HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE NOW ON MEDS

YOU CAN DO THIS! :flowerforyou:

Wow, I was riding the high blood pressure line for a little while and I am only 26! I think you are doing an awesome job by letting this be a turning point for you instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Start out by making small changes first. If you drink soda maybe you start cutting back? I wouldn't recommend making a lot of large changes all at once. You may become overwhelmed and become discouraged.

Find a workout routine that works for you. You don't need a fancy gym memebership to lose weight. There are a wide array of workout DVDs out there. I dropped my first 30 with P90X and watching my food portions. Do tiny things that help keep you active.Try parking farther away from the grocery store. Little things help. Also Keep at it. It takes a while to lose it. After all we don't put weight on over night.

I too have high blood pressure...unfortunately mine is due to genetics. Both of my parents have it. My sis started on bp meds before her 30th bday. Once I had my son 7 years ago my bp went up and never came back down. When I started this journey in Jan. I hoped that regular exercise and weight loss would eliminate my need to be on meds. Well after going off the meds in June I got back on them in Sept. Wasn't the case for me. But as I stated...for me its all genetics. Best of luck to you. Hopefully your efforts will be a double pay off and you won't need to remain on the meds. Keeping sodium low and lots of whole grains and fiber are good to do.

Hang in there Dear, you can do it!!!

I was in the same situation this time last year, the doc sent me way for a few weeks and I started gentle exercise, cut out salt, ate more healthy and when i returned, the blood pressure was lower and I'd lost some weight. I do get higher readings due to "white coat " syndrome ( i hate the practice nurse who does the readings..smug cow!) but after 9 months I'd lost 4 stone and she only wanted to see me next feb! I've since given up alcohol, picked up the cardio exercise and by the time I see her again, I WILL have lost at least 8 stone or more in total and wipe that smug smile off her face!! lol

Loose da weight and you will loose the meds.......

Kelloyal, I've been on BP meds for the last 10 years. Losing weight helps, but it may not be enough to allow you to quit the medication. Your doctor will take you off it only if your BP responds to the weight loss to the point where you don't need it.

There are *many* effective medications for hypertension. If the one you start with has any side effects that you don't like, you can ask your doctor to try another one. The first one I was on made me retain fluid. The second made me drowsy. The third is brilliant! No side effects at all and it's the most effective of all three!

Watch your calories, lose the weight, get a little exercise, don't obsess, be patient. When you feel like snacking, remember how you felt when you got the news about your BP. I have found that just eating less of the things I like is far more effective than eating plastic "diet" foods. I have yet to try a "Weight Watchers" product that I felt was worth eating.

Good luck.

I went through a similar experience. I felt like I let myself and my doctor down because he expressed a concern about my BP and I told him I was going to try to lose weight. A year goes by and my weight didn't come down enough to effect a change in my BP. I think I went from weighing 260 to 245. I'm 5'11", so that's enough to put me in the obese category on the old BMI scale. My doctor went ahead and put me on Diovan/Valsartan, and he gave me the impression I would be on it for the rest of my life. I took it as prescribed for about a year. I'm not an expert, but I think it is possible to get the dosage reduced and eventually come off of it as you lose weight, improve your diet, and exercise fairly regularly. Some people may be predisposed to it due to heredity. Since I've been using MFP and participating in fitness challenges/groups on the message boards and at my gym, I was able to come off the medication completely. My weight range is down to 185-195 now. I believe I'm down to approximately 8-10% body fat now as well.

I keep a weekly record of my BP to show to my doctor because my BP still tends to rise slightly when I go to his office (e.g. 128/75). He attributes it to "white coat syndrome". I'm a little bit of a techno-geek, so I use a couple of WiFi devices from Withings. I have a Withings body weight scale and a BP monitor that sends my daily/weekly stats to a server where I can see the details and charts on my computer or iPad.

My doctor told me that medication may cause some swelling in my ankles. I didn't really notice any swelling, but I felt a little light-headed, but not really any nausea. I did have to let the doctor know that my blood pressure dipped extremely low after my workouts. He told me to start taking just a half a tablet at that point. About 6 months to a year later I think I was able to come off of it completely. I showed him I was keeping record of it and it appeared that my BP was running too low from day to day when I took the pill as compared when I went without taking it.

You may be able to have some of the cost for the electronic monitor covered by your health insurance. If they don't cover it, an inexpensive manual one can probably be found on amazon.com or at your local drug store.