How the hell can I get my blood pressure down?

[Bryonyshcmyony]

Measured today and itwas 136/97 so too high for them to give me my HRT prescription. I have to measure it twice daily for a week and send it to them.

I am a stone overweight (was almost 2 stone but I've lost 11lbs low carbing).

I have horses that I muck out daily plus constantly out pushing a barrow around, so no cardio but active

My dsis has MH probs and is calling me 10 x a day atm and that's very upsetting STRESS
Job likely to go kaput before Xmas STRESS
Four teens currently at home I love them all dearly but have absolutely no time to myself STRESS

I drink quite a lot of coffee and drink a bottle of wine a week.

Argh. Any tips?!

Thanks all. Blood pressure already down a bit this morning despite the match! I'll keep jogging every day and avoiding caffeine and alcohol. I'm going to start measuring properly after the weekend (got something very stressful to do and will be more relaxed when it's over).

I take your points about diet however I need to lose weight and low carbing is doing that very nicely. Once I have lost another stone I can be less strict (I'm still eating lots of veg by the way - yesterday had lettuce, celery, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus and some blueberries!)

Lisinopril? works for me.

You can buy massive ‘hotel’ boxes of clipper mint tea on amazon, 250 bags a time. I did this and substituted this for all my caffeine-based drinks except my first cup of tea in the morning.

It’s about forming new habits you can stick with.

@Figmentofmyimagination

You can buy massive ‘hotel’ boxes of clipper mint tea on amazon, 250 bags a time. I did this and substituted this for all my caffeine-based drinks except my first cup of tea in the morning.

And that helped?

I think so. I had to come off hrt but for unrelated reasons.

Also, the Action on Salt website has some good recipes. They are clearly marketing to men, but they are still good family recipes nevertheless.

Here - www.actiononsalt.org.uk/resources/recipe-books/

Don’t know why they don’t sell them in a book tbh - more convenient but I’m probs showing my age!

Cut the caffeine and sell the dc into slavery.

Imagine if one of your teen was doing something harmful to lose weight and when you pointed the risks to her, she replied," I take your points about diet however I need to lose weight and low carbing is doing that very nicely. Once I have lost another stone I can be less strict"

You don't have to give up low carb if it suits you. Nothing wrong with low carb as long as it a healthy low carb. It is just that you should consider that bacon or sausages are not healthy, pretty sure nobody has ever written they are. Think avocado instead of bacon, and nuts instead of sausages. Or olives. Sun dried tomatoes, ....

Just so you know, Atkins, the father of low carb, had high blood pressure and died aged 72 obese and sick, whereas Keys, father of the Mediterranean diet, died age 100, two months short of his 101 birthday.

And some of the louder voices here when it comes to low carb have been shouting instructions for over ten years now and dieting themselves for the same amount of time, they should be the size of a pandora charm by now if it is was so great long term. Truth is, any diet levels up after a while, so don't sacrifice something important such as health in the journey.

TO end on a good news, you might be able to keep drinking a cup or tow of coffee per day. www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-coffee-raise-blood-pressure#high-blood-pressure if you have been a regular drinker over the years.

My work colleague says she reduced her BP by doing mindfulness exercises every day . If you just take 5-10 minutes to relax and focus on your breathing . Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Concentrate on each area of your body and the sensations you feel there. Just a few minutes a day can make a difference. I think the Headspace app has some free sessions .

I have low BP. I was taking dandelion drops to reduce water retention. My blood pressure dropped quite a lot and l felt faint so had to stop. So looks like dandelion drops in water aids in lowering BP. Bought in health food shop ..worth a try and did help for water retention.

Warning...you will be running to the loo a lot!!

I eat bacon and sausages once a week! I do eat a lot of dairy though. I'm happy with it for now particularly if I lose weight which is probably the best thing I can for bp

Eating bacon and sausages once a week is still really frequent and not good for you at all.

HRT will not necessarily raise your BP, and may, in fact, lower it, depending on the type prescribed. From bloodpressureuk.org:

“Can you take HRT if you have high blood pressure?

There has been a lot of confusion around HRT and heart health and some women are needlessly advised to stop taking HRT if they have high blood pressure. In fact, estrogen prescribed as a patch, gel or spray allows your blood vessels to widen, so it does not raise your blood pressure and can actually work to lower it. Progestogens have differing effects, but the newer type, micronised progesterone, seems to have no effect on blood pressure or even lowers it.

In a nut shell, if you have high blood pressure or you’re taking medicines to lower your blood pressure, you can still take HRT. Your doctor will need to keep an eye on your blood pressure and adjust your medicines if needed.

Professor Gareth Beevers, Trustee of Blood Pressure UK, encountered patients in his blood pressure clinic at Birmingham City Hospital who had been advised not to have HRT because of their high blood pressure. So, he ran a study to see if HRT raised it further. The results from 161 women, published in 2005, showed that, with careful monitoring and adjustments where needed, it did not.”

I've heard if you eat a banana a day it helps, as they're high in potassium and that helps lower blood pressure.

@bedtimescrolling

Eating bacon and sausages once a week is still really frequent and not good for you at all.

OK. Thanks for the concern.

Or it might be you have high blood pressure, and need it treated. GPs often ignore the signs in women younger than 50 which is why they are most likely to die of heart attacks. Get it properly investigated.

Hot baths bring mine down. It also makes a difference when you measure. Mine generally is ok on waking and rises throughout the day.

@Ozanj

Or it might be you have high blood pressure, and need it treated. GPs often ignore the signs in women younger than 50 which is why they are most likely to die of heart attacks. Get it properly investigated.

Well, I am, hence having to take it twice daily for a week.

Just to chip in - you don't mention this so may not be relevant - but if you have taken painkillers for any reason (headache etc...) - particularly ibuprofen type - they can push your BP up quite a bit - I made the mistake of taking them one day when I was going to the doctor - BP was way up! Was by chance I mentioned it and we made the connection - but I hadn't realised before then.

@alfagirl73

Just to chip in - you don't mention this so may not be relevant - but if you have taken painkillers for any reason (headache etc...) - particularly ibuprofen type - they can push your BP up quite a bit - I made the mistake of taking them one day when I was going to the doctor - BP was way up! Was by chance I mentioned it and we made the connection - but I hadn't realised before then.

Really! I had taken naproxen the night before and paracetamol that morning (migraine).

I read online that menopause can actually increase blood pressure as hormonal changes makes the walls of the the blood vessels less elastic, so pressure increases. Bloody typical.

I've just been prescribed Ramipril 2.5mg for consistently high bp. I had been on HRT but stopped as I was getting headaches and I don't feel any worse for stopping. I'm 49 and the gp did bloods but not hormone levels so I don't know whether I'm menopausal even as I'm having regular periods. I think what a pp said above is right that gps tend to ignore women under 50 with bp as they certainly ignored mine and I heard nothing for weeks! I eventually chased it up and saw a different gp who prescribed the above.

Sorry to hijack this thread and I hope everyone is well.

Just to add my experience that you can have familial high BP or idiopathic I think it's called. I have it following in the footsteps of my mother and grandmother. All of us are (or were in the case of DGM) healthy BMI, non smokers and virtually teetotal! I have been on Lisinopril for 8 years or so, and my DM is also on medication. Sometimes lifestyle is not the root cause and you do need medication.

[quote Meggymoo777]@Bryonyshcmyony I know right... apparently the term decaf is a marketing loophole 🙄[/quote]
And using the term coffee is a blatant lie. I'd rather go without (not for the want of trying to find one that doesn't taste of fetid pond).

Drinking lots more water is more use than decaf. Infusions with fruit and herbs are nicer, along with getting a filter if you have horrible tap water. And you don't get wound up about the crap they claim to be coffee in the process.

It’s the “low carbing”, aka high-fatting, that is the problem. Reduce your fat and cholesterol intake.