Hi Zuzu - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

momofmany · 02-14-2004, 07:00 PM

Hi Zuzu,
Just wanted to touch base with you. I miscarried 2 weeks ago, but I knew from the start that something was wrong--no morning sickness and too much energy! Needless to say, am back on the same meds as before. The top number is doing great--115-130. The bottom number...well, we're still working on that. It just seems to like that 90 mark. And the heart rate is still in the 100-120 range. So, I probably will see a change in meds here soon.

But, at least there are no new problems to deal with !! Enjoy your weekend!
Mom

zuzu8 · 02-15-2004, 12:06 AM

Hi Mom-
I am so very sorry to hear of your miscarriage...

Conversely, it's good to hear your systolic #s are holding. And your diastolic isn't skyrocketing. Plus no new problems.
By the way, are you a smoker? (I promise I won't lecture you!)...But a heart rate at 100 or a little above is not uncommon in smokers. (Just an afterthought).

It would be ideal of course to get that 90 mark lowered but, as we've discussed in previous threads, doctors are much happier to see the systolic #s within healthy range, and are no longer quite as concerned as they used to be about slightly elevated diastolic.

Are you still on the Sectral, HCTZ, altocor and Prevacid cocktail?

Add some gin and honey and I hear it's dee-licious!

zuzu xxx

momofmany · 02-20-2004, 02:18 PM

Hi Zuzu,
Sorry I was so long in responding...we went on a much need vacation for a few days. No, I don't smoke (or drink, either). I still think that the high heart rate has something to do with the ephedra I used for a couple of years to lose weight. The "experts" say that the effects of the drug will stop when you quit using the drug, but I don't see how you could speed your heart rate up on purpose for so long and it not do some kind of damage. I dunno...just a thought. I DO know that the blood pressure problems started after I quit taking the ephedra, but the heart rate never went back to normal.

I am still on the same cocktail. I've never had a gin and honey...about the strongest I've had is a diet coke with a shot of lemon. And that burns going down with out the prevacid!

Mom

zuzu8 · 02-20-2004, 06:46 PM

Hi Mom- Good to hear from you.
As you may have heard by now, on Dec. 30, 2003, the FDA issued a consumer alert on the safety of dietary supplements containing ephedra. The alert advised consumers to immediately stop buying and using ephedra products. The data collected on Ephedra has shown that it has little effectiveness except in the case of short-term weight loss.
And it confirms the scariest stuff of all: that it raises blood pressure and stresses the circulatory system.
Here is a link to the FDA's article on it (Govt. website... allowed to post here by the mods):

[url]http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:0gwUczmDhl4J:www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/ephedra/december2003/+%27ephedra+banned%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8[/url]

Unfortunately, we'll probably never know if your use of Ephedra is responsible in any way for your tachycardia.

zuzu xxx