I've been on high blood pressure medication for several years. Over the past year or more I've had great control, usually under 120/80. I'm currently on Diovan and HCTZ/TM. I used to also be on Norvasc, but my numbers were good enough that we dropped it. It's been a year since I dropped it and my readings have stayed quite good.

I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure last year, so this spring I started Hormone Replacement Therapy. When I first started (estrogen and progesterone), after a few months, I noticed my numbers creeping up.

I wasn't sure if it was related, but I talked to my doctor and he recommended regular birth control, saying it might have less of an effect on my blood pressure. Eventually we settled on OrthoEvra, which is a birth control patch. I was on it for about three months and my blood pressure crept above the borderline range. Eventually it went to 160/100 (still on high bood pressure medication). Around that time I decided to go off OrthoEvra, because of the recent warnings that it was providing more estrogen than first thought. I'm not currently on any hormones at all.

The thing is, I've been off it for probably a month now and my blood pressure is still very high, last night 170/105. I have an appointment with my doctor in a few days. What I'm wondering is if anyone's experienced a similar effect from OrthoEvra? I don't know for a fact that it was the cause, but nothing else has changed. I've been very good about taking my BP medications every day, even at the same time every day. I may not get as much aerobic activity now that it's cold, but I'm still active and do yoga and go for walks a few times a week.

Any feedback would be appreciated! I'm wondering if there is a link between OrthoEvra and high blood pressure or if there is a link between high blood pressure and Premature Ovarian Failure that anyone knows of. I'm at a good weight, don't smoke, don't drink, not overly stressed and eat fairly well.

Thanks for reading my long post!