Lenin
12-19-2005, 06:02 PM
Well, new for me anyway.
After a quarter century of hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg. I am moving on to furosemide (Lasix) a LOOP diuretic. It is supposed to be be better for male sexuality and less likely to cause a low serum sodium level and resulting water intoxication...which I seem to be fiddling with.
So tomorrow I will start 80 mg./day monotherapy. I will even stop the 50 mg. Cozaar that I have been on for 7 years.
If the Lasix isn't enough then I'll add back the Cozaar. He also gave me 20 Meq. Potassium Chloride...a good idea, now I don't have to worry about bananas and orange juice. ;) .
In preparation for my doctor's visit I took 40 mg. NADOLOL (STRONG beta-blocker) for two days in addition to my normal two drugs which have given me a 2 month average of 121/76. Took the last nadolol at 4 AM so it would be fully empowered by my mid morning appointment.
Of course in the office my BP was SKY HIGH :eek: even after barely having the strength to get out of the PATH train station (about 6 stories below the street...all steps.)
Probably tonight my BP will be 90/60! There is NO way to beat White Coat Hypertension...NONE!
After a quarter century of hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg. I am moving on to furosemide (Lasix) a LOOP diuretic. It is supposed to be be better for male sexuality and less likely to cause a low serum sodium level and resulting water intoxication...which I seem to be fiddling with.
So tomorrow I will start 80 mg./day monotherapy. I will even stop the 50 mg. Cozaar that I have been on for 7 years.
If the Lasix isn't enough then I'll add back the Cozaar. He also gave me 20 Meq. Potassium Chloride...a good idea, now I don't have to worry about bananas and orange juice. ;) .
In preparation for my doctor's visit I took 40 mg. NADOLOL (STRONG beta-blocker) for two days in addition to my normal two drugs which have given me a 2 month average of 121/76. Took the last nadolol at 4 AM so it would be fully empowered by my mid morning appointment.
Of course in the office my BP was SKY HIGH :eek: even after barely having the strength to get out of the PATH train station (about 6 stories below the street...all steps.)
Probably tonight my BP will be 90/60! There is NO way to beat White Coat Hypertension...NONE!
Sponsor
Uff-Da!
12-19-2005, 06:49 PM
Of course in the office my BP was SKY HIGH :eek: even after barely having the strength to get out of the PATH train station (about 6 stories below the street...all steps.)
Probably tonight my BP will be 90/60! There is NO way to beat White Coat Hypertension...NONE!Oh, Lenin, you have one of the worse cases of white coat ever! :D I outsmarted my white coat the last two times. The first time I sat there doing deep breathing exercises for about ten minutes in the patient room while the nurse had to tend to another patient. The nurse recorded a BP of 118/70. Last time about two hours before the appointment I took a 15 minute brisk walk. Then I took a hot bath. Then I ate a big salad including a lot of celery. And in the waiting room and while I walked from the waiting room to the patient area I did deep breathing exercises. And I ended up with a BP of 127/60-something. And that's about my average at home.
The last reading above was at a different office than the first appointment, and the nurse there intimidates me. She's the one who made a sarcastic remark about all the supplements I was taking about a year ago. She is also the one announced in a very authoritative manner that my blood pressure monitor was inaccurate when she got a reading much lower with it than with the office machine. (But she took my pressure with theirs right after I came out of the doctor's office after having a disagreement about BP and cholesterol meds, then waited over five minutes while I calmed down before taking my pressure with my machine.) She also never gives me even a minute to catch my breath after walking in from the waiting room to slap the cuff on me. But at least I've learned that I can keep it down part of the time. It didn't work so well when I went to the gastroenterologist's office a couple of weeks ago, though. My systolic was about 157. But it probably would have been much higher if I hadn't done some of those same things.
Probably tonight my BP will be 90/60! There is NO way to beat White Coat Hypertension...NONE!Oh, Lenin, you have one of the worse cases of white coat ever! :D I outsmarted my white coat the last two times. The first time I sat there doing deep breathing exercises for about ten minutes in the patient room while the nurse had to tend to another patient. The nurse recorded a BP of 118/70. Last time about two hours before the appointment I took a 15 minute brisk walk. Then I took a hot bath. Then I ate a big salad including a lot of celery. And in the waiting room and while I walked from the waiting room to the patient area I did deep breathing exercises. And I ended up with a BP of 127/60-something. And that's about my average at home.
The last reading above was at a different office than the first appointment, and the nurse there intimidates me. She's the one who made a sarcastic remark about all the supplements I was taking about a year ago. She is also the one announced in a very authoritative manner that my blood pressure monitor was inaccurate when she got a reading much lower with it than with the office machine. (But she took my pressure with theirs right after I came out of the doctor's office after having a disagreement about BP and cholesterol meds, then waited over five minutes while I calmed down before taking my pressure with my machine.) She also never gives me even a minute to catch my breath after walking in from the waiting room to slap the cuff on me. But at least I've learned that I can keep it down part of the time. It didn't work so well when I went to the gastroenterologist's office a couple of weeks ago, though. My systolic was about 157. But it probably would have been much higher if I hadn't done some of those same things.
redherring
12-19-2005, 10:17 PM
Ahhh, lovely ol white coat syndrome. I saw my doc today and mine was 150/90 with a galloping pulse. I've been so stressed out at work and of course the mere sight of a blood pressure monitor releases my adrenalin, big time. I think my doc is toying with the idea of medicating me if my BP is high in two months.
CASSIEBEL
12-20-2005, 12:03 AM
Lenin,
Good luck with the new med! :)
As for white coat, I used to try anything from deep breathing to over medicating and nothing worked. I always had a lot of different scenarios running through my mind - like - if it's high will he want me to switch meds or up my dose and what if he won't listen to what I want to try or will he really believe my numbers are normal at home, so when the nurse is taking my BP and asking all kinds of questions and my arm is just hanging there with no support no wonder she gets 165/90. Then she acts like it's my fault it's high and I've been a naughty girl and didn't follow their rules. Then I get home and take it and get 118/65???? "white coat" it's just as much a part of me as my TX accent or green eyes. So I've just accepted it.
AGAIN good luck!
Cass
Good luck with the new med! :)
As for white coat, I used to try anything from deep breathing to over medicating and nothing worked. I always had a lot of different scenarios running through my mind - like - if it's high will he want me to switch meds or up my dose and what if he won't listen to what I want to try or will he really believe my numbers are normal at home, so when the nurse is taking my BP and asking all kinds of questions and my arm is just hanging there with no support no wonder she gets 165/90. Then she acts like it's my fault it's high and I've been a naughty girl and didn't follow their rules. Then I get home and take it and get 118/65???? "white coat" it's just as much a part of me as my TX accent or green eyes. So I've just accepted it.
AGAIN good luck!
Cass
NHone
12-20-2005, 12:10 AM
Lenin,
Good luck with the new med! :)
As for white coat, I used to try anything from deep breathing to over medicating and nothing worked. I always had a lot of different scenarios running through my mind - like - if it's high will he want me to switch meds or up my dose and what if he won't listen to what I want to try or will he really believe my numbers are normal at home, so when the nurse is taking my BP and asking all kinds of questions and my arm is just hanging there with no support no wonder she gets 165/90. Then she acts like it's my fault it's high and I've been a naughty girl and didn't follow their rules. Then I get home and take it and get 118/65???? "white coat" it's just as much a part of me as my TX accent or green eyes. So I've just accepted it.
AGAIN good luck!
Cass
Hi Cass. Thats not just "white coat" that nurse is incompetent.. And Print this out and give it to the snotty ..... First you should be quiet when blood pressure is taken, Second, they should support your arm, third , people like her should not be employed...next time tell her you prefer to have your blood pressure taken by the doctor. then hand her a printout of this. let's see if her white coat contrast with her red face. bet her blood pressure could blow the top off of the machine.
Good luck with the new med! :)
As for white coat, I used to try anything from deep breathing to over medicating and nothing worked. I always had a lot of different scenarios running through my mind - like - if it's high will he want me to switch meds or up my dose and what if he won't listen to what I want to try or will he really believe my numbers are normal at home, so when the nurse is taking my BP and asking all kinds of questions and my arm is just hanging there with no support no wonder she gets 165/90. Then she acts like it's my fault it's high and I've been a naughty girl and didn't follow their rules. Then I get home and take it and get 118/65???? "white coat" it's just as much a part of me as my TX accent or green eyes. So I've just accepted it.
AGAIN good luck!
Cass
Hi Cass. Thats not just "white coat" that nurse is incompetent.. And Print this out and give it to the snotty ..... First you should be quiet when blood pressure is taken, Second, they should support your arm, third , people like her should not be employed...next time tell her you prefer to have your blood pressure taken by the doctor. then hand her a printout of this. let's see if her white coat contrast with her red face. bet her blood pressure could blow the top off of the machine.
Machaon
12-20-2005, 06:33 AM
I am moving on to furosemide (Lasix) a LOOP diuretic. ...
So tomorrow I will start 80 mg./day monotherapy.
If I take just 20mg of lasix, for several days, I suffer serious heart rhythm problems. If I take 40 mg of lasix, I experience joint pain. You might have no problem at all with 80mg of Lasix. This just shows how different everyone is, and how difficult it is for doctors to prescribe the correct meds.
I will even stop the 50 mg. Cozaar that I have been on for 7 years.
Another difference between patients. It takes me weeks to slowly withdraw, or reduce, heart meds. Sometimes, when I reduce a med, the full effects of the reduction don't take effect until after three weeks.
Are you stopping Cozaar cold turkey?
He also gave me 20 Meq. Potassium Chloride...a good idea, now I don't have to worry about bananas and orange juice. ;) .
It's going to take your body time to adjust to the lower potassium-effecting Cozaar withdrawal. Introducing an arbitrary dose of Potassium Chloride at the same time could have unexpected consequences.
I am not a health professional, but I prefer more conservative and more cautious approaches to changing and altering medication regime.
So tomorrow I will start 80 mg./day monotherapy.
If I take just 20mg of lasix, for several days, I suffer serious heart rhythm problems. If I take 40 mg of lasix, I experience joint pain. You might have no problem at all with 80mg of Lasix. This just shows how different everyone is, and how difficult it is for doctors to prescribe the correct meds.
I will even stop the 50 mg. Cozaar that I have been on for 7 years.
Another difference between patients. It takes me weeks to slowly withdraw, or reduce, heart meds. Sometimes, when I reduce a med, the full effects of the reduction don't take effect until after three weeks.
Are you stopping Cozaar cold turkey?
He also gave me 20 Meq. Potassium Chloride...a good idea, now I don't have to worry about bananas and orange juice. ;) .
It's going to take your body time to adjust to the lower potassium-effecting Cozaar withdrawal. Introducing an arbitrary dose of Potassium Chloride at the same time could have unexpected consequences.
I am not a health professional, but I prefer more conservative and more cautious approaches to changing and altering medication regime.
Lenin
12-20-2005, 09:27 AM
Beerzoids,
I'm sorry to hear that you got rhythm disturbances and joint pain from Lasix...I get enough of the latter from LIFE and the gym. I think I might start with a 20-20 regimen to see how the diuresis is different from 50 mg. HCTZ, which after all these years is very gentle.
I'm a four-star salt sensitive hypertensive (low Renin) and as a result I've gone on and off cozaar with no effect at all. It doesn't DO a blessed thing for me. I'd have stopped it long ago except for the fact that I HAVE a huge pile of it and it us both potassium sparing and uricosuric (I have gout), and thus counteracts the two worst effects of the HCTZ I've taken since Jefferson was president.
I have also read thateven for salt-sensitives, when fluid volume is reduced too much that a feedback loop kicks in that makes extra angiotensin-2 to compensate. If this is true, then I might yet need the Cozaar. We'll see. Anyhoo, I expect zero effects from sudden withdrawal.
On the potasssium, I took the first 20 Meq last night (I think about 800 mg. K+ ...a HUGE pill). All seems well except for a splitting headache...dark choocolate overdose :rolleyes: .
THe body needs 3,000 mg. K+a day so it would take a lot to OD. I have yet to research the effects of lasix on uric acid...I'm praying not too much retention...thiazide really precipitated the HORRIBLE pain of gout.
I'm looking forward to a life without thiazide so I hope all goes well with furosemide.
Thanks for the comments everyone.
I'm sorry to hear that you got rhythm disturbances and joint pain from Lasix...I get enough of the latter from LIFE and the gym. I think I might start with a 20-20 regimen to see how the diuresis is different from 50 mg. HCTZ, which after all these years is very gentle.
I'm a four-star salt sensitive hypertensive (low Renin) and as a result I've gone on and off cozaar with no effect at all. It doesn't DO a blessed thing for me. I'd have stopped it long ago except for the fact that I HAVE a huge pile of it and it us both potassium sparing and uricosuric (I have gout), and thus counteracts the two worst effects of the HCTZ I've taken since Jefferson was president.
I have also read thateven for salt-sensitives, when fluid volume is reduced too much that a feedback loop kicks in that makes extra angiotensin-2 to compensate. If this is true, then I might yet need the Cozaar. We'll see. Anyhoo, I expect zero effects from sudden withdrawal.
On the potasssium, I took the first 20 Meq last night (I think about 800 mg. K+ ...a HUGE pill). All seems well except for a splitting headache...dark choocolate overdose :rolleyes: .
THe body needs 3,000 mg. K+a day so it would take a lot to OD. I have yet to research the effects of lasix on uric acid...I'm praying not too much retention...thiazide really precipitated the HORRIBLE pain of gout.
I'm looking forward to a life without thiazide so I hope all goes well with furosemide.
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Sideem
12-20-2005, 12:50 PM
Lenin, good luck with the new drug.
BeachLvr58
12-20-2005, 02:13 PM
If I take just 20mg of lasix, for several days, I suffer serious heart rhythm problems. If I take 40 mg of lasix, I experience joint pain. You might have no problem at all with 80mg of Lasix. This just shows how different everyone is, and how difficult it is for doctors to prescribe the correct meds.
Another difference between patients. It takes me weeks to slowly withdraw, or reduce, heart meds. Sometimes, when I reduce a med, the full effects of the reduction don't take effect until after three weeks.
Are you stopping Cozaar cold turkey?
It's going to take your body time to adjust to the lower potassium-effecting Cozaar withdrawal. Introducing an arbitrary dose of Potassium Chloride at the same time could have unexpected consequences.
I am not a health professional, but I prefer more conservative and more cautious approaches to changing and altering medication regime.
I have the same symptoms on plain HCTZ but not if I take the diovan HCT..strange i get heart palps and the joint pain actually all my muscles hurt.
Another difference between patients. It takes me weeks to slowly withdraw, or reduce, heart meds. Sometimes, when I reduce a med, the full effects of the reduction don't take effect until after three weeks.
Are you stopping Cozaar cold turkey?
It's going to take your body time to adjust to the lower potassium-effecting Cozaar withdrawal. Introducing an arbitrary dose of Potassium Chloride at the same time could have unexpected consequences.
I am not a health professional, but I prefer more conservative and more cautious approaches to changing and altering medication regime.
I have the same symptoms on plain HCTZ but not if I take the diovan HCT..strange i get heart palps and the joint pain actually all my muscles hurt.
wiredqs
12-20-2005, 10:08 PM
I took furosemide 40 mg and the giant potassium pill for about 9 mos. Only med that didn't cause bad reactions. No side effects except the obvious. Dr. felt it didn't do much for the bp and took me off it. btw I took it due to swelling caused by reaction to lisinipril, althought not sure why 9 months.
Lenin
12-21-2005, 01:00 PM
WOW,
Talk about diuresis. I did a mall walk after the first dose and went from bathroom to bathroom all morning long. That's rather amazing since I'd been taking HCTZ right up to the day before!
BP was wonderful last night 115-120/65-70, but I'll be dealing with the effect of the two days of nadolol for at least a week, it's perhaps the most long lasting antihypertensive of all.
No side effects so far (I took 80 mg. lasiz yesterday and 40 so far today.) God, those 20 Meq. KCl are the BIGGEST pills I've ever seen. ANything larger would require the presence of a skilled Heimlichite just in case! :jester:
Talk about diuresis. I did a mall walk after the first dose and went from bathroom to bathroom all morning long. That's rather amazing since I'd been taking HCTZ right up to the day before!
BP was wonderful last night 115-120/65-70, but I'll be dealing with the effect of the two days of nadolol for at least a week, it's perhaps the most long lasting antihypertensive of all.
No side effects so far (I took 80 mg. lasiz yesterday and 40 so far today.) God, those 20 Meq. KCl are the BIGGEST pills I've ever seen. ANything larger would require the presence of a skilled Heimlichite just in case! :jester:
jeno58
12-22-2005, 05:01 AM
I think I'm the one with the worst case of white coat. My BP is always high when I'm in the doctors office and as soon as I get home it's fine (I'm on Toprol XL and Maxide). My doctor still wants me to wear a 24 hour blood pressure monitor. I tried to schedule an appointment for it (the girls in the specialty testing department were very pushy about scheduling it) but when I called they weren't sure the company that supplies it had one and had to check on it. Now I keep putting off calling them back. Just the thought of wearing it makes me anxious and so does the office staff. Your nurse sounds like nurse Ratchet.
pal7778
12-22-2005, 12:08 PM
I too have White Coat or anxiety-driven bp. But I've read that people w White Coat
are almost as at risk as people with chronic hp for strokes etc., and are very likely to
have somewhat clogged arteries. The danger here is not from the bp itself, but about
what the bp reaction reveals about general heart and artery etc. health.
are almost as at risk as people with chronic hp for strokes etc., and are very likely to
have somewhat clogged arteries. The danger here is not from the bp itself, but about
what the bp reaction reveals about general heart and artery etc. health.
Lenin
12-23-2005, 08:35 AM
For any salt sensitive hypertensives, I most heartily recommend a trial with Lasix (furosemide.)
It is now the ONLY drug I am taking and my BP readings last night were :111/68 and 109/65...each is a median value of three readings.
I'm pulling back from the double dosing at 80 mg. total to a single dose of 40 mg. in the morning.
I am MAJORLY impressed with this stuff and throw in the fact that it's cheaper than Bayer aspirin and it's a real winner.
It is now the ONLY drug I am taking and my BP readings last night were :111/68 and 109/65...each is a median value of three readings.
I'm pulling back from the double dosing at 80 mg. total to a single dose of 40 mg. in the morning.
I am MAJORLY impressed with this stuff and throw in the fact that it's cheaper than Bayer aspirin and it's a real winner.