Blood pressure

[Mooosewoman]

My BP this morning was 150/89, which isn’t scarily high but I need to reduce it. I’ve tried six different BP medications but they all give me an upset stomach.

I want to try and reduce my BP naturally.

Please can you give me your tips that work. Thank you.

Is your weight in the healthy range? For me it was weight related and as my weight comes down so is my blood pressure,

I’m overweight but not obese. I’ve lost half a stone and I’m working on losing more but so far no drop in BP.

whag does your doc think is causing it? I don’t know how overweight you are, but can say half a stone isn’t going to usually make a difference, even if just overweight,

I just got into the obese category, on the way up my bp continued to escalate, my bmi is now 26.6 and it is still high but I’ve went from the highest dose of two meds to the lowest dose of both in 3 months, and am being reviewed every few weeks by my doctor, so weight can be a signficant cause.

How is your sleep and your stress levels?

Placemarking in case someone can help. I'm the same as you OP, I'm on my seventh medication and I think I need to come off it due to horrible side effects.

I have heard drinking beetroot juice can reduce it but I can't drink it due to the taste, however DH chugs it back quite happily. It can be found in the orange/apple juice aisle rather than fridge section.

I’ve bought some beetroot extract tablets from Holland and Barrett. I’ve also bought some magnesium and some potassium, both can help lower BP, apparently. I’ve just taken a reading and it’s 133/86, which isn’t bad.

A 30 minute walk every day.

Are you taking 3x readings and recording the lowest. Sitting still for at least 5 minutes before taking it? Take it 3x a day for a week then work out the average reading.

It took me a long time to find the right combination of meds. Now I take a really low dose of two different meds. Sometimes it takes ages for your body to get used to a new med,I wish GPs would make this clearer. I would try and ride it out for 6 weeks at the least before changing.

Take a 30 minute brisk walk, bike ride or swim every day. Eat well, drinkj plenty of water and try to get into a good sleep routine.

Barring any medical condition, you’ll see a difference in your reading in a month or so.

I am hypertensive and my blood pressure is definitely higher for the first few readings!
I have been advised to put the cuff on for twenty minutes before taking a reading ,relax ,no caffeine beforehand and zone out for a while,no interruptions..the difference for me is amazing. I am taking Losartan, Bisoprolol . My BP is definitely reactive to how I am feeling.

Exercise as well as weight, and watch the salt.

But age is a factor too I think. Once you get to your 60s + then for some people some things just seem to be harder to moderate - bp, or cholesterol, or blood sugar.

I already walk twice a day, as I have a dog. I’ve cut down on my salt intake. My sleep is rubbish, I have no idea how to improve it.

I came down from needing bp meds last year to now having none and having absolutely fine bp that the doctor is very happy with. I lost weight, am caffeine free, limit sodium, exercise daily and sleep better.
Sleep hygiene tips - go to sleep at the same time each night, deal with any life stressors that you’ve been putting your head in the sand about, have a cooler bedroom but also a cosy hot water bottle, no screens for last hour (I read, listen to music, colour in, chat, do yoga).

That really does not change hypertension in a month of so, trust me,

Have you tried Ramipril?

The problem is my feet and ankles swell up so much I can't put shoes on and makes walking around the house very painful, or I get so dizzy I cannot walk in a straight line (more like seasick rather than spinning room) which makes it impossible to go longer than 3 days. These symptoms start within 4 hours of taking the first tablet.

Can I ask which two you take?

When my bp was uncontrolled I had the same thing, my feet and ankles were horrific swollen if I walked anywhere. Are you sure it is the drugs and not the blood pressure itself?

I was on 10mg of Amlodipine and just couldn't tolerate it. So switched to 5 mg Amlodipine and 5 mg ramipril . It did nothing at first but settled in after 6 weeks or so. My BP was 180 over 90. They told me to give it that long to settle.

It's still not great but better. I've also got limited other risk factors. And the headaches and tiredness I was getting have stopped.

I'm a stone overweight, (working on it) eat loads of fibre (bring your own flax seeds keep in fridge and sprinkle a tablespoon on everything). Make sure you taking BP properly.

Have a glass of beetroot juice or tablets everyday. See how that goes alongside lifestyle changes - lower salt, exercise, lower stress etc. If that does not manage it then go for meds.
Beetroot juice can instantly lower your blood pressure, try it.

I'm interested in this as well. I've come off my first medication as it wasn't working well for me anymore, and my GP has not yet restarted me on a new one.

Most of my readings are in the range of 130s or 140s, over high 80s to mid 90s. Plus I'll go through phases where they are higher than that, up to 160s over 110. That sounds way too high to me. But if I sit quietly for 5 minutes, and ozne out, and take a few readings, I will often get a lower one, and it seems that the lower ones are the only ones the GP looks at. As long as the average is below 140 over 90, which it is, just, they seem to ignore the fact that 90% of the readings are pretty high, and some are really high!

If it takes so much effort to sit quietly and relax and meditate and repeat the measurements enough to finally get a low one, then it doesn't seem like a very reliable measure to base the decision about medication or not on. I worry that the rest of the day when I'm up and about, and might have blood pressure of 160 over 110, that I"m at a higher risk of stroke. I keep getting the 'irregular heart beat' symbol on the monitor too, especially in the mornings, but the ECG I had at the surgery was fine. I don't know if they'll do a 24-hour one - probably not, if my readings seem OK otherwise and I have no symptoms. But that worries me too as it can also increase stroke risk.

I can't stand beetroot so I don't think the juice would work for me. Maybe beetroot supplements are worth a go; I'd not heard of that.

I'm exercising loads more and trying to lose weight, but it's very slow. I've been doing that for about 8 months, and only lost about a stone, which is good but seems so little when I"ve been cutting out so much and spending so much time walking or running

I had the same symptoms,it's awful, I really feel for you. I take Losartan and Lercanipidine ( which is a newer sort with fewer side effects apparently) Keep going back to the GP ,there are loads of different types,it's just a matter of finding one that suits.

The nurse has given me a form to fill in with BP readings. It asks for first reading and second reading morning and evening. Previously the GP had told me to do the best of three.

Which is right? I definitely get a lower reading doing the best of three. It was 133/87 this morning, best of three but started off at 147/93.

I was told an average of 3..however blood pressure uk says take 3 , all 2 mins apart, then ignore the first if it is high and then average the other two. Which means I have been giving artificially high ones.

www.bloodpressureuk.org/your-blood-pressure/how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure/monitoring-your-blood-pressure-at-home/how-to-measure-your-blood-pressure-at-home/

Best of 3 readings. Even when you're in hospital they will disregard the first of it's high and take another.