Blood pressure meds

[Mt Al]

I'm on a few, thank God no bad side effects. Have lost 10 pounds and have 40 more to go.

Diet makes a HUGE difference for me, all caps because I can't believe it has such an impact one day to the next. When I have coffee for breakfast, make a nasty smoothy from frozen kale or spinach, almond milk, nuts and a few ice cubes for 'lunch' and don't get too stupid for dinner my BP goes down 5 or 10 on the top number the next morning. Obviously feel way better, clearer head when I eat right.

 

[49ereric]

Been using lisinopril for years and it works well for me.
can’t use NSAIDs much though or it won’t work.
the times I loose weight for a while I use a half a pill.
retirement and weight lose are conflicting

 

[Sherman]

Been using lisinopril for years and it works well for me.
can’t use NSAIDs much though or it won’t work.
the times I loose weight for a while I use a half a pill.
retirement and weight lose are conflicting

Yeah, the doc told me no NSAID’s while on Valsartan. Don’t know if it’s a liver/kidney issue or they just don’t mix.

 

[49ereric]

Yeah, the doc told me no NSAID’s while on Valsartan. Don’t know if it’s a liver/kidney issue or they just don’t mix.

lisinopril just won’t work with to much NSAIDS. Never had a BP monitor years ago. when I finally Bought one it showed up clearly. Best advice I could give is buy a monitor. Tylenol guy now.

 

[ramsdude47]

Stress is a factor no one is touching on here. True genetic predisposition is quite rare, but there are people that are legitimately eating clean and exercising that still have hypertension due to stress.

Eliminating stress is challenging to say the least. Some folks manage stress with alcohol, junk food, cigarettes, etc. These things all cause hypertension.

Lifestyle changes (with strict adherence) should always be the first choice with any 1st world disease. Medications may be necessary, and true genetic hypertension should absolutely be treated with meds. It isn't pretty when small vessels in people's brains rupture d/t a 240/150 pressure.

 

[*zap*]

^this is good advice. Especially the strict adherance part.

 

[Titan_Bow]

I’ll mirror the strict adherence piece. That is critical for me. If I deviate, it’s noticeable. Again though, I would rather eat healthy live a healthy lifestyle everyday than take a pill everyday. It’s carvedilol that I was on that damn near ruined my life. Over the course of a year, I bet I put on 40 pounds and slipped into a deep depression. I’m a completely different person now and feel so much better. My baseline for what’s normal is in a completely different stratosphere from where I was on meds…

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KnuckleChild]

Stress is a factor no one is touching on here. True genetic predisposition is quite rare, but there are people that are legitimately eating clean and exercising that still have hypertension due to stress.

Generic factors account for ~1/3 of hypertension, I wouldn’t call it rare.
For most people who get to a healthy weight, maintain a healthy diet and are physically active who still have high BP usually the family history is significant.

 

[ramsdude47]

Family history of HTN and genetic predisposition are not the same thing. I should have specified genetic predisposition in the absence of other risk factors.

Now I’m curious to find the data, which is probably fairly limited. I would be shocked if greater than 3% of the population with HTN had no risk factors except genetic.

 

[KnuckleChild]

I’m not really sure that makes sense. If you’re looking for specific gene variants in primary hypertension there aren’t a ton that have been identified, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a large genetic component. The heritability of hypertension is significant - 30-50%. This isn’t to downplay diet, fat loss and exercise for hypertension. Everyone should be working on these things, they all individually reduce cardiovascular disease risk independent of blood pressure.
If you’re talking about secondary hypertension from another disease process then yea that isn’t very common.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I've been on lotril for 20 years for what was borderline high blood pressure. After chemo my blood pressure was reduced. I had to go to every other day to keep from passing out when I stood up.

 

[Go West Old Man]

I’m trying to avoid medications ..… trying to loose weight . I need to drop 80 lbs..and avoid salt… but in all reality I should be on meds . Last Dr visit they asked if I was feeling ok…. Was my head or chest hurting..

161/110. But that’s after a 15 hour shift at work.. and dealing with our internist

When I’m at home it’s 130 / 90 which I know still needs work.

@DuckDogDr , no matter your age please go ahead and take the meds to get your BP under control. I say this with great kindness in my heart and no criticism at all. You’re fooling yourself if you are solely blaming 161/110 on a long stressful day and you’re playing with lit dynamite. Thinking “nah, a stroke won’t happen to me” is exactly what took down two men I know well, and they were not “old” when they had a stroke. A stroke will adversely alter your life and your family’s lives forever. Take the meds now, get your BP down to normal ASAP, and start working on your weight loss goal. Do it for your family or the ones that you love! If you don’t like your doctor then go find another. Find a good cardiologist to oversee your care for blood pressure issues as they can also make your heart health a priority too. Take care.

 

[Sherman]

@DuckDogDr , no matter your age please go ahead and take the meds to get your BP under control. I say this with great kindness in my heart and no criticism at all. You’re fooling yourself if you are solely blaming 161/110 on a long stressful day and you’re playing with lit dynamite. Thinking “nah, a stroke won’t happen to me” is exactly what took down two men I know well, and they were not “old” when they had a stroke. A stroke will adversely alter your life and your family’s lives forever. Take the meds now, get your BP down to normal ASAP, and start working on your weight loss goal. Do it for your family or the ones that you love! If you don’t like your doctor then go find another. Find a good cardiologist to oversee your care for blood pressure issues as they can also make your heart health a priority too. Take care.

Wisdom speaking. I appreciate this post. To put it in the perspective of doing it for my wife and kids cuts to the core. Many thanks.

 

[260madman]

I took lisinopril for 4-5 months and got off of it because of the cough that goes with it. Now on Losartan and no cough. Also on Chlorthalidone and Atorvastatin.

My BP was borderline high 140/90. Ended up with an ischemic stroke and the docs were all shocked and said it shouldn’t have happened in my mid 40s and good physical condition. Now my BP is ridiculously low of 110s/ 60s.

DuckDogDoc needs to take the pills and not mess around. My families life hasn’t been the same since my stroke and never will be again. It’s a huge financial hit with me more than likely never working again and my personality is not the same as it was and my wife is stressed out most days over it.

 

[Go West Old Man]

Wisdom speaking. I appreciate this post. To put it in the perspective of doing it for my wife and kids cuts to the core. Many thanks.

No thanks needed. Lots of us have been or are in the same boat, and have had to swallow our pride, face reality, and take care of ourselves better. For me, BP issues likely stem from heredity and you just can’t avoid that. I’ve been on a low dose BP med for many years because I was borderline most of the time when first diagnosed. Thankfully I haven’t had issues with meds, but I keep up with regular checkups, bloodwork, etc. Yep, needed to shed some pounds too, and mostly did that. I still have plenty room for improvement, but even at my lowest weight and best stress-test kickin’ azz physical condition in the past I still continued the low dose BP med per my cardiologist’s advice. Known him since we were kids and I trust his judgement and advice 100%. We all are better to keep in mind that nobody else is responsible for our own health except us.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Get a government job. Sell your debts. Dont run a business. Eat clean. Lots of veggies. Little portions of meat. Exercise hard. Don’t be afraid of moderate sodium either once you get your BP down. You’ll need it if exercising correctly.

No caffeine. No sugar except fruits in very moderate amounts. No processed foods as it’s full of unneeded sodium. Water, water, water. It’s your friend.

I’m betting all but those with a genetic family history would be off meds if this was their lifestyle.


Think about it. Food is good. But, you enjoy what you eat if you drop the junk food. You can eat all the veggies you want. You’ll never be hungry again. You wont have Body odor either. And you will feel great.