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High Blood Pressure

Started by getoverit, April 13, 2009, 11:50:21 PM

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getoverit

I have had my troubles with heart disease.... having my first heart attack at 38 complete with a tripple bypass and then a couple of stents added along the way too.

Several years ago My doctor put me on blood pressure meds saying that I had high blood pressure. The strange thing is that I never saw any readings over 130/85. Now in the last couple of weeks My blood pressure went to 165/125 for no aparent reason. Of course I have been to the docs about it, but it seems strange that it would jump up like this with no aparent reason for it.

I had already decided to loose a few pounds and from what I read this is the best thing to do to combat this problem. Cutting out salt is another hard to do thing.

Any of you have this problem and what did you do to correct it?

I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

Gary_C

If that was your doctor that determined there is no apparent reason and he took no action, get a second opinion and do it right away. There has to be a reason, especially if it was just over a couple of weeks.

Losing weight and reducing salt are certainly good things to do, but will most likely not make that much difference. Reducing stress is another good, but not easy thing to do.

Get another doctors opinion right away. Blood pressure that high should not be left untreated.
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

RSteiner

Back in the 1980's when I was in my early 30's I had my blood pressure checked after my father died of a stroke related to high blood pressure he had.  My blood pressure was 168/94 prior to that it ran around 140/65.  My weight was not a problem at 165 pounds for a 5' 11" height.

The doctor advised I lay off the salt and foods which had a lot of salt.  In a month or so my blood pressure was running in the 138/70 range again and has stayed pretty much there for the past 25 years.  My weight has increased a little to around 175 pounds.

My wife has recently developed problems with her blood pressure and it seems very dependant on the level of stress in her life at the time.  My blood pressure was highest just after my father died which was a stressful time for me.  My wife has a few extra pounds she is fond of but when she sheds a little weight she doesn't need as much medication to keep her blood pressure in check.

Bottom line is salt is not your friend when it comes to blood pressure.  You can learn to like food without it in fact I don't miss it at all.  A few extra pounds makes your heart work much harder.  Being you have had problems with arteries blocking have the arteries checked that feed your brain in the back of your neck.  My father found out too late that blockages in those arteries caused his high blood pressure and the resulting stroke that ended his life. 

There is a reason your's went up, find out why and make the necessary changes in your lifestyle.

Randy
Randy

ely

my doc told me when i had to get my stent that stress was gonna kill me. i took it to heart and i dont have stress now days.
you just have to let it all go, dont dwell on that stuff. my thoughts that help me most is dont sweat the small stuff, and everything is small stuff now.

Burlkraft

Stress is the key.
I used to be able to handle stress, but now since all my heart problems, stress is the #1 reason I don't feel good.
My PB, Mood and the general way I feel are all controlled by stress.
To lower stress sometimes I just jump out of a tree and land on a log on my butt. Just to see the pretty colors that blood thinners make  :D  :D  :D  :D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Gary_C

Quote from: Burlkraft on April 17, 2009, 06:33:01 AM

To lower stress sometimes I just jump out of a tree and land on a log on my butt. Just to see the pretty colors that blood thinners make  :D  :D  :D  :D

Was that a bear that chased you up in that tree?    :D :D
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Burlkraft

Quote from: Gary_C on April 17, 2009, 07:39:08 AM
Quote from: Burlkraft on April 17, 2009, 06:33:01 AM

To lower stress sometimes I just jump out of a tree and land on a log on my butt. Just to see the pretty colors that blood thinners make  :D  :D  :D  :D

Was that a bear that chased you up in that tree?    :D :D

I think the bear's name was Stupidity  :D  :D  :D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

beenthere

We gettin a showin at da Rox taday?   ::) ::)

Oughta be interestin... :o :o
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Tom

ken
Take your own blood pressure.  Get a sphygomometer (blood pressure monitor) from the drugstore.  They aren't too expensive, but get a good one.   The most accurate, I'm told, is the one that you do manually and has a gauge.  The computer ones are OK but not always real accurate, and you need to believe what you read.

Take your pressure regularly and be at rest.  Lots of Doctors Offices are in a hurry and take your pressure after you drove to the office in traffic, walked uphill to get into the office, climbed some stairs, put up with the scheduling office people and then have to try and sit quietly while a young Marilyn Monroe want-to-be counts your pulse.

Be at rest for a few minutes before you take it.  Be still, don't talk, close your eyes if you must, but don't be distracted.  Do the same thing everytime you take it.  Keep a record

It's not unusual for blood pressure to be misread.   If the reading turns out to be true, be concerned.

Jeff

Quote from: beenthere on April 17, 2009, 09:44:28 AM
We gettin a showin at da Rox taday?   ::) ::)

Oughta be interestin... :o :o

Oneword.

PICTURES   I just realized we dont have a rather be blind smiley. I'll have to go look for one.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

tonto

Getoverit, about 10 years ago my blood pressure jumped 50 points one day. I went to my doctor and she told me that the blood pressure medication I had been on for a few years, my body had become adjusted to it. She made a change and it came right back down. The best thing I have done for B/P and the rest of my body is lose 150 lbs, had the stomach snip. My father died at age 44 from a heart attack after 2 open heart surgeries and diabetes. Tonto.
Stihl MS441 & Husqvarna 562XP. CB5036 Polaris Sportsman 700 X2. Don't spend nearly enough time in the woods.

beenthere

Quote from: Jeff on April 17, 2009, 11:59:05 AM
.........

Oneword.

PICTURES   I just realized we dont have a rather be blind smiley. I'll have to go look for one.

No pics.  ;D ;D
At his expense, we had some good laughs tho.  ;D
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Gary_C

Quote from: beenthere on April 17, 2009, 02:02:59 PM

No pics.  ;D ;D

Sorry Jeff, but my prayers were answered.  :D :D
Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Jeff

Quote from: beenthere on April 17, 2009, 02:02:59 PM


No pics.  ;D ;D
At his expense, we had some good laughs tho.  ;D

Didn't he even give everyone at the Rox a peak?  I've been told its an impressive site.  :D
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Jeff

Two new smilies. Both may apply

steve_smiley blindsmiley
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Bibbyman

I had high blood pressure for years and just ignored it.  One day about 7 years ago I went to a doctor about another medical problem.  The nurse that gave me a pre-exam took my blood pressure.  She just kept pumping and pumping until I thought my arm was going to be squeezed off.   The Dr. came in and did his thing. He said I didn't have a problem that I came in to see him for but I'd better get to my general practitioner and get something done with my blood pressure or I was going to be dead or crippled for life from a stroke.  Apparently I had set a new record or something.

My old doctor died about 15 years earlier and I hadn't been to one since then.  So I found a new GP and made an appointment for a physical.  (I didn't tell them I was coming in to be treated for high blood pressure – I wanted to see if they would find it.) The nurse giving me my pre-exam took my blood pressure.  She just kept pumping and pumping.  Then tried the other arm with the same results. She about tore the door off the hinges getting out of the examination room.  Next in was the nurse practitioner.  She too took my blood pressure and with a grave look on her face asked me if I was on drugs.  Next the doctor came in and repeated the routine.  The doctor asked me if there was someone that could come and drive me to the hospital for testing.  I told her no, as Mary was out of town at the time.  They called and ambulance.  They wouldn't let me stand down from the table to go to it but took me out on a gurney. 

Five days of testing in the hospital showed no physical cause for the high blood pressure.  There wasn't any blockage or buildup in my arteries, etc. as they expected to find.  I kept telling them it was stress.  The Dr. wanted to give me some drugs for my depression.  I explained that I wasn't depressed; I had too much stress in my life. They drugged me until I was wimpy and stupid and sent me home.

One thing I've learned is that you have to educate yourself and take care of yourself the best you can.  I take my blood pressure regularly and adjust my medications as required.  Some medications I've quit taking altogether as they caused some bad side effects.  My doctor is not very helpful in my treatment.  I tell him what I'm taking and he just says, "Keep it up."

I can about tell how my blood pressure will read by how mad I am at the time.  I try to think of some pleasant time but often I get mad about all kinds of things.  One morning I took my blood pressure and got a good reading near 120/80.  Then a few minutes later I heard the words "Grandma" spoke by Brooke in the hallway.   I knew it had snowed overnight and school was called off.  I took my blood pressure again and it was 150/100!

One of the best things I did for my own self-treatment was to buy a book titled "30 minutes a day to a Healthy Heart" published by Readers Digest.  It explains a lot of things about drugs, nutrition, weight control, environment, exercise and stress management.

At the first of the year I got to suspected that my blood sugar was out of whack so I bought a home glucose tester.  My numbers were too high but by cutting back on sweets, I was able to get it down and keep it down.  Now I've found that Wal-Mart web site carries a combination glucose and cholesterol tester.  I've not seen it on the shelves but I'm going to ask the pharmacist about getting one the next time I'm in.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

pigman

Dr. Bibby, do you take new patients, I don't like my present Dr.
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

DanG

Quote from: Bibbyman on April 20, 2009, 08:20:45 PM


I can about tell how my blood pressure will read by how mad I am at the time. 




Boy am I glad to hear somebody else say that!  When my BP first went out of control, I was making a complete ass of myself.  The least little frustration would set me off and make me say things that were completely out of character.  When I got on meds and got it under control, I returned to my normal, sweet self. :) :)  Even today, if I forget my pill I will become irritable for no apparent reason.  If I do, I know what is causing it and take my pill.  I mentioned this phenomenon to my Doctor, and he told me I was nuts.  BP doesn't do that to you.  BULLSNOT!
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

ellmoe

   Bibby and Dang,  the relationship of blood pressure to feeling angry, which is the chicken and which is the egg? I know when I've had long periods of constant stress my weight has gone up. Turns out stress releases cortisol and an affect can be weight gain. I guess I just stay under stress these days! ;D

Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

Tim L

Also, if your a big guy,the size of the bp cuff can make a reading bad.If they don't use the big cuff the readings no good.It happened to me.
Do the best you can and don't look back

getoverit

Well, I went back to the doc after 2 weeks of taking my own BP and it has slowly returned to normal. He had increased the dosage of the meds I take for it and aparently that helped.....along with taking a magnesium suppliment and some vitamin C suppliments. Mush to my surprise I have discovered that I am about 40 pounds overweight, so I have put myself on a diet and am taking 30 minute walks to see if I can reduce some of the unwanted fat.

Thanks for all of the great advice!  I think that stress may have had a big part in what happened to me and hopefully I have reduced the stress level.
I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok, I work all night and sleep all day

Bibbyman

That's good news!

One thing the Dr. didn't educate me on is the need to watch infections.  Infections in your "inerds" (heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) can cause high blood pressure and organ damage. 

To ward off infections; Keeping your teeth up in good shape because infections starting in your teeth can spread infections to other parts of your body. Keeping away from sick people also helps.  I live with two grade school girls that are just walking germ distributers.  Wash your hands often – especially after using a public john.  But it also helps to eat right, get plenty of rest and some moderate exercise.  I don't get fanatical about it but when I start to feel like I may have cold coming on,  I'll take some of the "cold eeze" or "airborn" type supplement that was developed for teachers to ward off infections.

One thing I did, and I'm not recommending it,  I'm just saying this is what I did, ... is... I took my BP every day – even charted it for a year.  When my BP got down to 120/80 pretty consistently,  I would reduce my medication.  I talked to the DR about it and he didn't seem too concerned. (He's not really involved in my treatment if you ask me.) I got down to breaking some pills in half.  I asked the DR to change one prescription from a single 300mg pill to a 100mg size.  That way I didn't have to break them.  I got down to one, 100mg pill a day from 3 – 300mg pills a day on that drug.  I even tried to wean myself off that pill but after a few days, my BP would start to come up. I reduced another from two a day to one and eliminated another altogether. 

Another medication issue to watch out for..  Last fall intestinal flu went around and everyone got it.  I spent two months in misery until I figured out that I was dehydrated.  The first day of 2009 I stopped talking my "pee" pill and within a few days recovered.  My dad had a similar experience but it left him with low blood sugar and he went into shock.  First responders figured it out and give him glucose tablets and he came around.  The next evening it happened again so they gave him glucose in IV form and took him into the emergency room.  The DR there concluded that the combination of intestinal flu and the "pee" pill contributed to his low blood sugar condition.  We've both went back to taking the "pee" pill.  It's just when a body has had something like the intestinal flu that purges the body of fluids, that it's a problem.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

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