High BP possibly from sodium? Very nervous, have questions!

[jr2212]

My BP is has been running about 160/100 since Sat. morning (3 days). I have an unusual set of circumstances I'm trying to figure out and would appreciate any answers and feedback.

My Dr. switched me from 50/25 Atenol/diuretic to 10mg Lisinopril (no diuretic) last Wed.. I took the Lisinopril Wed. BP was 113/70 but I became flush and face and arms turned red! I was then changed to 75mg Avapro. Could not get the product till Sat. so went without meds Thur. and Fri., took several BP readings both days ran a range from 134/84 to 139/86 both days.

The story gets a little unusual here, family was all out of town. Not much of a cook, wife had prepared a smoked turkey and smoked turkey soup (with salt and salt sub. included) before she left. Ate lots of both for lunch and dinner Friday. Took my BP Sat. AM before I went and got the Avapro, 165/107 (OH MY GOD) went and got Avapro took 75mg, BP stayed around 160/100 all day. Continued on the turkey binge, lunch and dinner Sat. and lunch Sunday. Raised my Avapro dosage to 1 and 1/2 75mg pills Sun. AM, about 110mg. BP didn't change Sun. still around 160/100.

The salt alarm finally went off Sunday afternoon and I realized what an idiot I had been, when I dug up the turkey label I found it had 570mg of sodium per 3 0z. serving. I think I probably consumed around 8,000 mg of sodium between Fri. noon and Sun. noon (48 hrs.) and I'm normally a very low salt consumer (none from the salt shaker - eat virtually no packaged foods) probably average around 800 mg per day.

Have now consumed less than 200mg of sodium in the last 30 hrs. and my current BP is (two different readings from different machines) 165/103 and 157/100.

Can anyone tell me how long it may take to deplete a big salt load from your body???????? These are the highest readings of my life (highest ever without meds was 150/95) this is scaring the Sh_t! Out of me! Think it's salt but then again maybe it has something to do with the med. merry go round I've been on in the last week! YOUR THOUGHTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED - Am I missing something?

[rigel434]

Originally Posted by jr2212

These are the highest readings of my life (highest ever without meds was 150/95) this is scaring the Sh_t! Out of me! .

And that is almost certainly part of the problem. Relax. Stop taking your pressure if that's what it takes to relax. Eat less salt- lots of unprocessed meats and rice is a good idea. Exercise. Relax some more. Lose weight if you need to. Continue taking your meds until you see your doctor.

And once you've done that, your problem will very likely be solved since your numbers aren't all that high considering that you're nervous- certainly not malignant hypertension or anything like that. And don't place much credence on *any* numbers you get while you're nervous. Blood pressure is such a good indicator of nervousness that it's used in lie detector tests.

As for your meds, I would get off the Avapro- that's an angiotensin receptor blocker, and those are known to have the weakest effect on blood pressure. The fact that you are apparently salt sensitive indicates that diuretics are likely to be very effective for you. If those don't work, ask your doctor about a calcium channel blocker. And relax. The fact that your pressure was recently in the 130/70 range is a very good sign- you will be fine if you calm down.

[famnd]

It's probably rebound hypertension from going off a beta blocker suddenly plus the sodium & stress. I would go back on atenolol & then slowly get off of it if you want to try another drug. What was the reason for starting a new drug? Fam

[bethsheba]

Originally Posted by famnd

It's probably rebound hypertension from going off a beta blocker suddenly plus the sodium & stress. ... Fam

Yes, I agree but I think I would check with a pharmacist before doing anything...if I understand this correctly, you went from a beta blocker and a diurectic, to an ace inhibitor, to an angiotensin II receptor in just a few days. Since it can be dangerous to suddenly stop taking some meds (like Atenolol), and because some meds can stay in the body for awhile (and can interact with each other), you might want to check with the pharmacist to see what they might recommend about transitioning to the new medication.

Bethsheba

[jr2212]

Thanks for the input, it is appreciated - some answers to the feedback are:

1. I am 53 not overweight.
2. Switched from atenol because after 1 1/2 yrs. on it I was still always tired and listless and suffered a complete loss of libido.
3. My time line on meds was Tues. Atenol and diuretic - Wed. 10mg Lisinopril - Thur. and Fri. no meds. (with OK BP both days mid 130s over mid 80s) - Sat. morning jumped to 165/107 about 18hrs after begining increased sod. intake and before starting Avapro. BP steyed in 160/100 range thru Mon. evening. Stopped sod. intake Sun. at noon - took 75mg Avapro Sat. - 110mg Sunday and Monday.
4. The comments about stress and nerves is probably real! If I sit down and try to relax for 10 min. and take my BP. it's OK but if I just "off the cuff" see my monitor and without any fore thought slap it on, even if I've been somewhat active, my BP is usually lower. The white coat at Dr. office is usually worth 10 to 20 points on top and 5 to 10 on the bottom!

This morning I took 150mg of Avapro (my Dr. told me that was the usual dose), he had told me to start the med. at 75mg. and to increase dosage within label until BP was satisfactory. Will try 150mg today and tomorrow, if no results I will go to 225mg. and thats as far as I'll go, label allows up to 300mg. I would really luv to make a go of this product so far the side effects are just slight, so much better tha Atenol!

Thinking ahead, I have had some thoughts of re-addressing lisinopril at a lower dose with my DR., it seemed to work well on my BP and I have a friend with similar BP who takes 5mg ( I re-acted at 10mg)and it works well with no side effects. But I have heard so much neg. stuff about lisinopril and the cough and so forth on this board and other places that I'm hesitant? Any thoughts on this?