had, but I still got some baby weight to go. I just wanted to give you hope that maybe the weight that comes on fast will come off fast too. I know how frustrating it is to start ballooning up and the doctors to say it's "normal" and to brush you off. I was just freaking out - when you start gaining weight so rapidly and dieting doesn't help, it is very frustrating. PArticularly since it was so opposite of my usual very high metabolism. I can see getting older and my metabolism slowing down gradually, but this was ridiculous and completely uncontrollable.
   
   Slow and steady totally wins the race, but weight that has come on fast doesn't stick as much either so get attack it!
   
   Good Luck!

5. fairy74 Says:
   February 5th, 2007 at 09:28 am
   I am so glad you figured out what was wrong...here's to continued good health

6. Aleta Says:
   February 10th, 2007 at 10:04 am
   Good for you. Wouldn't you think that the first thing that Doctors would do would be to rule out medication and its side effects. Honestly, most don't have the time to spend with each patient that they would like to. You can control your high blood pressure naturally for most people. High blood pressure is a condition not a disease. It's good that you read the side effects on your bottle. We all have to take some responsibility for keeping up and knowing our own body and go by our gut reactions.

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