Disclaimer: My doctor did not place me on this diet. This was my choice. I researched ways of helping my body combat hypertension along with the medicines I have been prescribed. If you have hypertension, please consult with your physician and talk to him/her about properly lowering your hypertension.

After taking labetalol for several weeks, my BP (blood pressure) levels continued to spike upwards to 198/109. Scary numbers! I have reduced the number of chores I would normally do. I don't engage in pointless conversations or impromptu arguments with people. I decided not to be so worried about my kid's learning capabilities during virtual school. Still, hypertension bugs me like fleas on a cat. I thought the medicine I was given would work wonders, but it only gave me unwanted side effects and caused my asthma and allergy meds to become ineffective.

So, I contacted my doctor. He changed my prescription changed to lisinopril, and I began doing some research on Google. I used all sorts of phrases to see what I can do besides adding more medicine to lower my BP. I read through a lot and ran into this article detailing the DASH diet. The article highlighted that Americans ingest more sodium in their diet without realizing it. Even some products that are supposed to be good for you are loaded with sodium.

After reading the article, I noticed how poor my daily diet really was. When I was pregnant, Burger King and I were best friends. My lunch consisted of a Whopper Jr, large fries, and a large soda. Throughout the day, I was snacking on peanut butter and caramel M&M's, with a few Pepsi's and A&W root beers on the side. I drank water, but I drank more soda than I did water or juice. I thought my extreme carvings would be over after the baby was born, but noooo! I had to incorporate Chick-fil-a's 8 piece breaded nuggets into the mix. The nuggets alone have 1210mg of sodium. That's over half the recommended daily intake by the FDA! I decided I needed to clean up my food habits fast!

So, I decided to follow the DASH diet. Today is officially day one, and so far, I feel great. I purchased a salad from Subway. It was tuna with lettuce, spinach, onions, banana peppers, chopped. I used 2 tablespoons of Italian dressing on the salad and ate half for lunch and the remaining for dinner. I avoided my normal caffeinated drinks and opted for healthier choices. Tea, water, and juice are what I choose to drink daily. I drank Teami Skinny tea with cinnamon sticks, a tablespoon of honey, and about five water bottles.

Also, for the first time, I got a real nap in. Not the standard 30 minutes or the 5 minutes in 10 minutes intervals sort of nap. I was able to sleep for a whole 3 hours! It felt so good to get that sleep in. I am truly grateful for it. Lastly, something I forgot to mention earlier, l took two goodbye Stress gummies by Olly. I took this midday. The reality of how my home looked overwhelmed me, so I decided to try this supplement. So far, so good! I can honestly say I haven't felt this relaxed in a while.

Like I stated in my disclaimer, talk to your physician before doing anything related to YOUR health. Talking out your concerns with your doctor and developing a plan is the best option. I plan on discussing my decision with my doctor within the next 24 hours. I'll let you know how that turns out soon.

24 hours later:

My numbers have dropped! When the nurse read my blood pressure, it was 148/82. I weighed in at 170.2 lbs. I let my doctor know how I was feeling with the new medicine and informed him about the DASH diet I have begun to follow. He stated that the diet was fine for me since I am no longer breastfeeding, and it would help the medicine do its job. He told me to come back in three weeks for a follow-up. Crossing my fingers that my numbers look better during the next visit.