scared of high bloodpressure

I have tried making some of your smoothie today and just have to say it's delicious! Hopefully it'll help lower my blood pressure to a level where I can reduce or even stop my medications, but if not then I'm sure I'll gain other the health benefits from the fruit and vegetables. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to another glass of the smoothie tomorrow morning. 

Thanks!

Now we need a company to make it into an instant drink:-)

Good on you Karen. Glad you like it. Keep a recoed of your bp. I take mine twice daily. Once around 9am ish and again around 7ish. A goodmonitor to buy is the Kinetik upper arm monitor around £20. Just google it. Don't buy one called the Prologic PL100. Very inaccurate. The KinetiK get really good reviews in which etc. 

Thanks so much for your reply, I bought some beetroot juice, as other's recommend as well. Worst taste ever, so off to buy your recipe ingredients today, thanks for sharing. P's great business venture! X

Sounds delicious, think I'll give it a try.

Hi Margaret,  no I am 36 yrs old, I recommend that you go to your docs , don't be scared,  I had a terrible time on amlodipine and so have others! It is banned in most countries and only used in veterinary practice! You don't have to take anything you don't want to,  pls go and talk to your GP

Try not too worry and make that appointment and go back...they have loads and loads of BP tablets they can try....tell them you want nothing that makes your limbs swell and ache, or give you a cough.  Good luck...Be Brave.

There will be one that does not give you side efects. I have tried nine different ones and only two did not have bad side effects. They were Losartan and Verapamil. I can't take verapamil now as it slows my already slow heart rate.

Do you have a link to reports of Amlodopine being banned for humans?

It fell out of favour in the UK for a long time but is making a comeback.

Thanks derek, may go back to GP to discuss, I got information from Internet on amlodipine and it's effect! I found a document where the drug had been banned for causing neurological problems and depression and very scary high number of people taking their own lives whilst on the drug, it's all on the Internet. I had a horrible time on this drug ! Have you had this drug?

It was the first one I was given in 2000 along with Atenolol. They were quite effective but I pleaded to be taken off them after two months due to side effects. Some I had after that were even worse!

Cardiologists tried to put me back on Amlodipine from time time but I refused. Some tried to tell me that it was the Atenolol that caused most of the side effects.

How high is your BP?  You do of course know the best thing to do...NO SMOKING and look at the money you will save. I used to put the money saved away every week and within the year had two weeks in Hong Kong and China followed by a week on Safari n Zimbabwe and Botswana.  

Blimey Derek.......how many fags were you smoking?!!! Great way to save for hols!

Your reply to Derek did made me chuckle!

I can't remember how much cigarettes cost when I stopped in 1993. We don't do expensive package holidays we find our own deals. Zimbabwe/Botswana was in March very off peak as it was the rainy season and the flights and hotels were dirt cheap and we arranged our own land and river safaris locally.

Now a 20 a day smoker at £8.47 a packet would save £3091 a year. Imagine if the smoker added that to his pension contributions.  More recently we had a month in New Zealand for £4700 for the two of us and a bit less for a month in Australia.

We have been missing you here Mrs O. I expected you to reply in another conversation about garlic in Blood Pressure Up where Chrissy wondered what it would do to her love life.

Ooh, I missed that post, Derek.  I have tried to flit in and out of the forum over the last few weeks but life has been so hectic, what with son's wedding just 3 days before Christmas, then being 'in charge' of Christmas Day, then exciting news that we will become grandparents in July.  Plus helping members of my support group.  It's all been so overwhelming that I was sent home from my GP referral session at the gym yesterday when the instructor checked my BP and found it to be 200/87.  Felt really depressed although I suppose I sort of expected it but had shied away from taking a reading at home.  It seems even good stress affects BP, well mine anyway - not to mention the salt from the Christmas gammon, far too many chocolates (caffeine?) etc etc.  Back on good diet from yesterday, including daily beetroot, garlic, celery and almonds, and just over half hour walks each day.

I'm loving the sound of Rob's smoothie though - got all the ingredients here apart from almond milk and pineapple.

Off to look for Chrissy's post now!  

Welcome back Mrs O.......even if "technically" you haven't been away!! What lovely events/news you have had over the Xmas period, so nice amongst all the doom and gloom in the papers! By the way, I don't include your bp readings in the good news bit!!!! Come on Mrs O, get those readings down.

My dad was a heavy smoker. He used to smoke Kensitas and he would let me count the vouchers that he saved and help pick a "gift" from the catalogue! Funny how no one saw the irony of getting a "gift" in exchange for lung cancer!? My sister and I have never smoked due in the main to dad coughing his way thru the day! Well done on giving up Derek and spending the cash on exotic holidays!

Thank you, Fisherman.  As for "getting those readings down", I really am trying (probably in all senses of the word if you asked my hubby!) starting with returning to my pre-Christmas original healthy diet.  I gained about 5lbs over the last couple of weeks from 9st 13lbs to 10st 4lbs! I've probably got a slowish metabolism as the weight always piles on easily if I sin!  Have lost the first pound over the last couple of days.  Not going to take my blood pressure, just trying to realx for a while after all the hard work and excitement.  The sun is shining here so a walk on the horizon whilst it lasts.

Giving up is easy. It is staying stopped that is the problem. I had stopped for up to six months three times previously. We always had exotic holidays but it was nice to think that by not smoking the Chancellor was helping to pay for them.  Perhaps that was why they introduced air passenger tax. 

I managed to stop 15 years ago after 35 years of smoking 20 or so a day. It was the advert of the child talking about how she missed her dad who died from C. Probably the hardest thing i've ever done in my entire life. I used the Nicorette chewing gum but got addicted to them for about 3 years but eventually managed to stop them. Having said that sometimes I would gladly mug an elderly lady for a cigarette even after 15 years but I know that it would only take the one to start me off again.

I smoked for 44 years and always told myself I would stop before I retired. I probably would never have started but my first two jobs were with tobacco companies and I got 100 cigarettes a week free. At first I used to sell them then thought it will not cost me anything to smoke.  Soon I was buying another 100 on Tuesdays.

I don't miss cigarettes but would enjoy a nice cigar at times. 

I'd love a cigar, trouble is I have a bit of an addictive nature so the odds are i'd probably start again. Best not to take the chance methinks.

A cigar now would probably knock us for six.

Working where I did I tried them all Cigarettes, Pipe, Cigars and even snuff. I never did fancy chewing tobacco though and could not stand hand rolled cigartettes apart from once with a tobacco that was just made for export to Australia. Some countries have dreadfull cigarettes. I brought some back from the USSR once and could not give them away. I had odd Indonesian ones once that had spice seeds in them for flavouring. 

Like you, been there done that. Tried a pipe, cigars, snuff etc. Did roll my own for a couple of years and to be honest actually preffered them. Still, all a distant memory now thank God.

Doctor at the time told me that in seven years my chances of getting lung cancer or heart disease would be almost as good as if I had not smoked. Seven years later I suddenly had hypertnsion...how strange.

I must admit that if I ever get a cold now it does not turn into something chesty. Also my sense of taste has improved to let me now enjoy the better wines I can afford. 

 

I was 70, now 73, when they said I should start taking BP meds and amlodipine was the med of choice.  I read up about it and realised I couldn't eat grapefruit each day so refused it.  They put me on Ramipril and changed it to Losartan due to the horrid cough, since when the Losartan has done the  job and no side effects.

Many people on this site say there are no or very few side effects with Losartan although it doesn't seem to work for some. For me it's been fine. .

crikey  you must have smoked a lot