Amlodipine 5MG for 6 Days

I couldn't help noticing that you said your BP was 150/90 when you weren't on any medication. While that's outside normal limits, it's not worryingly high if you're over the age of 50.

My BP, having been a steady 110/70 all my life, started rising rapidly after the menopause and was at 150/90 by my mid-50s. As a former nurse, I knew too much about the side-effects of medication to accept this without a fight. I lost a small amount of weight (about 7lb), started walking more and put myself on magnesium 375mg per day. My GP was horrified, said I was putting myself in all sorts of danger taking magnesium (which is not borne out by any studies) and it would never work.

Six months later my BP was back to 120/80 and stayed there for the next 15 years. It really is worth trying magnesium, provided you stay within the recommended dose of course. Many others on these forums have had similar results. The only possible side-effect - which doesn't affect everyone - is diarrhoea. However, I see you suffer from Graves' disease, which can cause diarrhoea in itself, so magnesium might not be the best thing for you. For that reason I'd recommend starting with a half-dose if you're going to try it. I see you're in the UK. The Big B (no advertising!) does magnesium in a formulation that gives 375mg in two doses, so you can take them at either end of the day to reduce the effect on your bowels if that's a problem. This also allows for a half-dose during a trial period. However, magnesium isn't a quick fix. It takes several months to produce results. You can also take it in conjunction with a reduced dose of medication if required, but in that case you should monitor your BP at home to make sure it's not dropping too low.

Unfortunately, magnesium doesn't work against my current problem, which is raised pulse pressure. This is when the difference between systolic and diastolic is too great, regardless of the values of either. In the last couple of years I've recorded bizarre values like 160/50 - that one was in my doctor's office - and 135/65 is quite normal these days. I'm concerned about this as it's a sign of atherosclerosis, but my very sensible GP doesn't want to put me on meds (and I don't want to take them!) as they would lower both values, which could be dangerous in my case.

That's how I came to be on this hypertension forum - though I'm not quite sure how I came to stray onto the amlodipine board! I'd welcome any suggestions as to how to solve the problem of raised pulse pressure. The difference between systolic and diastolic isn't supposed to be more than 40, whatever the individual values, and 50+ is considered abnormal.

Have you tried CoQ10?  I just started on that about 5 days ago but i know it could take some time to show any effects.  I also am drinking Hibiscus tea.  I have added one oz of dark chocolate daily ( which is a treat) but it is a good source of Magnesium.  I wonder if I should attempt adding a magnesium supplement?  I may just see where this goes.  My BP is hovering around 158/95 but it has gone up and down.  I am walking briskly every day and I started short meditation sessions to just breathe deeply a couple times a day.  This is a lot of work to figure out what works best without taking BP meds.

Some people are ok on Amlodopine and some are not. I had to go off it completely. I had very bad side effects. Good luck

Sandy

I went straight to ubiquinol, which is a much more powerful source of CoQ10. It worked a treat, raised the diastolic while slightly lowering the systolic, but unfortunately ended up causing catastrophic diarrhoea. This didn't start till I'd been taking it for about four months so I didn't even know what was wrong with me at first.

I wouldn't worry about trying a small dose of magnesium if I were you. The only possible side-effect - provided you take it within recommended dose - is diarrhoea, but it doesn't have that effect on me.

BTW...I did report my side effects to the FDA, mainly because Dr.s that don't believe you will not report them.  I did my part!  Thanks.

Hope the FDA will let you know if they find any correlation in your side effects.

Just another suggestion, though I haven't tried it myself. There's a natural remedy called Alistrol out there that's being touted as very effective for BP that's only slightly too high (like yours). If anyone has tried it, I'd be interested to hear their views.

I haven't tried it so far, as I'm currently having a return match with the ubiquinol and I don't want to muddy the waters by trying too many things at the same time. I'm going very slowly with it, as it took several months to start causing side-effects last time, when I was on 200mg per day. I took just one 100mg capsule per week for the first two months, and have been on two capsules a week for the past few weeks. If I haven't started getting diarrhoea again by the end of this month I'll up it to three capsules per week.

If you don't get results from the CoQ10, I'd suggest getting hold of some ubiquinol, which is said to deliver 10 times the amount of CoQ10. As already mentioned, it worked very well for me, but the side-effects when on full dosage were intolerable. However, I believe it's rare to get diarrhoea at the level I had it - i.e. not even being able to leave the house some days!

If I don't manage to re-build my ubiquinol dosage to therapeutic levels without getting side-effects, Alistrol is going to be my next port of call. I'm a life-long non-smoker, get plenty of moderate exercise, don't eat sugar or junk foods, use very little salt and have a BMI of 23.6, so there's not much more I can do in the way of lifestyle measures.

I totally agree one shouldn't dabble with alternative remedies in cases of severe hypertension, especially in a younger person. But for myself, at age 72, I'd much rather accept the risks of mild hypertension - of whatever kind - than subject myself to the side-effects of hypotensive drugs. In my years as a nurse I saw far too many elderly people with the swollen, ulcerated lower legs that are so often brought on by CCBs.

We all make our own choices. Suggestions are always welcome, of course, and are more likely to be considered if couched in a moderate tone.

Thanks for the feedback.

I broke up the names because it's just possible a fatwa has been declared on the site against these products. It does occasionally happen when the powers-that-be decide that someone's campaigning!

And yes, I am a former nurse - old UK version of RN - but a looong way back!

and so is my pharmaceutical knowledge. The gist of my story is that it is

unwise to spend time on snake oil with doubtful reputation. Medical

science is not perfect but should still be the first choice of patients.

Have a good night!

Coenzyme Q10 thus has an influence on energy generation but unfortunately it also produces a leakage of free radicals(like semiquinone) which are responsible for  biological damage to the mitochondrial DNA. Free radicals have been implicated as playing a role in the etiology of cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer disease and Parkinson's disease. Free radical damage is accumulating throughout the years and at old age the damage may be considerable. Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) exists in three redox states: ubiquinone, semiquinone (the free radical generator!), and ubiquinol. Ubiquinol  plays important roles in both energy production and protection against free radicals. Yet I find it difficult to correlate it with the alleged lowering of blood pressure.

I would love to discuss this with a medical biochemist.

To answer Patty: if no correlation between Coenzme Q10 and blood pressure exists, then Coenzyme Q10 as used against high blood pressure is indeed a "snake oil".  If there is a legitimate correlation, then I apologize.

Some people get immediate results by reducing salt to a minimum but it depends on the underlying cause of your hypertension. Good idea to add more fruit and veg - particularly veg - and even more so if they replace sugar, junk foods and excessive carbs.

should not feel that you are "giving up" things.

Have you tried supplements containing black cohosh

often recommended to reduce hot flashes.Of course, hormon treatment

is much more effective, although it may have some risks. A gynecologist or endocrinologist can advise.

I've always eaten healthily but I don't think that means you can never indulge in unsuitable foods - just make it a treat instead of a habit, as you say. Although I've never had a general sweet tooth - pastries, cookies, desserts and candy pass me by - I was a helpless chocoholic before menopause. Fortunately, that was one of the things that I lost interest in (coffee was another) so my refined sugar intake is very low these days. I do, however, allow myself some high-quality (70% cocoa) chocolate from time to time.

My two main dietary indiscretions these days are potatoes and wine, and I'm working on both of these. I don't drink the wine for its alcoholic effect, and only ever drink it in the evening, but I just love the taste and can get carried away! But potatoes are my main vice - boiled, fried, baked, roasted, mashed, you name it. I think they're unfairly demonised to some extent, particularly as they contain a lot of potassium, which helps to control BP. But on the other hand, they have a high glycaemic index and bump up your carb intake.

Still, as someone once said - eating healthy all the time and depriving yourself of all treats doesn't make you live longer, it just feels that way!

And I'm getting bored with this argument.

and blood pressure. But I am still glad that you were helped one way or another. After all, that is what counts, isn't it?.