lost weight, now my blood pressure is too high

Smoking is well known to cause high blood pressure. I know you think, "well I was smoking before I lost the weight and didn't have high blood pressure," but that doesn't mean it's not a major contributor to your current high blood pressure. So, I'd look into giving that up instead of blaming exercise and losing weight as the cause of your high bp.

Smoking is well known to cause high blood pressure. I know you think, "well I was smoking before I lost the weight and didn't have high blood pressure," but that doesn't mean it's not a major contributor to your current high blood pressure. So, I'd look into giving that up instead of blaming exercise and losing weight as the cause of your high bp.

^^This

Tell your doctor you want to stop exercising and gain the weight back so you can smoke and not have high blood pressure and see what he says. If he thinks that's a good idea, then that's what you should do.

:huh:

Tell your doctor you want to stop exercising and gain the weight back so you can smoke and not have high blood pressure and see what he says. If he thinks that's a good idea, then that's what you should do.

If he thinks that's a good idea I'd question the fact that's he's a reliable doctor

if your sodium levels are low I would recommend getting that up. I started this whole ''journey'' by cutting sodium because i'm trying to give my dad a kidney and thought i'd better start living like i only have one. i ended up on between 1200 and 1500 a day on average.....some days less and some days up to around 1700. I had normal blood pressure at 310 pounds but it steadily rose to around 144/84 by about a month ago after having lost around 55% of my weight. At that point i said "screw it, if low sodium isn't actually helping, my food might as well taste good" and i started hitting at least 2300 if not more every day. Since then my blood pressure has dropped drastically to an average of around 106 - 110 for systolic and the mid 60s for diastolic. it's counter intuitive and just my own experience but it sure looks like having too little sodium can cause high blood pressure too.

He wants to try and get it down as low as he can without drugs, so that when he HAS to take the drugs they'll have more range to work for as many years as they can as he gets older, since his blood pressure will increase over the years.

Good luck.

A lot of BP meds cause diabetes as well, so the longer you can go without, the better

He wants to try and get it down as low as he can without drugs, so that when he HAS to take the drugs they'll have more range to work for as many years as they can as he gets older, since his blood pressure will increase over the years.

Good luck.

A lot of BP meds cause diabetes as well, so the longer you can go without, the better

Please stop spreading misinformation. BP meds don't cause diabetes - they can increase the risk but that's not the same thing.

Also, just because raising your sodium intake seemed to help decrease your blood pressure, that's not necessarily true. Perhaps there were other factors like increased exercise, improved diet overall, etc.
Low sodium intake does not cause high blood pressure.

OP, we can all come up with some various reasons for this but the only person yuo realy should be talking about this with is your doctor. Did he suggest changes in diet, exercise, etc to increase your sodium and decrease your blood pressure? If not, you should call and talk to him about it.

Also, do some research on your own. Here's a link to the AHA

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/High-Blood-Pressure_UCM_002020_SubHomePage.jsp

Sometimes when people reach a certain age genetically their BP just seems to start rising and no matter what you do physically (eating, activity) can keep it back down. Definitely recommend stop smoking altogether. Also someone mentioned yoga. I am a firm believer in the power of yoga over the body. Check out the most recent Prevention magazine. I have been doing yoga for a long time now and it has helped me in all areas of my life and continues to. Good luck!

When I went to the doctor he told me my blood pressure was high and to monitor it for the next month. If it stays high he may put me on medication. I have lost 30+ pounds, do 35 minutes on the elliptical 5 days a week. I'm 58, smoke about 5 cigarettes a day. When I was overweight and inactive my blood pressure was fine...oh, and my sodium levels are a little low!!!! I'm ready to stop exercising and put weight back on...I am so frustrated that everytime I think about it I know my blood pressure goes up!

Blood sodium levels can be tied to blood pressure levels. Dieting can stress the body, especially if you are not getting enough calories, or enough of certain nutrients, and stress may also affect BP.

Also, if this is the first time your BP has been high it could just be a one time thing. That's not uncommon. Just monitor it as your Dr. suggested and go from there.

Tell your doctor you want to stop exercising and gain the weight back so you can smoke and not have high blood pressure and see what he says. If he thinks that's a good idea, then that's what you should do.

If he thinks that's a good idea I'd question the fact that's he's a reliable doctor

Clearly I need to find a profile picture that conveys my sarcastic self better.

Also, just because raising your sodium intake seemed to help decrease your blood pressure, that's not necessarily true. Perhaps there were other factors like increased exercise, improved diet overall, etc.
Low sodium intake does not cause high blood pressure.

As I increased exercise, lost weight and immediately switched from an unhealthy diet to a healthy one (which I have maintained since last august until a few weeks ago when I increased sodium) my BP has continued to rise. Within about a month of lowering my sodium intake (and about 20 pounds down) I had gone from 124/74 or lower every time I was checked to 130/74.....when I checked with the doctor every few months after that it got higher....first 138/80, then 141/80 and finally 144/84 (though it did get as high as 146/85 on a 24 monitor they made me do to rule out 'white coat' syndrome)The only thing that has changed in the last 3 weeks since my last high reading is that I've increased sodium levels to around the recommended maximum. As I said, the results of this just happens to be my experience. I'm not saying for sure that correlation is causation....I'm just saying that it looks like it's worked for me because that's what my numbers say.

I know it's not SUPPOSED to happen that way, so I've scoured the interwebs looking for reasons why....only possibility I can think of is that I drink anywhere between 150 and 200 ounces of water a day....if sodium levels are too low and you overdo it on the water you can end up with hyponatremia, which apparently can be linked to high blood pressure. Looking at the other symptoms I see that I had a lot of those as well and they've been markedly absent over the last few weeks.

Regardless, if her sodium levels have been found to be low as she mentioned, then BP issues aside, there's no harm in getting it to the level it's supposed to be at, regardless of whether or not it has the same effect as it did on me.

Blood pressure is in a constant state of flux. Stress and caffeine can both temporarily raise blood pressure. Exercise temporarily raises blood pressure. Smoking is a huge cause of high blood pressure, but you already know that.

If you want reliable results, take your blood pressure regularly while at rest. My 23 year old brother has high blood pressure at the doctor's office, and normal blood pressure everywhere else.

There could be lots of reasons why your BP was high. That is why your doctor wants you to monitor it. I know you're frustrated right now. You lose the weight hoping for improved health then your BP goes up. But it could be the result of stress or "white coat" syndrome. It could definitely be those 5 cigarettes a day. Maybe your BP hadn't gone down after your last cigarette. No matter the reason, relax and monitor your BP. If it really is high, you can talk with your doctor later about the causes and options other than medication.

I'm not going to lecture you about smoking. You know what you're doing. I will say I am a little over two month smoke-free. It is the best decision I ever made.

I'm 99.9% sure your blood pressure issue is not related to you losing weight. People can have hypertension regardless...I'm at a completely healthy weight, eat a highly nutritious diet, and cycle around 100 miles per week and lift weights and do some swimming here and there and I'm still hypertensive. In my case and in the case of many, it is simply hereditary.

I take meds and haven't been able to get off of them but my dosage is lower than it used to be thanks to proper diet and exercise...but it will never be completely fixed without medication. Hypertension can also come on at any time and without warning.

Also keep in mind that BP can be elevated for many reasons and actually fluctuates quite a bit (kinda like body weight). I monitor mine and take readings 4-6 times daily...most of those readings come in pretty consistently in the normal RANGE but I have outliers here and there of really high readings and even really low readings. Just monitor it...it may very well be nothing at all. If it is and you have to take meds, it's not the end of the world...I've been on mine for 2 years now and it's the tiniest little pill and I've had no side effects whatsoever.

My husband has the same issue.

There are so many reasons why your blood pressure can go up or down. Stress, caffeine, fatty foods, etc. I wouldn't put any weight back on because of it.

My blood pressure went up when I was in my 20's because I would run and exercise a lot.

Do you get bloody noses and headaches??