Thread: High Blood Pressure

greetings , been a lurker for sometime already

looking for some help with my high blood pressure


do not like taking meds every day and was wondering what experience the people here have had

was told the whole salt and loose weight thing

thai food is beyond salty and unhealthy on the most part and being a westerner here it was also suggested the hotter constant climate could also be a cause of elevated blood pressure

I know stroke and all the bad that often follows untreated HP

So your thoughts please ?

Depends on what you term high blood pressure. A couple of pills in the morning isn't a great hardship. I'm told a slab of dark chocolate a day also works.

Originally Posted by Begbie

Depends on what you term high blood pressure. A couple of pills in the morning isn't a great hardship. I'm told a slab of dark chocolate a day also works.

Do you take a couple of pills for HP every morning

We're talking about you Dick. What's the issue with pills ?

Originally Posted by Begbie

We're talking about you Dick. What's the issue with pills ?

not happy with the solution of taking pills for what I am told will be the rest of my life

What do you mean high???

As someone who takes his BP pills every morning I suggest you listen to what your Dr says. One of my colleagues refused to take his BP pills. He died aged mid 40's early this year.

The Dr's say once you start taking the pills you can't stop . That's not always true. If you adjust your lifestyle there's a chance the Dr will allow you to stop.

For me I find smoking increases my BP. If you smoke, stop, then work on exercise. Lose weight. Alcohol increases BP too. It's as if all the good things in life are bad for you.

I work overseas but live in Thailand. While away at work I need the pills to control my BP. It's a combination of things like work stress, smoking.

Once back in Thailand I quit smoking, no work stress and I'm out exercising. Within days my BP lowers, I stop taking the medication (under medical supervision) and within a week my BP is in the normal range and stays there.

That's my experience.

Originally Posted by Larn

As someone who takes his BP pills every morning I suggest you listen to what your Dr says. One of my colleagues refused to take his BP pills. He died aged mid 40's early this year.

The Dr's say once you start taking the pills you can't stop . That's not always true. If you adjust your lifestyle there's a chance the Dr will allow you to stop.

For me I find smoking increases my BP. If you smoke, stop, then work on exercise. Lose weight. Alcohol increases BP too. It's as if all the good things in life are bad for you.

I work overseas but live in Thailand. While away at work I need the pills to control my BP. It's a combination of things like work stress, smoking.

Once back in Thailand I quit smoking, no work stress and I'm out exercising. Within days my BP lowers, I stop taking the medication (under medical supervision) and within a week my BP is in the normal range and stays there.

That's my experience.

thank you for this candid reply

Pills will do a great job of "masking" the real problem!
Take responsibility for your health! slow down on the alcohol consumption, exercise and eat properly, no more excuses!
Or you can take the pills and suffer the dire consequences - up to you! Don't believe Doctors! (Drug salesman!)
And quit the bloody Smoking! poor excuses dont wash!

I had a heart attack about six years ago (lucky to be alive). After a simple operation to clear a blood clot in my heart, I have been fine since then, but I do suffer from Hypertension occasionally. So naturally I have investigated the subject in Depth.
In simple terms, High blood pressure means it is harder for your heart to pump blood around your body, as your head is the highest point that is the most susceptible to having a problem i.e. a stroke.
There are a number of reasons for high blood pressure e.g. Narrowing of the arteries, harding of the arteries blocked arteries, overweight (if your overweight your heart needs to work harder to pump blood around your body, especially if you do to much exercise like a takeaway every night from the bars in Walking St,.)
Having said all that, how do you know you have high blood pressure. If you have just had one blood pressure check, then this alone is not grounds for you to be diagnosed as suffering from Hypertension.
Unusually High blood pressure is a sign that you need a thorough examination i.e. Blood test, ECG, ultra scan etc. to find the root cause!

I have been taking two tablets everyday for the last six years and it's no big deal! It's much more acceptable if they cut down the chances off another heart attack.

Having said all that, the best advice I have is go see a consultant Cardiologist and tell him to give you the full Monty examination.

Originally Posted by Kaviar

I had a heart attack about six years ago (lucky to be alive). After a simple operation to clear a blood clot in my heart, I have been fine since then, but I do suffer from Hypertension occasionally. So naturally I have investigated the subject in Depth.
In simple terms, High blood pressure means it is harder for your heart to pump blood around your body, as your head is the highest point that is the most susceptible to having a problem i.e. a stroke.
There are a number of reasons for high blood pressure e.g. Narrowing of the arteries, harding of the arteries blocked arteries, overweight (if your overweight your heart needs to work harder to pump blood around your body, especially if you do to much exercise like a takeaway every night from the bars in Walking St,.)
Having said all that, how do you know you have high blood pressure. If you have just had one blood pressure check, then this alone is not grounds for you to be diagnosed as suffering from Hypertension.
Unusually High blood pressure is a sign that you need a thorough examination i.e. Blood test, ECG, ultra scan etc. to find the root cause!

I have been taking two tablets everyday for the last six years and it's no big deal! It's much more acceptable if they cut down the chances off another heart attack.

Having said all that, the best advice I have is go see a consultant Cardiologist and tell him to give you the full Monty examination.

Had checks upon checks

I could lose 5kg but not really overweight and exercise quite regularly

Simple - lose weight. I don't understand why it's that difficult. Most people eat way too much.

I sit here now with my chest zipper still itching and having to do breathing and other exercises. I thought i was fit as and was not carrying a lot of weight. A skinny bastard, really.

A stroke of luck, rather than a stroke, has me here now contemplating a further twenty years. A mate in Patts suggested we take advantage of Sri Racha Hospital's offer of certain tests etc available only to an expat's club for 4500K.

I was already taking some meds, Norvasc and some cholesterol tablet, and was walking 2 hrs most mornings and walking down the 10 flights to commence walking. A robber's dog in physique. My Oz GP said i needed to start on the meds as hypertension was creeping in. Not boozing overly much, a few SML every day and I liked Thai food, cos it kept me thin.

So, I takes the tests, my cholesterol and calcium levels were quite high. A stress test is further cost and I thought, hmm. Is this just overservicing? Any way, took that tests and the graph showed something. An angiogramme was suggested and talk of fitting a stent and/or worse. I cried off and took the results back home and saw my GP. The cost of the visit had ballooned from 4500K to over 15000K.
But it was well worth it.

When I got home I saw the GP and was referred to a cardiologist in Sydney. The same tests showed the same result, mostly all on Medicare thankfully. I then went to the San Hospital and had the angiogramme. I thought, I am as fit as, so it will be proven a false echo. No such luck! I was a walking coronary occlusion about to occur. Got the operation done and am now out. It was sheer hell, at the beginning, but i had to get on with it. It cost me quite a bit even with Medicare benefits but it would have cost more in LOS because I had no cover.

I recommend that you visit Sri Racha or one of the other hospitals, if you are over there, and get the tests done. If you are a member or know a member of one of the expats club you maybe can get a package deal. But 15000 baht is no big deal if it saves you from a less satisfactory outcome in the future. The facilities there are probably better than the biggest hospitals here in Sydney, and the nurses are far prettier.

Some of the reasons can be genetic and some diet and lifestyle. Me, I am still scratching my head, Mum and Dad died in their 80s. Go figure, as the Yanks say.

One other good thing to come out of it! I lost about 5-7 kgs and now weigh about the same as in my 40s and cycling long distance and being in a swim squad. Howzat!

Downside - I lost my arse somewhere and all my pants fall off me. Nothing to hang them on.

As one guy used to sign off with: Life is just a "short time", so live it that way.

A lot of good advice here; maintain a normal weight, don't smoke, cut down alcohol consumption, excercise regularly. You don't mention what your blood pressure is. You need to go under a doctor's supervision with high blood pressure because it is a potenially life threatening condition. You should check your BP daily with a digital monitor. If your doctor puts you on meds he can then monitor your condition daily by reviewing your log and make adjustments. I have high blood pressure and a couple of pills daily is not too much bother to provide a little peace of mind.

Stay off the piss

I am just getting into this myself. As I understand it, it really depends upon how high your blood pressure is. Mine is at 130 to 140/90, which is just on the edge of requireing medication, and needs watching.

For now I am watching what I eat, drinking less and trying to cut down on stress. I will go back in two months and get checked again, to see if any difference.

If my BP was above 140 - we are in meds territory definately, or face very serious consequences.

So, i'll try the diet/life style schtick first and see how it goes, but for OP it depends on how high was your reading, and when it was taken (if you had just run up 10 flights of stairs before the test, it would be higher). So, best is two reading, at least one after resting for half a hour or so.

However - the REAL message is, don't get information that may save your life (or kill you) off a web board. Find a Doc you trust and go with that. If you did not like the first doc, change and find one you think you can trust.

Advice here could easily kill you, however well meaning.....

Originally Posted by Larn

Alcohol increases BP too.

Surprised to hear that. Any additional info you know of in this regard?

^A quick google gives plenty of hits. He's a website with some good info. Alcohol and blood pressure

look into herbal and vitamins that do work. Do a google search and then just read up on this.
High BP is a big killer, I have it and it is mostly under control. I take vitamins and also medication. One pill. Oh look at your weight too, if you have overweight then losing will help you greatly.

good luck!

Untreated long term hypertension is a leading cause to renal failure which is not very nice.

I would guess that 99% of the cases of high blood pressure could be solved by lifestyle changes, Not medication, medication does nothing for the underlying causces, ALL drugs used to treat high blood pressure are Toxic!
We are becoming a society that relies more and more on drug companies!

Originally Posted by Airportwo

I would guess that 99% of the cases of high blood pressure could be solved by lifestyle changes, Not medication, medication does nothing for the underlying causces, ALL drugs used to treat high blood pressure are Toxic!
We are becoming a society that relies more and more on drug companies!

What do you suggest ?

I have tried the low salt diet and still have high BP

Not a drinker or smoker

Originally Posted by Airportwo

I would guess that 99% of the cases of high blood pressure could be solved by lifestyle changes, Not medication, medication does nothing for the underlying causces, ALL drugs used to treat high blood pressure are Toxic!
We are becoming a society that relies more and more on drug companies!

Hmm. What the meds can do when properly used is give you TIME to get the problem under control by other means - diet, excercise etc.

High blood pressure is like walking around with a bomb inside you that could go off at any time. Meds do have an important part in the management of high blood pressure.

Originally Posted by Airportwo

I would guess that 99% of the cases of high blood pressure could be solved by lifestyle changes, Not medication, medication does nothing for the underlying causces, ALL drugs used to treat high blood pressure are Toxic!
We are becoming a society that relies more and more on drug companies!

This is very bad advice. Please see a physician or you could end up on a slab or worse.