Hypertension, beta blockers, diuretics

Anybody using beta blockers to control hypertension? I'm a normal weight, good diet, lots of exercise T1 52 yrs old. My BP is running 145/85 or higher (waking) when not on meds. Higher when at work.

I tried ACE inhibitors and got a terrible cough. I tried ARB's and got very sore legs and back and stuffy head. My doc now wants me on a diuretic. I'm convinced (thru testing) that much of my hypertension is work related. I think perhaps a beta blocker will help. I'm not thrilled with taking a diuretic while training and exercising a lot.

Any advice?

Do you take your own blood pressure, or just have it done at the doctor's office? I learned a lot when I got my own machine, mainly that except for when I'm at the doctor's office, where it has been as high as 185/90, it is usually pretty low. In the morning it hardly ever registers as much as 85/50, and scarcely ever goes over 125/75 at worst. Even though I take my own BP a couple of times a day, and have for 4 years, the doctor only uses the measurements taken in her office. So I get a lot of pressure to take drugs I KNOW I don't need. Do you get enough minerals? Calcium, magnesium, potassium? There might be something you could do aside from having a bunch of nasty drugs tested on you. Good luck!

I take a very low dose Ace Inhibitor to prevent kidney damage. I told my dr. I wanted a drug that did not cause the cough, adding that I had been very distressed in the past when these drugs caused constant coughing. The drug and dose I am on now do not cause coughing.

Does your dr. know you train and exercise a lot, and does he still consider a diuretic a good idea?

Yes - I test at home. As I stated, my waking BP is 145/85 or higher (waking) when not on meds.I get a ton of minerals. I'm all for non-drug answers. I just wouldn't know what else to try. I don't drink, don't smoke, eat healthy, exercise like crazy.

What ACE are you using? I might consider trying it, but a low dose doesnt seem to do anything for me.

It's good you're looking to do something about your blood pressure. Here we talk incessantly about bg's and A1C's, but everything I read makes it clear that for microvascular complications, high blood pressure is at least as big of a contributing factor.

My bp was often 135/85 or so and my doc felt that was too high, and I agreed. I started with Altace, a brand of ACE inhibitor, and that helped but still my bp was sometimes over 120/80 and we wanted it lower. So I was switched to Lisinopril/HCTZ, a combination ACE inhibitor + diuretic, and it is working very very well, with my bg always below 120/80 below at checkups.

Beta blockers were not a popular choice for my doc but I don't know why.

I never had any problems with the two different ACE inhibitors I tried but there's a range out there if you've had problems like the cough with one, it might not happen with another.

Clearly good hydration when taking a diuretic and training a lot is important. But I don't think that's a problem, is it?

Thanks for the reply Tim. I tried a couple different ACE inhibitors, all of which caused sore throat and cough. The ARB caused severe congestion. All of these symptoms are a problem for me in doing endurance cycling. A diuretic may cause some problem with hydration. I do rides ranging from 3 to 10 hours in length with careful planning for insulin, carbs and fluids. I really don't want another factor thrown into the formula.

Sounds like you're the expert on your own body, and that's a good thing. If your blood pressure is too high because you have too much fluid in your body (which is what a diuretic is supposed to counter?) then it seems like it would be more prudent to figure out WHY there is too much fluid in your body than to just take pills that suppress the symptom. This sounds weird, but maybe you just need to drink a lot more water?

I'll bet your doctor doesn't have a clue if your body is retaining water. How would they test for that? It doesn't sound like you're a "swollen ankles" kinda guy. Why would anyone take a diuretic if they weren't retaining water?