# High blood pressure



## clid61 (11 Mar 2016)

Routine check up at work on wednesday , im a reasonbly fit slim bloke , nurse sent me home BP out of the roof . docs next day and now on med , any similair ?


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## deptfordmarmoset (11 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> Routine check up at work on wednesday , im a reasonbly fit slim bloke , nurse sent me home BP out of the roof . docs next day and now on med , any similair ?


Yes, I'm one. Pretty slim though not so fit. It took a good while to discover why my BP was through the roof. It turns out that I've got a dodgily-plumbed kidney that keeps asking for more blood. Heart obliges.... Started on betablockers but they reduced me to a walking zombie. Now on a cocktail of ramipril (ACE inhibitor), felodipine (calcium channel inhibitor which dilates the arteries and reduces BP without much damage) and benzoflumethiazide (a diuretic). 

What did they give you to take?


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## Andrew_P (11 Mar 2016)

And what was through the roof measurement?!


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## clid61 (11 Mar 2016)

200 ansomething over 140 and something ?


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## numbnuts (11 Mar 2016)

I'm borderline (145/60) so no meds for me as yet


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## siadwell (11 Mar 2016)

My BP is fine but health check at work indicated that cholesterol was unacceptably high. Been for a blood test and awaiting results. Hope they don't tell me to lay off the cake...


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## midlife (11 Mar 2016)

deptfordmarmoset said:


> Yes, I'm one. Pretty slim though not so fit. It took a good while to discover why my BP was through the roof. It turns out that I've got a dodgily-plumbed kidney that keeps asking for more blood. Heart obliges.... Started on betablockers but they reduced me to a walking zombie. Now on a cocktail of ramipril (ACE inhibitor), felodipine (calcium channel inhibitor which dilates the arteries and reduces BP without much damage) and benzoflumethiazide (a diuretic).
> 
> What did they give you to take?



Calcium channel blockers can make you gums swell, need to be checked regularly 

Shaun


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## clid61 (11 Mar 2016)

Andrew_P said:


> And what was through the roof measurement?!


Why?


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## Andrew_P (11 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> Why?


Hi sorry was just curious, it can be affected by stress I had 210 over 75 in A&E! When do you have to go back to have it checked once the meds have kicked in?


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## clid61 (11 Mar 2016)

Andrew_P said:


> Hi sorry was just curious, it can be affected by stress I had 210 over 75 in A&E! When do you have to go back to have it checked once the meds have kicked in?


2 weeks , are having trouble too ?


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## slowmotion (11 Mar 2016)

I've been on Ramipril (ACE Inhibitor) and Bisoprolol Fumarate (beta blocker) as well as Atorvastatin and Ezetimibe (cholesterol lowering) for four years and they have been amazingly good at lowering my BP to normal levels. I've had absolutely no side effects at all. Previously, I was dead against long-term medication but I'm a convert now. Others may have had different experiences.


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## deptfordmarmoset (11 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> 200 ansomething over 140 and something ?


My diastolic is fine - I don't remember it ever being above 70 - the systolic, though, is another story. My doctor at the time had an electric BP monitor and it refused to go up to my untreated levels; it would go beeeep and then pfffft, as though punctured. But 230 was about the average with the old puff-ball inflator.


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## Kajjal (11 Mar 2016)

My father was always very fit and active, he had high blood pressure from an early age. After trying various medication they found the one that worked best for him with no side effects.


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## cyberknight (11 Mar 2016)

No blood pressure but i have an irregular ECG , when i have a medical i get asked if i have dizzy spells.


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## Tojo (12 Mar 2016)

White coat syndrome.......


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## Illaveago (12 Mar 2016)

I didn't have high BP but after a minor heart attack I was put on a load of tablets including beta blockers. After returning to work I kept on keeling over, one day I was given Atrapine as my pulse had slowed down too much. Eventually they took me off of the beta blockers.
Anything near 140 gives me chest niggles and belching so I I prefer it in the low 120 ish.


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## david k (12 Mar 2016)

Illaveago said:


> I didn't have high BP but after a minor heart attack I was put on a load of tablets including beta blockers. After returning to work I kept on keeling over, one day I was given Atrapine as my pulse had slowed down too much. Eventually they took me off of the beta blockers.
> Anything near 140 gives me chest niggles and belching so I I prefer it in the low 120 ish.


I take beta blockers and hate them, they slow me down too much I feel like a zombie sometimes, hard to get my body going, pulse at midday is around 55 sometimes whilst at work!


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## deptfordmarmoset (12 Mar 2016)

david k said:


> I take beta blockers and hate them, they slow me down too much I feel like a zombie sometimes, hard to get my body going, pulse at midday is around 55 sometimes whilst at work!


I don't know what your condition is but betablockers seem to be a standard fallback remedy for many GPs. Ask for alternative treatments. A friend who's a GP told me that he'd never prescribe BBs for someone my age (about 57 at the time) because of the effects we seem to have suffered from. That's when I first heard about calcium channel antagonists/blockers. In my case, they helped me get around the problem that my work needed physical activity and a fair dose of adrenalin, the adrenalin knocked my BP up, so they redoubled the dose. Which left me even less capable of working and only fit for survival.


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## RegG (12 Mar 2016)

I was on Amlodipine for high blood pressure for a couple of years but when I started cycling regularly last year my BP settled down and the Doc took me off the tablets. BP now around 130/75 which, for my age (62) is pretty good according to my GP.


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## night cycler (12 Mar 2016)

I`ve known 4 people with high BP that is controlled by medication. However, when I say "controlled" it only controls the BP when nothing is bothering them. As soon as something upsets them (even something minor) you would think that their BP was not being treated at all. They just cannot contain the outbursts, and go off like a bomb at times. It is as though BP meds only work until something upsets the person, then it`s time for people around them to take cover.

One of these guys seem to not have the ability to speak without shouting.


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## Yorksman (12 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> 200 ansomething over 140 and something ?




They are both very very high. When I had very high BP, it was something like 180/130.

It is dangerous because such high pressures can cause damage. With me, it overstretched the left ventricle so it became enlarged and not as elastic as it should be. The drugs, ace inhibitor, beta blocker and diuretic got the BP down, but the heart remained damaged. It returned to normal size but weaker so it doesn't push out the blood as well as it should.

_"When two or more men of my age come together, they discuss what respective heart medication they are on"_


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## Yorksman (12 Mar 2016)

siadwell said:


> My BP is fine but health check at work indicated that cholesterol was unacceptably high. Been for a blood test and awaiting results. Hope they don't tell me to lay off the cake...



There is a considerable debate going on about cholesterol thesedays because the idea that high cholsterol = bad heart was gained by studies into a limited number of eastern peoples. It looks very much like, suprise suprise, it depends on your genes. The very latest is that for some people with a particular genetic composition, HDL or 'good cholesterol', is bad for them because the flushing effect, which is good for most of us, is bad for them, because it damages the kidneys.

This is how evolution works and what is good for one is not necessarily good for another. Eat in moderation and vary your diet.


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## Yorksman (12 Mar 2016)

cyberknight said:


> No blood pressure but i have an irregular ECG , when i have a medical i get asked if i have dizzy spells.



Have they told you what kind of arrhythmia you have? The dizzy spells are caused by a lack of oxygenation due to the skipped beats. Usually, if you get that, they put you on blood thinners as a precaution against clots forming. I was cardioverted out of mine but it came back due to an underlying heart problem. I'm off for another attempt soon.


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## cyberknight (12 Mar 2016)

Yorksman said:


> Have they told you what kind of arrhythmia you have? The dizzy spells are caused by a lack of oxygenation due to the skipped beats. Usually, if you get that, they put you on blood thinners as a precaution against clots forming. I was cardioverted out of mine but it came back due to an underlying heart problem. I'm off for another attempt soon.


No gap between the s and t wave .


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## Yorksman (12 Mar 2016)

cyberknight said:


> No gap between the s and t wave .



They are not being very helpful if that's all they said. It's like going to the doctor only to be told that you are ill.


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## Aunty Tyke (13 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> 200 ansomething over 140 and something ?


That needs sorting out,mine was found out incidentally,sorted on coversyl,combination tablet


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## night cycler (13 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> 200 ansomething over 140 and something ?


Before the routine check-up at work that you had, did you not notice anything different in the way you had been feeling etc?


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## clid61 (13 Mar 2016)

Agitated and getting more nervous , in hindsight.


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## Andrew_P (13 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> Agitated and getting more nervous , in hindsight.


Not sure if it would make it worse or better but maybe get a machine for home and self test, one as an insight and two as a method to get used to it. There was a post on here somewhere recently where they where 200+ in hospital as hated Hospitals but GP gave them a machine and at home taken 3 times throughout the day the average was 135/85


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## clid61 (13 Mar 2016)

Andrew_P said:


> Not sure if it would make it worse or better but maybe get a machine for home and self test, one as an insight and two as a method to get used to it. There was a post on here somewhere recently where they where 200+ in hospital as hated Hospitals but GP gave them a machine and at home taken 3 times throughout the day the average was 135/85




Meds are kicking in now , dropped a bit . Got myself a self test unit for home use yesterday too


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## Andrew_P (13 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> Meds are kicking in now , dropped a bit . Got myself a self test unit for home use yesterday too


Anxious about it I guess which probably isn't helping.


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## Illaveago (13 Mar 2016)

They say that eating beetroot can help lower BP. My wife tried beetroot juice , stopped drinking alcohol and did more exercise and it has now gone down.


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## clid61 (13 Mar 2016)

Yeah I'm on the beetroot juice


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## Yorksman (13 Mar 2016)

Anything to help you relax, even long hot baths with eucalyptus oil and avoid stimulants, like coffee.

Avoid politicians debating on the TV or Radio at all costs! Don't listen to the Budget either.

If you got a home BP monitor, beware of the wrist ones. They do work most of the time but can give false readings. That then makes you more anxious. The British Heart Foundation website has a list of approved monitors.


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## marcg868 (22 Mar 2016)

Yup have been on them since 23 year old I'm 30 now. Was having readings of 220+ systolic and above 117 diastolic. 
24 hour BP machine and it didn't drop much. 
Smoking, caffeine, poor diet and lack of exercise was found to be the cause after numerous tests and scans of kidneys. 

Was put on Ramipril first 2.5 mg and eventually 10 mg. 

Started cycling again, reducing my caffeine and ciggies and improved my diet and then this sent it the other way and ended up with Hypotension and felt very dizzy with systolic readings of below 100. 

Had the Ramipril reduced back down to 2.5 mg. Still dizzy so changed to lisonapril another Ace inhibitor. Makes me feel a bit nauseous in the morning but better than dizzy.


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## marcg868 (22 Mar 2016)

Yorksman said:


> Anything to help you relax, even long hot baths with eucalyptus oil and avoid stimulants, like coffee.
> 
> Avoid politicians debating on the TV or Radio at all costs! Don't listen to the Budget either.
> 
> If you got a home BP monitor, beware of the wrist ones. They do work most of the time but can give false readings. That then makes you more anxious. The British Heart Foundation website has a list of approved monitors.



I'd not take hot baths or showers but warm is fine. Too hot makes it shoot up.


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## clid61 (31 Mar 2016)

Update , im on 10 ml Amlodipine. feel better in my self , however im completely shattered when riding , im not too bad on hills, but my legs have turned to jelly is this normal ? Im really struggling !


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## vickster (31 Mar 2016)

Are your feet/ankles/legs swollen at all, common side effect of CCBs (like amlodipine)


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## clid61 (31 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Are your feet/ankles/legs swollen at all, common side effect of CCBs (like amlodipine)



Calfs swollen a little and feet killing me , but put that down to being on my feet all day after being taken off forklifts by my employer ( as of yesterday can drive them again BP down to acceptable level ). I just feel like there's nothing there !


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## vickster (31 Mar 2016)

Check with your doctor


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## clid61 (31 Mar 2016)

I intend to , new to all this just thought i'd get a feel for what others experience too


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