Just started taking Losartan, how long does it take to start working?

Derek, aside from the obvious lifestyle changes, I am interested to know what the several non drug treatments for hpertension might be.  BTW I wish I lived close enough to a hypertension referral center but they are few and far between..  also very few doctors know what causes hypertension..

That's really interesting Derek. I'd heard about the Rox coupler, but not renal denervation. I can see how both would work. However, from the small amount of reading I've just done, it looks as if we're not there yet with denervation. Still, Jack is young enough to possibly benefit from one of these procedures in the future.

When I first heard of renal denervation I contacted the company who devised it. I had a lot of help from their UK representative who got me an appointment at Imperial College. Her mother had the first version of it and did well from it. She told me that any one with BP contstantly over 168 should be referred to a hypertension centre. 

The latest renal denervation procedure seems to be more used. Locally one NHS cardiologist is using it at a private clinic. I see him next month and as a matter of interest will ask if it is also being done at the local hospital.

Hi Derek this is Paul. I was reading some of your replies to Jack concerning his high blood pressure and I just want to thank you for pointing out some things I've never heard of I'm one of the many people that been to the doctors and they're pushing pill after pill to control blood pressure . I've been on quite a few of them most of them have nasty side effects that my body does not like. I have not heard of a hypertension Center that will do certain treatments that you've described in some of your replies. I'm currently taking 50 mg of losartan with a number of side effects that I just deal with but I would love to be off medicine altogether. I'm very active I play tennis 5 6 7 times a week go to the gym even though probably 20 lb overweight I still try to do what I can to keep my blood pressure down. Once again thank you for giving me some ideas on what I can do in the future to get my blood pressure down without having to push a whole bunch of pills.

Personally I just walk through the door of a medical establishment and my BP hits the roof for some reason. At my first visit to Imperial College they sat me in the corridor with a monitor taking readings every few minutes. After about 20 readings they took the lowest one that was 137/78.

When I have a 24 hour monitor at home it averages about that but still has some of my 210/110 readings. 

Mine tends to go up in the doctor's office too, even though I'm not remotely worried about it. This seems to be very common.

My GP now takes my BP twice, with an interval of 10-15 minutes' general chit-chat between the measurements. He often takes the second reading on the other arm too. We generally get variations like 160/90 going down to 130/75. On my last visit two months ago it was 110/80 on both readings and my pulse was rapid and irregular, which threw him slightly, but he put it down to the weather. That was when we were having temperatures of 35°C/95°F, with very high humidity.

I never worry about my BP, take all possible lifestyle measures to control it, have no intention of starting medication till it's consistently in stage 2, and live in a country where I don't get have to be intimidated by doctors, so there's absolutely no reason for it to go up in the doctor's office! One of life's little mysteries I guess...

Lily the intimidation factor is real and horrible.  I experienced this a while back when my bp was high as it always is at the doctor's office.. I was fine until he asked me if I was going to the emergency room.. This is the new phenonema instead of treating you in the office doctors are so willing to ship us off to the hospital.. Needless to say I said no and I'm still here,, I can't stand the medical profession and all of their new found nonsense.... unfortunately we are at their whim

As I have atrial fibrillation monitors do not always get an accurate reading or it gives an error message.That happened with my GP last week. I just give him an ocasional print out of my home readings.

I think it's up to us, the patients, to resist intimidation. Easy for me to say, I know, living in a country where I can change my doctor at will, and where doctors' incomes come from their patients' fees (albeit supplemented by compulsory insurance) so they're reluctant to argue with us.

This made it easy to dump my GP 25 years ago, when she was trying to bully me into taking HRT after the menopause by issuing all kinds of threats as to what would happen if I didn't take it. (Needless to say, none of them materialised.)

However, I still defied a doctor in the autocratic British NHS 50 years ago, when I was a young nurse too - so liable to instant dismissal without reference for disobeying a doctor in those days. He was an orthopaedic surgeon who said I had to have a hip replacement for a very mild congenital hip deformity, and would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 40 if I refused. This was in the days when synthetic hip joints were made of steel and had a lifespan of approximately 10 years! I stood my ground, he backed down, I continued my nursing career for another seven years. Oh yes, and I still have both my original hips, albeit slightly creaky, at age 73, and can still walk for an hour a day most days.

Doctors only intimidate us if we allow them to.

Lilly65668: I found your reply quite inspiring. More so, I recently started with a new GP after my FAV DOC retired. NEVER had any issues with my BP throughout life (currently 61). However, over the past few bp measurements at random locations (giving blood, oral surgeon, severe poison ivy reaction) each different located indicated my BP was extremely high and I as well needed to go to the emergency room. ANYWAY...new GP put me on Losartan. I asked if this could be a temporary thing since my job is relatively stressful (6 mos to retirement), in addition to several extenuating circumstances I could understand it could be raised. However, when I asked if this could be temporary, I was told no that due to my age I should get use to it. (I feel better physically NOW than in my earlier years) Prescribed Losartan 50 mg and less than a week. I've taken my pressure in the am and pm and while high.... not much change. In fact since I started the meds I hear my heartbeat in my ears WAY MORE OFTEN. I need to adjust diet a bit (who doesn't after this year of pandemic hype hell), but I walk almost daily 3+ miles, eat relatively healthy (minor adj needed). I don't trust the medical field, especially when someone has only seen me once and taken a 1/2 hour to chastise me for not doing preventative measures .... but the other side is I don't want a heart attack/stroke either.Too much living left to do.... Thoughts?