Posted on 05/15/2014 5:53:35 AM PDT by killermosquito
Do any freepers have any experience with High Blood Pressure? Mine has been running high for a few years. Usually, about 139/90. I have had one significant problem that might have been related. 5 or 6 years ago a retinal occlusion caused me to lose about 70% of the vision in my right eye. It started with "lightning" flashes and the next day if you were standing 15 feet from me your face would be an oval with no features. After about 6 weeks of steroidal eye drops the vision returned to normal.
More recently in the past couple of years, I have had 4 or 5 episodes of semi-blurred vision but that doesn't quite describe it. It is like I look at something and I have trouble focusing on it. It clears up in about 10 minutes.
That is why;)
Drugs for hypertension are plentiful, and many are remarkably inexpensive ($4/month at WalMart). Trust your physician to determine which drug is best for you. Diet and weight control do not eliminate the genetic predisposition to hypertension.
Seeking advice in an anonymous discussion forum is not the most wise decision for a health issue that left untreated will debilitate and kill.
Try not eating processed food of any kind...and adding beans to your diet...go to a Naturapath (ND)...unless you like taking drugs.
My doctor told me it’s genetic too. Nothing to do but take lysinopril every day.
First re the flashes in your eye. More than likely they were and are floaters. For most of us floaters are harmless and offer a form of entertainment. The link below from NIH is an excellent explanation of flashers.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/flashesandfloaters/ot089103.pdf
Your high blood pressure is a different matter, and you should treat monitor it at home. If it is still high, you should treat it with appropriate medicine. We have had a few friends who didn’t treat their HBP, and they had devastating strokes which seriously impaired their life styles.
Before you go on your meds, buy a wrist BP measuring device. We use the OMRON made by Intellisense. You put it on your non dominant wrist, push the start button and put your wrist a little over your heart let it work. It only takes a minute and can retain your past pressure. My doctor has me keep a chart for a few weeks before my yearly visit. I take the chart in with my visit, he scans it and has his RN take a reading and says, “Your med is still, working. Stay on it.
A lot of people have white coat syndrome when just visiting a doctor’s office and having the nurse or doctor take your BP can raise their BP significantly. A friend, who was a personal pilot of a CEO had that syndrome. We had him walk a mile to the doctor’s office. The office RN, a friend of he and his family, met him in the little park surrounded by the medical building. She had him sit on a bench and took his BP. When, she did that, his reading was normal.
Then, if he went into the Dr.’s office and said high to the receptions and went to an exam to be tested by the same RN, his BP was high. When, the Doctor came into the room, his BP was in the stroke area. After he walked home, he used a wrist BP monitor, and his BP would be normal. His BP was normal for years when he monitored it at home.
You should monitor your BP as noted above. If it is still high after a week or two. You should see a doctor, and your HBP should be treated.
See your doctor and get a med for it. I have been on enalapril/Vasotec for about twenty years. I split a 10 mg tab and take a half tab in the morning and about dinner time. The drug is an ACE inhibitor. ACE inhibitors protect your kidneys and other organs. The ACE inhibitors for most of us work with basically zero side effects and impact on lab tests.
My generic enalapril 10 mg #30 costs less than $2 for a month’s supply at Walmart.
Good luck and take care of your BPH.
I had a work event for wellness, and having a bad morning - they took my blood pressure & wanted to call an ambulance. I said no. But since then, I started to monitor mine. I won’t take meds, because they kill your liver. I have stopped drinking pop as much as possible & drink more water (with lemon) instead. I will not give up my morning coffee! I don’t add salt to food (as much as possible).
I am also using essential oils from Young Living to help keep me calm & to help with the blood pressure. I’ve lost 80 pounds over the past 3 years & I’m trying to get exercise. Good luck to you.
My blood pressure was normal until I hit my 70s (I’m now 81),and I had no symptoms. My M.D. put me on Lisonopril.
Two years ago I had a stroke,which also came without a symptom. My Lisinopril dosage was doubled and I was put on a blood thinner.
My ex had genetic HBP from age 40———he was very disciplined and did exactly what he was told,including regular exercise. He’s doing quite well at 83.
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At your age exercise could help considerably.
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My BP is always at a nice number when I have fasted. Why is that?
When you are young, your internal organs have excess capacity and can handle anything you throw at them and still cleanse and maintain the rest of your body. As you age their capacity diminishes until they can’t handle everything you throw at them anymore. When there is food in your stomach, 50% of the capacity of your internal organs is going to simply digesting food. When you have an empty stomach, that freed-up 50% capacity can be directed toward cleansing and maintenance of your body.
There are a few supplements that could help with high blood pressure. Fenugreek for one, it also moderates blood sugar levels and is helpful when taken after meals for this purpose. It’s helpful for sexual dysfunction.
The same can be said for L-Arginine, although the blood sugar link isn’t nearly as apparent. You’d want to take L-Lysine with it because L-Arginine can at times to lead to activation of any latent viral infection when taken solo.
Dietary fresh garlic is good, too.
But, caution should be used and a doctor consulted if you’re already on statins, blood thinners such as coumadin, etc.
Okay, thanks for the info.
If you develop a persistent dry hacking cough, it's the lysinopril causing it. Will take a couple of weeks for it to go away once you change BP medicine.
The exercise is important and in many cases genetics and age are a factor. My BP has always been slightly high, from the time I enlisted in the Marines to my retirement from the Air Force. It was never a areal problem nor was it flagged until about 10 years after I retired and they changed the specs on what was considered pre-hypertensive. My doctor at the time prescribed some meds to get it below 130 on the average when exercise didn’t seem to help. The meds had some irritating side effects so my military doctor reviewed my med records going back to the Marines and figured out that I had a higher than normal heart rate which is probably genetic. He put me on one med, Atenelol, to slow my heart rate and after that my BP is always in the normal range. Each case seems to be a little different from one person to another.
Do make efforts to live a more healthy lifestyle. I had one old time doctor tell me that the greatest threats to your health were smoking, salt, sugar and sitting. Don't smoke, cut down on salt..you needn't go salt free unless your doctors recommends it... avoid sugary and processed foods and get some exercise...walking is as good as any.
I don’t drink at all.
I had blood work recently. Normal sugar and cholesterol levels.
Thank you for that link. I have a huge amount of floaters that happened after a coughing/choking session had a several years ago. I was suffering with severe bronchitis and could not stop coughing. I went to my eye doc immediately and he diagnosed me as having floaters. They do affect my vision in my right eye and I don’t think they will ever go away. I have never had flashers and my retina is OK.
Recently, the health profession released ‘new’ numbers for bp. Those numbers allow higher numbers than previously.
FYI
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My bp is borderline (old numbers), so Dr put me on 10mg Lisinopril (generic).
Initially, he cautioned that if I developed a persistent cough to seek an appointment.
I haven’t had any problems and have been taking the pill daily for several years now. Typically, my bp is in the ‘low’ range. It does occasionally spike, but those spikes seem to be temporary. I have a couple of BP Meters so I check it occasionally-to-frequently.
I have ocular migraines. Maybe once or twice a year, very random. Here is what happens. I will get like a flash of light then a very small jagged edge shimmering light appears, it grows and takes over much of my field of vision. It affects both eyes and lasts about twenty minutes until it fades away. There isn’t any pain, maybe a slight headache after. It is not uncommon and is usually a benign condition. They are not sure what triggers them, food, stress, light, they aren’t sure. I think mine is triggered by certain red wines.
Listen to more music, drink more beer, and quit worrying about politics. I am reasonably sure that 2 out of the 3 will help your blood pressure, and the one thing that might not help will at least cause you to feel happier about your situation.
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