HBP under 30

[Luxe]

Early last month, after 3 days of lightheadedness and dizziness i was diagnosed with HBP (150/103). At 29! pharmacist quickly put me on Amlodipine which i took for 2 days. after running the usual ecg, diabetes, kidney, liver, cholesterol tests (all normal), doctor no. 1 put me on Irbesartan. and this is where all my problems started. one tablet of Irbesartan and after 2 hours i had the worst migraine in my short life, coupled with lack of sleep. it felt like hot coals at the back of my head. returned to hospital the next day, dr no. 2 took one look at me, at my test results and freaked out. she put me on Diovan. but i have been doing a lot of research on the subject and looking at the side effects of Diovan i was too scared to take it. so i returned to Amlodipine and all seemed ok. no pain in the head, Bp down to 117/79, and per dr's advice, reduced dose to half pill per day. but after 2 weeks the pain returned. i stopped for two days and felt much better in the head, but my Bp rose to 143/92. returned to hospital and asked to run a brain scan, but doctor no. 3 adviced against it since my WBC had decreased and i was showing signs of a flu. he said it was probable that my blood vessels had expanded thus the pain and reaction. he put me on Nifedipine. the first two days were fine, but on the third day i had the pain in the head reaction 2 hours after taking the drug. the pain either starts at the front or back of the head and then spreads and last the whole time the drug is active , which is hours. apart from the head pain, i have experienced minimal lightheadedness, especially when walking in the sun.

please i really need your advice on this. has anyone felt the same way? are there some tests you would recommend i take at this time? any relief from this pain? home remedies, anything. I tried putting a wet towel on my head, but the fire still burns inside. right now i am at loss for what is messing my head or is there an underlying, more serious problem?

i don't smoke, quit alcohol, caffeine more than 3 years now, on a healthy veggie/fruit filled diet, regular exercise, have cut back on the salt, weight watching (overweight at the moment; have lost 6kg since being diagnosed). thank you for any advice and for your concern.

[flowergirl2day]

Luxe,

Your headache is most likely due to your medications, as you suspect.
I also suffer a headache, caused, I believe, by discontinuing a BP medication-a combination of alpha/beta blockers. I've had this headache going on 5 weeks now. Day and night. A neurologist told me I'd find some relief in walking - and, strangely, I did. Another thing that I find helpful are ice compresses. Of course, both of the above are very temporary, the pain comes back. As in your case, my head hurts across the back. It was tolerable today so I am hoping it's going away! I hope your headache does not last as long as mine has.

Your blood pressure reading is not that bad! You are not much over 140/90 so one or two drugs or a drug combo should be able to control it. I hope your doctor will sit down with you and advise you on lifestyle changes that you need to make. Weight loss/exercise are at the top of the list. That, when combined with proper diet, can bring your blood pressure down considerably. It is possible you might not need any BP medications in the future to control your blood pressure. Some people with stage 1 hypertension can keep their blood pressure controlled through lifestyle changes.

You will need a blood pressure monitor. Get a good one!

Unfortunately, as you are finding out, all drugs have possible side effects. Your body might tolerate some but not others. You have to find one that is right for you. It takes time. How about trying a diuretic since both of these drug classes seem to give you headaches? It seems that the drugs of choice by the three doctors are calcium channel blockers and angiotensin receptor blockers. You mentioned Diovan. My experience with Diovan was not a positive one!

You've had your tests done and all is well. Finding out you have high blood pressure now is a GOOD thing! You can do something about it! There are many people walking around not knowing they have this disease. If undiagnosed and untreated, it only gets worse over time. (I was one of them).

Good luck!

Flowergirl

[Luxe]

Flowergirl,
Thank you so much for your advice. I meet my doctor tomorrow and i'll give diuretics a try.
you talked about a good blood pressure monitor. my limited experience with these is that i realised the wrist machines (i have used OMRON and NATIONAL brands), gave a slightly higher reading than the traditional stethoscope and pump blood pressure machine. Which of these would you recommend for home readings?

thank you again for your time and very helpful advice!

[_Paul]

Hi Luxe,

I am almost 33 years old and was diagnosed with HBP at around your age. Your BP readings are a little less than what mine were when i was first diagnosed. It is true that your readings are really not that bad, but i think the real issues (as my doc pointed out) is your age. If you were 50 years old they doc probably would not have a problem with your readings. Years of prolonged HBP can have a series effect on your health, so if it is high at 29 then the doc will want to get it under control.

It has been 4 years now since i was diagnosed and in that time i have been on a variety of meds, i think i am comfortable on the meds i take now, but unfortunately it has taken a long time to establish the right drug for me.

You mention the tests you had, but you don't seem to have mentioned a 24hr BP monitor. I had this test early on, and in my opinion it is an important test too have. Have you considered white coat hypertension? This is very common, and a 24hr monitor will help rule out this.

I have been taking my own BP reading since i was diagnosed. I use a Omron upper arm monitor. In my opinion these are more reliable than the wrist variety. I would also recommend Omron as a brand to buy, unfortunately they are quite pricey. When i bought mine it cost about £100, having said that i have been using for 4 years now so i have definitely got my moneys worth.

I too am in the UK. I am supprised you have had so much done with the docs. In my opinion it certainly takes along time in the UK for the sort of attention you have recieved. It took atleast 6 months before i was put on my first course of meds.

Anyway, i hope everything goes well for you, and i am sorry you are having these persistent headaches.

Paul

[Luxe]

Paul,
Thank you for your concern. I had a 24 hour monitor during the first 2 days of being diagnosed. Readings were done both at home and at the doctor's office and Bp at home was just slightly below that taken at the doctor's, but still slightly above the 140/ 90. so I would definitely rule out white coat pressure. and then i have trained myself to relax during readings at the doctor's.

I'll definitely be shopping for an upper arm monitor then. Thanks again.
Best of luck to you too.