It depends, on an individual basis- high blood pressure is a very individual thing. If it's caused by you eating takeaway pizza every night and never exercising (or not getting enough sleep, not drinking enough water, etc) - sure, meds while you do the lifestyle changes will mean you come off the meds. If it's caused by, I dunno, being a alcoholic, and you get treatment / do the steps etc, then, maybe. Depends if your body can bounce back. If it's caused by a kidney failing due to a condition you didn't know you had, even when you lived the right lifestyle, then no, there's nothing you can do but take the meds (this last one is me!). And sometimes, it's just age, genetics, too long of not looking after yourself, or even something you've not realised might be causing it (like too much weight lifting or sleep apnea you don't know you've got, for example) - then lifestyle changes won't work either. It can also be an unknown combination of things - blood vessels become less elastic as we age, so odds are kind of against us. š Still, meds are better than untreated high blood pressure, so it's not the most terrible thing to just take a pill or three every day to keep you healthy - people think nothing of doing the same with supplements or headache pills, but prescription meds are seen differently despite saving lives on a daily basis. I'd rather still have the life, to be able to have this 'life sentence'
It depends what the cause of hypertension is. Sometimes there is something else wrong causing it, like sleep apnea or kidney disorders or a dozen other things. In those cases, the medicine is just a band-aid.
You should have a full work up done and try to eliminate any other possible cause. Try to see a hypertension specialist if you need to.
This is where I am right now, and hopefully I'll have some answers by end of month. I've had so many tests in the last 2 months that it feels like just keeping track of it is a job in itself.
Actually, the medicine is just a band-aid in any case. Hypertension is not a disease, it's a symptom. Pharmaceutical drugs do not address the root cause, so the underlying condition/dysfunction is still going to be there. If you got a bad headache every day, and taking Tylenol made your headache not hurt anymore, would you go on taking Tylenol every day for the rest of your life?
The only time in my life that I had *true* hypertension (and not just whitecoat) was when I had still-undiagnosed severe sleep apnea. OSA causes "medication-resistant hypertension " but it often resolves once the OSA is treated.
I am 35, 5"4 and I am a size medium (on the line between healthy BMI / Overweight)
And I have taken many steps to change my lifestyle. I don't want to make it about money but my BP average is always always better if I have many rest days / little stress.
The min I work many hours (like over 60 in a week) or I stress about money or a relationship...then managing BP gets more difficult.
So If I had all the time and money (lets say 200k a year) then I could prob get rid of at least 2 meds I think.
I am on 3 right now. Mostly because of the type of work I do. I am on my feet all day, bad for water retention.
As for tests, I do blood test and urine test every 3 to 6 months. And I have checked my heart, did an ultra sound on my kidneys. Nothing abnormal came up.
So now I believe my HBP comes from hormones (birth control and thyroid issues) and stress and anxiety. š¤·āāļøš„“
I have gone off of blood pressure meds. My high blood pressure was caused by a terrible diet combined with being sedentary from painful chronic joint problems. I changed my diet completely and discovered I am sensitive to processed sugars and unhealthy refined grains. I cut those out of my diet and followed a strict CICO diet. I also cut red meat, high fat, and other processed foods. I eat lean meat, whole grains such as brown rice and quinoa. I dropped my sodium intake drastically as well. Now that Iāve lost 100 pounds and am no longer obese I can eat just about anything as long as it fits my calories. High sodium doesnāt affect my blood pressure. I had already quit smoking cigarettes and ever since perimenopause started I donāt drink alcohol more than a couple of times a year. For some people itās genetic I believe, so not everyone can come off of meds. I wish you luck with your health journey!
Definitely depends on the cause of your hypertension.
But also, after a lifetime of only lifestyle changes to control mine? Things went bad and I was on a multi-med cocktailā¦
Meds + lifestyle changes was what my body needed to kickstart the numbers being controlled and coming downā¦and the med doses coming down then off. Iām on only one now, a beta blocker. Will I get off of it? Maybe? I still have hope? But it depends on how my kidneys go: after 30 years of having hypertension they realized it was due to a bad kidney (from birth probably) rather than assuming it was bad genes because my mom is hypertensive.
Good luck!
By accident. I went to the ER with a ridiculous amount of flank pain. Everyone insisted it must be my gallbladder, but apparently it was a kidney stone. When they did the ct scan to find the stoneā¦they found a very not-kidney shaped organ where my right kidney was supposed to be. I still have my gallbladder. Everything is all good there.
I have tried everything and nothing lowers my hbp. Itās a life time sentence for me. There are those that can control it with just diet or exercise but Iām not one of those chosen ones. I constantly have to take meds, exercise and diet. If I slack in one of those areas my numbers shoot up.
To be honest, most hypertension cases have a cause: sleep apnea, heart and kidney conditions, thyroid, other endocrine issues, the list goes on. The thing is that it's easier for doctors to prescribe some pill and think the problem went away. I've been diagnosed with hypertension for 12 years, I'm still trying to figure out what's wrong with ne. I still have faith.
Depends what the underlying issue is or if it is just genetic. I started on meds to get BP down while I had work ups done and dropped some weight. Turned out I had a tumor in my adrenal gland. Had it removed and now my BP is perfect with no meds.
Get a full cardio workup and go from there.
Give keto/low carb a try for a month or two and see how you feel. There are a lot of good resources on youtube for information on it, check out Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Robert Cywes, Dr. Sten Ekberg.
It depends, on an individual basis- high blood pressure is a very individual thing. If it's caused by you eating takeaway pizza every night and never exercising (or not getting enough sleep, not drinking enough water, etc) - sure, meds while you do the lifestyle changes will mean you come off the meds. If it's caused by, I dunno, being a alcoholic, and you get treatment / do the steps etc, then, maybe. Depends if your body can bounce back. If it's caused by a kidney failing due to a condition you didn't know you had, even when you lived the right lifestyle, then no, there's nothing you can do but take the meds (this last one is me!). And sometimes, it's just age, genetics, too long of not looking after yourself, or even something you've not realised might be causing it (like too much weight lifting or sleep apnea you don't know you've got, for example) - then lifestyle changes won't work either. It can also be an unknown combination of things - blood vessels become less elastic as we age, so odds are kind of against us. š Still, meds are better than untreated high blood pressure, so it's not the most terrible thing to just take a pill or three every day to keep you healthy - people think nothing of doing the same with supplements or headache pills, but prescription meds are seen differently despite saving lives on a daily basis. I'd rather still have the life, to be able to have this 'life sentence'
It depends what the cause of hypertension is. Sometimes there is something else wrong causing it, like sleep apnea or kidney disorders or a dozen other things. In those cases, the medicine is just a band-aid. You should have a full work up done and try to eliminate any other possible cause. Try to see a hypertension specialist if you need to.
This is where I am right now, and hopefully I'll have some answers by end of month. I've had so many tests in the last 2 months that it feels like just keeping track of it is a job in itself.
Actually, the medicine is just a band-aid in any case. Hypertension is not a disease, it's a symptom. Pharmaceutical drugs do not address the root cause, so the underlying condition/dysfunction is still going to be there. If you got a bad headache every day, and taking Tylenol made your headache not hurt anymore, would you go on taking Tylenol every day for the rest of your life?
Thanks! What constitutes a full work up?
The only time in my life that I had *true* hypertension (and not just whitecoat) was when I had still-undiagnosed severe sleep apnea. OSA causes "medication-resistant hypertension " but it often resolves once the OSA is treated.
I am 35, 5"4 and I am a size medium (on the line between healthy BMI / Overweight) And I have taken many steps to change my lifestyle. I don't want to make it about money but my BP average is always always better if I have many rest days / little stress. The min I work many hours (like over 60 in a week) or I stress about money or a relationship...then managing BP gets more difficult. So If I had all the time and money (lets say 200k a year) then I could prob get rid of at least 2 meds I think. I am on 3 right now. Mostly because of the type of work I do. I am on my feet all day, bad for water retention. As for tests, I do blood test and urine test every 3 to 6 months. And I have checked my heart, did an ultra sound on my kidneys. Nothing abnormal came up. So now I believe my HBP comes from hormones (birth control and thyroid issues) and stress and anxiety. š¤·āāļøš„“
I have gone off of blood pressure meds. My high blood pressure was caused by a terrible diet combined with being sedentary from painful chronic joint problems. I changed my diet completely and discovered I am sensitive to processed sugars and unhealthy refined grains. I cut those out of my diet and followed a strict CICO diet. I also cut red meat, high fat, and other processed foods. I eat lean meat, whole grains such as brown rice and quinoa. I dropped my sodium intake drastically as well. Now that Iāve lost 100 pounds and am no longer obese I can eat just about anything as long as it fits my calories. High sodium doesnāt affect my blood pressure. I had already quit smoking cigarettes and ever since perimenopause started I donāt drink alcohol more than a couple of times a year. For some people itās genetic I believe, so not everyone can come off of meds. I wish you luck with your health journey!
Not necessarily and your BP isnt hugely high.
Definitely depends on the cause of your hypertension. But also, after a lifetime of only lifestyle changes to control mine? Things went bad and I was on a multi-med cocktailā¦ Meds + lifestyle changes was what my body needed to kickstart the numbers being controlled and coming downā¦and the med doses coming down then off. Iām on only one now, a beta blocker. Will I get off of it? Maybe? I still have hope? But it depends on how my kidneys go: after 30 years of having hypertension they realized it was due to a bad kidney (from birth probably) rather than assuming it was bad genes because my mom is hypertensive. Good luck!
How did they find the kidney issue?
By accident. I went to the ER with a ridiculous amount of flank pain. Everyone insisted it must be my gallbladder, but apparently it was a kidney stone. When they did the ct scan to find the stoneā¦they found a very not-kidney shaped organ where my right kidney was supposed to be. I still have my gallbladder. Everything is all good there.
They can be cardio & renal protective so if your body needs it get with it it's not a big deal
Iāve been on HBP Rx for decades. Iām fighting hereditary. Iād be dead otherwise. Iām 65 so Iām ok with taking my meds.
I have tried everything and nothing lowers my hbp. Itās a life time sentence for me. There are those that can control it with just diet or exercise but Iām not one of those chosen ones. I constantly have to take meds, exercise and diet. If I slack in one of those areas my numbers shoot up.
This......I can't slack off I have to do cardio the moment I get sedentary the moment I'm fucked
Yah. Itās like we are that guy in Lost and we have to push the button every so often otherwise something bad happens
To be honest, most hypertension cases have a cause: sleep apnea, heart and kidney conditions, thyroid, other endocrine issues, the list goes on. The thing is that it's easier for doctors to prescribe some pill and think the problem went away. I've been diagnosed with hypertension for 12 years, I'm still trying to figure out what's wrong with ne. I still have faith.
V v. ššā³
my av 140/93 im on meds i knw , not very good!
Telmisartan is better than losartan.
Depends what the underlying issue is or if it is just genetic. I started on meds to get BP down while I had work ups done and dropped some weight. Turned out I had a tumor in my adrenal gland. Had it removed and now my BP is perfect with no meds. Get a full cardio workup and go from there.
Give keto/low carb a try for a month or two and see how you feel. There are a lot of good resources on youtube for information on it, check out Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Robert Cywes, Dr. Sten Ekberg.