Reducing Blood Pressure the Old Fashioned Way

[42boston]

I am a 77 year old male and was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation in 2016. I have been on Warfarin for the AF ever since, without problems.

My GP is concerned about my blood pressure and I have tried various medical remedies; Perindopril, Bisoprolol and recently Amlodipine. Each had undesired side effects: feet and hand swelling, tiredness, lack of balance and coordination. The GPs solution is always to try a different pill. The current Covid crisis has diverted his attention and given me the opportunity to try the old fashioned solution of reducing blood pressure by losing weight.

On February 15th I set myself a target of reducing my weight from 85Kg to 75 Kg to see what effect it would have on my blood pressure. My current weight (April 10th) is 77Kg and my blood pressure 135/84 is nearly back to where it was when I was taking Amlodipine but without the side effects. The last 2 Kg weight loss is proving challenging but I will try to get there over the next month.

[lettingoffsteam]

Great effort, well done.👍

[42boston in reply to lettingoffsteam]

Thanks!

[springcross]

That's excellent 42boston. Carry on doing what you're doing and hopefully, there will be no need for further BP meds.

[42boston in reply to springcross]

The more meds you take the more you risk that they will interact and cause you problems.

I cannot escape meds for my Atrial Fibrillation but if I can avoid meds for high blood pressure simply by losing weight I have to try. And think of the other benefits eg type 2 diabetes, not to mention your physical appearance.

[springcross in reply to 42boston]

Absolutely. x

[Hidden in reply to 42boston]

I am happy to take medications that are appropriate and have no problems with side effects or inter-reactions.

[42boston in reply to Hidden]

Me too but so far I have had problems with the 3 medicines proposed for high blood pressure

[Hidden in reply to 42boston]

There are many drugs that can be used to try to decrease blood pressure. I am on 4 medications - ramipril, amlodopine, doxazosin and bendroflumthiazide.

[42boston in reply to Hidden]

I understand that there are at least 70 alternatives.

I would like to avoid them all

[Hidden in reply to 42boston]

I do what I have to do. Do I want a heart attack or stroke - no.

[AnnieW55]

Congratulations.

Good, healthy but tasty food (and less of it 😀) has always been my preference whenever possible. If that means less medication it is really worth it. Those last few kegs always seem to prove difficult but you will get there. Best wishes.

[42boston in reply to AnnieW55]

Right on! You cannot beat home made and cooked food. It has less calories because it does not need preservatives or E numbers

[Tugela]

What an achievement! Well done! Are you on any specific diet or just c watching what you eat ? I need to lose weight but find it so hard!

[42boston in reply to Tugela]

My solution is to use an excellent calorie recording program called Lose It! on my PC.

Stick to the free version. The paid version is expensive and doesn’t add anything.

Lose It! is available as an app for smart phones and iPad but I didn’t find them easy to use. If you stick to what it says you will lose weight. However I tend to underestimate what I have eaten so I weigh the food before I eat.

I have another wrinkle. I try to eat during 6 hours daily: i.e. breakfast at 9am and lunch finished by 3pm. When this is too hard, I finish eating by 6pm. By bedtime I am hungry and I offset the hunger pains by drinking water.

When you have met your target you can increase your calories. But you have to accept that as you get older you need less food to maintain a certain weight.

[Louieinc in reply to 42boston]

I track my nutrition in my own spreadsheet, but it is CRITICAL to weight loss and Sodium intake for me. As the saying goes, if you don't measure it you can't improve it. Anyone that starts recording their food intake will be surprised by the records and find it easier to make changes.

[Happyrosie]

Well done!! Keep it up. Remember to moderate your salt intake, too. Your body needs a little salt to enable it to function properly. We forget that Bread contains salt, too.

[42boston in reply to Happyrosie]

The thing I find surprising is that once you get used to less salt and less sugar you no longer need it. And if, like me you only eat home prepared food at home you have total control over your salt and sugar intake. And think how much money you save by avoiding restaurants and take aways.

[Louieinc in reply to Happyrosie]

I don't think it's possible for people to eat too little salt in our society. Everything is loaded with sodium these days. As with 42Boston, I prepare every meal and snack I eat at home. I have total control of my sodium intake. It took some work and research to get there, but I now intake between 900 and 1,200 mg of sodium a day. It's been a challenge finding my food items with the pandemic though. As far as bread is concerned, look into sprouted grain breads. I use Ezekiel bread. It is delicious and they make a version with zero sodium.

[Hidden]

Well done. 42boston 1 - doctor 0 Heeheehee

[42boston in reply to Hidden]

Thanks!

[Louieinc]

Great work. I had been on BP meds for about 25 years. Even when I was young and extremely active, my BP seemed to be creeping up with age. I thought it was just hereditary. All medications had side effects for me, some were tolerable and I did find a drug combo that worked. Recently, I decided to get as fit as possible. I workout seven days a week, gave up alcohol, eat a very healthy diet, and seriously cut back on Sodium. My BP got so low that I was getting dizzy when getting up and lightheaded when working out. I'm now off of all meds and feel great. People want a quick solution and Docs have become pill pushers, but as you said, the old fashioned way is the best way. And now I don't have to worry every time something feels funny that it's a side effect of a medication. For me the sexual side effects were the most disconcerting, no problems there at all now.

[42boston in reply to Louieinc]

The human body is a great machine. If it finds something abnormal it will adjust to the best of its ability and carry on. Medicines are just another abnormality which may or may not cause side effects.

The only medicine that I am currently taking is Warfarin for my AF (Atrial Fibrilation ie irregular heart beat). NICE estimate that if untreated my level of AF would increase my risk of a stroke from 2 in 1000 to 6 in 1000.

I am fairly sure that I have had AF for the last 50 years. In the 1970s it was considered an unimportant second order effect and ignored. Today my GP worries about it because he would be considered remise if he did not.

My view is that you eventually die of something. If I survive to 80+ I will stop taking Warfarin and let nature take its course.

[deemaxxx]

Very well done so can anyone advise if I lower my weight should my blood pressure lower I used to be 79 kilo but now I am 88 kilos54 years old and got chronic kidney disease stage 4

[42boston in reply to deemaxxx]

Weight loss will get your blood pressure down. I think of it like taking air out of a balloon. It will take time. Weight loss is more about calorie reduction than excercise.

I went from an initial 91Kg to my current 75kg and it took me over a year, calorie counting all the way, which is really tedious. At age 78 my only excercise last month under lock down was an average 7000 steps a day walking relatively slowly. But as Tesco says 'every little helps'.

I have no idea what the effect of weight loss would be on your chronic kidney disease.