I know I said that I was going to talk about how my family’s visit from Pennsylvania went, but I really want to share something with you that I am so excited about.
My mother is 86 years old, and she lives with me. We have been blessed with the fact that she is in pretty good health. She takes a number of medications but they have kept her blood pressure and cholesterol relatively under control. The reason I say relatively under control is because we have had to make some important changes to her medications over the years.
Just a few years ago, she was having frequent occurrences of falling. It was a scary time because she would usually fall when no one was around, and she has a hard time getting back up. We were fortunate that she never broke any bones or took a bad blow to her head.
Finally, on one of her doctor’s visits, I asked the doctor why they were keeping her blood pressure so low. She was on two separate medications for high blood pressure. Although her doctor knew about her falling (and we suspected she was blacking out) he never thought that maybe her blood pressure was too low. After I brought it up, he agreed to take her off of one of the medications to see how she did. Guess what? She stopped blacking out and falling. Her blood pressure stays consistently around 115/60; and that’s a great number.
Likewise, over the last several years we have been battling high cholesterol and triglycerides. At one point she was on three separate medications for it. That’s just shocking. Now, as you may imagine, we eat pretty healthy around my house. But like many seniors, she has a sweet tooth.
She is pretty independent. She lives in her own wing of the house. She does her own shopping every week, although I have to drive her around since she doesn’t drive anymore. She does her own grocery shopping, too. She eats supper with us but she buys her own breakfast and lunch things. And snacks. And treats. Many times I have looked in her grocery cart and questioned the junk food I saw there.
If you have ever tried to correct an elderly parent, you know how hard they can be to convince that you know best. It can be like trying to reason with a three year old child. I got the innocent eyes and the excuse that she doesn’t eat it every day.
Little by little, I have convinced her to make some changes in her diet. She is at a more healthy weight now; it has been a slow process.
All this time though, she has been seeing a kidney doctor for low kidney function. Of course the doctor was concerned, and he kept after her blood tests, but ultimately he didn’t do or suggest anything. Finally, about 3 months ago, something changed. My mom’s kidney function had declined 4 percent, which brought it down to 30 percent function.
Her kidney doctor made a bold move and took her off of one of the two cholesterol medications that she was still taking. It was a statin drug. Statin drugs are known for causing a host of problems including increased risk of heart attack, and kidney and liver damage. Instead, he prescribed for her a “medication” of fish oil. It’s called Lovaza, and it requires a prescription. It has a high level of omega 3 fatty acids which lowers triglycerides and overall inflammation in the body. He told her to come back in three months with a new blood test.
Well, three months later her kidney function had increased 14 percent; it was now up to 44 percent function. AND her cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels have never looked better! They were all well within normal range. Big smiles all around. As an added bonus, within days of her going off of the statin drug and taking the fish oil, she said she felt a difference in her body. She said that she just felt better overall.
I asked her doctor where he would like to see her kidney function, and he said he would like to see it at least 50 percent. So, I talked it over with my mother and told her that if she would be willing to make a few more changes in her diet (less junk food) that she could stop taking the last cholesterol medication she was on; it is also a statin drug. It took some convincing, but she said she is willing to give it a try.
I am so happy that even at 86 we could increase my mother’s quality of life. I’m going to keep an eye on her blood pressure, too in hopes of getting her off of that medication. There is no doubt that prescription drugs have saved many people’s lives, but it seems that there is always a negative consequence to treating the symptom instead of the cause. Just by eating better my mother’s health has improved and her dependence on prescription drugs has gone way down. I will keep you up to date on her progress.
Isaiah 38:16 Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live!
