I know this is a diabetes forum, but I would think a number of people on this site have high blood pressure. Do you use any alternatives to Big Pharma to lower blood pressure? I’d appreciate any information you can provide.
Are you successfully using anything other than Big Pharma?
Yes, I use a 6oz or so glass of tap water. When I go to the doctor’s office, the first thing they do is request or take my weight and blood pressure. Since I live about 100 miles from my endo’s office, historically, I would have an early morning appointment and not drink anything for fear of having to pee on my way home with little to no facilities. My blood pressure would read high every time and they would talk about lab coat anxiety or other such nonsense. My blood pressure is normally 120/60 when I am not at my doctor’s office. So when I told the nurse my blood pressure is always 120/60 except when I come to the clinic, she said let’s try a glass of water and check again 5 minutes later. Sure enough, my BP went from 150/80 to 120/60 in just 5 minutes. Voila, my problem was solved without Big Pharma.
PS I also tried with 8oz of diet Coke and not so lucky.
This may not work for you, but at least worth a try, or test at home with/without water hydration.
Same. By the time my blood pressure is being taken I’ve avoided a dozen problems in order to get to a place that only gives me bad news, of course my blood pressure is high. I found using a relaxation technique I learned in high school health class of all places reliably drops my systolic by 20-30. There was a study last year that looked at technique and found giving a patient a place to support their arm caused enough change in reading to change diagnoses. Unfortunately the study was too small to be conclusive.
Doctors offices aside, I don’t have any evidence handy but I think blood pressure is similar to LDL cholesterol in that changes to diet and exercise can make small, ~5, changes. 99% of people usually aren’t willing to turn their lifestyle upside down to make bigger changes that are sustainable. Even then sometimes biology is messed up and keeps trying to regulate blood pressure up so you can’t make a change until you solve “that” problem, which is easily done with medication.
- Exercise
- No added salt (it’s still in there but…)
- Sleep
I exercise, eat a low fat plant based diet, and have turned my life upside down for many years now. I have been a type 1 for 66 yrs. I take 2 blood pressure meds. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about genetics. At not quite 74, I no longer worry too much about it. With meds my BP is usually around 116/66.
Thank you everyone for your responses. CJ114 that is so interesting. I use to work with a woman who said her urologist said water was the only option for hydration. He essentially said nothing else was comparable. I’m going to remember that for me. I take care of my brother and I was asking for him. He just doesn’t feel good and he’s not consistent with water.
Marilyn6, I’m 68 yrs old & I’ve never taken a blood pressure prescription. I have several family members who have high blood pressure, so what makes me different than them? The only thing I could come up with is that I quit eating meat at a young age. I think red meat causes it. And then when people are diagnosed, they are put on medication & I think some of the medication makes it worse. It’s as if people are put on a merry go round. It’s good you don’t eat red meat, because I think it would be worse if you did. My brother quit eating red meat when I began helping him and I think it may have helped to lower the no. of medications he takes.
Good list, but missing at the top of the list:
- Lose weight to extent reasonable and possible
…and that means diet.
For myself, significant weight loss, when I lost forty (40) pounds over 18 months, was a less-than-ideal, high-protein, calorie-controlled one. I used 300-400 calorie meals, five (5) meals a day, mostly one protein food, e.g., egg whites, cottage cheese, or fish, with miso and Japanese breadcrumbs for carbs. Exceptions were made when dining out, but usually not more than once a week. The immediate benefit of that was that I halved my insulin dose, with the later side effect of getting excessive dizziness from being overmedicated for high blood pressure, but at a lower weight, remedied by a lower dosage.
With a spouse, dieting is tougher, since the way I diet runs counter to how my spouse cooks, and ‘keeping the peace’ means eating her preparations, but still trying to keep portion sizes down.
I have never been much of a red meat eater,and haven’t eaten any in years.
Genetics are weird. I ended up inheriting all the health problems my mom had with type 1 diabetes thrown in too for some unknown reason. My older sister is extremely healthy and she is an occasional red meat eater. She inherited none of my mom’s health issues. She is very healthy like my dad was.
My son does not have diabetes, but he has been diagnosed with much of what I have.
I have always been a small person without extra weight unlike my mom who was heavier.
You really want to take blood pressure seriously because if you don’t, it destroys all your internal organs. Take the prescribed meds. If you are able to get it down naturally, over time by, say, loosing some weight, then that’s great. But don’t delay getting the BP under control now. It won’t be good for you in the long run. A lot of this is outside of your control.
I take blood pressure meds even though I don’t have high blood pressure, because my endo says the kind I’m on help to protect diabetic kidneys. I’m on a low dose, obviously, but it does make me feel tired. However, given the choice, I protect my kidneys as much as possible, and just cope with the fatigue. I think though, that meditation can help a lot with some people, depending on how high their BP is. I always envision myself floating in a canoe over the dark waters of the river and lake where our cottage was and that seems to make my whole body limp and peaceful.