1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Hypertension

Help, advice, support 26 y/o female with high BP

Posted , 9 users are following.

r35506
r35506

Hi,

I am a 26 year old (as of sep 2014) female, healthy, active, slim at only 50kg, don't smoke and eat very well.

Back in July I went for a routine check up and BP reading for my contraceptive pill and my BP reading was through the roof and of concern. Two days later I was admitted to hospital for having a BP reading of 194/126. Tests were ran on my blood, urine, I had an ECG and apart from a high heart rate (over100 BPM resting) I was considered fine and discharged. Following this event I continued with very high BP readings between 160/95 to 180/120 on average. I had a 24 hour BP monitoring done, a 24 hour urine collection, ultrasound on my kidneys and adrenal glands and everything came back normal (apart from my high BP obviously). At this point I went onto drugs, ramipril (increasing weekly with clear blood tests) and lercanidipine. The lercanidipine did not suit me at all so I came off that and went onto beta blockers, bisoprolol (which again, didn't suit me at all) followed by propranolol. I have now just changed from ramipril due to side effects, onto losartan as of today. 

So now i take losartan and bisoprolol. 

In terms of side effects, WOW the headaches. I have now gone from radial headaches to sever pinpointed headaches on the left side of my head, sharp shooting pains which make me sensitive to noise and light and make me want to throw up. I have developed a persistent dry cough (hoping this will go now i have stopped ramipril) and my fingers get so cold i can barely move them. 

I took a prescribed sumatriptan 100mg for the headache today for the first time and although i felt a bit wierd (heaviness in my chest and limbs, tingly prickly skin) the headache did lessen.

I am currently under the specialist at the hospital who has arranged for an ultrasound of my heart. There has been mention of tachycardia and cardio myopathy. I don't want to read too much into these as obviously they are not pleasant to have.

Anyway, I just wanted to know if there was anyone else out there who is young and healthy and has high BP and knows the cause? My high blood pressure and high resting heart rate has the GP and specialists baffled. This has been going on for months now and my BP is still high. Even on ramipril 5mg and propranolol 3x a day my BP readings today were coming in at 164/110. My resting heart rate has come down to about 60-65 BPM on average. On my way home from the doctors today I almost had a cry as I have just had enough now, i am sick of taking pills and having headaches so bad that they are affecting my job and social life and general overall happiness. 

Please, any advice on this would be appreciated. 

Thanks

 

0 likes, 42 replies

42 Replies

Prev Next
  • lucy05270
    lucy05270 r35506

    Posted

    Hey! Unfortunately I do not have an answer to your situation. I am a 24 year old female in a very similar situation. If you find any answers please let me know. I have been practicing breathing exercises hopefully that will show some results soon. Maybe you could try it. smile Good luck to you.
    • r35506
      r35506 lucy05270

      Posted

      Hi Lucy, glad to hear I am not the only young person suffering with high BP ! My mums a counsellor and has given me a book on mindfulness which I've been trying too. It has ways to manage stress and anxiety and includes things like breathing exercises etc. 

      Thing is I am totally happy with everything in my life. Nothing leaves me feeling stressed (other than this health situation!!!) so I just don't know. 

      Hopefully we will both get to the bottom of it soon smile 

  • smartcard
    smartcard r35506

    Posted

    Try to eat Celery Stalk, it lowers blood pressure: An active compound called phthalides in celery has been proven to boost circulatory health. Raw, whole celery reduces high blood pressure.

     

    • r35506
      r35506 smartcard

      Posted

      Thanks smart card, I'll try and get more celery in my diet smile 
    • derek76
      derek76 r35506

      Posted

      The BBC series Trust Me I'm a Doctor has recently (see iPlayer)  been testing different foods for their effect on BP. They all had some effect but not enough to be a cure.
    • jane243
      jane243 derek76

      Posted

      Beetroot was one of them I remember Derek. They concluded that it can lower the BP by a few % [forget the number] but as the BP fluctuates all the time I couldn't see how they could know or even what the point was. The other 2 things they tested weren't as effective as the beetroot. Fine if you like beetroot; tough if you don't !! I do like the stuff but once tried the juice and found it horrible.
    • jane243
      jane243 derek76

      Posted

      Beetroot was one of them I remember Derek. They concluded that it can lower the BP by a few % [forget the number] but as the BP fluctuates all the time I couldn't see how they could know or even what the point was. The other 2 things they tested weren't as effective as the beetroot. Fine if you like beetroot; tough if you don't !! I do like the stuff but once tried the juice and found it horrible.
  • aksingh
    aksingh r35506

    Posted

    You certaainly do eed to continue with the specialist's advice considering the unexpctedly high BP for your age and the strong drug reactions.

    While you continue with all that, it will not do any harm if you find a Yoga expert and follow suggested breathing and exercise routine for a medium term beneficial effect.

  • r35506
    r35506

    Posted

    I have such a bad shooting paid headache again in the left side of my head as always, it is killing me this evening 😞 It's making me wince and even make noise every now and then when it strikes. I've taken all my beta blockers and propranolol, but have also taken a sumatriptan 100mg about an hour ago and about 15 mins ago took two co codamols. I've come to bed in the dark to close my eyes and see if it goes away. It's so painful I want to cry sad 
    • derek76
      derek76 r35506

      Posted

      I'm quite sure that your headaches are not causd by BP. More likely the cause of your headaches is putting up your BP.
  • smartcard
    smartcard r35506

    Posted

    Some PB medicine may get you headache,  when I tried Concor or Prazosin,  I used to get unbeatable headache,  then I settled with Amlodipine, which has some side affects but not headache (at least for me) 
  • deb73716
    deb73716 r35506

    Posted

    I wrote this in an earlier post.  Having been through the same experience , but older, i went through all the tests and there was no answer to my elevated BP.  Having found a GOOD chiropractor, discovered my atlas (the bodies fuse block) was malaligned.  It affects many things including blood pressure.  After nine months of adjustments I am drug free.  The transition was, to say the least interesting .  On medication, Lorsartan, which came with that aggravating dry cough, day and night.  With the combo of chiropractic adjustment and the drugs my BP fell.  Then it fell below normal 94/63 and effects were light headed to  near passing out.  GP then cuts the drugs in half.  BP  still low (with chiropractic adjustments).  Now off drugs, maintaining adjustments and BP in normal range.  I encourage you to research what a GOOD chiropractor does.  We are not talking about the common "back cracker".  There is a science to it.
  • r35506
    r35506

    Posted

    Hi all,

    Just wanted to say thank you for all your help and advice the past few days and give an update To see if anyone can get to the bottom of my symptoms...

    So I've been off the ramipril for almost a week and on the propranolol and losartan combo since Thursday. After Friday's awful headache and a few twinges over the weekend, I have to say the headaches have stopped for the first time in weeks. I can go to work and do every day normal things without wanting to lie in a dark room and cry. It's a miracle ! I can't think of the head pains being cause by anything else other than the ramipril ! Keep this in mind for the future ramipril takers !!!!

    Seeing a specialist at a second hospital a week today, and bp is being closely monitored by GP. Whilst taking the propranolol and losartan it is Still high but is better. Averaging about 145/100 with a heart rate of approx. 75 Bpm. Losartan will take a few weeks to kick in. 

    Thanks everyone for the support ! 

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey r35506

      Posted

      Nice to hear better news from you.  Ramipril caused me head pain, nausea and increasing BP!  I tried it twice just to satisfy the consultant but when the pain in my temples started returning with odd fleeting twinges in my head, I discontinued it immediately, not wishing to stir up a previous inflammatory illness.  I hope the Losartan soon gets even better results for you.
    • derek76
      derek76 r35506

      Posted

      Good luck with next weeks specialist.
Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.