High blood pressure concerns
- Thread starter johnnyb47
- Start date
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Nah, you just need to choose your parents wisely...
BoldonLad
Not part of the Elite
- Location
- South Tyneside
Nah, you just need to choose your parents wisely...
In these “no win no fee” Times, I have pondered, could you sue your parents for the genes they gave you?
.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
From NHS website
You might be more at risk if you:
- are overweight
- eat too much salt and do not eat enough fruit and vegetables
- do not do enough exercise
- drink too much alcohol or coffee (or other caffeine-based drinks)
- smoke
- do not get much sleep or have disturbed sleep
- are over 65
- have a relative with high blood pressure
- are of black African or black Caribbean descent
- live in a deprived area
Just a quick update if you're interested in this thread or maybe going through the same thing as me and are wondering how quickly the effects blood pressure tablets take time to work.
Its been just over a week now since Ive started taking the tablet's (Amlodipine)
There has been a few side effects but must say they've been very very mild.
Side effects have been random mild headaches that last no more than a hour then just go. Tingling face every now and again and sometimes my skin feels like I've got prickly heat, but again must stress very mild and infrequent. These side affects have now all but gone.
I've also been over zealously taking multiple blood pressure measurements with my BP machine every day building up a picture of how things are going ( it is a new toy after all) and the fact I'm a hypochondriac
.
I've also stopped and taken a good long look at my diet and cut out all the bad things which were a lot!! Pasties were consumed in excess, Rustler burgers at work (shame on me) have been banned and have been replaced with mainly porridge and bananas at work and jacket potatoes/salmon pasta when I get home. The dreaded beer is still drunk but in much lower quantities (life's not worth living with out some)
My thinking is tablets should not be the sole answer to getting blood pressure down alone. A change to eating healthy, or should I say more healthy, should also be adopted to get it back under control.
I've also downloaded a good app onto my phone were I can record all my pressure readings which can be easily viewed and on a graph , averages ect.
Keeping a detailed record is a god sent for the doctor as they can see your overall stats instead of just judging you on that particular day they take a measurement.A visit this week to the doctor, she was very pleased that I had lots recorded info to get a better picture of everything.
So after a week it appears my BP has dropped significantly from around 180/103 to around the 130s/85s.
Its obviously fluctuating but the general trend is it's coming down.
As for my self I'm starting to feel a little better in my health (maybe just a placebo effect) but I feel calmer , I'm sleeping better but most notable my energy levels have sky rocketed.
Hopefully this is the results of my little life style changes and not just a coincidental blip (the jury's still out)
Anyway before I disappear I just want to thank you all for the great advice that you have given helping me to understand everything that needs to known ,and hope that my tale helps others that reads this.
My advice to anyone new that reads this is to buy a blood pressure monitor. There cheap as chips and could be a potential life saver. If like me you very rarely visit the doc unless there's something wrong,you could potentially be living with High blood pressure without even realizing it. This is why they call it the silent killer.It doesn't matter if you cycle intergalactic miles or play football 5 days a week, you could still have it without nowing.
All the very best Johnny
Its been just over a week now since Ive started taking the tablet's (Amlodipine)
There has been a few side effects but must say they've been very very mild.
Side effects have been random mild headaches that last no more than a hour then just go. Tingling face every now and again and sometimes my skin feels like I've got prickly heat, but again must stress very mild and infrequent. These side affects have now all but gone.
I've also been over zealously taking multiple blood pressure measurements with my BP machine every day building up a picture of how things are going ( it is a new toy after all) and the fact I'm a hypochondriac
.I've also stopped and taken a good long look at my diet and cut out all the bad things which were a lot!! Pasties were consumed in excess, Rustler burgers at work (shame on me) have been banned and have been replaced with mainly porridge and bananas at work and jacket potatoes/salmon pasta when I get home. The dreaded beer is still drunk but in much lower quantities (life's not worth living with out some
)My thinking is tablets should not be the sole answer to getting blood pressure down alone. A change to eating healthy, or should I say more healthy, should also be adopted to get it back under control.
I've also downloaded a good app onto my phone were I can record all my pressure readings which can be easily viewed and on a graph , averages ect.
Keeping a detailed record is a god sent for the doctor as they can see your overall stats instead of just judging you on that particular day they take a measurement.A visit this week to the doctor, she was very pleased that I had lots recorded info to get a better picture of everything.
So after a week it appears my BP has dropped significantly from around 180/103 to around the 130s/85s.
Its obviously fluctuating but the general trend is it's coming down.
As for my self I'm starting to feel a little better in my health (maybe just a placebo effect) but I feel calmer , I'm sleeping better but most notable my energy levels have sky rocketed.
Hopefully this is the results of my little life style changes and not just a coincidental blip (the jury's still out)
Anyway before I disappear I just want to thank you all for the great advice that you have given helping me to understand everything that needs to known ,and hope that my tale helps others that reads this.
My advice to anyone new that reads this is to buy a blood pressure monitor. There cheap as chips and could be a potential life saver. If like me you very rarely visit the doc unless there's something wrong,you could potentially be living with High blood pressure without even realizing it. This is why they call it the silent killer.It doesn't matter if you cycle intergalactic miles or play football 5 days a week, you could still have it without nowing.
All the very best Johnny
I was found unconscious during LEL, as some of you may have seen. Had a night in hospital then went on holiday, and I've been to see my GP for a follow-up after arriving home. Still undergoing tests, but I have very high blood pressure. I've been started on Felodipine and had to buy a BP machine. In the last 3-4 days my readings have reduced, but they are still higher than they should be.
My parents are both mid-eighties and have both been on medication for high blood pressure for 20-30 years, so genetics is probably a major contributory factor.
My parents are both mid-eighties and have both been on medication for high blood pressure for 20-30 years, so genetics is probably a major contributory factor.
My GP has now increased my BP meds and given qualified approval to resume some exercise. I've had a couple of gym sessions 50/50 weights and exercise bike, with no ill-effects. They are quite baffled by my platelet count, which is very low, so I'm still undergoing tests for that. The nurse wasn't happy with my low heart-rate, but my GP knew it was due to cycling.
BP has come down, not as far as they would like, but much better than it was.
BP has come down, not as far as they would like, but much better than it was.
Joey Shabadoo
My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
Three weeks ago I was having an argument with my line manager on teams. It was a real zinger and I was pulling no punches when suddenly, out of nowhere, I burst into tears. I was shocked and a bit scared at that and my wife said "that's stress". I checked my blood pressure, can't remember the numbers but the NHS website didn't even show the chart - just said "see a GP immediately". So I managed to see the practice nurse. She took my blood pressure three times, took a blood sample and weighed me. Upon hearing three of my grandparents died of a stroke she put me on the Amlodipene and booked me in for an ECG. A few days later she phoned up with the blood results which showed a cholesterol level of 6.3. I'm 55 and weighed 16st11 and she said I had a Qrisk of 24%. Googling revealed anything above 10% was dangerous. I did the NHS Heart Age check online which says I have the heart of a 73 year old and could only expect another 2 years before more than likely having a heart attack/stroke. The ECG results have come back saying I have thickened heart muscle which isn't a good thing it seems.
Since then though I've tried to change. I've cut out the junk food and lost 11lbs. I'm going for a 5km walk once, sometimes twice a day. My blood pressure is steadily coming down although it still registers as high.
It's good to read this thread and see the treatments work. The nurse is recommending I go on statins too but my wife reckons the side effects aren't good.
Since then though I've tried to change. I've cut out the junk food and lost 11lbs. I'm going for a 5km walk once, sometimes twice a day. My blood pressure is steadily coming down although it still registers as high.
It's good to read this thread and see the treatments work. The nurse is recommending I go on statins too but my wife reckons the side effects aren't good.
neil_merseyside
Guru
- Location
- Wirral
Borderline obese as I was (same stats virtually) I'm 6 years older. I'm now just about 13 stone, on Amlodipene too (5mg), it all took a while but I've stabilised my BP and feel much for it, I could drop another 5-10lbs (I should/could be scrawnier) then I could probably come off BP meds. Statins not needed (yet?) but my diet is now mostly veggie, well monday to thursday it is...
I heard a report this week that muscle ache from statins isn't a thing (when double blind tested) but several diffrent statins are available in case of other issues.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I've been on statins for twelve years. I used to have an aversion to the idea of long term medication, mainly due to ignorance. Now, I'm on about six drugs, none of which give me any adverse side effects. If my consultant suggested that I take a couple more, I wouldn't have any problem with the idea.
My entire family is stuffed with doctors and I have a healthy disrespect for them, but their profession does actually know more about the subject than I, or daft internet sites do.
My entire family is stuffed with doctors and I have a healthy disrespect for them, but their profession does actually know more about the subject than I, or daft internet sites do.
There's been some great input to this thread to which im reading with great interest.
Its now been nearly a month since my original post and I have been living like a proverbial saint.Not one pasty or Rustler burger have come my way and it's just been a diet of Porridge, fruit, veg.....well you get the picture.
As a result my BP is now averaging around 125/80 and I'm still taking the BP tablets.
As for taking readings I take 9 readings a day (over the top I know) but my thinking is,the more I take the more accurate data I'm going to get. I take 3 readings around 5.30 am before work and then the same around 5.30pm and then the same again before I got to bed.
Using an app on my phone it works out your average BP for the day and overall.
Strangely I often find my morning readings are usually the highest out of the bunch.Common sense to me I would of thought they should be the lowest.
Another strange one is that my BP is unusually low after coming back from a longish bike ride (can't work that one out either)
Studying the states I've been recording, my BP seems to rise with each working day and then falls back down at the weekend.
It's been quite interesting to see how life's factors play a role in it all.
All the very best,
Johnny
Its now been nearly a month since my original post and I have been living like a proverbial saint.Not one pasty or Rustler burger have come my way and it's just been a diet of Porridge, fruit, veg.....well you get the picture.
As a result my BP is now averaging around 125/80 and I'm still taking the BP tablets.
As for taking readings I take 9 readings a day (over the top I know) but my thinking is,the more I take the more accurate data I'm going to get. I take 3 readings around 5.30 am before work and then the same around 5.30pm and then the same again before I got to bed.
Using an app on my phone it works out your average BP for the day and overall.
Strangely I often find my morning readings are usually the highest out of the bunch.Common sense to me I would of thought they should be the lowest.
Another strange one is that my BP is unusually low after coming back from a longish bike ride (can't work that one out either)
Studying the states I've been recording, my BP seems to rise with each working day and then falls back down at the weekend.
It's been quite interesting to see how life's factors play a role in it all.
All the very best,
Johnny
Joey Shabadoo
My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
I was told by the practice nurse to stop checking my BP as that in itself creates stress and raises the numbers.
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Sounds like you are obsessing with 9 readings a day - that in itself can raise BP.
Why not just once a day? Which is still a lot tbh.
I was told by the nurse to leave checking it for two weeks and was given a form to then record it for a week. Take 3 recordings morning and 3 evening and record the best one of the three.
I started a spreadsheet and have been taking readings morning and evening every day.
I'm not back on the bike yet, but got permission to go to the gym. Tried my BP as soon as I got home yesterday and got 120/82. Best reading I've had.
My thinking on that was that the blood vessels in my muscles had opened up with exercising, as they needed more blood, reducing the pressure needed to pump the blood through.
I started a spreadsheet and have been taking readings morning and evening every day.
I'm not back on the bike yet, but got permission to go to the gym. Tried my BP as soon as I got home yesterday and got 120/82. Best reading I've had.
My thinking on that was that the blood vessels in my muscles had opened up with exercising, as they needed more blood, reducing the pressure needed to pump the blood through.
