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Management/lowering of high blood pressure - question


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I have similar blood pressure to you, Amy - I can swing from 135/90 to 125/85 easily just from one BP test to another. The highest I've had was while on a medication with a side effect of raising BP somewhat - 154/99. Scared the crap out of me! I stopped the med soon after that (it was a med I had to take for 9 months for a positive skin test for TB) but still can easily be in the 130s/85. And the white coat effect too - I have to sit there and talk myself calm the whole time, and still it'll be higher than 'normal.' I've just started with magnesium...here's hoping it helps me to be more regular in that arena!

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I had a win today at my GP - she was doing a follow up blood pressure reading after we had to up my dose of the pill when I developed a tolerance to it (I won't bore you with the details, but its on my blog if anyone is interested), and it was good! 121/80! And - we didn't even have to up my dose to match the higher dose pill, this is on the same level hbp med I've been on for a while now. What's changed? I'm 3 weeks into my first Whole30, with the primary irritant that I cut out being diary (was already sugar/wheat/gluten free). I'm pretty excited about it! *high five the internet*

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OK I think some of Jenna's mojo rubbed off on me!!  Here's the deal.  I just finished Whole30 number 7 yesterday (7 Whole30s since end of Sept. 2012 that is).  I wrote my original post on this thread during the middle period of those Whole30s.  In the time since then, I've continued with some more Whole30ing and dropped my prescription bp meds, while adding in magnesium chelate.  For a time I stopped the magnesium, because it affected my digestive system badly.  However, once the digestive effects of the final blood pressure medicine wore off, I was able to reintroduce it.  I also take digestive enzymes now and they seem to help regulate things.  I won't go into further detail on that.  :ph34r:

 

My journey began a few years ago, when I went to the doctor for something and was discovered to have a blood pressure of 180/110.  I was absolutely petrified.  I tried several things to regulate blood pressure with medication and without it, but unfortunately it didn't seem to matter if I was taking medication or not, my blood pressure seemed to go up and down really wildly.  And the side effects of the medications were just plain awful.

 

Enter Whole30.  The first thing that happened was that finally my system got cleaned up enough that it could actually respond to the medication.  This was a relief beyond measure and better than anything I could have expected.

 

As time went on, however, my body got cleaned up even more, and the medication side effects became extremely burdensome.  They began to interfere with my daily activities to such a degree that I finally asked my doctor about at least reducing them.  She did agree to reduce them, because my results from Whole30 that far had been very promising.  She also indicated that in a few more months things would change even more.  She doesn't really do Whole30, but she does generally understand that diet plays a huge role in health, and she supported my changes.

 

The final medication was still extremely bothersome, and gradually I reduced it, taking magnesium chelate instead (book reference on this farther up in the thread).  I was a bit concerned, but really, I couldn't go on as I was.  The medication side effects were just awful.

 

After a month or so most of the side effects had worn off, and my blood pressure read normal when I was at places that didn't cause me stress.  :lol:

 

Well, long story coming to an end here, today I went to the doctor.  This is the place where every visit for the last few years has been a hugely anxiety-filled conversation about my blood pressure and how it appears that I'll have to be on medication forever and so on and so forth.  My blood pressure, even with the expected white-coat hypertension, was normal.  Specifically, it read 128/82.  That would have been about 10 points lower had I been at the dentist (for some reason I am not stressed at the dentist :lol: ).  It didn't even register as a blip in the discussion of the day (my ear ache) with the nurse practitioner.  That hasn't happened for YEARS.

 

So - I'm totally in love with Whole30.  I think it's not too much to say that it has saved my life.  :wub: :wub: :wub:

 

Thanks to all who have chimed in on and read this thread over the months.  I wish I could express what this means to me.  I am elated, relieved, and I feel like I have my world back.  It's that big.  :wub: :wub: :wub:

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm a 66 yr old vet of the BP wars and recognize many of your scenarios! (Roller coaster on the meds, side effects, genetic ore-disposition, pre-eclampsia....) indeed, I could list VOLUMES!

But first of all...kudos on YOUR mindful and careful spproach to your health. it will real lifelong benefits! I would echo an earlier voice that checking in with your doc about major alterations/reductions/additions to BP altering meds and supplements is critical. At one time, I was on a dosage that caused sporadic, ugly, painful and debilitating ankle swelling to the point walked Iike I was on tires. i finally convinced the doc to take me off by photoing my ankles at the worst over several days. Pretty graphic evidence right there on my iphone! Once off..with a much more amenable med, better!

From my own, long BP road, I do now consider this my mantra: using a doctor who respects your ability to research and think, weight control, habitual exercise, vigilance and discovering some sweet moments of calm in chaos.

I'm now on D15 my first W30 and am seeing positive BP results. I'm tempted to ask doc to reduce my meds, but will be patient until I've been through the 30 and reintroduction phase. I might consider adding your magnesium supplement ( yes...I will inform doctor dearest! ;-) )

Best of luck and know that you are indeed on a good path.

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  • 1 year later...

Yes! Definitely continue taking ALL of your prescription medications while on the Whole30.  You should not discontinue any medications without your doctor's knowledge, since you may have to *wean off* some of them gradually.  Also, you have no way of knowing if and how the Whole30 will effect you and coming of your medications prematurely could cause harm.  If, for instance, your blood pressure lowers naturally due to the Whole30 WOE, you may feel *overmedicated* with symptoms of dizziness and lightheadedness, you would then want to talk to your doc about adjusting or coming off your bp medication.

 

Good Luck!

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  • 6 months later...

I wanted to come back and update this thread. I started it two years ago! I've been thinking about this a lot and I know people read older threads for information/inspiration, so here's what's happened to me in the past two years.

 

After my bp lowered using magnesium alone, that worked for a while. Over time, though, my bp started to edge up. I began talking to my naturopathic physician about this quite seriously several months ago. The fact was that over two years of very healthy eating, increased exercise, better sleep, and improved stress management techniques were only taking me so far. And the magnesium wasn't working.

 

Starting a few months ago, then, we began experimenting with a combination of bp medications and supplements. I felt extremely disheartened to realize that all of my efforts to get healthy and, as in the earlier part of this thread, get OFF the bp medication, had ultimately not led to a long-term success with my blood pressure. It seemed a puzzle. My weight is - well, slight. I'm small. I just am. My extensive blood tests showed that I'm healthy as a horse. And yet, my bp continued to rise.

 

The worst part of this experimentation process was that no bp medications seemed to help, unless they were multiple medications in massive doses with massive side effects (which was what led me to work really hard at getting off of them two years ago). I can't describe how disheartening, and really frightening, this became, as my bp continued to go up and stay up despite my seeming like a completely healthy person.

 

Recently my doc and I spoke again, and she evaluated all the meds and supplements I've tried over the years and then took the added step of talking to a pharmacist about possible side effects of the next medication she wanted me to try. She really took all of my concerns about both my bp and the really disabling side effects I've experienced seriously. And she started me on yet one more medication.

 

I've only been on it a short time, but I am utterly thrilled and relieved to report that my bp is closing in on normal already. The side effects seem absolutely nil. I'm really thrilled.

 

Two things really struck me about my health issue that I think other people, with other health issues, might relate to:

 

1. I was completely judging myself for not eating healthy enough (um, Whole30 with only a few breaks for 2 1/2 years?), not exercising enough, not sleeping enough, not staying calm enough, not doing X, Y, or Z enough. Then one day it really hit me that given my family history, which includes appallingly high blood pressure, I've done REALLY well. Doing all of the healthy things I've done has kept me from medication longer than other members of my family, and my bp even at its highest has never approached the bp that other family members were discovered to have in their 40s. So I started giving myself credit for doing well, rather than beating myself up for doing so badly. It was a huge shift in perspective.

 

2. It really helped to have a doctor who took me entirely seriously about all of my concerns about both my bp and about the medications themselves. She never rushed me through an appointment, and she reached out for more information herself rather than pretending she knew something she didn't, about the side effects.

 

I know that most people who post here on the forums aren't dealing with this particular health issue. But so often I see us beating up on ourselves in our threads about our health - and I hope I can encourage others to join me in my recently-discovered new attitude/understanding. We are doing so much better than we would be if we hadn't started taking care of ourselves. And when part of taking care of ourselves means we really do need that medication, some of us are really lucky and can find medical caregivers who really pay attention and truly offer help.

 

I'm still eating Whole30, exercising more than ever, sleeping like a rock most nights, and I'm back on bp meds and likely to be on them for the rest of my life. And I'm really happy with how it's going right now. There will be more ups and downs, but dang it I am healthier than I could possibly have imagined a couple of years ago, and taking the medical help when it's needed has become a big part of that for me.

 

Thanks for "listening." :wub:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Amy - This post has been really helpful for me.  I have been taking losartan for a little ovee 2 years now, and just did my first whole 30 at the beginning of this year.  I want to get off of the medication, mainly because I hate relying on medicine, but it makes me dizzy occasionally too.  After reading through your posts, I can see that some other issues I've had may be related as well.  Most specifically, for the last month or so, I've been waking up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep, no matter how tired I was.  Some of those nights, I became incredibly anxious as well.  I thought there was something very wrong with me, which made me even more anxious.  It's gotten a little better recently, but it's nice to read that I'm not alone!

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