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High blood pressure

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liz57
liz57

Hello I've been on 2x 25 mg atelolol and 1x2.5bendrofluazide for about 20+ years.My B P is very varied .Its been 170/110 ,its been 140/70 ,125/70.My GP practise just does abnnual checks so I do my own .I was told not to obsess and not to do it often .at home .Not even weekly .monthly if I had to . Anyone think this is alright? .I have been offered newer drugs but am very pill phobic and already take a lot for other things Thanks  Liz

0 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

  • sue7777
    sue7777 liz57

    Posted

    Hi Liz, I've been on losartan 50mg for about 2 months, after having horrid side effects with various others + 2.5 mg bendroflorazide over a period of 6/7 months, the horrid ones not really giving me low readings either. I have had far less side effects just on the losartan & although still get varied readings similar to yours, my lower ones do seem to be a bit more consistent. I am away for 3 months at the moment & doctor advised to just aim for average 145/90, if regularly higher I should up tabs to 100mg. I don't take readings every day & when I do I've just taken it once unless it's been high then take it again 5/10 mins later. I've been working my average out over 5 day periods, so far ok. 

    Until gp says I can stop checking I shall keep an eye on it, but friends that have been on bp meds for years don't seem to read their bp very often, if at all. Once I feel I'm on the right meds I will probably take random readings over 1-2 days & check the average once a month, with the advice from my gp. If concerned, I should ask to see another gp at the practice for second opinion, especially as you are taking other meds.. Good luck, take care

     

    • liz57
      liz57 sue7777

      Posted

      Hello Sue and All

      Thank you for your replies .Perhaps I'll have a word with GP and see what he says  .

    • liz57
      liz57

      Posted

      Hello BP gone really high so yesterday 2.5mg felodopine added to bendro and atenolol .Had aching  head all day .Will this settle ?
  • jane243
    jane243 liz57

    Posted

    I've been on meds now for 18 months, initially Ramipril then Losartan due to the cough. No side effects other than some lightheadedness initially but none now. Recently had 50mg dose reduced to 25mg and the readings are pretty much the same as with the 50 mg. The averages read about 120-125/70/75 and everyone is happy with that. Have never taken any of the water pills and at my age [72 now] according to the NHS guidance an Ace inhibitor or an 'Artan' are not suitable if you are over 55. They recommend a calcium channel blocker initially but I'm afraid I refused that as I'm a grapefruit adict! Both Ramipril and Losartan did the job fine on their own. 

    GP did say not to obsess about taking the BP  but I like to keep a careful eye on it and I do check it each  morning [2 readings] and at bedtime too. I'm happy doing that; I get the occasional reading in the 140s but not over that so feel what I'm doing is probably OK.

    • derek76
      derek76 jane243

      Posted

      I have read that Losartan should be prescribed in low dosage for the over 55's but not that it is not suitable.

      This American Pub Med abstract reports on its sucess with elderly patients:

      A study on the efficacy and safety of losartan in elderly patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

      Abstract

      " Despite progress in the detection and treatment of hypertension the percentage of patients with controlled hypertension has failed to increase. The problem of poor blood pressure control is even more serious in elderly hypertensives than in the rest of the population. The antihypertensive drugs of the AIIRA (non-peptide angiotension II receptor antagonist) class are drugs whose use and experience are increasing and whose properties make them particularly useful in the elderly. We tried to assess the efficacy of treatment with losartan, the first AIIRA drug in a cohort of elderly patients with essential hypertension and to assess the percentage of patients achieving optimum BP control and to evaluate its safety, tolerability and metabolic effects. The intervention proved to be highly effective, achieving the anticipated blood pressure levels in the elderly in 77% of subjects after a 16-week follow-up, with very good tolerability. Renal function remained unchanged, as did the subjects' lipid profile"

    • jane243
      jane243 derek76

      Posted

      Right at the start of me taking medication in May 2013 I checked out for myself the alternatives of what I might get offered. My son in law was taking a full cocktail of just about everything so I was aware of the alternatives. The pathway the NHS shows says for over 55's and for black people Ace Inhibitors and Angio Tensin blockers are not suitable as an initial medication. they recommend a calcium channel blocker as a first med with an Ace inhibitor or an Arb if that doesn't work.
    • derek76
      derek76 jane243

      Posted

      I started (when 66)  with a calcium channel blocker Amlodopine plus a beta blocker Atenolol. Due to severe side effects I was then prescribed several types of ACE Inhibitor. More side effects and little efect on my BP.

      Next another CCB, Verapamil plus Angiotensin II Losartan.

      I stayed on them for years as the side effects were neglibable. Later Losartan was stopped and others from that family were tried before three other ACE inhibitors all making me Zombie like. During that time I also took diuretics from time to time but they always redced my urine output and caused pelvic pain.

      Since my heart valve replacement in 2012 I have just been taking Losartan for my hypertension although it needs a bit more..   

       

    • jane243
      jane243 derek76

      Posted

      I f orgot  to add that I was first offered a calcium channel blocker but had found out that I couldn't eat my beloed grapefruit for breakfast if I accepted so I refused. That was when the Ramipril was offered. Initially that was fine but when the dose was raised after a month the cough started and just accelerated until I could no longer stand it. That was when the dr put me onto the  equivalent dose of Losartan. Now that is reduced too and all is well thankfully. I was offered a statin due to the ridiculous Nice guidelines of 10% but refused that too. She said that if you take those you certainly can't eat grapefruit. No way was I going there !!!
    • jane243
      jane243

      Posted

      Incidentally just an observation, but I have my med notes online. They don't amount to many pages but are just routine asthma annual checks, flu jabs  etc.

      From 1996 until Feb 2013 [health check] there are only 3 BP recordings listed none of which are ideal yet nobody said anything and in my ignorance in those days I knew nothing of numbers and had never heard of 'white coat syndrome'.

      So in 1996 it records 130/80 then in 2000 162/96. It was 142/78 in 2011 then in 2013 it was 163/96 again. At this point they  started jumping up and down [because they get paid for health checks and a diagnosis perhaps, or is it naughty to even suggest that ??] I realise BP changes all the time but I did wonder why a full 13 years before I had to take meds NOBODY ever said anything to me. Wonder what you think?

    • derek76
      derek76 jane243

      Posted

      When I was taking Verapamill it said not to take grapefruit. Some advice was that you could several hours after taking your tablet.

      Glad to say that I am not that keen on grapefruit but eat an orange most days.

    • helen_07568
      helen_07568 derek76

      Posted

      was reading your other post  derek do you have white coat syn at hospital
    • derek76
      derek76 helen_07568

      Posted

      Obviously. As soon as I enter a medical establishment my BP goes up.

      When I was laying in bed in hospital after my heart valve replacement they kept on commenting on my good BP levels. I thought that perhaps the operation had also sorted out my BP although I was in AF.

      It gradually started to go up over the next couple of months. 

  • helen_07568
    helen_07568 liz57

    Posted

    Hi Liz I am under the impression that if you are taking prescription meds you are supposed to get blood checks every six  months, to check kidneys are ok... that is what my gp told me... what about anyone else in this forum do they check your bloods every six months?????
    • jane243
      jane243 helen_07568

      Posted

      Hi Helen, I have to go to the dr every 6 months to check the BP is OK. I take the previous  weeks home readings along and she throws the arm band around me and waits for the monitor to reach some ridiculously dizzy high! [Thank heavens for home monitors]. She will then give me a prescription for my Loisartan for the next 2 months which I can renew twice more. I have only had one blood test since I started on medication 18 months ago and that was when I changed frm Ramipril to Losartan. That test was for liver function I believe.
    • gill70346
      gill70346 helen_07568

      Posted

      Yes, I have my bloods checked every 6 months and was told by the surgery that this is considered good practice as long term use of BP drugs and steroids (which I am also on) can lead to kidney and liver failure.
    • jane243
      jane243 gill70346

      Posted

      A friend was on a thiazide med for over 20 yrs. She never took her own BP and the dr never questioned or altered the medication in all that time. She told me when I got my monitor that it was a bad idea to take your own readings. Shortly after that she developed gout and had a bad time with that then moved house and changed her GP who changed her to Losartan. Incredibly she then had a new hip and whilst in hospital they found her BP wasn't high at all, so all those years and gout thrown in too   she had her own monitor the outcome might have been very diffferent!
    • liz57
      liz57 helen_07568

      Posted

      Hello Helen

      No I don't get regular blood tests .Have just had a few now as I went about another problem .Nothing about kidneys Liz

    • helen_07568
      helen_07568 jane243

      Posted

      Well Jane    Idon.t think its worth trying to get a reading in the docs any more, amazing your readings funny is,nt it,, makes you wonder about money it really does so the doc that says 160/100 is ok might not be wrong then don.t know if my post about that doctor got deleted it must have because I mentioned a docs name on there does anyone know when they moved the goal posts for these readings
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