not sure

Hi Margaret, I was hoping mine was a bit of WCS but when this all started we were in spain & the dr there was getting me to monitor 3 times a day over a period of about 6/7 weeks. As you may imagine I was like a nervous wreck & actually felt better having it done at the drs as hopefully they would know what to do if it was high, even 5 1/2 months later I still dread taking my own readings but they seem high whether I feel relaxed at drs or nervous at home. I'm just utterly confused that all the fruit, veg, low salt, very low fat diet plus medication doesn't seem to help, or the hour's exercise I do most

       days, just feeling sick of the mnths later I still dre

I was the same. I gave in and took the tablets feel a lot better a lot less anxious than I was. Are you taking tablets at the moment

Hi Margaret,yes I have been on the tablets since prescribed, started on enalapril 10mg twice a day, brought readings down a bit but  not too significantly, came off those eventually as side effects were making me feel really quite ill, went on to 10mg amlodipine which gave me really sore throat & very puffy feet, 1.5mg water tablet was added to this & feet & legs seemed to get even worse, have just been changed to 1.25mg ramopril, feet & legs improved dramatically, but went for blood test & had reading at 174/72 so have upped med to 2.5mg & seeing dr Friday, still not feeling good with rasping throat/dry mouth, wobbly head  & blurry vision but generally better than previous meds, just hope if the strength is increased my vision doesn't get worse & my head will feel better, glad you are feeling better on meds & good luck

Good luck let me know how you get on

Hi Richard, thanks for that, but both my husband & myself have been on very low fat diet for over a year, also I should think I average about 12 bottles of red wine per year over the last 5/6 years or so, if that. Dr did test for cholesterol a few weeks back but didn't comment on results so presumably levels were ok. To be honest none of them have discussed diet/exercise or anything other than meds. Apart from 1 who said if I hadn't had the dadmage to my right eye when this first came about he would have just started with my diet to try & rectify. I had already been doing nearly everything all the web sites & books say for the last two years or so just to try & prevent having to take meds as I've got older so I do wonder if there is some underlying reason for this. Hopefully I can get myself some clarity when I see the dr again Friday, I think I need to write things down again so I don't forget to cover them when I'm with him, 10 mins flies by doesn't it/

Thanks again Richard. BFN Sue

Sue, fascinating reading that your blood pressure was lower after your return from Italy, as I recently discovered mine was normal for the first time in 18 months and after trying many different meds immediately following a week's holiday with 2 x 3-course meals a day!

If a 10 minute appointment isn't enough for you, you know you can always request a 20 minute one.

Hi Mrs O, yes that's very interesting isn't it. I thought as we were literally on our feet nearly all day, every day, it may have been the exercise??? but I felt very tired & with sore achey legs & feet while we were away, and was walking much faster than I normally do trying to keep up with my husband!!!!! if that is the answer I think I need confirmation that I can come off the meds which make it really difficult to exercise

My BP usually comes down with exercise and always when on holiday as ours were pretty active. However in Switzerland and other mountainous countries it went up as altiude increased. Coming down from Jungfrau in an all day train journey I could feel it coming down station by station.

There is a theory that horses and athletes trained at altitude run faster when running at sea level. I actually had a share in a horse trained at Sutton Bank said to be Britains highest training establishment. It did not improve its performance when running at sea level in Musselburgh.   

Thanks for your affirmation on exercise Derek, sorry it doesn't sound as though the altitude training didn't help your horse win you lots of money on the lowlands!!!!! We also live in a Saxon Hill Town in the Sth West so perhaps we should move to a sea resort, somewhere nice & flat so I could ride my bike daily would be nice. I'm not sure if all the trawling on the internet is helping me or making it even more confusing. But it is reassuring to learn of other people's experiences, some worse & thankfully some better. I think I must try & persevere & fight off the side effects & force myself to exercise more, keep the HEALTHY diet up & keep praying. I guess it's deciding which side effects are the easiest to live with & keep taking the tablets!!!! Take care

I live on a flat area of the Sussex coast and it does not bring my BP down.

The horse used to slow down when the pace of the race increased. The trainer thought that he probably had an arrhythmia but it would have cost about £4K for tests to find out so he was retired.   

Sounds a bit like me then. ha ha! 

£4K for blood tests for your horse - than Heavens for the NHS!!!!!

It would have been a bit more than blood tests.

Quite a few horse have it, the richer owners can afford to get it treated. Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Denman was and came back as tough as ever.

Is your BP at its highest in the morning?

Hi Derek, well I'm a bit sad to say that I try to avoid taking it as I can feel myself tensing up as I try to relax, if that makes sense!!!, 2 wks ago when I first went on the lowest dose of ramipril dfr said don't take readings for 1st 2 weeks, then do randoms over the following 2 weeks & give him the average. However, on taking a reading on Monday by the nurse who was taking my blood sample, my reading at 10.20 am was 174/72 so she suggested I had ph. call with dr who then said double my tablet & see him tomorrow (Friday), so in prep. have just taken reading of 171/104 at 6.10 pm then again at 6.20 when it was 143/80. Usually I try & take it a couple of hours after I've taken tabs in the morning. Am just having my first glass of beetroot juice which is supposed to help, watch this space!!!!!!!

Mine has always been high in the morning since I developed hypertension in 2000. It can often be 210/110, mostly it goes down during the day often too low. 90/50 and on occasion lower. Problem is consultants all say that it is the daily average that counts and that is around 147/74 when having a 24 hour monitor.

I don't think the answer is to double your dosage for a few days.

I often thought of trying beetroot juice but never eat it. I saw a woman taking a carton off a shelve and asked her if it was for her BP. She said that it had helped her. I bought a carton but did not finish it as it was so disgusting a strong earthy smell and taste that lingered all day and night.  As expected it turned my urine and poo red. Good luck, you might even like it. It must be a very acquired taste like Marmite:-)

I managed to get sent to one of the (few) Hypertension Referral Centres.

The consultant there had a few theories and has asked my GP for detailed information of past hospital reports and wanted access to some kidney X-Rays done at my local hospital and had a few tests organised. I see him again next month, He even said that there are a few drugs that I have not been prescribed yet! 

Crikey Derek, how come it's taken so long to get that referral???But from what you say it sounds really promising doesn't it, wish you lots of luck with that. Ask him what he charges for private consultations would you.

Have finished my juice, much nicer than I was expecting, I got a concentrated bottle from Holland & Barrett, a week's supply & it's 2 tablespoons in a highball glass of water, not earthy at all & quite pleasant really, don't expect to see any changes for at least a few weeks but hopefully it shouldn't do any harm! I'll let you know. Take care

Hi Derek, me again, just another thought. I did read somewhere that when there are such fluctuations it can be due to small benign growths on the kidney, apparently this can only be picked up on  a scan, not on blood/urine tests. I think it's supposed to be a fairly straight forward procedure. hope that helps. take care & good luck.

Ah, the sweetened version:-) I must have a look for it.

Quote from a previous doctor: If I referred everyone with hypertenstion to the clinic there would be a queue from here to the hospital. My present GP did not seem to know of their existance.

That is part of what they are looking at. When I had an ultrasound scan on my Gall bladder around 2003 I was told that I did not have gall stones but they found a small aortic aneurysm and a lot of cysts on my liver. I was told that the cysts are harmless and many people have them. No one ever mentioned them again at follow up scans of my aneurysm. A later scan showed a grade 1 Bosniak cyst on my right kidney. Again I was told that it was harmless. This year’s scan reported several cysts on that kidney but it was not commented on beyond that. When I told the consultant this he pricked up his ears and mentioned possible links to my BP and was going to get copies of the images. This week I have had to cart two consecutive days of my 24 hour urine output to the path lab.

When the taxi driver put my bag on the back seat he commented that it was heavy:-)

In November 1999 my BP was supposed to be normal but by the following February it was sky high.