High BP?? Worried about meds! - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

FightClub · 12-31-2005, 07:16 AM

Hi,

I am a 27 year old male that just got word from the doc that my bp is too high. She scheduled me to wear a 24h monitor in a few weeks. Yesterday I went out and bought a bp monitor for my own monitoring purposes and indeed my bp is higher than normal (140/95).

I may be just paranoid but your knowledge will help me here. I am terrified of the meds as I read (mostly here) about terrible side-effects (tiredness, dizzyness, headaches, impotency!). To avoid meds I will obviously do my best to improve my health. I haven't been paying attention to my eating or exercising regularly this year (gained 15 pounds which put me 15 pounds over my healthy weight).

Can you lead a normal life on meds? Are the meds expensive (?/month) (I know this is covered by insurance, but still).

Maybe all this anxiety is what drives the bp up? sigh...

Sideem · 12-31-2005, 07:55 AM

"What's the first rule of Fight Club? You don't talk about Fight Club?"

Okay...that was corny.

I understand what you're feeling. I'm assuming your average over the 24 hour period is the 140/95. The 140 is right at the border while the 95 is definitely elevated. I too have a fear of the medications. It's probably irrational but hearing all the side effects does not leave a warm and fuzzy.

I kind of agree that dietary and exercise changes may be enough for initially. This is especially true since you gained 15 pounds this year. They say shaving off some of the weight would reduce your BP. I bet it would reduce it just enough to get you under 140/90.

I myself increased my veggie and fruit intake and try to exercise when I can. My BP spikes for some unknown reason. In the morning when I wake up, it's normal. But by evening, it may start to elevate. This morning for example, it was at 119/74 P 74. I also notice when I take a 30 minute power nap sometime in the afternoon or evening, my BP will be in the 120/70 range. Hot showers also seem to help lower my BP, though it works more on the diastolic. It raises the pulse rate, though.

So there are definitely alternatives to medicine. But I won't knock medicine totally as there as folks on here that take medication and it did the trick for them.

I hope this helps.

Uff-Da! · 12-31-2005, 10:16 AM

I was on blood pressure meds (Lisinopril) for five years with no side effects of which I was aware, but I'm female and males seem to have some additional problems. Even though I didn't have side effects, I was happy to be able to get off meds this year. I don't have prescription coverage, and even though the med I was on was comparatively cheap, $30 a month for someone on Social Security is $30 that could be spent elsewhere. Plus I feel there may be long term side effects that would be better to avoid.

A major part of the reason I had to be on meds was due to stress over which I had little control, chronic sleep deprivation and 24/7 care of my husband after his stroke. As I think about it after the fact, it is possible that I might have been able to reduce my stress some during those years with techniques I've learned since - deep breathing exercises and meditation. I doubt that I'd have been able to avoid the meds completely, but based upon the reduction in my BP when I've tried those techniques, it is possible that I'd have at least been able to reduce the dosage. So I'd encourage you to try out deep breathing and/or meditation.

Another big difference for me is diet. If I eat large quantities of veggies like raw spinach, carrots, broccoli, celery, asparagus, cabbage and legumes and relatively little meat, poultry and high-starch foods like pasta, my systolic BP tends to be about 15-20 points lower than when I eat large quantities of the meat and pasta and only small quantities of veggies and fruits. By becoming a near-vegetarian, my BP has been reduced to an average of about 127/72 unmedicated! Many people don't seem to get that big a change from diet, but you might want to try it and see if it works for you. Also, some people do get major changes in BP from losing just 10 or 20 pounds, so it would be worthwhile to try that.

I'm certainly not against meds if you need them. If you can't get that diastolic down relatively soon, which you might be able to do if breathing exercises, meditation and diet work for you, you might want to go on meds temporarily while you lose weight, which might take a little longer.

lane413 · 12-31-2005, 12:38 PM

Have you tried garlic or garlic supplements? They are known bp reducers, also onions, bananas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. They can lower bp very well. I also eat a lot of veggies. I am 31 and diabetic, my endo told me my bp was creeping up and prescribed lisniopril for me. However, i dropped 15 pounds and my bp went back to 117/67.

I have started to be active again by walking, weightlifting, and volunteering. I am diabetic so it is important that i keep an eye on my bp. I think if you could lose at leat 10 pounds your bp would normalize. Good luck!

pal7778 · 12-31-2005, 07:12 PM

FC,
Your bp is only a little high, try everything before else before you go the medicine route. Relax. You have time, it'll probably come down esp. with careful attention to
diet and exercise, esp. getting down and staying at your fighting weight.