[JediSurfer]

Had my annual review at the diabetes clinic yesterday. All appears to be well apart from my blood pressure. The reading was 157/85. target range for a diabetic male is 140/80. The consultant wants me to have a reading taken once a week at my local GP's office. To see if I require meds. I DONT WANT MEDS.

My Blood pressure is normally around this level when ever I have been in the clinic and has always been a false alarm. Hospitals freak me out to the point where I wanna punch the doctor and run far far away. those places have always scared me. so my BP wil be high.

Gonna buy a BP monitor this morning so I can keep an eye on things. I am a little worried that after 29 years of diabetes this condition is finally taking its toll.
Not a favourable start to the year.

Any advice from those with high BP would be greatly appreciated.

Rich

[beau91]

Hi Rich, I have high blood pressure.But the same thing for me
.Have the white coat syndrom. My pressure is always higher at the doc's office.I bought a machine and the pressure is always lower.Has for advice .Try to cut on salty food ,exercise and a take a supplement of garlic Good for the pressure.Another thing stress is bad for blood presure.Good luck.Bye Ricky

[Funnygrl]

Ace inhibitors are provent to help prevent kidney damage from diabetes anyways, so why not go on a low dose of one?

And I feel that the "target" blood pressure you cite of 140/80 is too high for a diabetic.

[JediSurfer]

Seem like my dislike of the docs and hospitals is very well justified. scaring me like that. huff.

Got myself a neat Omron digital blood pressure monitor and have taken a few readings at different times of the day.
average reading is 124/63....
yipppeeeeeeee.
Looks like it was white coat hypertension after all.

thank for the input you two.

peace

rich

[gambi]

You probably get a higher reading at the doctor's office anyways since you may be under more stress. I know I get a little stressed when I am kept waiting forever and then I'm thinking about all the stuff I have to do when I get back to work!

The last time I was there I had the day off and my BP was 111/73.

The machines are probabaly just like out blood sugar monitors. Always a 20% variance.

Well I hope you can stay off the meds!

I guess in meantime to help prevent it you can exercise and watch you diet. But with diabetes I'm sure you do that anyways

[REDLAN]

Readings at the doctors are almost invariably higher than readings at home.

I had 180/105 at the GP's once - the clue that I was a bit stressed - my pulse was 95 - normal resting pulse for me is between 60 and 65.

White Coat syndrome is raised BP when measured in a clinical setting. However people with White Coat syndrome are not tachycardic (fast heart beat) when measured i.e. they do not show the normal signs of stress.

I don't have white coat syndrome, I just get stressed when I have my BP taken.

about 15-30% of people with mild hypertension, are normotensive when measured at home - source wikipedia

White coat hypertension - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

my normal BP at home is 115/65 which is fine.

on the taking of meds - ACE inhibitors do help to reduce your risk of nephropathy in the short term 3-5 years, and they do slow the rate at which someone with albuminurea will progress onto ESRD (end stage renal disease) i.e. they protect kidneys. There is some question about how effective/safe they are in the longer term 5+ years - they might actually make kidney function worse, but this is unproven (there were issues with the paper and choice of end-points).

ACE's do have side-effects, and there is a high drop out rate (the longer you are on them the less well tolerated they tend to be). Generally however they are well tolerated by most people.

[Jan B]

I take Accuretic (ACE) which keeps my bp about 115/70. I also have white coat syndrome, even on the ACE inhibitors.

I don't get the big deal about taking a pill if it helps, unless the side effects are bothersome. I've never had any side effects, and don't even know what they would be.

I've complained about "all the pills" I take, but have been assured (and I agree) that it's a lot better to take what you need than argue about having another pill.

However I can understand a person as young as you Rich, not wanting HBP medicine. I have read (and I don't remember the source) that if you do have White Coat Syndrome, it may be a precurser to true high blood pressure (?!)

[Penny]

My husband was told to keep his BP under 120/75. He was concerned after starting on BP medications because he could be 98/55. This is a pretty common reading for me, so I did not see a reason to be upset, and teased him by saying "Well, eat some salt!" Which he promptly told his doctor, who lectured him saying salt does not cause high blood pressure. Why don't heart doctor's have a sense of humor? I have been taking BP meds for about 10 years, my BP was good before I started on them, but stays very low now. I am starting to have the dry cough I had when taking Altace (now taking Avapro), I thought maybe it was because of the cold I had in November, but the cough is still here. I am wondering if it would be a mistake to quit taking BP meds altogether.....I know the heart doctor will say NO, but if I stay normal or low, would it hurt to try?

[Evermont]

I'm not sure if this technique is useful, but I sure find it interesting. Given that stress is known to raise both blood sugar and pressure, I got myself a book-on-mp3 about meditation and tried it out.

My blood pressure usually runs just a little on the high side both at the doctor's office and in home testing. Doctor visits don't really bother me so the numbers are consistently like 145/90 give or take.

Twice now I've done this experiment. I get to the doctors office 10-15 minutes early and practice a relaxation breathing technique I learned. The results are impressive, lowest numbers I've ever seen. 120/68 for example. The doc didn't like the nurses reading so she retested me and it was yet slightly lower.

I think doc was skeptical when I told her what was going on, but she sure backed off of the idea of putting me on meds for blood pressure.

To find out if this is truly useful I need to experiment more to see how long the effects last. It's just not my highest priority right now but I'll get to it. The question is if this is only good for faking out the doctor or if I can make it a habit and use it to keep the numbers lower all the time or especially to shave off the peaks when stress is at its worst. Too bad there's no A1c-like 3 month average for stress or BP.

Either way, its easy to do and it's free. Actually it generally feels good too so I have a hard time imagining why more people don't do it regularly - myself included.

[JediSurfer]

I beleive the type of meditation you are talking about is very useful for combatting strees.
Meditated regular myself since being young. learnt from my karate sensi. I also use this techneque before surfing as it clears the cobwebs and gives mind focus.
Plus the BP is significantly lower after these exercises.
love my new gadget.

[cheryl]

Now what have I told you, You are a fighter..........Don't be getting all nervous about blood pressure now....

Mine is extremely low now, cause of being so thin the wind will knock me down LOL...

I know your ok.....dr's are making ya nervous.........

Cheryl

[mg_2204]

Originally Posted by JediSurfer

Any advice from those with high BP would be greatly appreciated.

A few years ago, when living in England, my BP suddenly went up. I had to go in every week to have a reading. I should have got myself a BP monitor back then. Anyway!

The nurse told me : walk! Brisk walks. At least 30 minutes a day. Apparently it helps greatly with BP. So I did. By the 3rd week BP had dropped significantly.

I was drinking way too much coffee too.

I was always under great stress when living abroad. I missed home, I missed family and friends. I wanted to come home so much! Although I walked a lot and did a lot, BP was always 'normal high'. When we moved back to the homeland... BP averaged 115/75. Incredible! So I guess stress has a certain impact...??!

BP monitor : If I read the instruction leaflet with my machine... it says you need to relax for at least 15 minutes prior to taking your BP. You must not eat or drink 15 minutes before taking your BP either. Do not cross your legs. I guess that way you have a better reading, a more accurate one. At the doctor's my heart pounds so hard I think everybody in the waiting room hears it......

[nono87]

Originally Posted by JediSurfer

Had my annual review at the diabetes clinic yesterday. All appears to be well apart from my blood pressure. The reading was 157/85. target range for a diabetic male is 140/80. The consultant wants me to have a reading taken once a week at my local GP's office. To see if I require meds. I DONT WANT MEDS.

My Blood pressure is normally around this level when ever I have been in the clinic and has always been a false alarm. Hospitals freak me out to the point where I wanna punch the doctor and run far far away. those places have always scared me. so my BP wil be high.

Gonna buy a BP monitor this morning so I can keep an eye on things. I am a little worried that after 29 years of diabetes this condition is finally taking its toll.
Not a favourable start to the year.

Any advice from those with high BP would be greatly appreciated.

Rich

i was told exactly the same thing at my review in December my BP is always ***/80 something and they feel this is too high. wanted to start me on meds but i refused so its been agreed that by my next review i will have reduced my salt intake (which is already low), i'll have a 24HR BP machine to monitor my blood pressure for a day (did that last week waiting for a print out from my GP) but the major deciding factor is my urine test if they find protein ...even a trace of it...they said they would start me off on meds not a good sign.

back to your actual question the best thing to do is reduce salt intake if you can get it as close to zero as possible you'll be sorted...try using a book call cooking without it shows you how to flavour you food without the need for any salt!

[JediSurfer]

Thanks for all the replies...

I guess the problem I have with the doctors is that after being type 1 for nearly 30 years their science tells them I should have high blood pressure and neuropathy and all the rest of the complications associated with long term diabetes.
Fortunately I have none. after a few days testing my blod pressure is well within range. I have nothing to worry about. I exercise daily with at least an hours power walk and a 1 mile run. always been obcessed with eating and living a healthy lifestyle. plus my bg control has always been good.

Makes me wonder how many people are taking meds when there is no actual need.


peace

Rich

[cheryl]

Originally Posted by JediSurfer

Makes me wonder how many people are taking meds when there is no actual need.

Be careful with that remark, a lot of people are pro-drug.....I got blasted by a few on another forum, cause I was sooooooo anti(for me not them), taking any form of pills at this point in my life.....boy was I put through a ringer.....Hey maybe I am onto something the people who really don't need become absolutely viscious when you talk about not or maybe perhaps not needing it LOL.....

I don't think everyone needs them personally....their is not enough data, or years to show me the true significant benefits, versus, when the people who take med's actually drop dead....My Nani, no bp meds still alive, grandma dead at 72 with all the magic pills....one can manage to take....both of them had extremely different diets too, so I tend to lead towards, my nani's diet....and making sure i am thin and trim for health reasons......not for looks.....I don't want to be popping these pills and still think well I take a pill I can indulge now....nor do I even want to take em....maybe if all I do that I am supposed to do, does not work I might consider it, but I won't until that point comes...

Cheryl