Reducing blood pressure naturally

[Justwingingit2005]

Hey all
Any tips or advice on reducing BP.
At the start of the year mine was high average was 140 / 90 something. I started tablets but ramipril gave me a cough and losartan made it drop to 70 / 50 so GP stopped them so I made a point of chasing my life. Upping exercise and changing my diet. I've lost 1.5 stone since March.
Dr has asked me to do BP readings for a week. The average is 125 / 85 and he has given me 3 months to rescue it further else he will reassess medication intervention.
I'd say I'm a stone overweight still. I don't drink, or smoke. I've changed my diet. Stress possibly an issue but working / kids doesn't help. At time my BP is 117/80 so I'm worried meds will reduce it further. Any advice?!

That doesn’t sound too bad at all.

Beetroot juice made a difference to me. Pretty unpleasant but drink a couple of shots morning and night. Proven to be effective but varies person to person.

losi weight and saunas also good 👍

How much exercise do you do?

And you could reduce stress with yoga, meditation, breathing.

Sauna is dangerous with high BP surely? I can stay in for longer than 5-10 minutes or I'd literally explode.

125/85 isn't bad. Lower figure could be a bit lower but nothing to get het up about.

And 117? how much lower does he want it to go, FGS? is is the diastolic of 85 he's worrying about?

Salt is one of the main causes of hypertension. GPs are obsessed with people having the perfect BP of 120/80. My GP has tried about 7 different drugs, and I had bad side effects from them all. I'm now on a diuretic and my BP is 102-119 top figure, 58-78 bottom figure, which is making me feel dizzy. I'm sick of it all. At 68, I don't smoke, drink or have any salt.

Yes the lower number he is concerned about.
He wants it closer to 80.
When I measure at home the top number gets as low as 114 or 117. Mostly in the 120s.

I must be lucky, BP is taken every 10 weeks or so when I have a chemo check at the hospital; it's been in the mid 130s and no-one says anything.

Recently had to give a week's readings so I could come off Ramipril and the average was 125, GP was happy with that

Yes same. My GP put me on losartan. After a few days I felt dreadful. GP said it was a virus, one night I nearly passed out my BP was 79 /59. He then said yeah stop the meds. That's when we agreed on trying naturally.

Hibiscus tea also supposed to have BP lowering qualities - it tastes nice so a risk-free option.

Exercise is great but I've found you have to do quite a lot to be worthwhile. When I upped my exercise routine (for different reasons) was surprised at the lowering effect as I'd thought I was exercising lately.

Consider getting a home machine with a memory function - if the readings start stressing you out then do them every day but only look at the results once a week.

Oddly enough I heard today that my BP is now the lowest it’s been in fifteen years.

In the last couple of years I’ve pretty much given up alcohol; the odd negroni if I go out to lunch, a G&T or glass of wine at a concert, really almost nothing. I don’t eat meat and I’m careful to get plenty of protein from other sources. I moved to a part of the country I love, and am establishing habits and routines that make my days as good as they can be. I walk more, do more yoga, consciously make an effort to see friends. And while I haven’t cut out all stress I’ve vastly decreased my exposure to people and situations that very obviously caused my BP to rise.

Occasionally I wonder if I should feel guilty for putting my own wellbeing first - but the phone call from my GP’s surgery today has validated everything I’ve been trying to do.

Flax seeds have helped me

@Justwingingit2005 Salmon worked for me, it's the omegas that does it. I put myself off it by eating too much of it so now I take omega capsules instead

Omegas are good to have in general anyway , failed to work out how to add a link but I get mine off Amazon

You might be interested in this thread about aged black garlic for BP control
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/general_health/5505289-aged-garlic-for-bp-control

Hawthorn is proven to be excellent for heart health and lowering BP

@Justwingingit2005 you may want to read this before spending all your money on supplements:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/471997/make-me-well-by-tulleken-xand-van/9781529961034

beetroot

Get divorced
Sell dc on dodgy website.
Rehome any pets.
BP restored.
Am relying on AI to do my ads...
*I've got hypertension also.

Honestly, 125/85 is pretty good - most GPs would not be pushing medication at that level. And obviously it’s your decision whether or not you take any medication that is recommended. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it, you’ve done really well.