How much is possible with lifestyle factors

[SunnyCeleste]

I'm 46, female, vegetarian, non smoker (ex occasional social smoker) & usually drink about ten units per week. Stressful job & family history of high BP. BMI too high, 33 but I eat all the right things, probably just too many calories over a long time has crept me up to this point.

At my recent middle aged health check my BP was a little too high, so that got me to monitor at home for a week. The average of the week was 156/102.

They've made me a telephone appointment with "the prescribing clinic". I'd rather avoid meds if at all possible because of the side effects. I was wondering what are the chances of bringing my BP down to nearer normal, through lifestyle factors - eg eliminating caffeine, making alcohol only a special occasions thing, losing weight and exercising. I've significantly increased my exercise regime since new year.

Worth mentioning, everything else on my health check was fine. Good cholesterol and nowhere near diabetes threshold score.

[Happyrosie]

Sensible of you to post here, Sunny.

In the UK the standard recommendation that doctors follow (from the National Institute for Clinical Evidence, NICE) is to try the lifestyle route first and see how that goes, before prescribing medication. So you are right in thinking that this is a possible way forward.

I know of no reason why you should eliminate caffeine. Try and make sure your diet is full of vegetables (as I expect you do) and have a look at the website of the specialist charity, Blood Pressure UK. Ensure you drink plenty of water, continue the exercise regime, try not to eat packaged foods - cook from fresh.

As far as side effects from medication goes, many people do not have side effects - you only hear about the side effects, not about "no side effects". I certainly didn't have any.

[Madlegs1 in reply to Happyrosie]

I'm on Amlopidine 5mg and Olmersatin 10mg with no side effects.

So-- side effects are not a given.

[Hidden]

Hello!

If you really want to do something for your problem with BP, than reduce the weight at any cost. Being overweight is the cause not only of high BP, but of many other health disorders. I am aware that reducing weight is one of the heaviest tasks in this world, but do it little by little, in the same way you have collected the weight. Any dream, of getting slim in short time, is connected with the shock for the body and rarely brings the result desired.

As the second, psychical stress is a strong generator of disbalances in the body, so contributing to high BP. I know that it is the second task that is very hard to solve, since all of us are exposed to severe stress, at home and at work also. It is never too late to change the job, if it will help with your health.

As the third, the way we feed is often considered to be the most influenceful way to reduce high BP, but, in my opinion, it is not so. The main problem is deteriorated BP regulation, which comes to exist through being overweight and stress. So, as said above...

All the best! P.

[KBMosia]

Hi Sunny Celeste, as has already been said, Blood Pressure UK is a very useful resource so worth checking. I was one of the people who suffered from horrible side effects of high blood pressure medication, then I decided to go for lifestyle changes, namely wholeheartedly committed to eat healthy - cut down salt, totally ate no processed food, ate whole foods only,cooked my meals from scratch, excercised regularly(4 days a week) and walking. So when this measures started to show good results my GP was astonished. My blood pressure became normal. That was at least two years ago. So I hope my story has given you some hope that lifestyle changes can help lower your blood pressure. So Go For It ! And see what happens. I wish you all the best

[ling]

Yes caffeine can raise BP

[peter999999999]

dont worry 152.100 is ok nothing will happen to you i bet you feel fine,you wont if u take bp pills , they only bring the numbers down to sell more pills,go on 100 plus age and under 100 for dis, you will start to worry as you are now,just eat well exercise no pills amd live life,in fact i bet you are healthier than most pill popers on here,dont let docs force pills on you.its a downward slope to a unhappy life,

[SunnyCeleste]

So as it turns out, my BP isn't as bad as I thought. When I did my first week of home measurements I was using a wrist monitor not an upper arm monitor. I've been very active this year, lost 4kg so far and cut down alcohol so I did see my numbers start to creep down. But then I was speaking to the doctor about some other issues and he told me the wrist monitors are rubbish and they measure high. I bought an upper arm monitor and now my average readings are more like 131/81

[peter999999999]

great keep off the pills