How much damage is DP likely to do by delaying BP meds?

[slightlyglitterstained]

DP went to docs around Xmas for something unrelated, & discovered he had high blood pressure. Subsequently had one of those portable devices to measure it over 24 hours, still fairly high, blood tests came back clear showing he hadn't yet damaged kidneys etc.

Unfortunately he took this as carte blanche to ram his head firmly up his backside in the sand, and did nothing about reducing weight, alcohol, coffee, salt, or increasing sleep or exercise. He did drop down to four days at work.

Last week he went to opticians & discovered he had a small bleed at back of eye, likely related to high bp, went back to docs & saw different GP who immediately dished out ACE inhibitors but wasn't very communicative.

He's finally decided to kick coffee, alcohol, snacking on huge lumps of cheese and is eating less to lose weight. He hates the idea of being on medication for life, so hasn't started his pills as he wants to see if changing his lifestyle will work.

Realistically, how likely is this to work? I think avoiding the threat of pills is giving him an incentive to improve his lifestyle, so don't want to push him to take them and remove that incentive IYSWIM, but am concerned he might do permanent damage by delaying them.

Only a doctor can really advise on this. In a mild case of high BP then yes, a change of lifestyle is probably sufficient.

With inhibitors and bleeds behind the eye involved, I'd be taking the tabs! Along with a better lifestyle there is plenty of time in the future for him to be able to come off the pills

I'd say if the Dr has prescribed them then he must take them. He needs to make the lifestyle changes too. High blood pressure is very dangerous. I think it's related to strokes & heart attacks.

I agree - he needs to go back to the GP and discuss appropriate options. I don't know why he doesn't start taking the pills and argue later about coming off them - they're not addictive for god's sake!

I wouldn't be pissing about with bleeding behind the eye. Does he fancy having a stroke before he finds out if lifestyle changes alone are enough? Maybe send him over to the NHS Choices page. Do you know whether his blood pressure was only slightly high or moderately? I'm guessing moderately, in which case medication is indicated.

I think it's worth another appointment with the original GP to talk this through properly, find out where to get decent information - he/she will probably send him to Patient.co.uk.

I think the information out there is so insistent that very few people ever come off them, that it's backfired somewhat in his case & he thinks it'll be harder to come off them than to not start them. Or something

I'll get him to make an appt with one of the GPS he can actually discuss things with, next week.

Thanks all! Feels like I've been nagging him to do something about his health forever, with fuck all effect.

I was diagnosed with high BP as a teen, and in my case I'll always be on tablets. I'd rather have that than a stroke, for example.

In 20 years on tablets I've never experienced any symptoms, and it was sheer luck my BP was measured.

Your DP needs to take tablets to bring his BP down in the short term, and avoid further bleeds. He's being a bit daft. There are no withdrawal symptoms from ACE inhibitors, neither is there any shame in being on long-term medication.

Any good GP will of course monitor his BP over time and see whether lifestyle factors make the tablets redundant.

My husband has very high blood pressure which is now controlled by meds. He also has clogged arteries, caused by the high BP. Once he stabilised on the meds (which can take a while as everyone has different needs and the meds have to be tailored to the individual patient) his BP has reduced to a safer level.

Hypertension is known as the "silent killer" for a very good reason. The first sign that there is a problem might well be a fatal heart attack or a debilitating stroke.

If your husband's car needs to be fixed he, or the mechanic, will need the right tools to fix it. Medication is just a tool to fix a problem.

Your husband has been given an opportunity to avoid a catastrophe. He would be a fool not to take that opportunity.

My husband's hypertension was discovered during an examination for something quite minor. Without the meds he would probably have died by now.

Leaflet from the Royal College of Physicians and lots of info on the Blood Pressure UK website.

I can sympathise with your DP. My doctor wanted to put me on bp tablets. I wasn't keen on the idea - it's what old people do and I wasn't ready to join that club. It took a while to be reconciled to the concept.
It might be an idea to find statistics on how many people are on bp tablets - it's a huge percentage so he's certainly not on his own.

being on meds is a lot better than being dead, blinded or paralysed from a stroke.

of course he may not have a stroke until he has died of something else - but with what you say, it is not a chance I would take.

and if he is left disabled, it will also destroy your life.

btw please do some proper research about reducing bp, good ideas are:

• losing weight
• reducing salt intake
• reducing alcohol intake
• giving up smoking
• taking more exercise.

Cutting out caffiene (doesn't cause high bp) and alcohol (only has an effect if you drink a lot) entirely will just annoy him and have zero effect on his bp.

and of course he needs to take his meds.

That's interesting tobysmum. Even levels of caffeine like two or three large cafetieres of coffee per day? I was going by the NHS site which says more than four cups is too much. Think pharmacist also suggested cutting back.

Alcohol is either a bit too much, or nothing for DP. He can't do just one glass, has to be two or three, similarly cannot understand the idea of getting two biscuits out and then putting the packet away, or just one slice of cheese. So in order to lose weight, the only thing that works is for him to just avoid temptation. He's given up coffee & alcohol entirely for long periods in the past.

Today's excuse is "I'm going away tonight and don't want to be away from home if I have side effects". Have pointed out a cough is better than a stroke to manage when visiting friends.

well clearly 3 large cafetiers of coffee is unlikely to be good for you. Caffiene raises blood pressure in the short term rather than overall I thought. But if you drink a lot of strong coffee that probably isn't good. I just get about the number of people who cut out caffiene and replace it with smoothies/ juice because that also isn't good as it will make you fatter!

It must be so frustrating for you OP.

Dh is just the same. About ten years ago he was dx with high BP and had the 24 hour monitor and was then prescribed medication. He never started it probably after reading about side effects although he was adamant that it was through stress. He goes for regular BP checks that are all totally normal which the GP attributes to the medication, Dh refuses to tell GP he has never taken it and instead picks up the prescription and throws it away

pleased your husband is better, insanity. But those of us who NEED the NHS would appreciate it if he stops that revolting, entitled, disgusting waste of public resources.

he's raising MY blood pressure just thinking about it!

He does me too special, just to clarify he doesn't pick up the tablets just the script. I have a different GP or I would have filled his GP in years ago and I have urged him to come clean because surely the GP would be quite happy it's not needed but I can't force him can I?

He's better to take the tablets and go to GP for a review.
It may well be he can come off them in the future if lifestyle habits have improved, but having a high BP in the meantime will just put him at risk.

DP started tablets tonight. Not sure what the deciding factor was - we had several conversations about it over the last few days, part of his reasoning for delaying was that he thought he'd get caffeine withdrawal symptoms mixed up with pill side effects. Part probably just reluctance to admit he needed them.

Anyway, very relieved he's actually started them now. Also been talking about how to change eating patterns to help him lose weight etc, exercise etc.

Thanks all for support/advice!

I have a colleague who trust her head firmly in the sand (even though we work in another medical industry and should no better). She now has IRIS Stage 2 renal failure as a result of not taking the meds it will ultimately shorten her life. She now takes twice the amount of meds she should have one originally to slow the renal failure.
Flip side my Mum phoned me to say she had looked in the mirror and seen some blood in the front chamber of her eye. I asked her to pass the phone to my Dad who I told 'regardless of what they had been planning to do they must go straight to A&E'. My mum told the consultant who responded that had she not come in for the bleed she almost certainly would have been a stroke victim within the next 48 hours.