High Blood Pressure

sara_tara13

A little history before I get into what my issue is. In 2011 I was about 180+ pounds and I had normal blood pressure. I was probably the unhealthiest I've ever been. I smoked, I drank, I ate fast food and I didn't exercise much and I was on anti-depressants.

In 2012 I started making changes. I quit smoking, I stopped eating fast food and cut back on drinking. Now it's 2015 and I'm down to 165 pounds. I was down to 155 but I've gained some muscle from incorporating a lot of weights into my workout routine. I workout 3-4 times a week doing a mixture of HIIT and weights.

I recently had a free wellness check and everything came back good except my blood pressure. Cholesterol was good, glucose was good, body fat percentage is 29 % (Goal is 25%). However my blood pressure was 148/107. For the past couple of years when I've had my blood pressure checked it's been high but I just attributed it to the "white coat syndrome"

Now I'm starting to worry. I know I should see a doctor but due to the wonderful insurance world, I had to drop my doctor I had been seeing and was just given a random doctor I know nothing about and have never met. So while I know I should go see him, I've been putting it off.

I don't want to go onto medication but I'm not sure what else to do. I eat healthy, I RARELY use salt (I have never liked it), I exercise, I have all the habits that I've read to do to lower it. Why is it that I'm healthier now and it's higher but when I was unhealthy it was fine?

Anyone else "healthy" but have high blood pressure?

MaryCS62

Unfortunately, "healthy" & "high blood pressure" are mutually exclusive. While you may feel fine, hypertension is not known as a silent killer for nothing. You are damaging yourself by not treating this.
If you don't want to try medication, you can try, at the very least, a low sodium diet. There are some very inexpensive medications for blood pressure that your doctor may be able to prescribe for you. Also, you might try buying an blood pressure monitor ( available for < $50 at Walmart, Target, etc.) I got a wrist monitor because I couldn't buy a large cuff monitor, & I use it to monitor mine at home. You might still have white coat syndrome. If so, self monitoring would show you that.

Speaking as a hypertension sufferer who has damaged her kidneys by not getting treated, AND as a health care professional, please get yourself treated!!!

suruda

Unfortunately your family history plays a big part and you can't always control it with good habits! Ignoring it is not the answer! The meds are mild and not expensive, ask for something with a generic counterpart if you have to pay out of pocket.

lecoman

Get it treated. There are lots of blood pressure monitors for home use. I got mine on Amazon. 140/107 sounds pretty high for white coat hypertension. I've been on meds since I was in my thirties. You can't always deal with it through exercise and diet. Don't feel like it is a failure on your part-blame your grandparents. Untreated it can ruin your kidneys, cause a stroke and increase atherosclerosis. (I probably made you BP go up, sorry) Remember, better living through chemistry.

callsitlikeiseeit

probably genetics.

you can ignore it, have a stroke like my husband, wind up partially paralyzed for the rest of your life, and need someone home to help take care of you because you can barely walk with a cane, much less shower, prepare food, or do routine self care without assistance. And don't forget you're a high fall risk. And if you fall, getting up without assistance is terribly difficult. and don't forget the neopathy and chronic pain.

Your choice.

knittnponder

Get a home monitor and check it at home. Look into the correct way to do it (seated, quiet for 5-10 minutes, arm at heart level, etc). If you're still reading high then you do need to do something about it. Hibiscus tea and beet root juice are both remedies that have scientific backing as being helpful for lowering your BP but you have to use the regularly just like conventional meds. And you should be monitoring and not just drinking those and hoping for the best. If you can't get it down on your own or you're extremely high, you need to be seen.

Longbowgilly

I do low carb to control mine, whenever I go off plan it goes way up 160/95 occasionally, but on low carb it is much better, I just checked it on my monitor and it was 108/67.