Who Has Dropped Their Blood Pressure? Tell Your Story!

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mwyvr
mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
Were you hypertensive (or headed there) and brought it under control with weight loss and/or improving your diet, health & fitness? Inspire others, tell your BP story!
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  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    Last August while donating blood my BP rang in at 136/90. While I'd been gaining weight slowly but surely for almost 10 years, my BP had stayed quite low until then. This and a few other health changes combined to form a wake-up call that I simply couldn't ignore, so I made myself a promise to be substantially lighter and healthier by my next birthday.

    Yesterday is the fourth blood donation I've made since I started my weight loss and fitness journey and I'm happy to say my BP has been trending lower every visit and is now down to 109/62. My resting heart rate dropped from 88 to 45.

    I didn't change my diet very much, but I did make a big change in my activity level and went from being quite sedentary to very active. Apparently the 931 kilometers I've run since then have had an impact!
  • Dball0227
    Dball0227 Posts: 21 Member
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    It wasn't my primary reason for losing weight but the combination of increased activity and better eating dropped my BP from around 140/100 ish (about 14 months ago) to 124/81 (3 weeks ago).

    Over that time lost about 70 lbs (lost a few before joining mfp)

    Originally my dr said to either lose weight or possibly in the near future to be on medication, too bad he stopped working at the practice and I never got a chance for him to see my reading this year lol
  • andympanda
    andympanda Posts: 763 Member
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    I have went from 172/100 on Jan 6yh 2014 to 100/57 on may 22 1995. In that time i have quite smoking and lost 125 pounds. My Dr says soon I will need a weaker or no medication at all.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    @Dball0227 Your former doctor would be very pleased with your new BP! Great job!

    @andympanda Wow, what an amazing change! Congratulations!
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
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    I was on 10mg of Lisinopril for high BP (150/95.) As I adjusted my diet and ramped up my activity level, the doc kept dialing it back because it made me dizzy at my lower weight. She took me off of it a couple of weeks ago. :)
  • mrstrsims1
    mrstrsims1 Posts: 14 Member
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    When I went for my check up and to the doctor for common colds, the doctor would tell me my BP was high. I started checking my BP each day myself and it was consistently high. I changed my eating habits and begin exercising before they put me on meds and now I am seeing normal BP readings. Thanks for sharing MFP!!
  • jenniejoy07
    jenniejoy07 Posts: 78 Member
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    My BP reads ~140/85; my doctor is giving me year to get myself under control with diet/exercise because she knows I can do it. Interested to see how my BP reacts to my new lifestyle I've been living for 5 weeks now!
  • jules6669mfp
    jules6669mfp Posts: 446 Member
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    Not only was I taken off insulin(yeah!!!),I also had my blood pressure med lowered and my diabetes pill lowered. Hoping to be off of both. I feel so much better. My doctor was so pleased. I want to say this was done with only 20lb weight loss. Amazing. I still have about 50lbs that I need to lose. By losing some weight and getting some exercise you can improve your health immensely. You can do it!!
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    edited May 2015
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    My BP reads ~140/85; my doctor is giving me year to get myself under control with diet/exercise because she knows I can do it. Interested to see how my BP reacts to my new lifestyle I've been living for 5 weeks now!

    Your doctor will be proven right, no doubt you can do this!

    Not only was I taken off insulin(yeah!!!),I also had my blood pressure med lowered and my diabetes pill lowered. Hoping to be off of both. I feel so much better. My doctor was so pleased. I want to say this was done with only 20lb weight loss. Amazing. I still have about 50lbs that I need to lose. By losing some weight and getting some exercise you can improve your health immensely. You can do it!!

    Wow is that terrific or what!

    It really is amazing how fast the body will respond to us doing the right things.

    Even though some of us will still be a long way off from our final goals, the change in our health trend is so important. First... we aren't getting worse. Then we are getting better, even if at first gradually and in ways we might not notice immediately. But keep at it and we all get to much fitter and healthier places long before the end of our journeys, and that is something we can celebrate early and often!




  • wbandel
    wbandel Posts: 530 Member
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    Before losing weight I was in the warning stages. I don't know specific numbers, but they told me to keep an eye on it the next time I came in. At that point I was obese and in my mid 20's. Now at a healthy weight my BP is so low they don't bother to comment on it. I again don't know numbers, but at Christmas my in-laws (they are doctors/pharmacists) and they went around measuring BPs as a joke, and I was the only one with a lower than average BP. I'm just a bit more active and a bit healthier in what I eat, I think most of it was just dropping the weight.
  • cblue315
    cblue315 Posts: 3,836 Member
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    Three years ago I was at 130/95
    Last week it was 90/62
    Resting pulse has dropped from 80 to 55
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
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    Before I lost weight I was on 10 mg Lisinopril for high blood pressure. 160/95. In February my doctor took me off because my blood pressure had been in the normal range for 6 weeks. Still there. :)
  • ZBuffBod
    ZBuffBod Posts: 297 Member
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    Nice job everyone! Mine has always been normal so I can't relate, but I wanted to commend everyone on the great job.
  • NHDaisy2
    NHDaisy2 Posts: 151 Member
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    Sorry this is long....

    Each year the company I work for gives the employees a free health screening (height, weight, BP, finger stick blood draw).

    2014 results I had some numbers that were over the normal range and some that were within the normal range but, on the cusp of being bad. All of the numbers had heart disease and diabetes written all over them. I was scared - my father is a diabetic and has some heart issues..

    So, I decided that I would make some changes and I would start small so that they would stick.

    I started drinking more water. I drink 4-6 glasses up until lunch and then I allow myself to switch over to diet coke. Previously the only water intake I got was the melted ice in my soda :smile: This has helped my heart burn tremendously.

    I also started walking at break every day (most days). 2 times around the building is about 1 mile and takes me just under 20 minutes.. In the winter I went to the fitness room and walked for 20 minutes watching Live with Kelly and Michael.

    2015 results - ALL numbers are with in a good range now my BP went from 113/80 to 110/79. My waist measurement went down 1 inch, weight went down a few lbs (but, really up as I had lost/gained weight). The only number that is still not where it should be is my good cholesterol.

    My BP has not yet been a concern but, even that improved w/my walks.



  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    153/110(!) at one of those drugstore kiosks last fall. Measured at home, it averaged 133/95 over a month. Now averaging 115/82, with more recent readings nearer to 110/80.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Unfortunately, that's the one thing that hasn't been fixable with diet and exercise...I'm off all of my other meds though.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
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    Some great stories, keep them coming!
  • rubyjune27
    rubyjune27 Posts: 87 Member
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    I was on medication in my early 40s to manage my high blood pressure. Although I exercised regularly I was overweight. Also, one of my brothers, who was in his mid 40's died of an aneurism. Which although not caused, would have been exacerbated by high BP and being obese. So that and being fed up with being fat again! 3 years ago I lost 45lbs and my blood pressure was good and I no longer required any medication.

    Unfortunately I have regained some of the weight. I haven't had my BP checked but have restarted losing so hope that If my BP rose it will drop again as the weight comes off. I need to get rid of not just the fat that is visual but, the stuff lurking around the organs and clogging up the arteries.
  • Pootler74
    Pootler74 Posts: 223 Member
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    Mine had been 135/90 for as long as I can remember. Not high enough for meds, but enough to cause frowns.

    I took up jogging at 39. It stayed the same.
    I ate healthier. It stayed the same.
    I lost 10 pounds. It stayed the same.

    6 or 7 months ago, at 40 years old and about 220 pounds I got serious about losing weight and getting fitter. My BP was taken again after 5 months. I'd lost more than 30 pounds, and I was exercising enthusiastically for about 5 hours a week and trying to fit more movement into daily life.

    It was 120/78. :)

    I've lost another 15 pounds or so since then, but I have the same amount to go to get me to a healthy weight. So I'm assuming that, since that last reading was done while still quite overweight, it's the exercise more than anything that has brought it down.
  • peterjsmithers
    peterjsmithers Posts: 1 Member
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    My BP has been high for over 30 years, regardless of my weight or activity level. After a year on a raw vegan diet, I'd lost 80 pounds but still averaged 150/100 BP.
    Then I read a medical study where every participant (around 180 from what I recall) lowered their BP significantly and permanently by water fasting for 10 days. I considered using a fasting hospital, but after thoroughly researching the topic I fasted for 21 days at home. My nutritional reserves were high from my healthy diet, so I never really even got hungry after the first day or two. My BP dropped to 101/62 by the end of the fast, and is still low 6 months later.
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