Blood Pressure Meds

calebmfbc

Hey guys! I just joined yesterday and looking for some good news...I am a 30 yr old male 6'1 270 lbs. I have been on Amlodipine since March of 2017. As of late my bp has been running 150/95. I went to my doctor yesterday b/c I was getting concerned and basically my blood pressure being elevated was making me feel really weird. So....yesterday happened. As I was saying, I went to my doctor and he gave me yet another medication. This time a beta blocker. I left that doctors office so mad at myself b/c I have a wife of 5 years and a 18 mo old little girl at home and I am pretty sure that all of the BP stuff is self inflicted. I am sick of all this medicine and I'm ready to make the change that I have needed to make for sometime. I just wanted to reach out and see if you guys could share some of your success stories about getting off BP meds. I almost felt completely hopeless yesterday afternoon as I left and went to the pharmacy. That being said, how long did it take you guys to get off the meds once you started eating right and exercising regularly? I know this will not happen overnight but just needing some encouragement to be quite honest. Thanks in advance!

5838fish623

I weighed 254 when I started on the same med and my by was around 150/90. Within a week or so my bp began to drop but it wasn't until I started losing weight that I saw real progress. After 10 months I'd lost 30+ pounds by logging everything I ate along with waking and yoga. I had some drug reaction issues with Amlodipine and stopped taking it. At that point my bp was below 130/80. I'm convinced my bp was related to my weight because some unrelated recent health issues caused me to gain 10 pounds or so and my bp began to rise.

88olds

I weighed 285lbs. I had a CPAP, BP high enough to put me in the life insurance bad guy pool and debilitating back pain. Dr didn’t give me HBP meds though. This was years ago, choices were more limited.

Can’t give you an exact timeline, but at some point I was a 220lb gym regular, no CPAP and no HBP. My exercise ramp up was very long. I spent a couple of years on the stationary bike in my basement before going near the gym.

The old fashioned diet and exercise works.

And another note since this is the motivation board and you bring it up. My motivation- fear- I was going to drop dead and leave 2 little kids, 2 & 4, with no dad. Or have a debilitating stroke.

People will say you can’t do this for others, you’ve got to do it for you. Well, yes and no. Being around to be an active participant in raising my kids was about me and what kind of man I was. Letting down my kids because I wouldn’t shut my pie hole was a place I didn’t want to go.

dsboohead

B/P meds are needed to keep your B/P down but to have a chance of being off of them the weight needs to come off! Watch salt intake and go for walks with family if you can.
Consider the meds just temporary until you get down in weight but don't NOT take them....your family needs you around and healthy. The ball is in your court!

vingogly

I've been on blood pressure meds since the mid 1980s. My blood pressure is definitely tied to my weight - sodium in my diet doesn't affect it that much. A couple of the meds I'm on have multiple uses: for managing my BPH and atrial fibrillation as well as blood pressure. My blood pressure earlier this week was 127/70 which is much lower than when I weighed 60 pounds more than I do today, total cholesterol is 137, triglycerides 61. These positive changes I attribute to my losing weight and making positive dietary changes. A while back, my doctor suggested cutting back on one of my meds because I'm starting to get symptoms of low blood pressure from time to time.

I'm on coumadin for my atrial fibrillation, and that isn't going away. We do what we have to do to stay healthy and alive - whether or not you're able to get off your meds, you're doing the right things for your health and your family. I'd suggest focusing on that rather than getting discouraged by focusing on the number of meds you're taking, and making lifestyle changes that will positively affect your blood pressure - watching the sodium intake, reducing caffeine intake, quitting if you're a smoker, continuing to lose weight, exercising. Yeah, it's possible you might go off your meds but if it were me, I wouldn't set that as a goal - even if you have to stay on the meds eating a better diet and losing weight will be beneficial for your health.

Sunshine_And_Sand

dsboohead wrote: »

B/P meds are needed to keep your B/P down but to have a chance of being off of them the weight needs to come off! Watch salt intake and go for walks with family if you can.
Consider the meds just temporary until you get down in weight but don't NOT take them....your family needs you around and healthy. The ball is in your court!

This. Don't stop taking BP mess without talking with your doctor.
I have been on BP meds since I was 20. Per BMI I've only ever been slightly overweight, and at the time I was diagnosed I was at a healthy weight and going to 4-5 aerobics classes a week and had previously always had a low BP (80/50 without any side effects of the low BP). I do remember the point when I started to have HBP side effects. I was in a spin class and having a much harder time than I'd ever had in the class. My 20 year old brain decided that I was out of shape (despite all the exercising I was doing and had never felt that way with them before) so I added a few step classes to my weekly schedule bc I was "out of shape".
A few weeks later, I jammed a q-tip in my ear to clean it out (dumb idea, don't try it at home) and walked around pretty much deaf in that ear for two weeks before going to the doctor to get the ear flushed bc I impacted it with wax when I "cleaned it". The routine vital sign checked revealed a BP of 165/105.
All tests were normal and I was put on BP meds. Since then, I have been on the lowest possible dose of various BP meds. I have had to have them changed around several times due to pregnancies (there are only a few you can take while pregnant) and developing certain side effects after long term use (low potassium from diuretics, angioedema from ACE inhibitors, etc). I have been taken off meds by docs on several occasions due to how well controlled it is on the lowest doses possible, but no matter how much I weigh or how fit and active I am, it always creeps back up when I'm off meds and I feel crappy. I think I am stuck with the BP meds, and it's probably due to genetics as my Dad went through something similar in his early 20s.
The point is not to discourage you by saying that lifestyle changes cannot always get you off of meds... Of all the people I know who take Norvasc, I am definitely the healthiest and most active. Maybe your HBP IS weight related and you will be able to get yourself off the meds with the weight loss; I sure wish I could...
But if not, you can still be fitter and healthier for your family. Don't be discouraged if you do lose the weight and still have to be on meds; you can be the healthiest person you know who takes BP meds. Either way, you are taking an important step towards being the healthiest and fittest you can be for yourself and your family.