IMPORTANT! High blood pressure and loosing weight!

Melanie1967

Just a little FYI for my friends here at MFP. My sister-in-law is here on MFP also. She has lost 60 pounds. She was on BP meds for her high blood pressure for many years. The other day, at the vet's office, she passed out cold, standing up! They called a squad, and found her BP VERY LOW! She spent all afternoon in the ER and it was still low when they released her. Next day at her doctor, the took her off of one of her BP med's, and lowered the other one. She has to go back next week and get rechecked. Point is, from all the weight she has lost, her BP is now running lower and she may end up off of the meds all together. If any of you have had high blood pressure, and our on medication for it, please watch your blood pressure! Don't want to see anyone else passing out, unless you hit the lottery and then please remember ME!

knittygirl52

The same thing happened to my mother-in-law! If you are on BP meds and losing weight, make sure you monitor your blood pressure. You may very well need to continue on your BP meds, or you may not. The only way to know is to keep checking. If you can, purchase a BP monitor and check it on a daily basis.

mandillynn2

I know what you're talking about. I was on BP meds a while back. When I attempted to lose weight the first time, I noticed I would get dizzy a lot. I took myself off of the meds until I saw my doctor. About a month of not taking them, we discovered that my BP was actually normal.

Since I am heavy once again... I will probably be put back on meds if I don't get myself down some before seeing my doctor (October). I'm fairly optimistic this time. ^_^

kelly_a

yes...very true. b/p should be monitored regularly. if any of you are exercising consistently, your resting and active heart rate will likely go down as well....which makes your heart smile!

sandara

Very good advice! My doctor told me to watch mine and if the top number went below 100 to call. If you have lost a lot of weight you should probably get some guidelines from your doctor and check it regularly. The same goes for anyone out there with type 2 diabetes and taking medication. If your glucose levels start dropping you should definitely check with your doctor and see if your dosage is still appropriate.

Alioth

Agreed. When my mother lost 150 lbs, her medication for high blood pressure had to be drastically reduced with frequent checkups with her doctor. Her doc took her off it altogether for a short period of time just to be on the safe side. She is back on it now, but it's still a way lower dosage than it was before she started losing weight.