You are probably not in a position to make significant impact on your pressure (you're not obese, sedentary, etc). Yes, you will probably take them for a period of time and most people need multiple drugs to control their blood pressure. Side effects can be minimal and if troublesoon enough agents exist to try something else. First line I'd recommend and ACE Inhibitor. Min side effects on athletic performance and best for long term prevention of cv
Disease progression

/your friendly pharmacist

It's possible that you can't avoid medication. I tried but it doesn't matter how healthy you are or eat, you just have high BP.

Be sure you've cut out caffeine completely before making any decisions.

My blood pressure was high like yours but I typically in the high 130s/mid 90s now adays. You can control it but you need to go on the advice of your internist.

1) Yes, you can try and control it through diet, working out, etc. but mine is related to genetics so sometimes you can't really control it as much as you would like.
2) I was prescribed Amlodipine Besylate and was on it for a while. I stopped taking it but again, talk to your doc. Depending on the MG of dosage, they will recommend you slowly decrease the dosage until you are off.
3) I was fatigued. It did affect my training so that's why I asked my doctor to remove me from it which she did.

Of course everyone is different, but I ended up in emergency for 4 days in the cardiac unit after a race partly due to high blood pressure. You should really give all information to your doctor so that they can help you have successful races. For example, don't go in and just say, I got high blood pressure. Tell them you have this ironman race coming up, etc. I will be out there 12 hours, etc.

You may not know but they also have other ways to tell what your triggers are: 24/7 blood pressure monitors and also stress test related to blood pressure to try and narrow down what your trigger points are, whether it is heat related, etc.

Yes. I have high blood pressure. I had been following it with my internist for several years. It was always in the 140s to low 150s over high 80s to 90s. My internist actually did not want to start me on BP meds right away as I have no family history of hypertension and I have no other risk factors. Unfortunately it would be hard for me to exercise more, get a whole lot leaner or clean my diet up too much. Eventually I asked him to put me on meds. I now run 120s over 70s to low 80s on a very, very low dose of Losartan (angiotensin receptor blocker).

I would have liked to have avoided medicine but even more, I wanted to avoid damaging my heart, my kidneys and my blood vessels (think stroke). I have no regrets that I went on meds. I don't think that it affects my performance but how would I know, really?

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Jason
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do.

I have high blood pressure, doesn't help that I had a heart attack also but that's a diff story. Well I am on the drugs but recently made a discovery. I think my natural state is dehydrated, when I drink more fluids my blood pressure dropped from the 140's/90 range to 120's/70 range.

Now getting myself to keep drinking is a problem I am trying to work through.

I have to ask.... how accurate are those measurements? Were they taken many times, including in the comfort of your home?

I'm asking because some people get nervous in Dr offices and their blood pressure goes way up like that. If you've only had it checked at the office a couple of times it may be worth getting it checked a few more times and under different circumstances.

These measurements have been taken from a wrist monitor, two of those sit down machines and a nurse. Unfortunately, they're all pretty similar.

I suppose it depends on what is causing your high blood pressure. Mine spiked when I was around 32 (ironically, in the best shape I was in). Doctor thought at the time it was the training and always having adrenaline in the bloodstream. We decided to watch it for a while.

5 years later, through a freak urine test, I found out I have failing kidneys due to an auto-immune attack I never knew I had. I denied it for a while, but finally went on meds this year. It takes a while to get the dosage right, and you body will take time to adapt, but you will eventually be fine.

I am regulating blood pressure to protect what is left of my kidneys. I have been through all the emotions of denial, anger, sadness, and now acceptance. Training is for fun, the meds might limit my potential now, but I will be able to do it for longer. Hopefully long enough to do trips with my kids!

FYI, I started at 165/95. First day on the meds, I dropped to 112/68. That made for some head-spinning, drop dead tired days. My training suffered. Now, I take the lowest dose available at the pharmacy, cut the pills in half, and take them every other day. My BP is now 125/75. This year was a write-off, but now that I am stabilized, and my body has adapted, I am optimistic for next year.

Oh, I am on a combo AT II receptor blocker/diuretic.

Regards,

CB

I have high BP and am on meds. I can't do beta blockers thanks to side effects. I take a drug called Cozaar (it's Losaarten?)

My resting BP, just checked at my doc yesterday, was 128/92. That's on meds and it's high by my standards. On meds, I'm usually about 130/75-80. I have dramatically reduced my exercise recently so it's up a little, but not worrying.

I was put on meds by my original caridiologist. I was experiencing chest pain when at high HR (around 200BPM). Of course they suspected heart issues. Yes I have some heart issues but they are not related to my chest pain. No-one seems to be able to tell me what's causing the pain. Anyway, during the testing, I was on the treadmill at 175BPM (my half marathon pace, still a couple of gears left to go) and the cardiologist stopped the test. He was afraid I was going to stroke out there and then! (I think he just scares easily). My BP was 285/105. That's not a typo. The 285 was the highest he'd EVER seen!

I was immediately put on meds, no choice, and given a limit of 155BPM for training. Eventually I saw a new cardiologist and he has raised that to 170BPM but I routinely go above that. I'm old and if I die, I can die knowing I've had a good life.

My father is a doctor so I'm used to taking medical advice. While doctors aren't perfect (they are just people afterall), and for big issues I certainly get a second opinion, I generally do as I'm told.

If your 2nd doc agrees with your 1st doc and recommends meds, just go with meds. It's not actually a big deal, so just get on with it. If you're one of those people that's against that kind of thing, certainly do what you can with lifestyle changes (just because you're not fat, doesn't mean you're healthy), but don't get hung up on taking meds. Often doctors can't identify a cause of high BP, but they know high BP is bad. Just do what it takes to get your BP down, and reduce the risk of burdening your family with teaching you to walk and talk again.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Just checked, 130/70 with a pulse of 50. I've done nothing since my HIM on Sunday.

I'm on meds to control my HR (thus the 50) so my max HR is in the 140s (I'm 63). I started on B/P meds a number of years ago as well and as the weight has slowly come off and I've worked out more, I've cut back. I halved what I was taking to start with then halved that again (in consultation with my Doctor).

The combination of drugs is a limiter but it's something that I out up with. I've done some Tris where I cut my Bisopheral in half so my HR can go up a bit more but it doesn't really seem to make a lot of difference. Plus, my Cardioogist says that my body will adapt and my heart will incease the volume it pumps while keeping the HR down along with the BP.

I would far rather finish further back, still pushing as best I can and be able to do this for another 10 or 15 years. While I'd love to KQ, it will beyond a miracle so I'm not into this to win but to do well based upon what I can do. And, I love doing Team Tris with my sons. If I'm around long enough I'll do them with my Grandkids.

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BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

I inherited high blood pressure from my father. at 28, I was 160/120. Was clean as could be, 180 Cholesterol, with 70 LDL and low triglycerides. Been on meds for more than a decade, have gotten a lot faster in that time and it hasn't inhibited my training in any way.

Was up front with the doctor on my training habits, so beta blockers were out of the question, since they slow your heart rate down. I believe Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs) are the way to go, I am on Diovan. ACE inhibitors may cause a cough in a small segment of the population, but doctors tend to want to go to that first.

I do. Like most here, I'm extremely fit, at a really good weight and eat a very bp sensitive diet. All with no effect. Well. Not no effect. Without meds my BP is way lower than what it used to be when I was 60 lbs. heavier and living a sedentary lifestyle but it still ranges into dangerous territories without medication. My doctor says it is all familial and just the way it is. We have tried stopping the meds on numerous occasions and it scoots upward in a hurry.

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

Mine was always about 10X/6X until about three years ago when it snuck up to 13X/8X. Taken every day first thing in the morning.

Turned out I had kidney cancer. Had the bad one removed and now it's 10X/6X again.

Yeah, kidneys will screw with your BP

My n=1 experience, 5 years ago I was about 30 lbs heavier (165lbs/5'6") with a pretty sedentary life, I was diagnosed with with HBP (≃150/9) and was put into 5mg/day of amlodipine. In the last 5 years I've started exercising, controlling my diet and minimizing my salt intake. Also, my breakfast now usually has oatmeal (there are some studies that say it can help lower BP), my BP is ≃110/7 now and I'm med free since the beginning of the year.

Regarding your questions:

1. Has anyone been able to dodge going on meds by making dietary changes?

Not at the beginning

2. Once you're on BP meds, are you on them for life?

My n=1 says no, but I wasn't that healthy when I was diagnosed with HBP. However, my doc said that exercising alone shouldn't change my systolic value, so maybe that was due to my diet changes?

3. Have the side effects of the meds been bad for you?

AFAIK one of the most common amlodipine side effects is swollen feets, but I don't think I had any side effect (maybe some fatigue/
sleepiness during the day, but I'm not sure this was from the meds).

After a cardiac event, I was put on beta blockers and an ace inhibitor. I also initiated Dr. Esselstyn's (Cleveland Clinic) plant based diet. The beta blockers made me feel like I was running in cement boots, and the ace med gave me a chronic cough (known side effect). Within a year on the diet, my bp was so low with the meds that I felt light-headed at certain times. I quit both the meds and my pressure nevertheless now averages in the low 100's or 90's (systolic) over something between 60 and 70 diastolic depending on the time of day. Pre-cardiac event (SAD diet) my pressures were a bit high. So yes, a plant based diet enabled me to get off the meds.

Last year at age 33 I took one of the sit down type tests: 140s/70s, HR in the low 40s (in my 20s it was consistently in the 120s). I tracked my diet religiously (myfitnesspal) and was really surprised at how much salt I was consuming - its in everything!! I also got a BP monitor at home that I used 2 times a day for several months.

Over the last year and a half I've done several n=1 experiments. By reducing salt I can get it into the 130s, and when I take the Now Hawthorne pills I can get it back into the high 110s/low 120s again. (No affiliation - I've tried several types of hawthorne berries/extract and that is the one that seems to work for me).

Anyways, good luck controlling it. Maybe there is a strong placebo effect with the hawthorne, but after going on (and off) it several times it seems to work for me.

I wanted to post an update to my original thread above.

My doc put me on an ACE inhibiting med. it lowered my bp but caused some bad side effects. I quit taking it and since then I've done the following:
Cut out caffeine
Cut out sodium - mostly
Started doing longer rides
Started doing some yoga to relax.

As of Saturday, after my long ride, I was at 100/67. That's down from 150/100 with no meds.

Keep taking your B/P to see how it changes over time. Mine can fluctuate a lot. I'm on Altace but have cut back from 20mg to 10 to 5 over time as I've lost weight and worked out more. My hope is to eventually get to the point where I can drop it entirely but that will require me to drop significant weight.

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BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

I had high bp which was presumably one factor that helped along my cardiac disease. Plant-based diet Esselstyn-style resulted in bp's like 80/58 on beta blocker med. I ditched the med and still have bp that is @ 110/60 in the morning... Just checked it at 11 pm: 103/65.

My BP was similar.

Doc told me it was just a metric hair shy of an emergency.

Since I don't want to have a stroke, I took the meds. I've also gone on a very low salt diet and between the two it's helped a lot.

I say take the meds.

No, really. Don't fuck around and endanger your health. Take the meds, get the BP down and then explore options that might allow you to get off the meds eventually.

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http://aclockworkmango.com

Excellent advice.
Another St'er on meds (ACE inhibitor) last visit to the Dr and BP was very good, almost low and he asked if I wanted to cut down on my meds.
Wasnt training at the time (due to a ridiculous workload) so didnt bother but have since been cutting back as I got back into training.

Damn genetics (both parents have hypertension, but both are also couch potatoes)

I too have high BP, both resting and exercise.

Without meds, my resting BP is about 140/95, and exercise (on the treadmill at 1/2 marathon pace of 175BPM) is 285/105.

I was started on Beta blockers but too many side effects. The most noticeable was a killer, constant cough that ruined my life. I would cough every 15-20 seconds which made sleep for me and my wife just about impossible. I got switched to Cozaar (Losaarten) and I have no side effects for about 8 years now.

At the same time, I have reduced my coffee intake from 5 per day to 2 per day, max.

My cardiologists said they wouldn't normally medicate based on my resting BP, but given my exercise BP, they certainly would! In fact, my cardiologist said I had the highest BP he'd ever personally seen! He fully expected me to stroke out on the treadmill at 285! (But I think he scares easily :-))

I'm no cardiologist of course, but I'd suggest you take what reasonable steps you can to reduce your BP, but don't get too caught up if need to medicate. At first when I started on the meds I over thought it too much and it was my first true indication that I wasn't immortal/perfect. After a while I realized we all die at some point, but I'd like it to be later rather than sooner, so I take the pills. I figured since I take glucosamine for my joints and a multi vitamin etc what's the big deal about one more pill each day? Now it's just part of my routine and I get on with life.

If you need to work through what the best medication is for you, know that it will take a bit of time, but you'll get there and that pill each day will make your life both better and longer. (The glass is half full afterall :-)

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Have you guys considered both dehydration, and also adrenal fatigue????

 

I had not considered either of the things you mentioned, but now, since my BP has stabilized and the doctors aren't afraid I'm going to stroke out, I can ask about these type of things.

I'm happy to consider (and discuss with my doctor) any theory posited by anyone now that I'm stabilized and out of danger.

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http://aclockworkmango.com