Carole814

In '99 on a routine visit to the Dr my BP was 186/118 --- yikes!! I dropped 25#, took myself off caffeine, and picked up my exercise routine. None of this had an affect on my BP and I reluctantly went on BP medication. I tried diurectics, Beta Blocker---OUCH---serious side effects there, ACE--sent my BP too low, 90/60 too fast, and a few others before finally getting on Diovan.

Time went by and the weight came back on and on and on.

Jan 2004 I went low-carb, and slowly started losing weight. The BP took a nose-dive even before I lost much weight (typical with a low-carb diet), and my Doc started weaning me off the Diovan. By August I was 40# less, with 20# of fat left to lose, but I was off the Diovan. My BP was holding at a nice 105/70.

The BP continued to stay at the 105/70 to 115/80 range all through Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, and most of January. My weight continued to stay right where it was, sometimes even 5# less.

For exercise I work-out 6 days a week; 3 days I either run a little over 5 miles in 55 minutes or I jump on my Nordic Trak for an hour, the other 3 days I lift weights for an hour. In other words I'm in great shape, don't drink, don't smoke, and still eat a low-carb way cause I love my energy level and I want to drop those last 20#.

So finally here is my question---Why in January did my BP start going up, and up and up and here I am with hypertension again? I'm back on Diovan at 160mg dose rather than the 80mg dose I was on prior to the weight loss and getting into great shape. And now we've added a Calcium Blocker since the Diovan doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot now. My BP is typically 155/98 from noon to evening EXCEPT:

If I have a glass of wine it will drop to 115/75
Right after exercise it will drop to 112/80

When the BP started going up in January we ran a battery of blood tests---kidney, liver, throid functions including a hypertensive IVP test, and everything came back normal. My cholestrol is wonderful too now **136** and HDL**68** and LDL**67** and Trig**56** levels are better then great too and improved immensely by going low-carb.

Oh why or why did the hypertension return? I haven't gained weight, and am still exercising, and staying away from caffeine,----I see my Doc in 2 weeks and am just thinking that all he will want to do is increase the meds AGAIN.

Thanks
Carole

PS---I really appreciated reading all the threads last evening about folks finding it impossible to lose weight while on BP medication. Last year as I struggled to lose weight, and while I watched others just melt their fat away, I was constantly told that I must me doing something WRONG since I was losing so slowly. The medical community in particular seem to be adamant that BP meds to not affect weight loss---which I don't agree with one bit.