Success in lowering blood pressure - tell me how

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drift
drift Posts: 143 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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
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Replies

  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
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    Hit the cardio.
  • drift
    drift Posts: 143 Member
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    Thanks, I'm usually on my bike by now but this year it's been freezing! Have been increasing my activity.
  • 60x60
    60x60 Posts: 75 Member
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    I am salt sensitive. If I have eaten too much salt my blood pressure goes up. Tracking salt was my original reason for tracking food. I found that keeping my salt intake below 1500 mg and my potassium intake above 2500 mg keeps my blood pressure in the normal range. I have taken my blood pressure and tracked it in relation to salt intake for over a year. Too much salt equals high blood pressure.

    I want to do my part in avoiding a stroke. High blood pressure is a silent killer. I really recommend controlling it. If that requires taking mild prescription such as hydrocholorot until you can get the salt in your diet under control, it's worth it.

    And to those of you who are not salt sensitive, I will admit to being envious! Enjoy and savor. Salt is one of my favorite flavor accents.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    Mine went down within the first ten pounds, but I exercised 4 times a week right from the start- run/walk mostly for around 30 minutes....Never gone up after that...I thing exercise is just as important as losing weight for that....
    Sometimes you just have high blood pressure, regardless of how fit you are and how much you weigh...I have a good friend who is fit and normal weight, and he has to take medication to keep his down...

    I would not want to risk having a stroke is medication can prevent it - so I would take the medication and work on fitness and weight while taking it....
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    hey, there are always meds for that...... I'm on one right now....
  • SoozeE512
    SoozeE512 Posts: 439 Member
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    Lower your sodium intake so that it is 1,500mg minimum. For anything that can be too high, there is a too low also so you don't want to go below that amount, but maybe somewhere between 1,500-1,700 mg would be a good range to aim for.

    Adding cardio helps also.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    High protein diets have shown to lower blood pressure.
    Shoot for at least 30% of your calories to come from lean sources of protein and it will naturally go down.
  • pepeleo
    pepeleo Posts: 49 Member
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    I was able to lower mine and get off the medication. I did it by removing certain stresses, took up meditation, started walking a lot, lowered my soduim levels and lost some weight in addition to stopping drinking for awhile. Now I rarely drink alcohol.

    Good luck to you.
  • mjculbertson4512
    mjculbertson4512 Posts: 157 Member
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    I am salt sensitive. If I have eaten too much salt my blood pressure goes up. Tracking salt was my original reason for tracking food. I found that keeping my salt intake below 1500 mg and my potassium intake above 2500 mg keeps my blood pressure in the normal range. I have taken my blood pressure and tracked it in relation to salt intake for over a year. Too much salt equals high blood pressure.

    I want to do my part in avoiding a stroke. High blood pressure is a silent killer. I really recommend controlling it. If that requires taking mild prescription such as hydrocholorot until you can get the salt in your diet under control, it's worth it.

    And to those of you who are not salt sensitive, I will admit to being envious! Enjoy and savor. Salt is one of my favorite flavor accents.
  • mjculbertson4512
    mjculbertson4512 Posts: 157 Member
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    Amen to that! I am trying to get off my BP meds too. Will see on Friday how I am doing.

    Salt is causing me to puff up like a balloon, so I am trying to watch the levels in my diary.
  • drift
    drift Posts: 143 Member
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    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.

    Have attempted to increase protein previously with mixed results, but trying it now linked to reducing sugar hopefully thereby warding off carb cravings.
  • mreardon614
    mreardon614 Posts: 25
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    My mom has a real problem with her blood pressure. She gets stressed really easily. The doctors put her on meds and they still weren't helping. She lowered her sodium to 1500 mg, and that along with the meds have kept it under control.
  • aprmay
    aprmay Posts: 216 Member
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    I can out simple sugar and process food, watch my sodium snd meditate. Even though I still take meds, I will be cutting it out soon. Good luck!
  • Flixie00
    Flixie00 Posts: 1,195 Member
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    Tell your doctor you are dieting and exercising, and will try to bring it down naturally. It is difficult to get them to take you off of the meds once you are on them.
  • wikitbikit
    wikitbikit Posts: 518 Member
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    You can try suggesting to your doctor that you'd like to try to lower it naturally for 6 months, and if that doesn't work, you'll start the meds. If you're just borderline high that shouldn't present too much of a danger--although I would home monitor over that time--and if you can't get it down in that amount of time, it's probably wise to go ahead and accept a low dosage pill.

    Take care, and good luck!
  • Kirkajuice
    Kirkajuice Posts: 311 Member
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    I guess you want the opposite of what I was told to do with my low blood pressure. Less salt, more garlic! They told me I'm not supposed to have garlic :frown: I still eat it, and I hate salty food so I can't stand adding more to my meals :grumble:
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    I actually just found out today that I lowered mine--officially (I monitor at home, but I hadn't met with my doctor until today). I was prehypertensive/hypertensive (just right on the edge). They wanted me to take meds, but I just started tracking calories in mid-January and lost 30lbs since then. I also began walking and running three or four times a week, doing aerobic videos twice a week, and doing kettlebell circuit training three times a week. I tried to keep salt around 2500mg, but I didn't worry about that too much. I get between 100-140g of protein a day, I keep carbs under or as close to 100g as I can (because of PCOS and IR) and my caloric intake is so low I don't worry about fat at all.

    I have half of my book due on Tuesday, so I'm pretty much at the height of stress right now--it's a pretty awesome change to have brought my BP down so significantly (from 130-140/90-100 to 110/80) with just diet and exercise alone and in such a short time. If you can't get outside to work out, I would just find some videos you like (Amazon Instant Video has awesome options that you can stream from your computer or digital video player). I bought my kettlebells on Amazon for a great price too (15lb, 25lb, 50lb with free shipping!)

    Smaller changes I made at the same time were: taking B vitamins, D3, and cinnamon supplements.

    Feel free to friend me if you like!
  • newmein2013
    newmein2013 Posts: 674 Member
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    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.
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    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.

    I eat tons of veggies and a ridiculous amount of strawberries, so I'd definitely agree about including those to round out your diet, but I'd watch the calcium supplements. My father-in-law and cousin are both medical researchers and recently warned me about calcium supplements. I've cut out my calcium supplements since then.

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120523200752.htm

    "But when the analysis looked at vitamin/mineral supplements, it found that those who took calcium supplements regularly were 86% more likely to have a heart attack than those who didn't use any supplements."

    I have no trouble hitting 80-100% of my calcium needs just through foods alone.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    I spent a month in the hospital due to some health issues that were unrelated to weight and they checked my blood pressure every day and I was on th ehigher end of normal 135-140/80-85 when I went to my family doctor for some follow up appointments he measured me in the 160/90-95 range. This has happened also at another follow up appointment, so I'm definitely hoping to lower it by losing weight and becoming more active. We will see when I go to him mid April if my changes have made a difference, although I'm pretty early in the game. I will take a PP advice and mention that I am trying to lower it naturally.

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