I woke up this am and took my shower got dressed and ready for work. I then took my BP and it was 160/100 I almost died :eek: . I waited a few minutes and took it again and it was 145/95. I ate breakfast took my Diovan took my vitamins flaxseed and wheat germ took it again and it was 140/90. I am afraid of having a stroke here should I be? I thought for sure that with all this healthy eating and hardly any fat at all in my diet for the last 2 weeks I would have seen better readings than that. What are your thoughts here? :confused:

Thanks, Lisa

:) Hello Lisa,

160/100 is not that high so you will not have a stroke, tell me how old are you? age is important too. I'm not my doctor but all my family have High Blood Pressure, my uncle's reading is 180/130 to 160/110 and he just doesn't care about it and he forget to take his medicine.
My point is that he's 58 years old and he haven't a stroke YET although that his blood pressure is very high and for a long time too. So I guess you don't have to worry because when you worry more your blood pressure will be increased more.

When I was 17 I was measuring my blood pressure 10 times daily (maybe more) and my doctor told me to stop this because my blood pressure will not go down if I keep doing so.

About Diavon, people are different and as I have seen in this forums and others some people with a blood pressure of 160/110 takes one Med and after a few days their blood pressure is 130/90 and others take 3 Meds to achieve the same results. For me I take Atacand 8 mg (an ARB like Diavon) and my blood pressure is fine so I think you have to tell your doctor that your blood pressure is 140/90 so he may add some other Med to Diavon or change it.

Also execrise and losing weight will help you IF YOU TAKE THE MEDICATION. I will tell you something but I'm not sure of it yet, when I take my Atacand while I'm execrising most days of the week my blood pressure drops to 120/80 or even less than that. As I said I'm not a doctor but I tell you what I have been through.

Oh by the way, I heard that stress can make your blood pressure vary as your readings are different in a few hours so try to listen to classic music. I'm happy that you are taking Flaxseed and White Germ because I like those stuff too :) and also I take 900 mg of Garlic Powder which is very very useful as I can see.

I took Zaic which is a Beta-Blocker (took it off few weeks ago) which made my hands very cold and when I started the Garlic I felt that my hands are very warm so I will never stop Garlic :bouncing: .
Good Luck and keep us posted with your readings
Michael

Hi Michael,

I am 47 and workout 5 days a week. I have lost weight over the last 2 weeks because the Doc wanted me to lose 10 lbs. I am eating practically a vegetarian diet. I only eat 3oz of skinless white meat or fish a day. The majority of the day I eat raw veggies, cooked veggies and fruit and whole wheat cereal, oatmeal and brown rice. I eat a lot of beans and no dairy products at all The only fat in my diet comes from the meat or fish. I do not cook with any fat at all. I will start to incorporate Olive and sesame oil next week but only a tablespoon. Daily I take CoQ10, Mega B, Milk Thistle, C, Magnesium and Calcium, Garlic Extract and I sprinkle Flaxseed and Wheat Germ on my cereal. I am anxious to see if any of this brings down my BP and my cholesterol. I also cut out coffee and only drink Chai Tea but I do have wine or a cocktail or 2 at night. I do not smoke either…Lisa

Lisa,

Wine raises blood pressure and I took Calcium Supplement before which raised my blood pressure. Many said that Calcium Supplement reduces blood pressure but it didn't happen for me. So give it a try and stop wine and Calcium for 1 week and see what will happen.
Thanks
Michael

When I was 17 I was measuring my blood pressure 10 times daily (maybe more) and my doctor told me to stop this because my blood pressure will not go down if I keep doing so.

Hmmm!? I've taken my blood pressure an average of about seven times per day for the past seven years (17,000 readings). I've entered these readings, along with other info, into my computer and I do charts and reports by hour, week, month. The information and knowledge that I've gained, from this blood pressure data, has enabled me to get my blood pressure and heart rhythm under much better control.

Providing that someone is mentally stable, then taking daily blood pressure readings can enable that person to understand his blood pressure problems much better than getting an occasional reading at the doctor's office. By tracking your own blood pressure, you can slowly relate events to increases or decreases in your blood pressure and heart rhythm. To me, more knowledge is almost always better than less knowledge.

But...... I've got a different situation than you. For one thing, I'm a lot older. I've also got heart failure, serious heart rhythm and blood pressure problems among other nasty heath problems. Seven years ago, my blood pressure and heart rhythm was out of control and my health was getting worse. If I didn't get my blood pressure under control, and heart rhythm under better control, I would probably have been dead right now, or worse. The improvements and knowledge gained from my 17,000 blood pressure readings have been well worth my efforts and I continue to take my blood pressure about seven times per day. But now I look at the readings and my frown has turned into a smile.

Regards and best of health! :wave:

Hello beerzoids,

I think that you are right to take 7 readings each day and I'm very happy to hear that you are in control of your condition :) . For me, I was worry about having High BP at this age (17) and I didn't know much about it at this time. It was crazy to take 10 readings daily because I'm healthy and have nothing except High BP. And when I stopped taking readings I felt much better and my blood pressure became normal (with medication).
Good Luck and have a nice time
Michael

I woke up this am and took my shower got dressed and ready for work. I then took my BP and it was 160/100 I almost died :eek: . I waited a few minutes and took it again and it was 145/95. I ate breakfast took my Diovan took my vitamins flaxseed and wheat germ took it again and it was 140/90. I am afraid of having a stroke here should I be? For many people, blood pressure is highest first thing in the morning. If you take your medication shortly thereafter, your pressure isn't going to be up there for too long. It is the high pressures up there wearing on your arteries for hours at a time, day after day, month after month that causes the propensity for a stroke in most cases. Your medication doesn't seem to be carrying you through the night, though. Maybe you need to split your medication between morning and night doses. You might want to check your BP several times in the morning to see if you get similar results or this was a fluke. If this happens repeatedly, you might want to ask your doctor about splitting your doses.

I thought for sure that with all this healthy eating and hardly any fat at all in my diet for the last 2 weeks I would have seen better readings than that. What are your thoughts here? :confused: Beware of cutting your fat down too much. Remember that vitamins A, D, E, and K are referred to as fat soluble vitamins for a reason. There may be other lesser known (or as yet unknown) nutrients that need small amounts of fat to be absorbed. The key here is small. A small amount of fat taken in each meal improves absorption. One can still go "low fat."

:) When I was 17 I was measuring my blood pressure 10 times daily (maybe more) and my doctor told me to stop this because my blood pressure will not go down if I keep doing so.For someone who is just getting worked up about it, that is good advice. But if one approaches it like Beerzoids, approaching it as research, then one can better understand their own reaction. And it doesn't require as serious a heart situation as Beerzoids' to make it worthwhile.

I no longer have high blood pressure, though I'm not sure my doctor believes that yet. And I don't have a heart condition. But I have had HBP in the past, and was on meds for it for five years. I also have a family history of strokes and heart attacks. So at age 64, I think it behooves me to understand how my BP reacts to different things. I have taken as many as 20 readings in a day. But then I also sometimes go days or weeks without taking it. It just depends upon what I want to learn.

Here are some of the things I've learned about myself through all these readings:

1. I am well on my way to having postprandial hypotension. (That is usually defined as a fall in systolic blood pressure of approximately 20 mmHg or more after a meal. It is believed to affect as many as 35% of the elderly. Some people have a fall in BP after eating of as much as 70mmHg after a meal. A severe decrease can result in loss of consciousness, falls, stroke, angina, and increased mortality.) My own level of decrease is usually 10-20 mmHg, so it is not a problem at this point. In fact, I'm using it to my advantage to decrease my average BP by eating small amounts of food throughout the day instead of fewer large meals.

2. I am highly affected by stress of any kind. Just reading the news on the web can raise my systolic by 20 points when the news is bad.

3. I get my best readings if I distribute my potassium, magnesium and calcium intake throughout the day. Having too low an intake in any of them seems to raise my BP short term, not just long term as I'd originally thought.

4. My breathing affects my BP a lot. If my systolic is 130 or higher, I can usually decrease it by 20 points or more just with two minutes of deep breathing. But I can often get it down ten points or more just by taking a couple of deep breaths. Therefore, I've learned to take some deep breaths whenever I think about it, whether I have any idea if my pressure is up or not. Obviously my normal breathing isn't adequate.

Obviously, other people might find entirely different things with a study of their own BP. But I think anyone with BP problems could probably learn many useful things by taking multiple readings if they approach it as just that, an informal study.

Thanks everyone good info on all points...Lisa

For someone who is just getting worked up about it, that is good advice. But if one approaches it like Beerzoids, approaching it as research, then one can better understand their own reaction. And it doesn't require as serious a heart situation as Beerzoids' to make it worthwhile.

As you infer, in my case I had no choice. Seven years ago, after fighting heart failure for many years, I was having increased breathing difficulties, increased heart rhythm problems, increases in periods of weakness and fatigue and increased problems with chest pains. I had no idea that I had very high blood pressure because at the doctors office, my blood pressure was always marked as 120/80.

I no longer have high blood pressure, though I'm not sure my doctor believes that yet.

You are the exception to the rule. Your success against high blood pressure problems were due to your own vigilance and determination. I'll bet that you've used the same resourcefulness to solve other problems as well.

And I don't have a heart condition. But I have had HBP in the past, and was on meds for it for five years. I also have a family history of strokes and heart attacks. So at age 64, I think it behooves me to understand how my BP reacts to different things. I have taken as many as 20 readings in a day. But then I also sometimes go days or weeks without taking it. It just depends upon what I want to learn.

It pleases me to read that someone else takes such an analytical approach to dealing with their own health problems. As I've aged, my health problems seem to have become nastier. You show that, with the proper approach, people in their sixties can make significant and positive improvements in their health.

About the 20 readings....... As I said before, I've taken 17,000 readings over seven years. I wanted to know what my blood pressure was doing 24 hours around the clock. I wanted to know the effects of diet, allergens, irritants, odors, seasonal changes, lifestyle, chemicals, blood pressure medicines, and when during the day I took the blood pressure medications, etc. on my blood pressure. I felt that, the more I knew about my blood pressure, the more that I could do about it. So far the results have been great. My blood pressure is in a very safe and healthy range. But, I've had to make many significant changes, and it has taken me seven years and 17,000 readings to get a much healthier blood pressure average.

With my heart disease, I still require five different blood pressure/heart failure meds, but at least my blood pressure is now much better.

Here are some of the things I've learned about myself through all these readings:

1. I am well on my way to having postprandial hypotension. (That is usually defined as a fall in systolic blood pressure of approximately 20 mmHg or more after a meal. It is believed to affect as many as 35% of the elderly. Some people have a fall in BP after eating of as much as 70mmHg after a meal. A severe decrease can result in loss of consciousness, falls, stroke, angina, and increased mortality.) My own level of decrease is usually 10-20 mmHg, so it is not a problem at this point. In fact, I'm using it to my advantage to decrease my average BP by eating small amounts of food throughout the day instead of fewer large meals.

I also find that my blood pressure goes down after a small, balanced meal. Thanks for posting about postprandial hypotension. I've never heard of it. I will definitely do some research on it.

3. I get my best readings if I distribute my potassium, magnesium and calcium intake throughout the day. Having too low an intake in any of them seems to raise my BP short term, not just long term as I'd originally thought.

If you don't mind...... how do you do that?

Obviously, other people might find entirely different things with a study of their own BP. But I think anyone with BP problems could probably learn many useful things by taking multiple readings if they approach it as just that, an informal study.

With blood pressure problems, either someone can rely on a stranger (nurse) to take their blood pressure readings, once in a blue moon, or, if they want more control over their blood pressure, they can take multiple readings and take appropriate actions if they are surprised by their own readings, like I was.

Uff-Da!, thanks for posting what you have learned! Your story encourages me since we are similar in age. :wave:

beerzoids and Uff-Da! I have learned much from you besides what Lenin told me, the three of you made me think that I can lower my blood pressure with no problems and I'm happy for see that there are strong people who's fighting heart related problems that way.

Thanks for your help
Michael