robaday Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I just got diagnosed with high blood pressure, although I was not given medication for it. It is the third high reading in two months and has come as a surprise and wake up call to me. The last reading was hypertension stage 2, whereas the two previous readings were stage 1. So I am asking for other experiences in trying to lower it naturally without medication. My approach so far is to reduce my caffeine consumption which was quite high, and I am on quit smoking medication too and am hoping it pays off. I drink very rarely, dont take drugs, eat healthy and ran a full marathon only two months back in under four hours. I actually feel fitter and stronger than I have ever been which is why I am surprised. Clearly smoking is awful for you and I am trying to tackle that at the moment, but if anyone has any additional ideas/experiences I would be grateful to hear them. Link to post Share on other sites
amaysngrace Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Dark chocolate and hibiscus tea can help but ask your doctor first to make sure and see how much they recommend you can have, if any. Link to post Share on other sites
losangelena Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I personally would take the meds. I have high blood pressure, but have always had high blood pressure. It's hereditary. It doesn't matter if I weigh more, don't eat well, or work out; or go through periods of being very fit and taking very "good" care of myself. It is always high. Highest around 160/90. My doctor has me on two meds and they work. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
alphamale Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 smoking is a killer Link to post Share on other sites
Andy_K Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 if anyone has any additional ideas/experiences I would be grateful to hear them. I struggle with systolic blood pressure despite living more or less as healthy a lifestyle as is feasible. I've found omega3 supplements and garlic help. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Eljay Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 You could check out the DASH diet. Taking magnesium may also help because often high blood pressure is related to that. Just my 2 cents... Link to post Share on other sites
dichotomy Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 If you are able to run a full marathon I suspect your NOT overweight and are in good condition. BP medications (most) don't have horrible side effects - I take them. One of them actually helps with my anxiety. Smoking is the bigger issue - COPD Emphysema, throat and lung cancer are 100X worse. However I suspect quitting smoking may raise your BP in the short run due to withdrawal - its calming to smoke yes ? But you can try various supplements. I think CoQ10 helps lower BP Link to post Share on other sites
Author robaday Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 I am sorry for the late reply, have been trying different things to try and lower it before responding and really appreciate everyone's feedback. The quit smoking medication raises blood pressure so that is one reason why it increased a fair bit more recently. But also had quite a bit of stress recently. My approach has been to halve my caffeine intake, cut out salt, continue trying to quit cigarettes and I have started taking celery extract and eating a lot more greens. But yes, my BMI is perfect and I am in good shape, but obviously my blood pressure isnt. Will see what happens over coming six months. Link to post Share on other sites
healing light Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Regular acupuncture and herbs can help bring down your blood pressure. Attempt to get enough sleep if possible and consider adopting a meditation process. Dietary advice: Increase your greens and veggies, reduce salt and sugar, take regular vitamin C and magnesium, cornsilk tea, chrysanthemum tea, consume quercetin-rich foods like apples, look into K2 and D3 (these help you mobilize calcium properly, which is important when dealing with calcium build up in the wrong places, like your arteries), address any underlying insulin resistance with your diet. Link to post Share on other sites
Cali408 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 I am in . great shape, resting heart rate 55, and have high blood pressure. After 7 months of not drinking, lost 8 lbs. watched my diet better, still high. It's in the genes. 10 mg of something will help. Mine has gone from 148/90 - 120/88 Cut the smoking out too. Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 I am in . great shape, resting heart rate 55, and have high blood pressure. After 7 months of not drinking, lost 8 lbs. watched my diet better, still high. It's in the genes. 10 mg of something will help. Mine has gone from 148/90 - 120/88 Cut the smoking out too. Is it always, though? I have an identical twin and mine is always sky high (pretty sure at my next appointment I'll be put on meds) and hers is always VERY low. We both have a lot of stress, similar weight. She doesn't drink at all anymore, but even when she did, her BP was crazy low. (And she stopped drinking because she felt she was drinking too much). Link to post Share on other sites
Cali408 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 For me it's the genes. Whether I drink or don't drink it was the same. Yes I have stress, but there were times I wasn't stressed and it was 158/100. I've been on medication for a week, so far so good. Link to post Share on other sites
BC1980 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 The lifestyle change for you would be stopping smoking. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, so it will make your blood pressure go up. Reducing sodium is great, but it's usually not sustainable long term unless you are very hardcore about it. It's genetics in many cases and it has to do with your renin excretion system. African Americans, in particular, have a genetic component related to renin that causes hypertension. If stopping smoking doesn't help, there's not much else you can do besides take medicine. Some blood pressure meds cause impotence, so there is a compliance problem. Nothing Cialis won't fix though. In any case, it's not something to take lightly. Hypertension is called the silent killer because it causes heart failure, strokes, aneurysms, blindness, kidney failure. It's a very serious health problem like diabetes. It will wreck your body over time if it's not controlled. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
TheFinalWord Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 The lifestyle change for you would be stopping smoking. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, so it will make your blood pressure go up. Reducing sodium is great, but it's usually not sustainable long term unless you are very hardcore about it. It's genetics in many cases and it has to do with your renin excretion system. African Americans, in particular, have a genetic component related to renin that causes hypertension. If stopping smoking doesn't help, there's not much else you can do besides take medicine. Some blood pressure meds cause impotence, so there is a compliance problem. Nothing Cialis won't fix though. In any case, it's not something to take lightly. Hypertension is called the silent killer because it causes heart failure, strokes, aneurysms, blindness, kidney failure. It's a very serious health problem like diabetes. It will wreck your body over time if it's not controlled. A bit off topic, but do you agree with the blood pressure criteria? Do you think its more to get people to take blood pressure seriously? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BC1980 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 A bit off topic, but do you agree with the blood pressure criteria? Do you think its more to get people to take blood pressure seriously? It could be. I assume there is research to back up the new criteria, but I haven't looked into it. I don't think it's a bad thing to aim for less than 120/80. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
QuietDan Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 I am turning 55 this year. My blood pressure started going up in my early 20's. When I got to my early mid 30's I started my first blood pressure med. It behaved for a while for the most part... for about 5 to 10 years. Then it started to go up again. I think I was about 40 at that time. I started taking two blood pressure meds back then. Now I take three on a daily basis. If I take my meds regularly, it stays around 135 (+/- 15) over 85 (+/- 10). I have been without health insurance or adequate income to get meds from time to time. The last time I was without meds for a few months, my blood pressure was running around 175 (+/- 25) over 105 (+/- 10). If... I run out of meds... in the past, my blood pressure use to stay stable for a couple of days before it started to drift upward. However, at about 3 or 4 days, it usually goes to whatever mean pressure I am at the time. However, every so often, about 3 or 4 times a year, my blood pressure seems to get difficult to manage and will run up into the 175 to 205 over 100 to 115 range. I have a forth med I take to knock it back down, or take my standard once a day med twice a day until it settles down. Over the last 30 years, it doesn't seem to matter what condition I am in or how much I weigh. I have been in great shape from time to time, and terrible shape as well. It seems I am one of those type who's blood pressure seems to be relatively independent of my weight. Unfortunately, I have been a bit desensitize about the numbers. Sort of mentally I have become accustom to higher numbers and have normalized them for me. Most of the last few years, even on meds, it usually runs at or around 145 to 155 over 85 to 105. I somewhat consider that normal for me and not that bad. Link to post Share on other sites
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