Need serious advice about health issue

[Time_Attack]

I went to the doctors office today and it turns out I might not be as young/healthy as I had thought. I'm having an impossible time wrapping my head around this concept as I'm only going to be 24 years old in April.

Here is a little back story. I've had sporadic chest pains my whole life. I mostly just thought they were stress pains or something. I had been to the doctor before but nothing was found so I didn't think much of it. Well now the other day I was simply sitting around early one morning and found myself with a major pain in the left side of my chest which extended down to my elbow which was also throbbing. I took some pain medicine and made an appointment to see the doctor the next day.

Fast forward 24 hours and they say it wasn't a heart attack and that I looked ok. They still ordered some tests. Now today was the first time I had been back and I did a stress test. I could barely keep up with the treadmill and could hardly breath. I don't understand the numbers they gave me so I won't quote them here but they say I have very high blood pressure. I still have more tests to complete they are going to also check my kidneys and test me for diabetes since both that along with heart problems runs heavy in my family.

Now here I was thinking I'm only 23 and won't have to worry about things like this for another 20 years at least. Where do I go from here? I am going to make an appointment with a dietitian as soon as possible but I am still looking for any advice about what I need to change/do. I'm a huge idiot about all of this but I know I'm going to have to make some serious lifestyle changes from now on. They have already put me on some sort of medication but I would really like to get to the point where I can control this with diet and exercise. If anyone can give me advice towards this or help me out in understanding that would be great. I really don't want to be on medication the rest of my life.

 

[jgtc_lover]

I'm sorry to hear that you may have a health condition. I don't personally have one (that has been diagnosed), but I do know many people who have conditions that require daily medication.

The best advice I can give is to listen to your doctors, they know what they are doing, ask them lots of questions. In some cases, like with diabetes, some places offer classes that help you understand the condition you have and how to take care of yourself. Ask your doctors if they know of any such classes and take them. I'd also suggest seeing a therapist (perhaps one with experience with individuals with the same condition) if you are really having a hard time coming to terms with this.

The last piece of advice that I can give that really comes from my own heart and experience is that it is better to take a pill everyday then to not have a life. Really, it's not as bad as you think. I realize that there is a stigma attached to taking medication daily, but sometimes life just shoves the short end of the stick in your direction and you need to do what you need to to survive. But if it is possible to control your condition with diet and exercise, go with that. Being physically fit would improve any condition.

 

[DKLion3s]

Truly sorry to hear that you're contending with this so early in life. Ask your doctor about garlic suppliments and possibly introducing more bannanas with your diet. Bulbs are a rich source of anti-oxidants, eg: onions, garlic, eskellion, etc.

The immediate meds a doctor prescribes is generally to improve your immediate condition until a long term solution can be implemented. Adding more fruits & vegetables to your diet, that sort of thing, goes a long way.

Gradually change your diet though, you don't want to shock your digestive system. Eventually with diet and exercise you can make arrangements with your doctor, depending on your progress, to ween completely off meds. Meds is not necessarily a permanent thing.

 

[BrutherSuperior]

Doctors are not always right and you should get a 2nd or 3rd opinion on anything that may be serious. Sometimes, a doctor's ego gets in the way.

Long time ago I had chest pains...but only in certain positions and it was especially excruciating when laying down. Doctor #1 said it was a disc bulging out and hitting the back of my sternum. Doctor #2 said it was a tumor on my bronchial tube and sent me to an oncologist to see how long I'd live. Doctor #3 said it was an inflamed artery and to take 2 pills and call him in the morning...pain went away hours later.

I've also been days away from having spinal fusion, thrown in a cardiac ward for what amounted to a collapsed lung, and misdiagnosed with some weird foot fungus that really turned out to be I can't wear Nike shoes.

Doctors get things wrong all the time. I played hockey at high levels through college and have been in-and-out of ERs for every reason under the sun. MRIs, CT-scans, getting my gall bladder nuked, sitting in a chair with my scalp full of electrodes, you name it...doctors rarely got things right the 1st time.

Diagnosing a human is a tough job, a good doctor (at lease a humble one) will acknowledge this. Don't take their word for it and see a different doc if you think/hope the first one was wrong.