Yes, dehydration was part of it for me. Sodium is the other big one. This weekend my bp got as low as 100/67 with no meds. However, I ate something yesterday with 1200mg of sodium and my bp was back up to 138/88 last night. I need to drink a lot of water and go zero sodium today to get back on track.

My BP crept up over the years until it was 130's/90's, sometimes higher. My doc and I decided on a the lowest dose of Lisinopril available. It's now consistently under 120/75 and I don't notice any side effects, except I feel better. You may not have to take much meds and you likely won't feel any bad effects (although everyone is different).

Lisinopril is the med my doc put me on. He prescribed 10mg and it lowered my bp but my heart raced and I had bad insomnia at night. Plus I got chest pain and the dry cough. I quit taking it and was able to make a pretty dramatic reduction by pulling sodium out of my diet. I know they make a 2.5 and 5mg dose - maybe I'll try that if I can't keep it low with diet.

Maybe try the lowest dose. I also tried to lower my bp with diet- eliminating sodium, etc but it is hard to do. Sodium is in practically everything processed. Some just have a genetic tendency for high BP

It depends on why you have high blood pressure. For me it's my kidneys think I'm always dehydrated so my blood pressure can easily go in the 200s without medication and has nothing to do with weight/diet. You need to ask more specific questions to your doctor. ACE inhibitors have no side f/x I can really tell. Blood pressure being high you really need to look at a cumulative effect over years rather than it being high for a few months and what this means for you. I noticed in my case that as a smoker my blood pressure was substantially lower and now that I've quit smoking for almost a year and exercising about the same as my pre-smoking years then I need lisinipril again.

I've been on high blood pressure meds since i was 16 years old (now 24) due to kidney issues. Not actually having high blood pressure, the medicine originally caused me to experience very low blood pressure readings... you can imagine the effects that would have in the Texas heat. Once we got the dosage straightened out and a best time for me to take it I have experienced no issues with the medicine. Just watch your hydration as the medicine can dehydrate your kidneys and you'll be fine. I tend to take my dosage at night rather than first thing in the morning because I used to get lightheaded spells when I was first put on the meds.

elevated BP is bad. period. so if your doc wants to put you on meds I'd heed advice, you DO NOT want a stroke.
that being said, I read the thread and saw nothing about your diet. could you post what you eat day to day (as honestly as possible).
thanks

I'm curious to hear what others' experience has been with Nifedipine (Adalat/Procardia). I started it this April to treat a bad case of Raynauds - started at 30 mg, went up to 60 in July. At 60 I was really struggling with my workouts and dealing with bad asthma (I have exercise induced asthma) so I dropped back down to 30, which seemed to help. However, all through this summer and fall, my breathing's still been a bit of a struggle, and I haven't been able to reach my past form (at the time I started it, I was coming back from injury).

Most stuff I read indicates that calcium channel blockers don't have much of an effect on performance, and are the preferred med for athletes. But, my experience might be contradicting that somewhat. I'd love to read the experience of others.

(interesting side note - my BP went UP on the Nifedipine. Since I have low BP anyway, this wasn't an issue for me - just interesting, given that it's a drug normally prescribed to lower high blood pressure)

I've been on a low sodium diet for the last month and my bp has dropped considerably. It's been as low as 100/67 with no meds. However, I got in a pinch yesterday and had to eat something that I couldn't investigate for sodium first. My bp was back up to 135/88 last night. I read the nutritional information and what I ate had 1200mg of sodium. Apparently, I'm VERY sensitive to sodium.

this kills me. what the hell has 1200mg of sodium that you could be eating???? I know if it's out of a box or fast food but really???

Actually, it's killing me, not you. It's hard, if not impossible to remove all Sodium. The 1200mg Sodium lunch was a baked potato from Jason's Deli. It had the potato, grilled chicken, cheese and Pico de Gallo. I've been eating baked potatos at home for the potassium and extra carbs to power my bike. I'm guessing all of the Sodium came from the chicken (they must have used processed), cheese (again, processed), spices and Pico.

Hopefully, I can move all of that out of my body and be back on track in the next few days. This is a new experiment for me and there's going to be some trial and error.

-s

I would rather starve.

My bp was back up to 135/88 last night

The other thing to realize is that your BP will fluctuate throughout the day, even above the ideal at times

Please pardon the late response. Just started on meds 3 weeks ago at age 67 after I blew a 235/105 (new P.R.) at the ER while having something unrelated taken care of. They wanted to admit me on the spot but stabilized me with clonidine, patched me up, and sent me home. Family doc put me on ace inhibitor lisinopril with diuretic HCTZ. After coughing like a barking seal for three weeks I am switching over to the arb losartan also with HCTZ. No problems with light training on the lisinopril. Has anyone on losartan had any adverse effects, or problems with training or competition?

I have been diagnosed with "essential hypertension." From what I can glean from the interwebs, what that means is my HBP is likely hereditary and not due to too little exercise, too much salt, smoking, excessive drinking, or kidney disease. FWIW, I'm a type I diabetic for 35+ years, but have never had a failed kidney test. I was put on lisiopril many years ago to prevent kidney damage, but it wasn't doing the job on the HBP, so I was switched to losartan. It worked better for a while, but I had some recent high readings at the doctor's office. One doctor wanted to put me on a beta blocker in addition to the losartan, but my other doctor (friend and fellow runner) disagreed, since my HR is already low and I am a runner. He put me on a low-dose calcium channel blocker (again in addition to the losartan,) and I am now getting readings in the 120's, so it seems to be working. I haven't been on it long enough to see if it affects my training, but so far it doesn't seem to be. So, it seems that the cause of my HBP was that my arteries are not flexible enough to expand when the heart pumps the blood, and the CCB corrects that.