[Ygrec23]

I'm having a problem with the medication for blood pressure. Anyone else here ever had a problem getting BP under control with several different medicines?

[Indie'sOK]

I have high blood pressure too. My doctor put me on a low dose of propranolol and it's normal now.

[Inedible]

Propranolol is a great choice. There have been studies showing that it helps with removing some of the emotional impact of traumatic memories.

Drinking a lot of water can help with blood pressure, and so can regular exercise.

It helps if you can identify a specific reason for having high blood pressure like stress, diet, lack of exercise, too much caffeine.

[Aunt Donna]

I am on three different blood pressure medications. You have to trust your doctor on prescribing the right medication. Also, if you are overweight, you need to lose weight (easier said than done, working on it myself). Watch your diet and stress does make BP worse. One of my blood pressure meds actually reduces my panic attacks and helps me be able to control them better. The doctor only prescribed it after I had an EKG. Talk to your doctor about your concerns.

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by Aunt Donna

I am on three different blood pressure medications. You have to trust your doctor on prescribing the right medication. Also, if you are overweight, you need to lose weight (easier said than done, working on it myself). Watch your diet and stress does make BP worse. One of my blood pressure meds actually reduces my panic attacks and helps me be able to control them better. The doctor only prescribed it after I had an EKG. Talk to your doctor about your concerns.

Hi, Donna. Yes, like you, I was stabilized on a three-med regime for about ten years (HCTZ, Lisinopril & Metaprolol). Then last winter things started getting out of hand and both systolic and diastolic kept going up and up. Finally, in July, my doc doubled the Metaprolol. That didn't work. So he threw in some clonidine (fourth drug). That works but it makes me tired. So this week he switched the Clonidine to Amlodipine and we'll see how that works. I'll also be taking a renal artery test to see if that's clogged up and needs a stent.

I'd prefer not having a stroke right now. It would be very inconvenient. But I didn't spend years with uncontrolled BP, we controlled it as soon as it raised its ugly head. Unfortunately, it's all what they call "idiopathic," i.e., they don't know the cause. I do need to lose 20 pounds. Which I can do. As for the stress, I've been trying mindfulness meditation. I don't know how long that takes to have an effect. Do you?

[Perna]

Oh, how scary, Ygrec. My husband is on 3 meds I think but has always been pretty stable; he just turned 68 a couple days ago. I only have slightly elevated, "appropriate" for my age I think so I'm working with diet and exercise, etc. to keep track of it.

Do you know about telemonitoring? If you pay attention to it, apparently it responds :-)

http://www.nature.com/jhh/journal/va...h2010119a.html

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by Perna

Oh, how scary, Ygrec. My husband is on 3 meds I think but has always been pretty stable; he just turned 68 a couple days ago. I only have slightly elevated, "appropriate" for my age I think so I'm working with diet and exercise, etc. to keep track of it. Do you know about telemonitoring? If you pay attention to it, apparently it responds :-)
http://www.nature.com/jhh/journal/va...h2010119a.html

No, Perna, I hadn't heard about telemonitoring. I'll check out your link and see. What I have run across, but can't afford at the moment, is something called "Resperate," in which you and your husband might be interested. I'd buy it in a flash if I had the money:

http://www.resperate.com/us/welcome/...FYHt7QodiRNP9w

My diet is pretty good. Very low sodium and low fat. And now very low quantity so I can drop those pounds. I've been successful in the past every time I've wanted to lose weight, so I'm reasonably confident about being able to do it now.

It's true, and it's kind of strange, that there just aren't any symptoms. Nothing other than that reading on the machine. I have my own machine, of course, and take my BP three or four times a day. That could be part of what's "scary." I've heard on another forum that it could possibly be a symptom of clogging of the coronary arteries, which is something I'll raise with my cardiologist if the renal artery test proves negative. Well, you can only do what you can, I guess. Thanks for the sympathy!

[Perna]

I've read about it and almost bought it! I took yoga (which, a good course teaches breathing) and that helped me a lot.

This book was helpful for me and a friend too: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Pressure...4293843&sr=8-3

[Aunt Donna]

Ygrec23, I take clonidine at bedtime because of the sedative affect. Getting your arteries checked is a good thing to do. My boss has had problems with her arteries clogging and one of the side affects is high blood pressure.

[sunrise]

Biofeedback is another option. I don't know how much it costs to have some sessions with a practitioner who uses biofeedback, but maybe it would be covered by insurance if you have medication-resistant hypertension.

My hypertension is somewhat controlled (I take one medication), but it is always creeping back up there. It is usually pointless to even measure my BP at the doctor's office, because it shoots way up whenever I go there. It is lower when I monitor it on my own throughout the day. I found that I can get it lower by a few points by doing different things. Each thing might affect it just a point or two, but it adds up. Lowering salt in my diet helped a few points, as did taking flax seed oil, losing a few pounds, exercising, getting treatment for my sleep apnea, etc. I guess apnea can be a definite cause or contributor, so I throw that idea out to you in case you suspect you may have sleep apnea. The main symptoms are daytime sleepiness and snoring.

I looked at that resperate link and am intrigued. Wish it wasn't so expensive.

[missbelle]

Nice to know we are all in the same boat. Its just not the psych issues! Dealing with medical issues is super tough and for someone that has an anxiety disorder, its super stressful
I am on a beta blocker. which is what comedians and actors sometimes take to ease the stage fright. It indeed works on anxiety and might have been the drug that someone else posted about. My blood pressure is good with my beta blocker.

I feel for you Ygrec. We don't need extra "stuff"!!!

[(JD)]

I have neuropathies in both arms (we think, now that my BP readings are all over the charts)... and suffer with chronic pain... my BP when I went into the ER in the flare was 185/100! Within 15 minutes of the shot it went down to 150/80. My resting BP is 117/76...
I cannot and will not try to take medication. I find more issues with the side effects of meds (and they just keep adding more drugs for those sides effects... etc) but use herbs for the same results without side effects.

I also am now doing my forms with tang soo do... which I've heard that even a few minutes of tai chi or quiet focussed movement immediately lowers pulse and BP. Immediately. So does meditation... so the combination of them, and learning to "hold" that calmness through out the day is my goal.

(Herbs you can take for BP are plenteous. )

[popeye]

I have had hypertension since I was 23....I am 60 now. My med always worked but a few moths ago I started passing out for no apparent reason. Spent a few days in the hospital and had to get a pacemaker installed. I am now part cyborg.

[unaluna]

My gp tried at one point to take me OFF my beta blocker and try something else, but it just didn't work - I walked up the flight of stairs to my flat and my heart wouldn't stop beating (not in a good way!). I looked it up when Indie mentioned what she was on, I think it is different, one is "specific" one isn't, some business like that.

I did notice that the beta-blocker will raise triglycerides, because my gp has been chewing me out about that, and I thought I had been eating less! So I googled an antidote to those, and found l-carnitine, which is basically beef, and I do think I feel better when I eat meat, so I will try to add that to my diet and see if it helps. T (of the perfect body) says he uses protein powders.

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by hankster

My gp tried at one point to take me OFF my beta blocker and try something else, but it just didn't work - I walked up the flight of stairs to my flat and my heart wouldn't stop beating (not in a good way!). I looked it up when Indie mentioned what she was on, I think it is different, one is "specific" one isn't, some business like that.

I did notice that the beta-blocker will raise triglycerides, because my gp has been chewing me out about that, and I thought I had been eating less! So I googled an antidote to those, and found l-carnitine, which is basically beef, and I do think I feel better when I eat meat, so I will try to add that to my diet and see if it helps. T (of the perfect body) says he uses protein powders.

Hi, hankster, just a couple of comments on things you've said. My doc tells me that beta-blockers are extra good for keeping your pulse down, which is one of his aims for me. I take enough of them now so that I have a problem with it going too low, down in the fifties and forties. And I have the consequent triglyceride problem too. So when my cardio wanted me to go on a specific med to reduce triglycerides, I checked it out, didn't like the downside and told him no, I wouldn't. So he told me to take 3,000 mg per day of Omega 3 fish oil. Which I've done religiously. Now I have to go be tested to find out if it's working.

Does T tell you that protein powders will reduce triglycerides? Take care!

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by (JD)

I have neuropathies in both arms (we think, now that my BP readings are all over the charts)... and suffer with chronic pain... my BP when I went into the ER in the flare was 185/100! Within 15 minutes of the shot it went down to 150/80. My resting BP is 117/76...
I cannot and will not try to take medication. I find more issues with the side effects of meds (and they just keep adding more drugs for those sides effects... etc) but use herbs for the same results without side effects.

I also am now doing my forms with tang soo do... which I've heard that even a few minutes of tai chi or quiet focussed movement immediately lowers pulse and BP. Immediately. So does meditation... so the combination of them, and learning to "hold" that calmness through out the day is my goal.

(Herbs you can take for BP are plenteous. )

You know, JD, regarding your comment about tai chi or quiet focussed movement immediately having a beneficial effect, I've had some interesting experiences.

First, since my bp and pulse were all over the place and getting (sometimes) into dangerous areas, I set up a form on the computer for noting when I take my pills and every time I take my blood pressure and pulse. (My little machine gives both.) And sometimes I'd clock in with some really terrible numbers, either too high or too low. So I'd just take them again in ten minutes or so and note the results. Without fail, I tell you, absolutely without fail, on the second reading what was too high would come down and what was too low would come up. And not just once or twice, but dozens and dozens of times.

Which leads me to believe, rather strongly, that there are parts of our minds that can control BP and pulse rate, and the only question is how to harness them to work together with our conscious self all the time. So I know that a variety of techniques, mainly oriental but not all of them, are supposed to be able to help, but if we can make a direct connection with those parts of ourselves that are really in control, we may not need any esoteric techniques. Those techniques are just harnessing our own internal mental powers that we can possibly harness on our own. Just a thought! Take care.

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by sunrise

Biofeedback is another option. I don't know how much it costs to have some sessions with a practitioner who uses biofeedback, but maybe it would be covered by insurance if you have medication-resistant hypertension.

My hypertension is somewhat controlled (I take one medication), but it is always creeping back up there. It is usually pointless to even measure my BP at the doctor's office, because it shoots way up whenever I go there. It is lower when I monitor it on my own throughout the day. I found that I can get it lower by a few points by doing different things. Each thing might affect it just a point or two, but it adds up. Lowering salt in my diet helped a few points, as did taking flax seed oil, losing a few pounds, exercising, getting treatment for my sleep apnea, etc. I guess apnea can be a definite cause or contributor, so I throw that idea out to you in case you suspect you may have sleep apnea. The main symptoms are daytime sleepiness and snoring.

I looked at that resperate link and am intrigued. Wish it wasn't so expensive.

Hi, sunrise! Thanks for your post. I agree that biofeedback is a good option, if you can afford it or your insurance will pay for it. I can't and my insurance won't so it's not an option for me. I don't have sleep apnea and I don't eat much salt. I could use to lose a few pounds and I could exercise a lot more, but I don't know what good it would do me. Right now I'm on four medications and the docs are going to do some serious testing to find out whether there are physical conditions causing this resistant high blood pressure. I'd love to have that resperate gadget but can't afford it. Take care!

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by Ygrec23

Does T tell you that protein powders will reduce triglycerides? Take care!

No, he didn't. That was totally my extrapolation. As a second career I became a manicurist, and I tell T my license is better than his because I can buy and dispense chemicals and he can't.

I couldn't tolerate the fish oil caps, prescription or otherwise, so I eat sardines until I get sick of them. I need to regulate everything better!

ps i've been meaning to tell you, I love your name! I always picture my first french teacher, who I adored! (and who adored me!)

[Perna]

Originally Posted by Ygrec23

Which leads me to believe, rather strongly, that there are parts of our minds that can control BP and pulse rate, and the only question is how to harness them to work together with our conscious self all the time.

Actually, I spend a month working consciously with my blood pressure, taking it before, during, after various activities (exercise, going out to eat, after a good meal, just being "out") and was chagrined to find that being "out and about" with other people and/or enjoying a good time or going for a 10 minute walk, all got my blood pressure down but also, just "paying attention" to it/myself like what happened with those old time/motion studies and the "Hawthorne" effect seemed to help over time also.

http://www.horology-stuff.com/more/hawthorne.html

That's why I liked the idea of phone monitoring:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/742269

[Ygrec23]

Saw the Doc again today. Now blood pressure's okay. Pulse is too low though: 43, 36, that kind of thing. So now I'm wearing a Holter Monitor that I'll turn in tomorrow morning back at the Doc's office. They'll process the readings in the computer chip and decide on the next step. Pacemaker time? Who knows? No big deal, anyway.

[(JD)]

Oh I surely believe our minds, used correctly can lower or stabilize blood pressure. I can do this even during the testing, if I choose. I can do it for pain too... unless it becomes extreme quickly. I can do it for breathing, opening airways... I can do it for blood flow such as from a wound...

However, with the neuropathies, it is the body's fluctuations that are causing the incorrect BP readings.

But yes, being mindful of the breath (and anxiety etc) you can lower or raise your blood pressure. In fact, you can do that with most parts of your body, skilled enough. I'm continually reading "Your Body Believes Every Word You Say" along with the Manual for the Brain, and How Your Mind Works... and we don't harness the powers we have for good. We do harness them, often with constant negative thinking against our own selves!

[Ygrec23]

Yes, (JD), I think you're quite correct: the mind can control the body to an amazing extent. The doctors aren't very comfortable with that (my doc laughed when I mentioned yoga), but that's just how they're educated to react. So it's just up to each one of us to try things out and do what we can to help ourselves by ourselves. It certainly works on blood pressure and pulse. Some people even say you can do it on cholesterol, trigylicerides, etc. Who knows? Take care!

Originally Posted by (JD)

Oh I surely believe our minds, used correctly can lower or stabilize blood pressure. I can do this even during the testing, if I choose. I can do it for pain too... unless it becomes extreme quickly. I can do it for breathing, opening airways... I can do it for blood flow such as from a wound...

However, with the neuropathies, it is the body's fluctuations that are causing the incorrect BP readings.

But yes, being mindful of the breath (and anxiety etc) you can lower or raise your blood pressure. In fact, you can do that with most parts of your body, skilled enough. I'm continually reading "Your Body Believes Every Word You Say" along with the Manual for the Brain, and How Your Mind Works... and we don't harness the powers we have for good. We do harness them, often with constant negative thinking against our own selves!

[sunrise]

Ygrec, how did the Holter monitoring go? What did you find out? I have sometimes thought I would like to do Holter monitoring. I had one episode of AF coming out of surgery 3 years ago and now I am forever branded as having AF in my chart, which affects a lot of things in treatment and insurance too. I would like to do monitoring to see if I am having any AF that I am not aware of. How was it to wear the monitor? Does it go on your arm?

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by sunrise

Ygrec, how did the Holter monitoring go? What did you find out? I have sometimes thought I would like to do Holter monitoring. I had one episode of AF coming out of surgery 3 years ago and now I am forever branded as having AF in my chart, which affects a lot of things in treatment and insurance too. I would like to do monitoring to see if I am having any AF that I am not aware of. How was it to wear the monitor? Does it go on your arm?

It went fine, thanks! It's no big deal at all. Your doctor's nurse hooks you up to what is essentially a portable EKG, about seven or eight little tabs get put on you with what look like bandaids and you wear the computer box (about the size of a large hamburger) by a sling that goes over your shoulder. You don't really notice it. And other than not being able to shower or swim, it doesn't interfere with any activities. You then go back to your doctor's office the next morning and the same nurse takes it off and pops the little computer chip out. You go home, and they analyze the data on the chip. The nurse then calls you and lets you know whether or not they found anything bad. In my case all was well. So I don't have to rejigger my blood pressure meds again.

I'm sure your doctor will be sympathetic to your concern about AF. I can't see any reason why he or she should NOT want you to wear the monitor. If it will make you feel better and more comfortable (and those are things you deserve) see your doctor and ask him/her. Good luck! Take care.

[Beholden]

Good to hear your Holter testing went well!

I have HBP also, have been on Micardis 80mg for the past few years and as of last week, I've been cut back down to 40mg!

The one diet thing that helped me the most was doing the DASH diet. It is all about cutting salt out of your diet. I had to because of kidney disease.

You stated you already follow a low salt diet, but do you eat a lot of pre-made, processed, and restaurant foods? That's where so much sodium is hidden.

Also, losing just 7-10% of your Over weight pounds can reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease?

I have a chart from my dietitian specialist for how many calories and how many fat grams you should be consuming an a daily basis if you are interested. Getting enough of a combination of whole foods is also important. In fact, I need to go get some lunch right now.

I'll be happy to share the calory/fat numbers if you like.