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High BP, not on meds, want to sot it myself.

Posted , 9 users are following.

SteveDrakey
SteveDrakey

Hello,

I have just been to the docs and I have been told that I have high BP, I have been booked in for a 24 hour monitor. This happened to me about 15 years ago and I managed to sort it myself. I want to do it again but need some help.

I am 41 years old, my BP was 160/101 when I visited the docs. I have been testing my BP at home and I get readings of anything from 130/70 to 150/90 and a resting HR of 46 going up to 69.

I exercise a lot, I go mountain biking 3 to 5 times per week and sometimes I can be out for over 3 hours. I am surrounded by big hills so there is no such thing as an easy ride. I can be out for an hour and manage over 1000feet of climbs. (Its good fun coming down  smile )

I am a little overweigh, I could do with losing 7 lbs. But I would still be above the BMI but when I have lost more I have looked to skinny.

I avoid adding salt to my food and my eating is

Breakfast, muesli type cereal.

Lunch, salad , tuna with sweetcorn (or other fish) 

Tea, twice a week fish, once a week stake, once a week take away, other times something ok (sometimes a quick easy meal like a frozen pizza etc)

Snacks, fruit , 2 coffees per day, lots of water.

Before I visited the docs, I would have a ham or cheese sandwich for lunch, but I am cutting this out. I would also snack on bad stuff, like crisp etc. I also had about 12 VERY STRONG coffees per day. I would also only have about 2 glasses of water a day and on a weekend I would REALY over do the beers. Sometimes 60+ units over the weekend. I recon this is what has kept my weight high considering how much excursive I do. But, I am one of these people that if you give me a packet of Jaffa cakes I will eat them all give me two packets, I will eat both … mmmmm Jaffa cakes.. so I don’t buy thing like that as I just eat them all smile

So.. I have made SOME changes, cut out ALL snacks and limited coffee to 2 normal coffees per day and I have limited my drinking to 4 ales over the weekend ( 7.2 units) and I drink 8 glasses of water per day (on top of what I drink after a ride)

I have been doing this for 3 weeks and I have not seen a difference to my BP, my weight is dropping fast though.

I have been reading a book and it says I should take calcium supplements and it also talks about coffee cancelling out calcium so I think I made the right choice with cutting back on coffee.

I have ordered some calcium with VIT D , some VIT K  and some hawthorn tablets. 

Am I on the right track? And I am right to try to avoid the tablets that the doctor would give me? 

 

My gut says, its up due to

Coffee and lack of water

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • maxx470d
    maxx470d SteveDrakey

    Posted

    If your managing to get readings a low as 130/70 at some point durinn a day I'd say theres not much wrong with you.

    A paramedic told me this, a few normal readings and there wont be much wrong with you.

    • SteveDrakey
      SteveDrakey maxx470d

      Posted

      ok, most are high and its the doc who is telling me that she will put me on meds, maybe I wait to see what the 24 hour tests say. Thanks for the info.
  • Susie4016
    Susie4016 SteveDrakey

    Posted

    Hi Steve Drakey,

    Sounds like you have done a lot to help yourself.

    I tried Carditone, Cayenne pepper, Hawthorne, water pills, and magnesium citrate.

    Others I read about and researched but did not try are 

    Alpha-lipoic acid  

    Arginine

    Arjuna Gold

    Beet sugar, powdered

    Beta-Alanine

    Bilberry

    Celery juice

    Celery seed

    Cinnamon

    Co-Enzyme Q10

    Coleus Forskohlii Extract

    Cordyceps

    Dandelion leaf/root (diuretic)

    Diatomaceous earth

    Fucoidan

    Garlic

    Ginger

    Grape seed extract with oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCS)

    Green tea

    Gotu Kola

    Hops Strobiles

    Kudzu

    Lemon Balm

    L-Carnitine

    Milk thistle

    Natural Vitamin E (not your typical synthetic form)

    Omega-3 fatty

    Papaya

    Potassium

    Primrose oil pills

    Rawolfia at Amazon

    Rutin

    Taurine

    Valerian (calming)

    Vitamin C 2000 mg

    Vitamin E

    Vitamin K2 in the MK7 form

    Watermelon

    Yucca

     

  • nikev2150
    nikev2150 SteveDrakey

    Posted

    Why not just tell your doc this instead of going it alone. My own doctor was all in favor of lifestyle changes before handing out meds, (i.e. diet, excercise, not smoking, reduced alcohol intake, etc)  Perhaps your doc will refer you to a dietician. Consult your doc, my own high blood pressure was also accompanied by extreme vitamin D deficiency and I didn't have a clue until my blood tests came back ...  just saying.
  • AlexandriaGizmo
    AlexandriaGizmo SteveDrakey

    Posted

    Sounds likely you know what's causing it but can you turn it around, if you can then try your best to get it down without the meds, how did you do it last time and next question can you stick to it, if you can't then there is no point in going the natural way.

    Good luck

  • 1942alexander
    1942alexander SteveDrakey

    Posted

    Hi Steve,

    First of all you must find out if you have a BP problem and then acertain how serious it is. The 24 hour monitor will do both of those tasks. It will find out if outside influences are the cause if you are only high during your waking hours, or if the problem is your body's kidneys or arterial system if it stays high while asleep. Weight loss and healthy diet and exercise may help but not as much as medication will.

    I'm 72 now and was diagnosed with dangerously high BP several years ago after a session of eating liquorice. When the danger passed I still had high BP and probably have had it all my life which was a big surprise to me as I have been involved in strenuous sport all my life. My winter has been spent in Tenerife, peddaling as far as I could get up Mount Teide. In my regular 40 to 50 miles ride I topped 5000 feet of climbing several times. Before cycling I was a runner for 16 years and did several marathons. I'm 5'6" tall and 10 stones and my weight has only gone up and down by a pound or two in the last twenty five years. I eat healthily with bran covered in various fresh fruits for breakfast, chicken or egg and tomato sandwich for lunch and pasta, rice, turkey, fish or chicken with fresh veg for dinner, very little alcohol and plenty of water and weak (instant) coffee. If it was possible to "sort it out myself" it would be very difficult to do any more to improve it than I am doing but I still need medication.

    I'm on 12mg Candasartan Cilexetil and 5mg Bendroflumethiazide (water pill) and my average (last twenty) BP reading is 109/70. 

    Forget the DIY approach and take the pills, it may just save your life.

     

  • 1942alexander
    1942alexander SteveDrakey

    Posted

    I forgot to add that if you're drinking a lot, especially water, and sweating on your rides then you should be replacing the salts that you lose. A special sports drink is probably the best but even salt tablets will do.

    Regards... Alex

  • steve55315
    steve55315 SteveDrakey

    Posted

    Steve,nits about the calcium and vitamin d supplements DO NOT TAKE THEM - calcium carbonate pills give most people acid stomach caused by the calcium carbonate. It's called acid rebound. It's painful.

    Yes, you need a lot of calcium - that's why we like high calcium foods such as dairy and even custard! It's a calcium craving. 

    To get calcium I eat parmisan cheese and some low lactose dairy.

    thats all.

    All best.

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