1. Community
  2. Heart Health
  3. Hypertension

Hypertension

Posted , 3 users are following.

john95274
john95274

I have drug resistant systolic hypertension.Do anti-anxiety meds help?

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • jx41870
    jx41870 john95274

    Posted

    Mine is a little "resistant" too, in fact it's resisting right now.

    It gets down to individual cases. With my mother they had to dose her with everything in the book, before hers was under control, so maybe I shouldn't be totally surprised.

    Diet, exercise, external stress, particular drug combinations, ...

    Have you tried combinations of BP drugs? Combination is very common, pretty nearly standard, in the US, but I gather not so much in UK. An ACE/ARB + diuretic + beta blocker + calcium channel blocker, very common combination.

    Also watch out if you take turmeric/curcumin, can cause "cheese effect" hypertension.

    • john95274
      john95274 jx41870

      Posted

      Thanks for your observations.I take an ACE blocker,alpha and beta blockers and a calcium channel blocker.My GP has just doubled the dose of felodipine so I hope for something positive.

      Very interesting comment about turmeric which I take daily for knee joint pain.I wonder if it's worth stopping it for a month and substitute glucosamine and see if it helps my hypertension.

    • jx41870
      jx41870 john95274

      Posted

      John, if you take turmeric, do search for more information on "cheese effect". I've taken turmeric for years, and only figured this out fairly recently. I always mention it to the doctors, and they just shrug.

      You don't have to stop for a month, either, these things are pretty quick. Three or four days is enough to see.

      The "cheese effect" is that turmeric is a mild, type2 "MAOI". When you eat certain foods that contain the amino acid tyramine, normally that is quickly processed by the body, but the "Mono Amine Oxidase Inhibitor" prevents this, and tyramine makes your BP go up, potentially a lot. Aged food including some cheeses, salami, yogurt, beer, even some fruit, are the highest in tyramine. The effects start in an hour or two, and can last for a day or two.

      So you can keep on with the turmeric but have to watch your diet, and maybe skip it in advance if you want to eat something "bad", or skip it for a day or two after the fact.

    • john95274
      john95274 jx41870

      Posted

      Thanks for the explanation of the 'cheese effect'.I'll try a few days without the turmeric capsule and keep monotoring my BP to see what happens!

      Thanks for your interest (I dont know your name)

  • john95274
    john95274

    Posted

    Thanks for the summary of approach to managing resistant hypertension.I follow the advised approach and with an increase in my calcium channel blocker my average systolic BP has improved.By the way if my monitor shows a systolic spike I find that carotid sinus massage properly applied can immediately reduce the reading by 10 to 20mm .I dont know how long that effect lasts though.

Back to top

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.