High blood pressure

[IWasHereBeforeTheHack]

Has anyone managed to reduce high BP without medication?

I've been trying for nearly a year by making lifestyle changes, and although I've lost weight as a result, my BP has hardly changed. It's frustrating.

Mmm...well I have just discovered I have high blood pressure and am also keen to avoid medication. So I am interested in your replies. I am overweight and need to lose and I was hoping my blood pressure would come down as a result. All the literature says, it should come down by about 3 points per 8lbs lost. I have just ordered a 'fit-bit' and am hoping that might encourage me to walk more which in itself should reduce blood pressure.

I have heard of people reducing theirs by 20 points by diet, weight loss and exercise, but a GP I spoke to said that the 'usual difference made' is about 5 points.

How high is how? From indirect personal experience I don't think you should mess around with treating high blood pressure i.e do take medication. Why are you against medication? Why can't you do both? Loosing weight is only one of the factors that lowers blood pressure. There are many others. Also blood pressure is likely to go up as you age. I've been on several blood pressure medications for years now. There are no side effects for me and there are many different types.

Having seen the devastion non medication in a youngish person I love it's a no brainier to take pills.

Another vote for do both. Your kidneys need it.

I'm on the lowest does of Ramipril - it's made a huge difference to both my BP and my "life". I used to get crippling headaches which made me think I was having a stroke. Just tested on tuesday and it was 122/81 - I feel lucky to be able to take such a small tablet which makes such a big difference. My maternal grandmother died not much older than I am now from a stroke - she'd have grabbed those meds with both hands I'm sure!

3 points per 8lbs lost? Ba-lo-ny! If I were at optimum weight then I'd barely have any pressure according to that!

I lost weight and it did initially make a difference but within six months it was back up. In my case it's highly familial in the women. I take amlodipine 10mgs with very few effects and my BP is pretty well controlled. It does make sense to follow the guidelines on diet, smoking, drinking and exercise but sometimes it isn't enough.

We are really lucky to live in an age where BP can be so well managed.

Btw I believe the NICE guidelines say that treatment should only be started after a 24hour monitor but unfortunately very few surgeries have the equipment. Makes sense when so many people have 'white coat' hypertension.

My gp referred me to the blood pressure clinic of my local hospital and I had loads of tests and I also had a 24 hour monitor which confirmed my hypertension.

just 5 points: do you mean the diastolic reading (lower figure)? That wouldn't be enough in my case. Hmmm.

tobee - why am I against medication? Stubbornness, denial, and an underlying belief that I have brought this on myself and therefore should be able to reverse it myself, eg by losing weight. I am otherwise perfectly healthy. I just think I'm too young to starts meds I'll be on for the rest of my life (denial, see? I'm mid-50s).

Beyond glad you are getting relief, and I take your point about 'if only' BP medication had been available to your grandmother.

Trout my kidneys?? Do explain...

My plan is as follows:

Keep losing weight (for now) and taking more exercise. I've lost nearly a stone (BMI now 25), and could do with losing some more (half a stone, maybe more?)
Get my BP checked at least once more within the 12 months since the high reading.
If it's still high, ask for a 24-hour monitor.
If it's still consistently high, then it will have to be the meds.

I see the meds as the start of the slippery slope to old age, but then again (as Beyond pointed out) it's better than the alternative.

OP, do you know what your BP actually is? Also did your GP recommend any blood tests? Hypertension can cause kidney damage, bloods can identify this and also cholesterol levels etc are usually checked.

It may be worth buying a home monitor and doing a few random readings. They aren't very expensive. My own readings are generally lower at home. Don't keep doing it obsessively, though!

I started meds when I was early 40's. Sometimes I'm daft enough to think it's a pain to remember to take my pills every day. Then I look at my dh setting up his home dialysis machine every night,as we go to bed wondering if tonight is the night we get the call for his kidney transplant that he's been on for 4 years (since he was 49) after not seeing to his blood pressure and I think, what the hell am I thinking of?

I strongly urge taking any medication suggested by a doctor- high BP is nothing to mess around with and can be hugely detrimental to health, especially with other factors such as being overweight. The pills usually cause the kidneys to excrete a bit more urine, reducing blood volume and lowering BP- that's it- they're a much better alternative to becoming very ill because of an on-the-whole controllable condition.

Another one voting to take the meds - I was diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure two years ago and am now on Amlodopine, Losartan and Indapamide. Its a total pain having to take these daily and knowing I'm probably on them for life, but then I look at my children and grand daughter and think it's a small price to pay to be around and see them grow up. I'm trying to lose weight but a combination of other problems (Fibroids, Perimenopause and serious back problems) make exercising very difficult but never the less, Im trying and an improved diet can only be better for me even if I'm not losing weight.

High BP is called the silent killer for a reason..

I have been on high BP meds since I was 21 and at perfect weight.

My does fluctuate. It tends so go up over times of stress. I know when it drops I go dizzy,I know when it goes high I have a specific type of headache.

You are not on medication for life if you take meds and then lose the weight.

My never really went back to normal after I had DD (no real wonder there!!). I take one table a day - have been for around 15 years - and don't really think about it. Initially Atenolol and now Ramipril.

I think I've been lucky, not aware of any side effects or other problems.

I put off medication for around a year, because I was really concerned about going on drugs at such a young age. But the gp told me that I'd be around for longer if I did, which seemed a bit of a no-brainer really!

Iwashere the kidney risk is really very real persistent high blood pressure damages the kidneys and results in renal failure.??Sadly I have a close friend who us about to start three times a week dialysis as a direct result of choosing not to take blood pressure medication. She is devastated about how dramatically this is going to change her life, she wishes that 15 years ago she had made a different choice.??The only good side is that she will start to feel better than she does now.

I'm not medically qualified enough to explain perfectly.

Basically your kidney has delicate structures that filter toxins out of the blood. These structures have to work harder if you are dehydrated, or if they get damaged. Once they get damaged, they can't be fixed.

High blood pressure damages the delicate parts of the kidneys. Chronic High BP is a common reason why people get put on the kidney transplant list.

sorry to sound so stark, that's the nuts & bolts as well as I understand.
Technical link.

High BP can damage other organs, too, but kidneys are the ones that tend to give out first.

And then it becomes a vicious circle. Damaged kidneys can elevate your blood pressure, then that can further damage your kidneys and so on....

Thanks all for sharing your stories in such helpful detail - lots of food for thought and more info than my GP has given me.

I do know what my BP measures and it is "comfortably" in the 'high' range. I've had it taken 5 times in the last 10 months and it was almost down to the 'pre-hypertension' level on one of those occasions (I'm referring to the NHS charts).

If there's no real drop to a safer level by November then I will be taking steps to find a medical solution.

Thanks for helping me face facts and deal with this.

another no medication person here. I changed my diet to virtually no meat and daily legumes , whole grains and veggies. I cook from scratch with very little salt and try to keep sugar consumption down also. Daily exercise i build into walking /biking to shops, work etc.+ yoga. Also meditation as anxiety makes my bp spike. I have a bp arm cuff and use it when i remember. Have also used daily baby aspirin when it used to be higher. Good for you losing the weight -keep that up . Get nutrition advice to make sure you are not deficient in anything. For me the meditation is important.

amarmai I'm glad your diet has worked for you. I think your diet is too radical a change for me right now, but I will continue to make some changes.

yeOldeTrout That link is very very interesting. I see it recommends losing 7-10% of weight, and I've lost 7.5% (and I'm not finished!). My BMI is down to 25 but I plan to reduce that as well. As well as walking (my main form of exercise) I also do Pilates, which helps manage stress. I've never smoked and I drink within the suggested limits. I'm off now to read up on the 'DASH' diet.

I have high BP and a horrendous family history on my father's side of heart disease. DF's father and uncle died within 3 weeks of each other, both aged mid-50s, of heart attacks. My dad's sister had a disabling stroke at age only 26 because of high BP. My dad had several strokes, angina, and finally 10 heart attacks over 2 years before he finally died. My BP was at stroke level when it was diagnosed - previous times I was at the GP for other things and that could have caused the BP. Now I take Lisinopril and Amlodipine (I am turning into my father - he took the same drugs) and don't have many side effects. On the plus side, the crippling migraines have all but disappeared. Don't mess about with it - it is a killer.