DH received another diagnosis yesterday,and new medicine. Based on his blood pressure, possibly kicked even higher after a particular nasty bout of flue, and he will now be treated for stage 2 hypertension,or high blood pressure. I'm not surprised. DH's blood pressure is very high, and that along with a doozy of a bout of flu, his body just gave in. He is on lisonopril, a medication to combat high blood pressure, but also for a weakened heart. I did the wrong thing and looked up all the side effects and issues with the drug, and am a little freaked out by it, but I guess since I have no MD after my name, I should just chill. He goes back in two weeks and will have a full physical, the doctor seeing what else might be going on that might be over shadowed by flu and exhaustion. Oh, and a few side effects of the medication, dizziness, headache and fatigue. Hmm, seems like what the has already been dealing with.
It's good to know he did not have a heart attack. So far, unless DH isn't being upfront with me, they made no suggestion of Congestive Heart Failure, which I worry about as his dad was diagnosed with CHF before 60, though lived to 74. His quality of life his last few years were not the greatest though and he was ornery, never feeling well. I don't want that for DH, so will do whatever I can on my end to work with the information he's given, and do my part.
I'm not a salt shaker cook, but I am appalled at how much sodium is in many of the ingredients I use. I need to knock them out of my kitchen. I'll need to take lessons from DD1, and up our whole food and plant based meals. He needs to limit the salt, avoid red meat and processed meat. I thought I was a good wife and mom, providing healthy and nourishing meals, but I know I underestimated the sodium. things just sort of creep into the kitchen, and then on our plates. his deli sandwich meat? Nixed, The chicken noodle soup I gave hi last week for comfort? I was doing more harm. These changes will be a challenge for me. My mom did this when my dad had a heart attack at 61. He cut smoking, and she drastically changed meals she had been preparing for 40 years. He lived to 86 so she must have done her part pretty well.
My spare time will be researching alternatives to things I might normally make without a second thought. Christmas eve and Christmas Day menus will need some substitutions. So much for his moms ham and meatballs. I'll need to make some homemade chicken tenders and maybe ask DD1 to add another bean burger for her dad. Have any of you had to greatly alter your diet? Where did you go for information on converting previous favorites?
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
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You can do it! I had acute congestive heart failure at 55 (now 70) and it took a year to recover with fortunately no lasting damage. However we did drastically cut out salt even though we thought we were pretty low sodium already. Read labels - brands vary tremendously even lunch meats and breads. You can buy low/no salt canned and prepared foods if you look hard enough. Spices make a huge difference in flavor. Pick one category of food, type of meal, etc. to address and then move on to the next one. Do be careful not to get into the no sodium area overall - I got too low as I was really diligent. Usually no alcohol is also part of the regime if it is congestive heart failure. Life can be good and medication really makes a difference along with diet.
ReplyDeleteYour comment is so encouraging! Thanks for sharing and giving me positive motivation. His dad beat the odds and loved 16+ years after his diagnosis, and hubs may even be ahead of the curve. Lots of good years ahead for us both.
DeleteSending good thoughts to you & your husband. That sounds like a challenge, but you can do it. My husband has a terrible food allergy that requires him to move to a pretty much all Keto diet. When he doesn't follow it, the risk is lower, but he gets a full body rash that itches & develops into hives. So, while not life threatening, is absolutely miserable. we just try to customize our meals to reduce carbs, and give him carb free options whenever possible. It was a huge adjustment for us, as we have relied on carbs to fill up the kids.
ReplyDeleteI am feeling more encouraged with the comments here. It sounds like his medication is common, and we can change habits to get him healthier.
DeleteYou have probably heard it only takes about two weeks to make something a habit, so you can do this. It's okay to serve a limited repertoire of meals until you get the hang of this.
ReplyDeleteAn immediate way to start would be to eliminate lunch meats--instead fix sandwiches with, say, that leftover roast chicken from dinner. Or, as you serve dinner, set aside a serving of whatever you had for dinner for lunches the next day. So, if you made, say, beef stew, put some in your lunch containers, let them cool on the counter while you eat, and pop them in the fridge during clean up to take for lunches the next day.
I heard 21 days, so we are both in the same mindset. You are right-it will be limited choices for a start.
DeleteMy hubby is on Lisinopril and has the dry cough which he hates, but it's keeping his pressure down so for now, he's staying with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't like salt much so I've been a scratch cook for more than 30 years so it's difficult to give references. I have a tough time in many restaurants because of salt content. Those cooking shows? Holy cow they use a ton of salt.
Lunch meat: roast a turkey breast, thin slice it, and layer on wax paper 4 slices, stack and put in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Easy to "chip off" one section and thaw for sandwiches.
I make our bread so I know that there are 1.5tsp in a loaf. (Breakmakers are fabulous!) and I bought a bamboo bread slicing tray so we get right-sized servings).
Most of our meals are a protein and veggies.
Veg: I toss our veg in olive oil, put on a baking sheet w/sides add a tiny sprinkle of garlic salt and plenty of pepper, roast 425 for 15-20" depending on how firm (carrots).
Fish (I buy wild caught Pacific at Costco). I generously use Lemon Pepper on it, make a foil packet, put in a squirt of lemon juice, seal and put on the grill for 12", or you can use the oven 375.
Chicken: make a mix of smoked paprika/sage/rosemary/thyme and a little garlic salt. Coat the chicken on both sides and roast 400 for 15-20" until it reaches 160. I'll put these on the same sheet as the veggies. And of course, we grill chicken too-same rub.
"Taco casserole": black beans (I cook those scratch-no salt), corn, sauted ground beef, grated cheddar, salsa. Mix and bake 375 for 30". Totally yummy. Can make a burrito for leftover lunch if carbs are desired.
Tuna salad or egg salad scooped up with pita chips is a great lunch!
I just ate fresh steamed spinach with melted cheddar as my brunch for today. YUM!
We have an air fryer for when we want french fries-low fat and no salt. So much can be done in an air fryer.
Chicken soup is so simple. Roast a chicken for dinner, cut off what you want for a 2nd hot meal and then dump ALL the bones/skin/carcass into a pot of water say 2 qts and simmer for several hours. Pull all that out and cool. Saute 1 diced onion and 5 cloves of crushed garlic in a bit of olive oil until glassy-looking. Add to the broth and toss in 2c diced carrots, 1c sliced celery, some rinsed barley or rice, some thyme/sage and cook just 15m on low heat. Dice the meat you can scrape from the bone and toss it in. If hubby is totally a noodle fan, get the country noodle brand, precook in a separate pot, strain and add to soup (keeps the soup less starchy). I might put 1 tsp of salt in the entire pot.
Using spices gives lots of flavor. Some foods really do need salt: I put it in soup, stew, bread but I under salt and hubby rarely goes for the salt shaker.
Let us know what else you like to eat and maybe we can offer scratch methods and low salt methods.
I'm a decent cook, but will need to do some shifting and invest in many more herbs and spices to up the flavor as I'm not making separate meals. These are really helpful suggestions. good luck to your husband an d his health as well.
DeleteSpices are super cheap in the bulk section (and they are fresher). I just buy a few tablespoons at a time!
Deletehttps://www.willcookforsmiles.com/the-ultimate-dry-rub/
This would be great for any kind of meat. Cut the salt to 2tsp-unlikely to notice the difference.
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/taco-seasoning-recipe/
This is great for ground beef, pot roast you want to shred for taco salads/burritos. I would leave out the salt-I don't think it is necessary. She has great recipes on her website and they are low cost.
Best of luck!
Hubby has been on that for years, I just cook mostly from scratch and that eliminates most of the salt. It takes a while to recover from the flu.
ReplyDeleteyes-I'll need to cut the convenience stuff out almost completely.
DeleteCheck what the poultry has in them. I can cook a hen in the crock pot and it is salty without anything added!
ReplyDeleteGarlic salt has 1,850 mg of sodium per tsp! Use garlic powder or chop some garlic. I often just cut the garlic in half when I do not want to chop. Or, buy little jar of chopped garlic in oil. Celery salt has too much sodium, too.
I took a turkey sandwich to work every day at one job. Soon, I noticed my feet were swelling every day. When, I quit buying turkey for my sandwich, my feet quit swelling immediately.
I have to eat differently because of three different diets--diabetic, multiple severe allergies, gastroparesis diet. None jive with the other two. It is impossible to follow either diet fully.
Buy poultry without additives and cook. Read the label. Rubbed sage is great on poultry this time of the year.
Canned vegetables come with no sodium added.
For flavor add onion, celery, and bell pepper for flavor. I cut bell pepper in strips, freeze flat, and put the strips in freezer bag so I can pull out a strip for flavor in poultry or beef or pork. I never use salt!
No one ever told me not to use salt. At about 35, I just decided to quit. I have never had high blood pressure so far. Of course, I get into lunch meat occasionally and mess up.
I've never used garlic salt or most of the salts. Its the helpful convenience foods I'll need to declutter. Good points on the chicken. I know they fill so many with sodium to keep fresh in the stores longer.
ReplyDeleteI have read your posts for a long time but never commented. (Both of my kids were in Show Choir many years ago!!) Lisinopril.... IF he gets a cough, call the Dr right away and they will switch the med. My Dr told me to remember any Rx ending in "pril" is something I should stay away from because of the cough. Many do develop a cough, and it is easy to switch the med out. Convenience stuff really is the enemy. The sodium and other additives are not healthy for anyone, but most esp for those with HBP or heart issues. I know your husb is "impulsive" in his shopping expeditions :-), but he has to be invested in the process, too, as much as he may protest . Homemade soups are sooooo easy, freeze well, and you can find low sodium soups in cans, too. Roasted chickens yield quite a few meals, salads and then soup! Buy an air fryer. We finally got one and it is fantastic!!! You can do meats, veggies, and starches in them and there is NO GREASE. Be sure to get one that is not too small!! One of the best and easiest ways to prepare foods! Checking ingredients is a must. You will find you are astonished at the crud that is added to so many foods! And, no matter what your health is, this is a great habit to keep forever. Making time for meal prepping on the weekends leads to success because we all know afer an exhausting day at work is when we fall back on the old (bad) habits. So if you know every Sat or Sun you need 90 mins or so to get all your veggies chopped, proteins planned, salads made, and fruits cleaned and ready to grab, you are determining success because it does take time. Remember, it ISN'T a diet, it is a LIFESTYLE you are embarking upon!! Good luck!!
ReplyDelete