I hope that you and your mother make a good recovery; and I echo that getting some exercise and eating less fast food and more vegetables is probably the best way to go. If you’re into supplements I’d also recommend some grapeseed extract with resveratrol and fish oils for omega three fats.

@Everyone

I just found a neat study about how to reduce allergies in just eight weeks by desensititization rather than three years of shots. They inject the allergen directly into the lymph nodes rather than into the blood vessels. It’s new, and so hasn’t been replicated yet; but if it works it’d be a great benefit to people with allergies. PDF file follows:

http://www.pnas.org/content/105/46/17908.full.pdf+html

I’m so sorry that you and your mom are going through this. IF it helps I weigh 400lbs and my blood pressure was last measured at 132/88. I also exercise regularly. WellRoundedMama has excellent suggestions – if nothing else take a daily baby aspirin and exercise.

**hugs**

I don’t think it’s necessary to convince doctors or others that it’s possible to be curvy and healthy, and cardiac rehab does tend to focus on weight loss, but it’s entirely possible to focus on making health changes that may result in some weight lost without making weight loss the goal.
Does that make sense?

If a person who was not overweight had high blood pressure and a minor heart attack at age 40, the advice would be, take the medication, follow the “DASH” diet, get regular physical activity, focus on stress reduction. All of those things you could do, and if they led to shedding some weight, well, so be it.

High blood pressure happens to people of all sizes. When many health professionals look at a fat person with a health issue they believe is related to weight, they see the fat person’s weight as something that they believe is changeable — not necessarily a character flaw or any other source of judgement, but rather a risk factor to be controlled. It runs right into all of the other stuff floating around in our culture about weight, but in many cases, it’s coming from a very different place, and they may truly wish to help.

I hope this perspective is helpful. Exercise, eating along the lines of the DASH diet, prioritizing your own needs higher if at all possible, are things that can help, and taking your meds, all are things you can do that will help, no matter if weight is lost or not. Fast food tends to be high in sodium and saturated fat, as opposed fresh produce and whole grains (which can also be fast) can make a surprising difference.

Sorry, I couldn’t keep the health educator in me from coming out.

Well, it has been a while since I read them, and that was before I got into HAES, so I probably wouldn’t have noticed anything objectionable anyway. I’ll have a look for them next time I visit the library.

Let me know…

And again, I thank all of you so much for your great advice. wellroundedmama – I had actually already checked out your site, as it was posted by someone else – very helpful and reassuring!

@Tabby – I am so sorry for your and your mother’s medical issues. I sincerely hope you both recover/feel better quickly, both emotionally and physically.

Or the holiday card of your choice!

I also quote you places, so you ease the burdens of other mothers who don’t even know you. ;)

Simply Mac, I wonder… I have some things that I could send you that I found very helpful in avoiding or at least deconstructing the paranoia of pregnancy (I realize YMMV but hey, it’s free, right?) But I don’t want to put my e-mail here for all to see because I’m on the job market. Can you think of a way we can get in touch? (I really should just get an e-mail address that can’t be connected with my real life identity.)