New member introduction

[PioneerVT]

Hello,

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure last month. My blood pressure was severely high (up to 190 systolic, up to 115 diastolic). As a result, I retired early ( as my bp was increasing at work despite being controlled outside of work.) I made a lot of changes including quitting alcohol, joining the gym and starting to lose weight. And I am trying to eat a DASH diet inspired plan.

My medication is bisoprolol/hydrocholorthiazide. I feel slightly ambivalent about the beta blocker and am hoping to negotiate with my doctor to eventually get off the beta blocker and onto and ARB or Ca channel blocker. I chose these as my mother has HTN and it is well controlled on ARB and CCB.

So glad I found this community!

Catherine

[Happyrosie]

welcome. A good source of information is the website of Blood Pressure UK. I don’t think you have the equivalent in the US.

Personally I would find the DASH diet far too prescriptive, if I remember it correctly. Just being sensible, a wide range of vegetables and fruit, plenty of water, care with salt and alcohol. And of course exercise, especially fitting walking in with your general life.

[PioneerVT in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you! I will make sure to check out BloodPressureUK!

[Cyclamenfan in reply to Happyrosie]

I agree about the DASH diet.

[29METAL]

Hi Catherine I would be very suprised if your BP doesn't improve with in the next couple of months as you wisely have taken action with exercise diet etc Get a BP monitor and take control as I have found most doctors will hand you a bunch of tablets and tell you this is it for life I was able to come off all tablets eventually with life style change but my doctor would of never in 100 years suggested this so its important to take owenership .I understand that not everyone can get to a stage that they no longer need tablets but do your part with life style changes and take the minimum of medacation possible . Also if taking bp medication for the first time there will usually be side effects so give them a chance Good Luck and God Bless

[Sailing63 in reply to 29METAL]

Hi 29Metal, so glad I saw your post. My GP put me on a "preventative" BP medication program after a heart event happened to my father and some of his brothers. 30 months of misery have followed as I started to experience high HR and palpitations which after many many months seem to be down to my unsuitability to take Amlodipine over 7.5mg.

I agree with your view of most GP handing out Amlodipine and Ramipril programs just because its NICE guideline. I insisted on seeing a Cardiologist who confirmed this view and said it was "lazy prescribing" by GP's as my case in point showed. He quickly moved me to Losartan (3 weeks ago) and I await the results.

I also agree that this is a 2 way contract, I have agreed to ensure my diet, exercise and weight are my responsibility and the meds are the GP/Cardiologists and between us we must surely get a solution. I would hope that if I deliver on my side of the bargain, the use of meds could be minimised. We will see.

More importantly, I also believe it is my duty to myself to be informed and to engage positively with the health professionals who are helping me. I no longer take everything a Dr says as gospel as we are all different in body, mind and soul and one size certainly doesnt fit all. I will work with and not against the health support, but will do so in an informed manner and am happy to question and debate findings, medications and health plans. This is the biggest learning I have found whilst on my recent journey and I implore others , not to be difficult, but to be INFORMED and ENGAGING.

My mother blindly accepted a change in BP meds and after 1 week collapsed in the garden. Luckily I was there and was able to get ambulance crew to attend asap, the issue was her BP had fallen through the floor as the new meds should not have been prescribed at such a high does with her current meds. Challenginga dn being informed might have saved us all a very worrying time.

[29METAL in reply to Sailing63]

Good luck you are taking a very good approach and attitude and you can't do much more than that I wish you all the best and hope you get to a place where you eventually dont need medication but be wise take your own readings and learn how to take them the proper way there are plenty of good videos on youtube keep a log of the results and then you can take the results to your doctor when needed they will appreciate the information

[PioneerVT in reply to 29METAL]

Thank you! I am monitoring my blood pressure. I do hope to eventually be able to manage without medications, but it seems they are needed now. Was your bp as high as mine when you were diagnosed? (170-190 / 100 - 115). Mine was so high I wonder if I will always need meds.

[29METAL in reply to PioneerVT]

Hi my BP one day was 204 /90 it stabilised came down to around 160 then down to 140 then as I said previous its now normal without meds but we are all different you are wise to keep on the medication at the reading you are experiencing I know that being diagnosed prescribed tablets and the shock of all that fueled my BP as at one time I was even to stressed to take my own readings again this elevated the readings Go on youtube and type in The York Cardiologist this doctor is very informative and reassuring and he also explains not to be worring about the numbers ie the readings Hope this helps if you cant get his site let me know and I will try to send a link God Bless

[Cyclamenfan in reply to 29METAL]

Worrying does not help at all

[PioneerVT in reply to 29METAL]

Thank you, 29Metal. Other than the slowing of my heart rate and peeing a bit more and being more sensitive to sunlight, I have not noticed any side effects. And the side effects I do have I can live with for now. But I do want to get off the beta blocker so my heart rate can go up like it is supposed to during exercise! I realize my goal to get off medications is going to take some time. As it is, my weight loss has been VERY slow. Every time I go out of town to visit relatives, I come home a few pounds heavier!

Thanks for your support,

Catherine

[PecanSandie]

Hi Catherine, I am curious to know why you want to get off the beta blocker, especially since it seems to be working?

[PioneerVT in reply to PecanSandie]

I want to get off the beta blocker as I love hiking and the beta blocker keeps my heart rate down. Hiking feels more effortful. But maybe it is good to keep the heart rate down while exercising to prevent excessive rises in BP? I am still learning. But yes I agree the beta blocker is working so why mess with it!

[PecanSandie in reply to PioneerVT]

It's true that it will affect your heart rate and make it harder to exercise (see, that's MY excuse for not exercising...lol) ...so maybe talk to your doctor about changing to another kind of blood pressure medication. There are so many good ones out there.

[PioneerVT in reply to PecanSandie]

Hi PecanSandie

Yes, my doctor is already in agreement that we will reduce the beta blocker (with eventual goal of getting off it.) But I like that idea of using the beta blocker as an excuse to NOT exercise too! ha ha

Catherine

[Catlover1981]

My BP is inherited. As soon as we reach 30 we are on BP medication! My blood pressure was 210/115 even on Ramipril and Amlodipine. My GP put me on Candesartan instead and following a hospital admission with a heart rate of 160bpm and the above BP I am on Verapamil and indapamide and that combination is working for me. Candesartan is good for me too. I don't know what it is like in the US but here in the UK we have pharmacists working in the GP practices and they are better than the doctors because they listen. I would tell your doctor about your low heart rate and they should put you on another. My mum was on betablocker Bisoprolol and I remember her heart rate was low as 36 but she wasn't bothered by it but I am now thinking if that could be why she has dementia

[PioneerVT]

Hello Catlover,

Thanks for your response. Nice meeting you! I feel not so alone as you are officially the first person with HTN that I have met whose BP was as high as mine. Glad you found the right combo of meds to bring your bp down. When I initially asked about changing meds (one month after diagnosis) my doctor looked at me like I was crazy. Why would I want to change the med when it was WORKING and my blood pressure had been so high? (Good point, I have to admit.) So, I am going to stay on this med for a while but do want to eventually replace the beta blocker. I talked with my doctor and she is willing to make changes in the future.

I hope your mom's blow bp was unrelated to her dementia. As far as I am aware, the only reason low bp would be a concern on beta blockers is if you become lightheaded. My pulse has been as low as 48 but I have not been lightheaded.

In the US, high blood pressure is very common. My doctor has a lot of experience with HTN as she has many patients with it. But I do wonder about the level of her knowledge about medications for hypertension...

Catherine

[Happyrosie]

hi, I don’t know why your original post popped up in my emails today … the wonders of electronic devices!

Anyway, as it DID pop up I wonder how you are doing now?

You mentioned somewhere that you are unsure whether your doc knows a lot about hypertension medication - and it wouldn’t surprise me if she doesn’t. There’s so much of a variety nowadays.

But doctors now employ pharmacists in their group of surgeries, and as docs are generalists - the name GP is a clue - their pharmacists are well placed to advise you and their doctors. For the last five years or so I’ve been reviewed annually by the pharmacist and find her knowledgeable and helpful.

[PioneerVT in reply to Happyrosie]

Hello. Thanks for reaching out. I love the idea of talking with the pharmacist! My bp is doing great, but I still have a plan to reduce and get off the beta blocker. I will probably make an appointment with my GP in the next month or two. I am hoping to get enough low reading to be able to reduce the medication dosage ( cut the beta blocker dose from 5 to 2.5). Thanks for checking in!

Catherine