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Stopping high blood pressure medication and trying a healthy diet

Posted , 6 users are following.

wendy82413
wendy82413

I was prescribed Amlodipine back in February this year, started on a low dose then doubled. Taking it for 6 months I sufferred terrible side effects of swelling feet/ankles/legs/insomnia to list a few! I was changed to candesartan in August, which seemed to have few side effects but did not really get my bp down, so the candesartan was doubled.  Taking my bp at home I registered that it was in fact higher on the double dose.. we are talking here about readings of as high as177/98. 

Well... really disillusioned with medication, and somewhat wary of side effects after my experience with Amlodipine I decided to stop medication and have joined slimming world which advocates a very healthy diet ( i had thought I was on a healthy diet until listening to the slimming world advice)  I joined 3 weeks ago, having discovered my BMI WAS 31, and that i was apparently 3 stone overweight.  I have already lost 5 1/2 lbs and my bp has gone down considerably to regular reading now in the region  of 130/70 !!! I have seen my doctor and he is supporting me in my decision.  My new diet includes lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, and all lean protein, nothing is banned ,but, and I think this is the key.. I have virtually cut out all processed food/salt/caffeine/sugar/alcohol, ( these foods attract syn points and the aim is to keep your daily syn total low)

I wonder if anyone else has tried this idea to improve their blood pressure? If not I suggest you consider it.

 

0 likes, 18 replies

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  • jane243
    jane243 wendy82413

    Posted

    Never done slimming world but had been a weight watcher for years and years until I realised they were only interested in selling you their brand of crisps and chocolate! I found that I became obsessed with the amount of points allowed and it really took my eye off eating like a normal person. Have never tried slimming world but tried the 5.2 diet after reading Michael Moseley's fast diet book - the science is really interesting -  then adapted it to the HFLC [high fat low carb] diet to keep diabetes at bay. My BMI at the start when hypertension was diagnosed [at health check] was 23.9 and it had been 25.1 a few months earlier. The weight just fell away and now I have a BMI of <19>, take a size 8 - 10 and never seem to have a sugar crash in mid afternoon which I always did on the WW diet with it's high carbs and low fat.

    On diagnosis I was put on Ramipril which was changed to Losartan due to the cough with no side effects. Had the dose reduced last July to the minimum and the BP has stayed around the 120 -125 mark ever since.  On diagnosis apart from being determined to lose weight I gave up salt, alcohol and decided to exercise more. I bought a dog and we do it together - walking !! Never felt as well asI do now and I was 72 last birthday.

    Good luck with slimming world and I hope it all works for you.

  • Fisherman
    Fisherman wendy82413

    Posted

    Hi. Read your post with interest. If you scroll back through the various posts on this forum you will see one from me about a couple months ago called "Lifestyle Changes to lower bp" which more or less agrees with what you have found. I have also noted that a "body shock" format such as sudden weight loss appears to result on lowering bp. For me, weight loss, daily exercise, no alcohol, beetroot (yes, beetroot!) reduced salt, avoiding processed foods all seem to help me......plus advice on this forum of course! Keep us all posted.
    • wendy82413
      wendy82413 Fisherman

      Posted

      Interesting to read your post...yes I forgot to mention that I am also taking 100ml of beetroot juice daily, watered down to make a full glass.
  • Bess
    Bess wendy82413

    Posted

    Its so good to hear from those who have had good results with lifestyle changes. I am on Ramipril and have put on weight since starting it. I am very interested in the high fat, low carb diet as it is the only one that makes sense to me. I am inclined to low blood sugar and have to have fat/protein with each meal to prevent this (I am not diabetic). I would love to hear how the high fat/lowcarb diet affects blood results, i.e cholesterol, lipids etc. My last cholesterol was slightly above normal and I wont take statins. Has anybody got any info on how their bloods have been affected by reducing carbs ? Thanks all for any advice you may have.
    • jane243
      jane243 Bess

      Posted

      I'd really love to know that too Bess. I had a full blood count as part of the health check. It was 5.9 on the diagnosis of hypertension and 4 months later after starting on HFLC it had dropped to 5.4. That was almost 2 years ago and I was 70 then. As you know the drs do these Qrisks -  box ticking in other words! Anyway I'm now 72  and the Qrisk has risen to 14%> and I was offered a statin. The dr said she had to offer me one as the Qrisk was over 10%. Of course it was - I'm 72 and on BP medication but have no other problems. I asked if she would take them herself and she said NO. I wouldn't have taken them anyway as you can't eat grapefruit with them and I start the day with a grapefruit! Simples lol.
    • Bess
      Bess jane243

      Posted

      Hello Jane, I have just managed to find your post again. Thankyou for letting me know your results after being on a HF/LC way of eating. I was put on 80 mgs of Atorvastatin whilst on the coronary care ward. This was before I had had an angiogram, arteries clear, and before my cholesterol had been checked. I had such a severe reaction I ended up in A & E one night about 3 weeks after taking them. I threw them in the bin and started to get better. I feel the statin industry are totally without morals and fortunately my GP has said I do not need to take them I am due to have my bloods done again as part of my medication review. Am really worried about the results so fingers crossed ! Hope you are still enjoying your grapefruit, Happy New Year to all..
    • Fisherman
      Fisherman Bess

      Posted

      I am interested in your thread regarding high fat, low carb diet and your comments on cholesterol/statins. My wife is T2 diabetic and controls her blood glucose levels by following a low carb diet. She has cream in her coffee, never milk and has butter on specialist low carb bread. The interesting thing is that GP's still don't understand about cholesterol and the relationship between LDL's and triglycerides. Cholesterol is vital to allow our bodies to operate correctly and we should not concentrate on the single figure relating to cholesterol. It should always be read in conjunction with a triglyceride reading to get a true picture. Speak to your GP when you are next due a blood test and ask him/her to explain this complex but important relationship between these 2 readings. 
    • Bess
      Bess Fisherman

      Posted

      Many thanks, I shall ask my GP about that. I have read that there is a higher overall mortality rate in older people with very low cholesterol than in those with higher cholesterol. If the big pharmas had their way we would all be medicated on statins and they would be laughing all the way to the bank. I am convinced that low carb is the only way to control diabetes, cant believe people are being told to eat large amounts of bread, etc. bread = glucose. I read a book by called The Great Cholesterol Con. This was a real eye opener.He is just one of the many cholesterol sceptics  voicing their concerns about statins.
    • Fisherman
      Fisherman Bess

      Posted

      I don't have much sympathy for GP's but what I will say is that having seen the volume of research my wife has waded through to understand the impact of low carb diets, GP's would need an hour per patient to fully explain the complexities. I think the medical profession are rather pompous in that they believe that us "laypeople" would never understand how our bodies work, so why bother to explain. It is easier for them to dish out pills from a favoured drug company rather than sit down and have a detailed discussion about lifestyle, diet, medical history etc. There is a GP at my local surgery who is well known for speed of consultation...... 2 mins on average!!

      There is a very good lecture on YouTube that my wife found explaining about cholesterol, LDL's, triglycerides etc given by a NZ professor. If allowed by the moderator I will post the link on another thread.

      Meanwhile if we all follow a sensible diet, exercise daily and cut out things that we know are bad ie smoking, alcohol, sugar, excessive salt, processed foods, take away foods....then we are helping our bodies to keep going!! Good luck.

    • Fisherman
      Fisherman

      Posted

      The link on You Tube is A/Prof Ken Sikaris "Blood Tests to check Cardiovascular Risk". I had to watch it a few times for info to sink in, but well worth it. Hope you find it helpful.
  • Bakerbuzz63
    Bakerbuzz63 wendy82413

    Posted

    Hi there. I too was on BP medications, for 8 years. I have lost 30lbs in 12 months with Slimming world & I no longer drink alcohol and try to keep my syns down even though I no longer attend slimming world meetings. I excercise regularly & eat a varied diet, cooking from fresh most of the time. And the result is... Completely normal Blood pressure & No more medications. It really works changing to a healthy lifestyle.!! I wish you more success too, well done. 
    • wendy82413
      wendy82413 Bakerbuzz63

      Posted

      Really encouraging to read your post, just wish I had tried this earlier, it is a shame that doctors don't suggest lifestyle changes instead of prescribing medication first. By the way I also now have 100ml of beetroot juice watered down as a drink once a day,which is recommended to get bp down.
    • wendy82413
      wendy82413 jane243

      Posted

      points counted on things like chocolate,capuchino,biscuits etc. each has a syn value and the idea is to keep your daily syncs as low as possible
    • jane243
      jane243 wendy82413

      Posted

      Good idea to water it down, I gave up on that as I found it disgusting although I love the vegetable served in any way. Watering it down might make it taste less earthy: did you drink it hot or cold?.
    • wendy82413
      wendy82413 jane243

      Posted

      Cold. I find it far too strong on its own, but very nice watered down. I measure two small port glasses of beetroot juice into a medium sized tumbler, then fill the tumbler up with water
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