OT-blood pressure

OK, another one to add to the list....

Last week, I had my annual physical exam. Blood work--excellent. No issues other than the aches and pains of now being 62, and regularly reminded that I'm not 18 anymore. Except: When the nurse took my BP, it came in at 140/80. She took it twice. Then when the NP came in, she did it again. Same reading.

After a lifetime of 120/70, all of a sudden to get the 140/80 is scary. ***?????

And, lately, my tinnitus is getting more pronounced. Look up BP and tinnitus.

So, time to take another look at diet, I guess. I could go right down into the crazy rabbit hole, buy myself a home BP cuff and take it daily. Or a wrist monitor and track it around the clock. Or I could relax. Easier said than done.

I bought a home BP rig. Taken at home, my BP is routinely lower than at the doctor's office.

Halbert, I am in the exact same situation. Same numbers, up in the last year for no apparent reason. And same worsening of tinnitus. I have one more variable: much worse on some days than others. Some days I might be 140 or 150 on systolic and 80 or 90 on diastolic. On another day 120/80 or even 115/60, for example. Heck, it can even vary quite a bit with time of day, seems to be better late in the day or at night. I have been taking it a lot since my wife is keeping a close watch on hers, a she has been trying to get control of it with various prescription meds and doses. So she takes hers, that reminds me and I take mine. But my BP has been on the low side ever since I took off 40 lbs with Atkins 20 years ago, I think I came down from 140/90 to 102/60. Even as my weight has slowly gone back up, and at one point a couple of years ago had even regained it all(backed off about 15 lbs from that now), my BP never really came back up. Until just recently, and I was shocked by a 150/90.

I have been trying to get the ball rolling on more consistent low carb eating and/or intermittent fasting, to take off some more of that weight. Since I suspect that would once again solve any BP issues. Plus, for various other health related reasons, I would like to get the ketones cranked up again. But I am failing to be very consistent on either lowering carbs or fasting. But the BP is giving me more incentive than just my waist line, so maybe I will soon get the ball rolling and put it to the test. And now, maybe the tinnitus would also benefit?

I took it just now, after 1 mug of coffee, first one 144/66, pulse 66.

My blood pressure was high when I retired ..... had to take medication. I increased my exercise and lost weight, 12 years later I have the opposite problem and at times will get dizzy when I stand up or when I play pickleball. PCP and cardiologist did a work up on me ..... told me to eat more salt and drink more water .... helps a bit.

Hal, you may (or may not) be entering the world of many of us who need meds to regulate our BP. When my BP was first diagnosed as borderline high I insisted that diet and exercise would control it in bring it right down. Wrong. I tried...well not Cashless hard...but diet and weight loss just didn't do the trick. My PCP told me to buy a home BP monitor and report back to him in 6 months with a graph. I dutifully did that and it wasn't white coat syndrome it was simply high BP. So reluctantly I agreed to start taking a low dose of BP meds. However...my concern was that I had heard that some BP meds cause ED issues and I was not crazy about that scenario. The good news was that some (Losartan which I take for example) actually give you some positives in the bedroom department. From webmd: "Drugs known as ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers, like Losartan) are not only unlikely to cause erection problems, but they may improve sexual function in men with high blood pressure."

So if you do go down the rabbit hole of needing BP meds...not all is lost!

Jim

I started Norvasc (Amlodipine) in Feb, small dose 5 MG per day. Was also borderline at 138/80 but have been that way for a few years.
Doc said if I lose about 20 pounds (I need to), I might not need it anymore.
I also have an electronic B/P machine (Panasonic) that reads out accurately as my RN wife will use the cuff and manually check it as well.

I would not treat a 140/80 blood pressure from a physicians office. I would recommend buying a good blood pressure cuff that automatically inflates and read your Bp from home. Wrist Bp readings are less accurate.

I would treat if your systolic exceeds 140 routinely at home. In the old days, we thought diastolic was more important. Now, most believe systolic correlates more with cardiovascular disease, thus more important. Because of atherosclerosis, it is not unusual to have systolic hypertension (high systolic and low diastolic, ex 160/85) which has to be treated carefully to not over treat and allow the diastolic to fall too low.
I had to start Bp meds this year which really bummed me out. However, I discovered lisinopril 10 mg controlled it with no side effects, so I have moved on.

Logo is correct. Physician offices are not good at getting your blood pressure because they take it when it is convenient for them rather than when it should be taken (at least 5 minutes after sitting and not stressed. Also make sure you are not caffeinated at the time of the reading. Finally, getting the correct size of cuff is important.

thanks
Paul

Will throw in my data for informational purposes:

Due to white-coat effect, PCP and I have a deal whereby I do my readings on an Omron machine, between 20 to 30 of them for every six-month visit. This model does three readings in a row, with a user-set pause between them. I usually set this between 30 to 60 secs pause. They still do one in-clinic, too, but it always runs higher. I try to follow the standards, like these:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20047889

On my recent PCP visit, which was virtual, the young lady doing the "before you see the doc stuff" was really new. Even though I gave her my readings and explained the deal with the doc, she insisted I get up from my laptop, go to the kitchen, and do another b.p. test, *while we were talking*. Yep, it was high. What a waste of time. Very gently suggested to the doc later than I didn't think it helpful to test that way.

Anyway, here are my readings from a few years.

notes:
I've always had bradycardia.
I was on Losatan+HCTZ this whole period:

May 2020 – Oct 2020 112 70 53
Nov 2019 – Apr 2020 121 75 55
May 2019 – Oct 2019 126 79 58
Nov 2018 – Apr 2019 127 75 58

Wanted to note for the guys here interested in IF, I switched to 16:8 IF about Jan. 20th. Pretty religiously, too, as I've gone "off script" very few times in nine months. You can see some effect already in the Nov '19 - Apr '20 averages above. Even more so in the May '20 - Oct. '20 above, which were *all* readings under IF regimen, about four months into it. Here are some samples from that segment:

05/04/20 06:00 115 67 47
05/15/20 05:55 100 69 53
05/22/20 05:45 107 66 51
06/10/20 05:40 108 72 51
06/19/20 05:40 103 63 52

Can't say for sure IF was the cause, but I can't think of other big life-style changes since Jan., except not going to YMCA and instead doing home weights and more outdoor biking, due to virus. My weight hasn't changed much since Jan., but a little more muscle I think. Really getting into my home weight-lifting, but miss the Y's ellipticals-- Jogging on concrete/asphalt hurts my knees.

This (IF - b.p.) effect is suggested in some of the IF studies. You might look into this if trying to fix b.p. No guarantees -- it *is* the human body after all! Just wish I could fix my gently rising uPSA (other than SRT, of course).

Robert

From the little I know, it is definitely not good to go years with untreated high BP. Better to experiment with your doc to find a medication that works with no or little adverse effects.

Djin

browntrout said...
Have been putting off BP meds for years. My wife takes lisinopril against my better wishes and research. She has experienced some associated dizziness that has led to one injury that will affect her right hand for the remainder of her life. She also has a persistent cough associated with this med. I realize everyone reacts differently and some are completely free of side effects.

My doc says BP is jumping BUN too high and thus potential kidney damage. It's always a tough decision to make!

I'm still hoping to avoid the meds, but if I don't get back to my recent norms soon, I may have to consider them. My wife is more like a lot of you folks than me, much quicker to just turn it over to the docs and let them handle it, not willing to look into alternative approaches such as diet changes first. She had a very close call recently with SEs from an antibiotic for urinary track infection, which she jumped to when the supplement D-Mannose did not have IMMEDIATE results, plus I thought she was being to cautious on her dose. She got some D-mannose/cranberry combo pills, and it was obvious the amount of D-mannose in the suggested dose of the pills was lower than what we had seen with a powder we knew about that had been used previously, and I thought the dose was to low. But as usual, she thought otherwise, and just took the smaller suggested dose. So when it did not work overnight, she's off to the doc the next morning and got the anti-biotic Septra-DS. She quit after just a couple of pills because they were causing GI upset, but then she got no better(though we found out at the hospital her UTI had cleared up, maybe the D-Mannose was working after all? or maybe it was just the 2 pills, or both?).

So in a couple of days, I insist that we are going to the ER right NOW, after she started talking gibberish, making no sense at all. We are in the ER for maybe an hour when they admit her straight to ICU, where she spends 2 nights and one full day. Turns out the one of the drugs less common SEs is to wipe out electrolytes, particularly sodium. They informed us that she was probably very close to a seizure, hence the ICU. But I also know that if her electrolytes were that low- several were at dangerously low levels- that cardiac arrest was probably was also a threat. That was all quite scary.

So why am I telling Y'all about her reaction to a very common antibiotic? Because they also took her off her BP med, HCTZ, which they said might have also contributed to her electrolyte problems and very serious close call. So they took her off the HCTZ and put her on lisinopril. They already had to raise her dose, and it is still not lowering the BP all that much, but maybe it will with time. She already has a chronic cough that she blames on sinus drainage, so we are just hoping we don't see any SEs related to that. Or any other. I personally know more than a few older folks who have taken falls after being put on a new BP pill. All of which is why I MUCH prefer to, if possible, bring it down with diet like I did years ago. (dropped it 30+ points, and took it 20 years to get back up to a worrisome level). The only SEs of that, if successful, will be positive SEs like smaller waist, lower triglycerides, etc. 137/71, 67P, just now, a bit better than this morning.

Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 10/23/2020 3:18:59 PM (GMT-6)

I read an article in the NY Times recently that quoted a study showing that with BP, the lower the better.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/well/live/blood-pressure-heart-disease.html

Just for grins and giggles I took by B/P a bit ago as it has been awhile...other than in medical environs...of which I have laid out my position...i.e the medical environs...unprofessional...unreliable and quite possibly a ruse to increase medico's " ticket tally"...Here is how I take my B/P at home...Using a CVS/Pharmacy " cheaper"... I place the cuff with the artery marker of the wrapped cuff tight over the pulse emanating from the " big dimple" opposite the arms elbow...then place my arm on the armchair of seat/couch...machine on and cocked...arm slightly...very slightly bent but fairly straight...deep breathe for about 4-5 minutes remaining as relaxed as possible in the afore said position...oops...make sure there is a direct and even line tween the artery pulse and your heart...then while still breathing deep in and out and long..."submit the post"...as the cuff inflates keep it up...in long and deep out long and expressed...continue do this untill it goes phfttt and...well... climaxes...scored...I scored...109/70 pulse 60...finie ...epataph ...for some strange reason...I wanted a cigarette...lol regards

logoslidat said...
.......... climaxes...scored...I scored...109/70 pulse 60...finie ...epataph ...for some strange reason...I wanted a cigarette...lol regards

Good one, Logo, good for you! I used to be like that until just recent months. But, I plan on soon being back down there again, soon. 124/72 just now, 65P. But mine seem to run higher in the morning.