Blood pressure medication in 30s?

[BPadvice]

I've recently been put on BP medication at 35 and I'm feeling really down about it. I have a family history of high BP, and had it in pregnancy. I also experience white coat hypertension but multiple readings in hospital were too high and now here we are.

I have a young child and I'm worried I've completely let him down.

Has anyone been in the same position? Can anyone give me hope it'll be ok?

I will obviously be making lifestyle changes - I know I need to lose a bit of weight and eat more healthily.

Thanks.

Ignoring the problem and not taking the medication would be letting him down. Take the medication, make the lifestyle changes and be content that you are doing all you can.

Lifestyle modifications can be helpful. However, blood pressure never normalising fully after PIH/pre-eclampsia is a known phenomenon and it's likely not lifestyle related or anything you've done. It may be genetic or related to some underlying condition.

the best thing to do is to take the meds. Hypertension is called a silent killer for a reason: when it's left untreated it slowly damages your blood vessels. The key is to manage it appropriately now. If they've offered medications immediately that generally means you need them and the doctor doesn't think lifestyle changes alone will sort it.

The same thing happened to me after #1 and I've needed medication since (18 years!) Successfully had 2 more children after, though both pregnancies were closely monitored.

How can you let a child down by having high blood pressure? Just take the medication, keep it controlled and carry on. My DM had very high BP which was resistant to all treatments and died as a result. I don't feel that she let me down. It wasn't her fault.

I had pre-eclampsia with my 1st and my BP never fully recovered. But both my parents were on medication by their 30s, and my grandad died of a stroke aged 60 because he'd never had his checked.

I took it on the chin, take the medication and do my best to stay on top of it. I walk 10k steps every day, eat well and my BP is relatively OK most of the time. My eldest DD is 30 and has recently had to go onto medication.

You haven’t let anyone down op, you are looking after yourself. Its great you know it’s high and are being proactive to keep it within a normal range.

Have you ever tested your bp at home? You can get good home monitors pretty cheaply. I have serious white coat syndrome (even when an inpatient, just something about someone else checking it ramps it up) despite being a nurse myself. I have a home monitor, and always do a few checks at different times of the day over the week before any gp or nurse visit, so I can show what my bp is like when I’m not stressing about it. That might help guide them when they review your medication. Some surgeries will have a home monitor you can borrow, so might be worth asking about that if you want to try.

If you feel your high BP is because of your weight and lifestyle then you can fix those, and that would be a great bit of parenting.

If they are bad luck then take the meds and be thankful for the wonders of modern science.

And I agree, get a BP machine for home, and record regular readings so your BP can be reviewed in light of good evidence. The one my service uses is Omicron.

Thank you all. It is reassuring to hear I'm not the only one on medication so young. I have tested it at home and it's always quite a bit lower than in a clinical setting - I'm due to have a 24hr test soon but as mine was so high in hospital they chose to put me on medication first. Which is sensible, I suppose I just regret not doing something earlier to try and lower it before it came to this. But PPs are right that it is better to start now with trying to get it under control than leaving it for years.