Long story short- my doctor measured my blood pressure at the office and didn’t share the number with me. After saying it was high, he prescribed Losartan 25mg. I should also note that creatine levels were at 1.16, which the lab notes as high. My A1C is 6.0, but I’ve had plenty of morning highs due to a low dosage of Lantus (now my mornings are in control). Also my cholesterol levels are 177 (LDL 88 / HDL 56)
I’ve been checking my blood pressure since the night of my doctor’s visit. It’s consistently 100/50, and I haven’t taken Losartan yet… I’m concerned about taking it, thinking that my BP might sink to levels that are dangerous.
Anyone ever been in the same situation? I’m also thinking that my creatine levels are on the decline, but I’ve also read from the Mayo Clinic that 1.16 is a normal range (not sure what the range is for diabetics though).
Any opinions? I picked up the medication last night (Sunday morning here now), but plan on calling the doctor on Monday to let him know about my blood pressure before I take the medication.
Well if 100/50 is accurate— you certainly don’t have high blood pressure. How are you checking it at home? Some of the home testing devices really aren’t very accurate.
Creatinine labs are very confusing to me— there is urine creatinine (which is bad) creatinine to albumin ratios, which I don’t entirely understand, and both can also be measured in blood and have completely different meanings in blood and urine— so that whole world is a blur to me.
Your cholesterol levels aren’t high either.
I’d be seeking some clarification of my blood pressure was consistently 100/50 and the doctor had just prescribed a med to reduce it— I think you’re on the right track by calling back to try to get some more answers.
My wife is checking my blood pressure the old fashioned way, her sister and mother is a nurse, so I’m pretty confident in the numbers. I’ve used an electronic blood pressure monitor… never seemed to be reliable.
I’m not sure if this helps, but my BUN levels are 10.5, which seem to be in range, if not in great range. I’m wondering if my creatine levels were high because I woke up at 6am, didn’t have breakfast until after my labs were taken at 9am, and didn’t have a drop of water either… I’m also not sure if these are urine or blood samples… (Doing my best to read the report as it is in Japanese… heheh)
*Actually, I’m pretty sure they are blood related, since they’re written as mg/dl, and I suppose you wouldn’t use mg/dl for urine samples…
I think the general recommendations are that there should have been two blood pressure readings that are elevated on two separate days before blood pressure meds should be prescribed, but I could be wrong. Have you had elevated pressure at his office before? After a reading, I always ask what it was.
Some of us have “white coat syndrome” when it comes to blood pressure taken in a doctor’s office. For some of us it is far worse than for others. Standards of BP are set on the basis of the patient having been seated quietly for five minutes. My doctor’s offices always seemed to want to slap the cuff on me just after I’d walked from the waiting room and just after me answering a bunch of questions. When I told my cardiologist that my elevated reading one time would be much better if his nurse just let me sit quietly for a few minutes while I could keep my mouth shut, my BP would be much better. He was shocked to find that my systolic pressure was, in fact, 40 points lower after they followed the “rules” of how to take blood pressure properly.
Here is a link to some of the other things your doctor’s office should be doing in taking BP.
Blood pressure for sure is a very worrying aspect. I know someone who has been suffering from high blood pressure. For a long, we did not know what were the tentative symptoms of high blood pressure until we studied it. Some of the symptoms we came accross were:-
Head Aches
Sweating
Breathlessness
Chest Pain
Dizziness.
I would suggest everyone visit their doctors if at all they notice that the above symptoms have been prolonged, as it is not a good sign. I wish everyone a very healthy journey ahead. Do let me know your thoughts about the same.
One of the things that Losartan does besides reduce blood pressure is to give some protection to the kidneys. I have never had hypertension in my life. About 20 years ago my PCP prescribed a low dose of an ACE Inhibitor, Lisinopril. I was concerned that it would cause hypotension. He explained that the dose would not, but was prescribing it to protect my kidneys from diabetic kidney disease.
SLGT2 Inhibitors (Farxiga and Jardiance) can lower BP, but the 2 months of being on Farxiga has not affected my BP. This morning was my usual 97/58 with HR of 58.
Anyway, these drugs are being prescribed to those with kidney issues that aren’t diabetic or are type 1.
The major causes of kidney damage are hypertension and diabetes mellitus. - this works against our eyes as well.
Over the past year there kidney urine and blood tests have been showing some troublesome rises. This began after I recovered from Covid. There is some indication that Covid can damage the kidneys even in those who do not have CKD.
Whether that is true for me, I don’t know. I was prescribed an SGLT2 Inhibitor, Farxiaga. This is not to improve BG management for me, but this class of drugs is protective of both the kidneys and the heart.
Because of the weirdness of my test results I asked my endo to refer me to a nephrologist. I saw the doc early this month. He ordered some more extensive tests including a sonogram of the kidneys. Those are at the end of August and the 1st of September.
