Another Blood Pressure Vanity

www.freerepublic.com ^ | 10/7/2017 | Dallas59

[Dallas59]

Just asking some insight on BP. For years I have had high blood. Never did anything with it even when told I was in danger. Last month my legs begin to feel weak and painful and tingling. I would wake up without a thing, then about 2 hours at work it would begin. No chest pains or shortness of breath. It would start to disappear when I went home. The next day I would again wake up with nothing but then it would start in my arms and hands. Legs would be slightly weak but no pain. My job is stressful.

I work from 5am to 2 or 3pm and I walk constantly trouble shooting. Went to the pharmacy and took my BP and it was 158 over 102. Varied from 158/102 to 144/92 or 98. Saw the doctor and she immediately started me on lisinopril and hydrochlothiazide 10mg/12.5mg. She said I looked good and sounded good. but my symptoms where an indication of stage 1 to stage 2 hypertension. Been taking the drug and dieting for 4 days now and noticed that I am loosing a little weight and sleeping more. Still have the symptoms. They gave me a BP machine to monitor my BP. I noticed today that the symptoms started to disappear and I immediately took my BP and it was 115 over 82. Then a little while later started back up. Is this drug any good and why would this just start up? I am 58 and 146 lbs. Not overweight. Both my parents are still alive and both have had bypass surgery. I smoke half a pack a day and only drink red wine, no hard liquor. Went last year to the cardiac doctor and my blood was "rock solid". ANybody else experience these symptoms?

[JimRed]

I always thought sodium anything was a no-no for high BP.

[Raycpa]

Consider daily baby aspirin. It protects heart from clot.

[onona]

Agree with Pearls. There are dozens and dozens of different BP meds out there. And cheap, as a result.

I had to experiment through many to find the best one FOR ME.

I'm 58, 190 lbs. Not overweight.

Keep monitoring, and definitely keep a log of your BP's. Keep your doctor up to date.

Also, alternate arms for the monitoring. You can negatively impact your artery if you stick with one site for monitoring.

[Captain Peter Blood]

Know how you feel. I have been in the ER three times in the last year and half for a Blood Pressure spike, first time about 204/104. I am a Type II diabetic and need to be careful.

Anyway after all these visits and every test, nothing could be found wrong. After a lot of research my doctor and I came to the conclusion I was having Stress/Anxiety problems.

My last ER visit was three weeks ago. Since then they doubled my Lisinopril dose to 20mg a day. They put me on a Beta Blocker called Metoprolol, 50mg a day.

Before this last ER visit I am walking 3 miles about 5 days a week.

Anyway after being on this Metoprolol for 2 1/2 weeks I had to get off of it. Too many side effects. My doctor prescribed a Anxiety medication but my research tells that has a lot of the same side effects I had with the other drug.

My Anxiety is not that bad but I have symptoms like the ones you describe. Since July I have gotten on a Low Carb/ No Carb diet, gave up all caffeine and sweetners and now use Stevia. Try to watch it all.

So it has been a roller coaster ride. I have to get back to my walking and I am looking at getting a dog and may even try Yoga. Want to try other things before I see I have to use medications.

Sometimes the doctors are to quick with a lot of medication. Of course in the environment we are in now the doctors don't and can't spend enough time with their patients.

My advice is do more research, try this website, I found a lot people like me and some good information: http://www.healthboards.com/boards/high-low-blood-pressure/847213-panic-attacks-spikes-blood-pressure.html

E-Mail me of you need more information.

[steve86]

Mayo Clinic:

Blood pressure treatment goals: *Although 120/80 mm Hg or lower is the ideal blood pressure goal, doctors are unsure if you need treatment (medications) to reach that level. Less than 150/90 mm Hg If you're a healthy adult age 60 or older

No reason to get hysterical if you're bouncing around this level as I am.

[Captain Peter Blood]

He said leg weakness not pain.

[Captain Peter Blood]

What did you do to lower your Cholesterol?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

When do you plan to retire? I retired almost 4 months ago. That will knock 10 points off your BP. No commute stress, dangerous/rude drivers, no people breathing down your neck for assignments, problems, difficult people, screamers, meeting numbers & goals, etc. Make sure you are in a good financial situation to retire because you don’t want money stress in retirement to replace work and commute stress. Find new things to do in retirement that YOU enjoy - volunteering, spending time with loved ones, be outdoors, amp up your exercise, travel.

Make sure you get enough sleep and it’s good quality sleep. If you snore, get checked for sleep apnea because you can stop breathing and wake up dozens or scores of times every night and not even know it. It really kills restorative sleep.

Get a good BP monitor and use it consistently. I measure my BP 2 to 4 times a week and take three readings each time a few minutes apart (there can be quite a bit of variability between readings due to measurement tolerances and changes in your body). Try to take the reading with the same conditions every time for repeatability. I’ve got 19 years of data stored in Excel (sometimes big gaps when I get lazy). My health care provider automated several years ago and they also have a lot of data online taken at every visit.

My systolic BP is down 13 points since retiring (I’m on a combination of atenolol and lisinopril/HCTZ plus daily baby aspirin). Maybe I can achieve my BP goals with the Chinese medicine recommended by others and reduce or eliminate these drugs.

Obviously, lots of fruits & vegetables, light on salt, light on red meat, light/moderate on fats, more exercise and stop smoking.

You may be experiencing panic attacks. These are insidious and there is very little you can do to tamp them down when it happens. Meditation and mindfulness can help here. Look into Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Worries about job, health, savings, retirement planning, family etc can cause a LOT of stress and anxiety.

Somebody else suggested deep vein thrombosis. Definitely have that looked at. They will do ultrasound diagnostics of your leg veins and, if nothing is found, it will put your mind at ease.

Good luck!

[mass55th]

First of all, when you saw the cardiologist, did you have a stress test? Secondly I 'd been on Metoprolol and Hydrochlorothiazide for many years...at least since the early 90's. I'd never had any issues or problems. My then family doctor had also prescribed a Potassium supplement since HCTZ is a diuretic, and you can lose Potassium and other needed chemicals through the use of this drug. Two years ago, I started having symptoms of weakness, shaky feeling in my legs and arms, cramps in my calves, bad headache, and my blood pressure was sky high. I noticed that I was having problems concentrating, and my vision seemed to be blurred, even with my glasses. I went to my Endocrinologist, who is also now my family doctor. He sent me for blood work, but the results were normal for whatever tests he had requested. He did prescribe an additional blood pressure medication called Taztia.

The symptoms continued over the next week, and got even worse. I decided to go to the emergency room as I knew something wasn't right, and my family doctor was on vacation. They took blood work, and found that my electrolytes were all messed up. My sodium, magnesium, and potassium levels were very low, and they admitted me to the hospital. They put me on mega doses of supplements, both oral and intravenous. The hospital doctor also added an additional blood pressure medication called Lisinopril. They told me to stop taking the HCTZ, and Potassium, because too much Potassium is just as dangerous as not enough. I spent 2 1/2 days in the hospital, and it took me a while longer to start really feeling better. I haven't had any problems since, and my blood pressure is fine. I see a Cardiologist once a year, and he's happy with my blood pressure too. The only thing they could attribute the problem to was that I might have had a bladder/urinary tract infection, which caused me to urinate more frequently than I already do. This is possible since I am prone to them, but never seem to have any actual physical symptoms when I do get one.

My oldest son has RA, and has to give himself injections for it. He started having cramps in his calves, and the Rheumatologist told him to start taking Magnesium tablets, and the cramps have gone away.

[Ragnar54]

I am not a physician, but I am married to one and have personal experience with heart disease. So here are some suggestions that I hope you will find useful:

1. Stop smoking. Smoking causes plaque buildup, as well as poisoning your body with (among other things) carbon monoxide.

2. Inflammation causes plaque buildup. Measure your inflammation profile with an at-home blood test (about $75). The ideal value is the typical Japaneses value of about 1.5 (the typical American value is 15-20). Reduce your inflammation profile with diet modification (e.g. Zone Diet) and fish oil (up to 4 capsules a day). Note that fish oil acts as a blood thinner, and should not be combined with prescription blood thinners, and must be stopped a week before any surgery.(Surgeons like to be able to see what they are doing).

3. Take ubiquinol. This is the most bioavailable form of Coq10. The liver produces some, but production declines with age and shuts down if statins are taken. Coq10 is needed by the mitochondria to process energy. I have found that 400mg a day is enough to maintain serum levels above Dr. Sinatra's recommendation for treatment of heart failure.

4. The only proven way to prevent plaque buildup is to take statin drugs. One theory is that they do this by reducing inflammation. I don't personally take statins, because my cardiologist did not prescribe any. A side effect of statins is Coq10 deficiency, leading to muscle pain and weakness (and some dysfunction of every cell in the body except the red blood cells). Taking ubuquinol addresses this side effect.

[upchuck]

I’m 73 and have had high BP for 10 years or so.

FWIW -

First: STOP smoking. I smoked 2-4 packs a day for 40 years. Stopped cold turkey, the only way to stop IMHO. In addition to wrecking your lungs (believe me COPD is not fun), smoking constricts your blood vessels, raising your BP.

Second: Take your meds as prescribed by your dr. It’s important to take the meds at the same time each day.

Third: Take your BP every day at the same time. Write down the high number, the low number and the time of day.

Fourth: If you don’t see improvement in your BP numbers in a couple of weeks or so, take your written record to your dr and ask for your meds to be changed. BP meds are a balancing act.

[Darch]

Best thing you can do, at any age, is to improve your nutrition. Get rid of all foods that contribute to clogging up your arteries. Good videos and links on this non-invasive approach at: http://w888.hostfree.pw/health/QuickStart.htm

[uncbob]

I always thought sodium anything was a no-no for high BP.

81 years old
Developed HBP at age 60 despite being 6' 165 lbs running biking using weights and machines
5mg lisinopril till I hit 73
now 10mg
eat potato chips cheese etc etc
BP 115-125/55-60 Low salt does not work for everybody

[FrankR]

I’m 72. I totally ignored by HBP in my 40’s, and started having Kidney failure in the 90’s.

I have been on dialysis for going on two years now.

I had a triple bypass when I was 42...no heart attack, they just found a blockage on routine.

The HBP literally destroys the tiny capillaries in your kidneys, which does the filtering and removal of toxins, and other things.

get that bp steady and low...or you will regret it, I promise.

[Texan]

Re: cough

Yep lisinipril did the same to me. Took two trips to two different Ear, Nose, & Throat doctors to find that out.

[mass55th]

I just noticed you said you smoked. I grew up in a family where everyone but me smoked. I'm 70, and everyone in my family is dead...three from lung cancer. My brother died at 51 of a massive heart attack. He had stopped smoking, but didn't take his blood pressure medication as the doctor directed. My oldest sister died three years ago of a stroke. She was 74, and the longest living person in my immediate family. My mother and other sister died at 69. My father died at 72.

The sister who died at 69 died of lung cancer. She had stopped smoking 5 years before because she'd been diagnosed with 4 aneurysms in her brain, probably caused by uncontrolled hypertension. Brain aneurysms can be hereditary, but consistently high blood pressure can cause damage to arteries. She was the only one who was ever diagnosed with this problem. They tied off the inner carotid artery on her left side. This stopped the flow of blood to three of the four aneurysms. The fourth one they would monitor with CAT scans. She was doing fine, until five years later she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Just because I never smoked doesn't mean I won't get lung cancer, or any other type of cancer. And I do have health issues: hypertension, hypothyroidism, Type II diabetes (oral meds), Acid Reflux/GERD, Barrett's Esophagus without dysplasia, and high cholesterol. Back in 2010, despite strictly following my Gastroenterologist's order not to eat certain foods, I ended up with a perforated bowel from diverticulitis. I had to have a temporary colostomy, which they reversed three months later. In 2012, I had to have surgery to repair a hernia where the stoma had been. In 2015, I had to have my gall bladder removed. They couldn't do it laparoscopically because of the three previous surgeries. It seems I saved up all my surgeries for my old age. I pray to God every day that I don't ever have to have any other surgeries in my lifetime.

[JockoManning]

Yes. It appears to work quite well for him. The VA MD etc. have accepted it because his BP is good, now. Sorry about that omission.

BTW, he sometimes watches the award winning large fresh-water aquarium youtube videos to calm himself after watching/reading to many liberal idiot things on the net.

Aquariums have been documented to also lower BP.

[csmusaret]

It is not uncommon for doctors to have to try different drugs and dosages before getting your BP under control.
I will say this about hydrochlorothiazide though. It is a diuretic, and severe lack of stamina is a frequent side effect. If I take it everyday after a couple of weeks I cannot do anything physical without becoming very weak almost immediately. I reduced my intake to 3 pills a week and I can manage.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The big government/big Pharma criminal complex wants to turn you into a revenue stream for them, so whatever you do, DO NOT EXERCISE, especially enough to sweat and gasp for breath. You have no right to take away their revenue stream.

[outofsalt]

"He said leg weakness not pain."
"Last month my legs begin to feel weak and painful and tingling."
I am not a doctor! Some of these symptoms can be brought on by vascular disease but could also be spinal/neurologic. It's best to get a doctor to examine and opine.