Rising blood pressure when lying down
Posted , 10 users are following.
I am 75 and have always had a higher BP during the night or while lying down dozing during the day. I have been taking Felodipine 2.5mg for some 10 or more years which controls my daytime BP to around140/80. On checking it recently at 3/4 am I am getting 180/115 resulting in me consulting my doctor..
My GP has upped the Felodipine to 100mg which immediately broght the daytime figures down to 110/63 and the nightime ones around 30 points higher at 140/93. The problem is I feel faint during the day and the side effect of fatigue is now difficult to live with. Any ideas as to an alternative drug or ways of living with this condition.
0 likes, 29 replies
lily65668 terry1541
Posted
Hi Terry, I'm 72 and I'd never take my BP during the night - I'd rather not know! At your age I'd be perfectly happy with a daytime BP of 140/80. The dizziness is because the higher dose of felodipine (I assumed you meant to say 10mg not 100mg!) is taking your BP too low during the day. Have you tried putting yourself on 5mg? 2.5 to 10mg sounds like too much of a jump to me.
terry1541 lily65668
Posted
lily65668 terry1541
Posted
Or better still, try g.90572's tip. I usually wake up a couple of times in the night (old age!) so maybe I'll take my monitor to bed with me tonight and take my BP... if I can be bothered.
g.90572 terry1541
Posted
lily65668 g.90572
Posted
Well done that man!
terry1541 lily65668
Posted
I can't halve the dose of these 10mg pills because they have a special prolonged release coating, but I did try taking my old 2.5mg pills twice a day, effectively doubling the dose to 5mg a day, but it didn't help the night time high level.
terry1541
Posted
I did find out this afternoon that within 30 minutes of lying down my BP would rise by some 30 points, by standing up it would fall back within 20 minutes. In looking up possible causes for this I came up with autonomic neuropathy, often associated with diabetes, though I don't have that.
I have asked several GPs over the years about the nightime rises, and none had any idea. Has anyone else heard of this condition?
lily65668 terry1541
Posted
g.90572 terry1541
Posted
Did you also check your blood pressure in reclining position eg. With chest raised so that blood from your legs can't rush to your heart if that's what is happening
terry1541 g.90572
Posted
chris96652 terry1541
Posted
I am 52 not overweight and not diabetic also. My problem is BP meds
stopped working, if I take them my BP goes higher not lower. I think this is some reaction of the autonomic neuropathy causing my body to react opposite of the BP meds. I have no idea how to fix this.
terry1541 chris96652
Posted
I finally managed to get a prescription for Moxonidine 200micrograms which for the first 7 days taken with 5Mg of Felodipine brought my daytime BP to 120/65 and nighttime 140/80, but after a week it started to rise again at night, then later during the day. I now take the Moxonidine at bedtime and the Felodipine on waking up in the morning. The daytime readings are around 135/75 and the nighttime around 150/85 to 170/95 so I am sort of ok with that. I don't have any side effects except ringing in the ears at times.
I think the small fiber neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy you mention, may well be a factor in my case, but as you say there is no real treatment for that anyway is there?
derek76 terry1541
Posted
If I take losartan in the morning it goes too low by late afternoon. If I take it at bedtime it is still high in the morning.
ann_c.04098 terry1541
Posted
Terry with all due respect and sincerity I am going to enlighten you as to how the game is played.. every time we move our blood pressure fluctuates and it's quite normal for BP to rise at night... For your age your BP during the day is good, in fact the new guidelines for people over 60 is now 150/90... the first mistake you made was to alert your GP.. You see Terry when you do that your are asking for trouble as the doctor's thought process works like this... "I must do something" and indeed he does he ups your meds... Why on earth would you want to open yourself up to this process and bad side effects? The drug felodipine as I can see by the ending "pine" tells me this is a calcium channel blocker... Please do some research online about these dangerous drugs and better yet about the new breed of doctors who are practically worthless.. Good health to you and long life..
lily65668 ann_c.04098
Posted
Thank you Ann! I'm with you all the way on this one. Too many doctors are incarnations of "action man", thinking they have to provide maximum treatment for everything (speaking as a former nurse). But to be fair, most patients demand maximum treatment, so doctors can be forgiven for thinking we all want the same. There are exceptions of course - my current GP is a model of dialogue and interactitve treatment planning.
I'm not saying all medical treatment is wrong. I accept it myself (L-thyroxine for an under-active thyroid and a half-dose of steroid inhaler for incipient COPD - both down to a chronic autoimmune condition). But we need to inform ourselves - easy in this internet age - and take responsibility for what happens to our own bodies.
ann_c.04098 lily65668
Posted
You make an excellent point Lily... we are all different and I am one of those who does not like meds or aggressive treatment... luckily (for me) I found a physician who incorporates alternative medicine with traditional medicine and I like him as a person too.. i am terrified of all the side effects of these meds and some of the people who prescribe them.. you are correct though, many people ask for more punishment as we have been conditioned to believe that "more is better"
terry1541 ann_c.04098
Posted
Yes Ann I agree with most of what you say, except it is not normal for the BP to rise at night, quite the opposite in fact.
I have tried every natural method of reducing my BP over the past 30 years including Chinese medicine, acupuncture and herbs. I even had a Dr when I lived in Wiltshire who advocated natural remedies, but nothing we tried ever worked, except prescription drugs.
I have researched all the hypertension drugs available and am aware of all the possible side effects.
I do hate taking drugs and know they are in many ways a poison, but the years I have let my BP go without any, it was always 160/95 or more in the day and 190/120 at night.
The reason I went to the GP recently was due to waking up at 3am with nosebleeds headaches and loss of vision in my left eye due to burst blood vessels. I am now balancing the risk of a stroke or MI against the drug side effects I can tolerate.
I can't change my lifestyle, insofar as I am not overweight eat healthily and exercise regularly.
I agree we all have to take responsibility for our decisions concerning our health,
Both my daughters are NHS sisters, so I have a lot of inside information concerning the inefficiency of doctors and the severe crisis our health service is going through.