John Bruh Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I went to donate blood at the red cross blood drive and they turned me away because of my blood pressure. I normally donate 1-2 times per year and this was the only time they have told me this. My blood pressure was 148 over 108. They told me it just may be my diet and to take my blood pressure at kroger (since its the only regulated and tested machine for accuracy). I went and tested my blood pressure tonight and it was 143 over 101. Is there any medicine otc i can take? I read up on it tonight and it seems like it may because of too much sodium. and I haven't been getting any exercise really in the last year. just wondering what you guys have done to get past this. And i know there are a few doctors on here so any real medical help is appericated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 i don't have that problem, 106 over 70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 doctor prescribed water pill will do wonders to control HBP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I have cut a lot of sodium over the past couple of months to try and get mine down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan9381 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 sodium is not hard to cut down...check the labels on some of the stuff you eat...you'd be amazed...IIRC, a can of chunky soup, which i used to eat like it was a snack has like 2/3 of your daily reccomended sodium intake. 112/78 or so last time i got checked...ill have to stop at kroger sometime soon and check again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc1647545523 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 It's great that you're taking your health seriously and are motivated to change some things. Blood pressure is one of those things that can be out of whack, and you can go many years with no symptoms, but it slowly damages body systems, some irreversibly. My mother's blindness from macular degeneration and her eventual kidney failure were both largely because she refused to treat her high blood pressure when she was younger. My best advice: use this opportunity to get yourself established with a good primary care provider that you will get to know and trust. Figure out the economics of it in advance, and get a good history, physical, and bloodwork done. Work with him or her on figuring out what may be causing the problem and discuss various treatments (risks/benefits). Lots of hypertension can be treated by decreasing your salt intake, dropping a few pounds, and getting regular exercise. You don't have to begin with drugs. But start with doing things right: get to see a physician/physician's assistant/clinical nurse specialist who takes a careful history and does the appropriate physical and tests. Follow up regularly. If you don't click with the first medical professional you see, find another you like. I wouldn't ask my doctor buddies for car advice, and I wouldn't place a lot of weight on the medical advice you get from a car forum. "My father was fond of saying you need three things in life – a good doctor, a forgiving priest, and a clever accountant. The first two, I've never had much use for." -Oskar Schindler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRocket1647545505 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 It's great that you're taking your health seriously and are motivated to change some things. Blood pressure is one of those things that can be out of whack, and you can go many years with no symptoms, but it slowly damages body systems, some irreversibly. My mother's blindness from macular degeneration and her eventual kidney failure were both largely because she refused to treat her high blood pressure when she was younger. My best advice: use this opportunity to get yourself established with a good primary care provider that you will get to know and trust. Figure out the economics of it in advance, and get a good history, physical, and bloodwork done. Work with him or her on figuring out what may be causing the problem and discuss various treatments (risks/benefits). Lots of hypertension can be treated by decreasing your salt intake, dropping a few pounds, and getting regular exercise. You don't have to begin with drugs. But start with doing things right: get to see a physician/physician's assistant/clinical nurse specialist who takes a careful history and does the appropriate physical and tests. Follow up regularly. If you don't click with the first medical professional you see, find another you like. I wouldn't ask my doctor buddies for car advice, and I wouldn't place a lot of weight on the medical advice you get from a car forum. "My father was fond of saying you need three things in life – a good doctor, a forgiving priest, and a clever accountant. The first two, I've never had much use for." -Oskar Schindler This. Eat healthy. Exercise. Get established with a good primary care doc or NP. You're young. You could most likely bring it down pretty easily with diet and exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I absolutely hate exercising, and I love me some sodium. Guess I'm headed for a salty hell soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Might as well go out on top Brain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 yeah, that's me.. on top.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Beast Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Take it for what its worth but here are a few things that can help. Work more fruits, vegatables, and nuts into your diet. This is going to help your body get the nutrients it needs to heal itself. Drink water and 100% juice. Stay away from pop, beer, etc. Excercise.. Its as simple as a couple 12-20 minutes walks after you eat. If you want you can gradually work up to a more intense workout, but make sure you check with a doctor first. Go to the grocery store and look at things like pizza, soup, low fat meals, etc. What you will notice is all of these usually have way more sodium than you need. Even low sodium soup is pretty high compared to other foods. Low sodium just means its lower than the non low sodium kind. Just keep in mind that salt is a needed part of the body so you want to talk to your doctor/nutritionist to see how much you should have per day. The amount most people post is a blanket estimate. In reality your lifestyle, weight, age, etc helps determine how much you need. Finally.. find a way to relax. People always think sodium when they hear high blood pressure, but stress is worse than salt. Note: I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night . Hope this gives you a good starting point for your conversation with your doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyin Miata Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 sodium is not hard to cut down...check the labels on some of the stuff you eat...you'd be amazed...IIRC, a can of chunky soup, which i used to eat like it was a snack has like 2/3 of your daily reccomended sodium intake. 112/78 or so last time i got checked...ill have to stop at kroger sometime soon and check again. Yea soup is a big culprit for high sodium. They sell soups with reduced sodium and to be honest, I can't tell the difference. Most Campbell's stuff tastes way to salty to me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Brian, iodine, which is added to salt, is needed by the body. I'm not so sure that salt itself is. Funny how salt was originally used as a preservative, and we all know how good anything with that label is for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I take HTZ daily, makes you piss 2x what you normally piss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckin Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I just found out this past summer i have High BP. I was waking up everyday for about a month and my vision was blurry almost like a double vision it would take about 10min for it to correct itself. I also had constant headaches, but aside from that i had no effects. I went into work one day and just about got sick, couldn't concentrate and was figity. I almost passed out, our Medic transported me to the hosp and did abunch of bloodwork, CT scan, etc etc. Turns out my BP was 168/120. I followed up w/ my family doc and since being put on 2 meds my headaches/ vision problems are gone. I try to monitor my BP and watch what i eat (dosen't always happen). I'm learning to eat more veggies, and trying to use less salt. Sea Salt is a good option if you need salt. But excersise, eating better and watching your sodium intake will do wonder's. I was actually surprised how many people have high BP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedfocus1647545489 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Finally.. find a way to relax. People always think sodium when they hear high blood pressure, but stress is worse than salt. This. My blood pressure used to be sky high all the time, but eventually I found ways to reduce my stress level and it improved quite a bit with no change in diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patterson Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I'm on a script for high bp. Given stress of work, embarassingly out of shape, too much soda. I went off for about a week last month and wound up in the hospital with a bp of 200/147. Let me just say it hurt like a mofo. With meds I'm typically around 117/70. When I got on the meds the doctor said I would have nightmares. I told her I was use to that. When I'm watching what I'm doing I'm okay, but when I'm not my body puts my back in check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli1647545497 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 One piece of advice my doctor told me is to take those Kroger machine readings with a grain of salt, pardon the pun, if you have large arms. The arm bands on those are calibrated to an average arm circumference. If you're larger they will give you a false high reading. In fact, when I go into my doctor they have to use the "large" bp cuff for the same reason. They can see a 20 point difference just between the two cuffs with a practiced nurse doing the reading. Just fyi. You can try buying and using wrist bp machines. They're not as accurate but what you're looking for is trends. with a wrist cuff you'll have less chance of a mis read on the machine due to muscle mass. Again this only applies for larger arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truckin Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 You can always stop into any fire station and they will take it for free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 I dont drink pop or alcohol anymore. I cut that 3 weeks ago. I think I just need to get some good exercise in, and relax more. I've never had High blood pressure, my habits have been the same, Over 5 years ive gained 35lbs so i don't think that is going to have a major impact at my life, but im going to change and get back into shape. I think this is related to stress. I have been so stressed out lately its crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 One piece of advice my doctor told me is to take those Kroger machine readings with a grain of salt, pardon the pun, if you have large arms. The arm bands on those are calibrated to an average arm circumference. If you're larger they will give you a false high reading. In fact, when I go into my doctor they have to use the "large" bp cuff for the same reason. They can see a 20 point difference just between the two cuffs with a practiced nurse doing the reading. Just fyi. You can try buying and using wrist bp machines. They're not as accurate but what you're looking for is trends. with a wrist cuff you'll have less chance of a mis read on the machine due to muscle mass. Again this only applies for larger arms. You can always stop into any fire station and they will take it for free When i was at the red cross, they did the small cuff 2x and the large cuff once. She said i should be able to go to krogers and get an accurate measure. Also i was told about the firehouse's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadDawg Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Go the diet and exercise route first. Many of the meds can have side effects that you won't like. If you are borderline diabetic, HCTZ can throw you into full blown NIDDM. Lots of them can make you tired all the time, some of them affect your sexual performance. (An erection is localized hypertension). Get it under control now, the long-term effects are slow to manifest but can be life-threatening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Beast Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Brian, iodine, which is added to salt, is needed by the body. I'm not so sure that salt itself is. Funny how salt was originally used as a preservative, and we all know how good anything with that label is for us. Both are needed. Sodium actually helps regulate blood pressure, and does its electrolyte thing with nerve and muscle function. Iodine is more for the thyroid. I would have to blow the dust off of my books or google it but I'm pretty sure that's right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbospec29 Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Almost a year ago I started taking Lisinopril for hbp. I will relax your blood vessels to make them wider and slow your heart rate. It is a prescription drug, but its pretty cheap at kroger (10 for a 90 day supply). I woke up one day with a horrible headache and couldn't shake it for about 48 hours. It felt like someone was squeezing my head, not like any headache I've ever had before. Went to the mini clinic at kroger and my BP was 180 over 120. I was at stroke like risk with those numbers. Since then I've tried to cut back really salty stuff and drink more water. I had a check up today actually and I'm down to 107 over 68. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Almost a year ago I started taking Lisinopril for hbp. I will relax your blood vessels to make them wider and slow your heart rate. It is a prescription drug, but its pretty cheap at kroger (10 for a 90 day supply). I woke up one day with a horrible headache and couldn't shake it for about 48 hours. It felt like someone was squeezing my head, not like any headache I've ever had before. Went to the mini clinic at kroger and my BP was 180 over 120. I was at stroke like risk with those numbers. Since then I've tried to cut back really salty stuff and drink more water. I had a check up today actually and I'm down to 107 over 68. did they perscribe you the meds at kroger when you went to the mini clinic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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