Success in lowering blood pressure - tell me how

fausto412

started walking a lot, lowered my sodium levels and lost some weight in addition to stopping drinking for awhile. Now I rarely drink alcohol.

Good luck to you.

I did similar and mine used to always come up 120/80 which I'm told it's ok....but after a couple of months and 35 lbs lost I checked and it came up 110/70 which I can't remember the last time I had that reading.

dakitten2

For some people, high blood is a heredity trait. When I was in my early 20's and weighed about 140, my bp was 210/120. Was started on bp meds asap. Continued with many different combinations until I was down in the 110/70 range. When I started my life style changes and was about 90 pounds down, I started experiencing real light headiness. I went to the doc and my bp was 85/45 even tho I still weighed more than I did in my 20's. I believe it was a combo of the sodium and lack of exercise in my younger days that drove mine up plus a large family history of hypertension. My doc discontinued all my meds but one and that one was cut in half. I now maintain a pretty normal bp 110/60. I'm hoping that by the time I lose the remainder of my weight I will be off that last med.

Hypertension, even borderline, is not something to mess around with. I've heard people say, once you start bp meds you will always have to be on them. That is not true. But, I would heed my doctor's advice. I'm sure it will be a low level of meds since you are borderline. To me, it's better to be safe than sorry. If you dont have a bp cuff, buy one and record your readings daily.

I honestly believe if I had not started on bp meds, I wouldnt be alive today. My doc told me I was at stroke level or worse.

TheRealParisLove

Set sodium to 2000 mg & potassium to 4000 mg. Have at least 5 servings of dark colored veggies daily (green, orange, etc). Have berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries) and/or citrus fruits daily. Do cardio 45 - 60 minutes 5 - 6 days a week. Ask the doc to check your vitamin d level. Consider taking... vitamins c, d, e, and calcium, as well as fish oil & flaxseed. Also, deep breathing several times a day. You should see significant improvement within 2 - 3 months. No one can force you to take the meds. It's your body. Explain to the doc that you're diligently working on controlling your bp through diet & exercise. Tell him/her the changes you've made and that you will comply if you're not satisfied with the results after 3 months. Once they see improvement, they'll lay off of you. Good luck.

PS: Magnesium & Evening Primrose Oil also help.

Actually, latest evidence shows that calcium and vitamin e supplements do more harm than good. Otherwise, good advice.

nokanjaijo

My husband inherited HBP from his mother. I cook everything myself with very little salt and it's always sea salt. That never helped.

I read this study:

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/11/1/106/abstract

...so we tried beets. They worked. It's almost magical. If he eats beets, his BP is normal the next day. We tried beet juice which he hates (and it is gross). Now, I roast them then candy them.

You should try it.

drift

My husband inherited HBP from his mother. I cook everything myself with very little salt and it's always sea salt. That never helped.

I read this study:

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/11/1/106/abstract

...so we tried beets. They worked. It's almost magical. If he eats beets, his BP is normal the next day. We tried beet juice which he hates (and it is gross). Now, I roast them then candy them.

You should try it.

Unfortunately there are two things I can't abide, namely beetroot and vinegar. Will have to find a way without these.

Again thanks all for your advice and concern, my appointment is in three weeks, if I haven't made a dent in my rates by then I'll do as I am told and start the meds to be on the safe side, whilst still working on the weight, exercise and diet.

glovepuppet

i can make my bp go up & down. i taught myself after seeing a medical 'game' where people flew a balloon on the computer, varying the height by controlling bp.

my advice would be to learn how to do that trick! buy yourself a measuring gadget and see how you can feel yourself uptight & raise it, feel yourself chilled out and lower it.

oh, and pet an animal. people who pet their cats & dogs statistically have lower bp.

glovepuppet

my appointment is in three weeks, if I haven't made a dent in my rates by then I'll do as I am told and start the meds to be on the safe side, whilst still working on the weight, exercise and diet.

http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/BloodPressureandyou/Medicaltests/Whitecoateffect?gclid=CPaSqvmvhLYCFeXLtAodnWMAdA

another reason to test yourself at home. my nother was put on meds to lower er bp but they made her feel terrible because her bp is actually very low when the docs aren't near.

lintino

Thanks for the fresh approaches. I don't think sodium is an issue for me, don't cook or eat with it much, wasn't aware of the potassium link - will look into that.

I started on MFP to avoid blood pressure medicine about 7 weeks ago. I do cardio 5 days a week and walk on the week ends. My weight has come down a little bit. I monitor my blood pressure 2x a day on doctor's orders. The average per week is coming down every week. I'm actually getting close to where she won't threaten me with medicine anymore.

I'm like you, I do not cook with salt or add it at the table. I started monitoring my salt intake when I noticed spikes in my blood pressure. It was happening when my sodium intake was high. I'm really starting to pay attention to all labels. If you eat out at all, the sodium is very high. You might find you are taking in more sodium than you think. Good luck!!!

FlaxMilk

I haven't read the rest of the responses, but I eat a vegan diet (no animal products at all) and have pretty low blood pressure. There may be no correlation, but it may not hurt to try. Good luck! (Strength training also helps.)

drift

All good, posted a half pound loss today and sourced a bp monitor from a friend. Thanks for all your suggestions.

dlcarroll13

Hi, having lost half the weight I hope to, my blood pressure has gone up to marginally over the level at which dr's in the UK are keen to start you on medication. I'm keen to avoid this so have ramped up my efforts on weight loss and increased exercise.

Anyone got success stories to share on reducing bp? Or ideas on how much weight loss/ exercise increase will make a difference?

Would also welcome any plausible excuses to give the dr on why to delay medication start.

Thanks for your interest.

Sheron

I would check to make sure you are truly eating enough calories and not OVERTRAINING in regard to exercise. The body is designed to show some early signs of overtraining that include fatigue, irritability, decreased focus, and increases in resting heart rate and blood pressure. If everything lines up with nutrition and expenditures then generally the heart rate and blood pressure numbers decrease, however, if something is off in this equation it's the body's way of essentially fighting to survive by actually increasing these slightly. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility that the blood pressure if elevated (or becoming elevated) for reasons beyond your control, and unfortunately these individuals don't have many options besides being managed on low dose anti-hypertensives.

hiyomi

Hi, I am 20 years old and over the last year doctors have been telling me that my blood pressure is high and its getting high to the point where I might need to consider medication. I really wanted to avoid this and tried managing my sodium one day. I did this for one week and noticed HUGE changes. ONE week, I was so amazed, just by one week of keeping track of my sodium intake my blood pressure lowered so much. At the highest it was 134/101 and 150/90. After controlling my sodium it was about 127/85 and 134/88. It still is high, but it lowered so much, I really recommend you try this.

ADStanfield25

I was averaging 166/121 for a weird moment. Mine has always been high (hereditary), and I also have tachycardia, and a typical resting pulse of 120-130, which also keeps my blood pressure up. I take metoprolol, which controls my pulse, but still allowed the blood pressure to fluctuate. Now, I know Apple Cider Vinegar is NOT a weight loss prescription (LOL), but it does WONDERS for blood pressure. After 4 days of 2tbsp of vinegar at night before bed (just mixed in water), my blood pressure went down to 116/70. My doctor was very pleased, but recommends that I only do it when my pressure fluctuates higher, since I am already on blood pressure meds. If you want to try it, make sure you get Bragg's organic with the "mother".

nwg74

My BP was a little high and needed to drop just a little bit for surgery. It was in the 140's and 100's.

I found bananas for the potassium lowered the BP enough to get a reading low enough for the surgery to go ahead. I also had Pomegranate juice. The pure one is best although more expensive as it has a higher percentage of pomegranate over the concentrated stuff.

drift

Thanks, am on the 5 a day, including a banana

Can't tolerate vinegar, makes me sick - so that's a no from me

Am working on sodium, double checking packaged foods.

Picking up my loaner bp machine Thursday, so will start to track progress

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

eat bananas and or garlic

Hood25

Sounds like you have been given some really good ideas. I would add green tea.

I have the opposite. i have low blood pressure and I had to stop drinking Tulsi holy basil green tea due to my blood pressure getting way too low...it was yummy. Not sure it caused the bout of lower blood pressure but i'm not feeling light headed anymore.

60x60

Thanks, am on the 5 a day, including a banana

Can't tolerate vinegar, makes me sick - so that's a no from me

Am working on sodium, double checking packaged foods.

Picking up my loaner bp machine Thursday, so will start to track progress

Sounds like you are on track to do your part in lowering blood pressure: 1) banana to help up potassium; 2) double checking labels, not adding salt to your cooking; 3) monitoring blood pressure to track progress. That is really great and with the weight loss and your borderline high blood pressure, I am guessing you will be able to get it under control by your next dr. visit. If not, I am sure that your dr. can work out something very non-intrusive with the meds.

cajuntank

Seen a lot of good advice being offered. I have HBP and so did my mom and dad (he still does). Just to re-enforce what is working for me and re-state a little what has been said. Weight loss (if overweight), lower sodium (processed foods have amazing amounts of sodium, so watch and read closely and try not to eat out too much), upping potassium rich foods to help keep balance with the sodium, and water...lots and lots of water. 64oz a day, in my opinion, is rock bottom minimum and I would have issues if I myself did not get twice that amount per day.

lrbassmom

Mine was 140/90, and I'm only 50! It was a wake-up call. I had been exercising, mainly cardio but it was still up. So, I went back to the exercise I knew worked for me... lifting weights. Heavy weights. And within a couple of months it was down to 115/59. I had lost a couple of pounds but not much. My ADD dr. was amazed I had been able to drop it that much with just weight lifting.

Don't know if it's an answer for everyone but it worked for me.

redraidergirl2009

I have done lots of things to try and lower it and all I can tell you is that if you do all the natural things and can't lower it there is nothing wrong with going on medication. Just work with your doctor. Taking a pill once or twice a day is better than the damage high blood pressure can do to your body.

drift

Update. ECG all clear today and after a few days of my new approach my bp was inside normal range! Need to keep up over the next week while away on holiday and hopefully I won't need to start the meds...

highervibes

I've been doing a lot of research about how to do this naturally and I'm eating well, losing weight and exercising so not much MORE I can do on that front :P

My sister is an ND student, and she can't ethically recommend I take something but she did suggest I look into magnesium supplements. I learned quite a bit and am now supplementing all of this with magnesium supplements to the tune of 600mg/day. Do some research, it might help you too!

bluebike2013

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