High blood pressure....

[AmazingGrace]

So, over the past couple of years, every now and, my bp is higher than normal. A year ago, i had a work up for high BP and the tests came back normal and my doc told me not to worry about it and just keep an eye on things. Lately, over the past few months, it's gotten way higher than normal. This past week, I had an appointment to talk about a poss. hyster and my bp was 160/103. So, naturally, the doc didn't want to discuss surgery of any kind until the BP was controlled.
I went into my primary doc later this week and she put me on lipronisil. No weird side effects and after two days on the meds, I went to walmart, checked my bp there, and it was the lowest it had been in seriously like two years. Not sure if it's the meds or what, but I'm going to take this faithfully. Hopefully, my pressure will stay down. Anyone else have any expereince with this med or other bp meds? How is it going for you all?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I'm not familiar with that medicine, but am on Exforge and Vytorin.

I would suggest investing $30-$40 and buying an automatic blood pressure meter. I have two made by Microlife, the one I primarily use is a wrist cuff automatic. My doctor has campared its readings with his proferssional cuff and says it appears to be very accurate.

The key thing is I also spent about $30 to get their software and a connecting cable. The meter will hold 50 readings in its memory. Every few weeks I will do a download into my computer. And before I go to the doctor's office I will print out a line graphic that shows systolic and distolic readings as well as pulse. I also print out a list that shows specific date and time as well as the three readings.

 

[jsmith]

lysinopril can have some rather unpleasant side effects-a continual dry hacking cough that gets worse over time is one-there are also some others-my husband and son both take it-my son does well on it-my husband seriously needs to ask his doc to perscribe something else. I take Telesmartin and it works well with out side effects-some people take a lower dose of lysinopril in combination with another drug.
You also need to discuss with your doctor the possibility that you have erractic as opposed to high BP-the treatments for the two are different-2 days is not enough time for lysinopril to have lowered your pressure from 160/103 ( thats dangerously high btw).

 

[antmaril]

I had a heart attack in November and was put on Lisinopril for five months. Fortunately, I had no side effects. My cardiologist took me off this drug recently, as he said it was no longer needed.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I'm interested to read this. My dh has been feeling unwell for sometime and finally went to the Doctor on Saturday night. His blood pressure was 169/90. Today he has been doing the rounds of tests but wont get the results until Wednesday night. We are at a loss as to why it was so high. He has just come back from a short holiday. He doesn't stress about anything. Doesn't smoke or drink. Eats really healthy (he's been on a health kick since late last year). Drinks plenty of water and excercises daily. Not sure where the doctor will go from here but imagine medication will come into it.

 

[wdwmom2]

DH is on lisinopril HCTZ, has been for maybe 3 years. The HCTZ is a diuretic. He does very well on it. No side effects.

 

[Metro West]

lysinopril can have some rather unpleasant side effects-a continual dry hacking cough that gets worse over time is one-there are also some others-my husband and son both take it-my son does well on it-my husband seriously needs to ask his doc to perscribe something else. I take Telesmartin and it works well with out side effects-some people take a lower dose of lysinopril in combination with another drug.

That's exactly why I was taken off Lisinopril and switched to Diovan. My bp has been way down since I started taking Diovan last year. In fact...last night I took my bp right before bed and it was 109/69!

Here's a chart for anyone who wants to check their bp and where it's supposed to be:

http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/medicine/blood-pressure.htm

Unfortunately for me...I have had to give up all my thrill rides and coasters since the doctor doesn't think it's a good idea. So...it's all kiddie rides for me now.

 

[perdidobay]

I am on Azor, a combination of two drugs, amlodipine and olmesartan medoxomil. I've been on it since Jan of 2009. It works well for me, with the only side effect being occasional edema when I sit for a very very long time( like 5 hour a car trip) or when I do alot of walking in hot weather.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Here's a chart for anyone who wants to check their bp and where it's supposed to be:

http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/medi...d-pressure.htm

Thanks! All things considered, I'm surprisingly healthy for a hypochondriac with a real but as yet undiagnosed medical problem .

Last time I had my blood pressure checked, it was 114/67. Since it's (almost) never been that low, I asked the med tech to take it again. 112/68. The one time it was lower than that was the previous visit when a new tech took it, and declined my offer to roll up my sleeve. She missed the artery by about three inches and got a reading of about 80/60! But mostly before that, my systolic ranges from 120 to 137, and diastolic is 78, give or take six points.

 

[rgf207]

I have been on High Blood Pressure meds since I was 25. I'm 30 now. I have a strong family history of heart disease. I took lisinopril for years. I had the dry hacking cough and I was up at least once a night going to the bathroom.

My doctor switched me to Benicar and I have not had any side effects

 

[Planogirl]

My blood pressure show up suddenly when I was about 30. Some BP meds make me cough so through trial and error we finally came up with a formula of three drugs that keep it down. I've been taking this for many years.

It's odd but my BP dropped to normal while I was expecting DS and didn't change the whole time. Just a week or so after delivering DS it went up again and I went back on the meds. One thing...anyone planning to have a baby should definitely make sure that your OB or whoever knows about the drugs. Some are bad to take while you're pregnant.

 

[cmaee]

I've had borderline high blood pressure for a while now (ranges from 130-140/85-90 and my doctor put me on medicine two weeks ago...spironolactone. We are planning a trip to WDW for the first week in August and it just hit me that the rides all say you have to be free from high blood pressure to ride. Do you think that I would be safe to ride the rides or should I make an appointment with my doctor before I go? I understand if I can't, but I would hate to miss them with my kiddos.

 

[FergieTCat]

I've been on Bisoprolol HCTZ and Cartia for years. No side effects and my blood pressure reads normal.

 

[palmtreegirl]

I struggled with high blood pressure, but I now manage it with diet and exercise alone. My blood pressure at one point was 150/102 and now it's lower then it was in high school! Last time I took it, it was 109/65 plus my pulse rate has lowered dramatically, from the upper 90's to the lower 70's, when I take my blood pressure. I've also lost 15 pounds and really toned up.

For about a month I was on meds, but I just wasn't comfortable taking them, the doctor hadn't even told me to change my diet or exercise, just passed out meds like candy. My mom has struggled with HBP for years and my Dad asked me about my sodium intake. I thought it shouldn't be bad because I didn't add salt to stuff anymore, boy was I wrong, there is sooo much sodium in foods today, it's disgusting.

So I started running and eating a low sodium diet and boom, it worked, no more high blood pressure. I signed up for a 5K to keep me motivated and just ran my 1st, Disney's Expedition Everest challenge, what a fun time, I even came in 18th overall for the women running single.

My mom at one point was on 3 blood pressure meds and cholesterol, when she came down for a month this past Christmas to visit, I challenged her to cook without adding any salt whatsoever, this was a very big deal because my mom is an amateur chef. She did it and food still tasted awesome, she added exercise and she's now down to 1 med!

People think eating low sodium is tasteless, but it doesn't have to be Mrs Dash has a whole range of salt-free spices that are awesome! I use to be a salt junky growing up, I even salted my burgers but now I don't even touch a salt shaker, ever.

Just adding I also take Co-Q10 supplement.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Also, just wanted to mention -- you said you check at WMT and it was the lowest reading. Maybe the unit there isn't calibrated correctly? If you can, I'd get a home unit, take it to the dr., and make sure the reading meshes with theirs. Then you can take it at home.

Sometimes my bp shows up higher at the dr.'s office b/c I'm irritated that I just had to sit there for 45 minutes past my scheduled appointment just to be seen, LOL!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I'm not one of those people that is majorly against the pharmaceutical industry but for anyone who doesn't want to be on medication I would Google "DASH diet."

I'm not good with remembering to take medication (plus I didn't really want to pay for it) so my doctor put me on this diet. Not only has it lowered my blood pressure but in a couple months time I have also lost 20 lbs.

 

[Planogirl]

My blood pressure went up when I was about 30 and it has stayed high unless I take medication. I just accept it as part of my world now even though they all have side effects.

 

[emma'smom]

I've been on Lisinopril since I had some post-pregnancy BP issues that never disappeared (so for about 5 years now). I've never had any major issues with the drug.

 

[sasywtch]

I have been on hydrocloroizide (?sp--don't have the bottle with me right now) for 10 years. Was tired at first but after my body got use to the pills, it straightened itself out. I do get the swelling when it's hot outside or a long car ride but other than that, seems to be ok.