High blood pressure

[greg775]

After being ever so healthy most of my life (knock on wood) I got diagnosed with high blood pressure.

After eating way better and monitoring it for 2 months (I haven't even had a beer all summer), it's still too high so they have put me on Bystolic. Have any of u taken this stuff? Did it lower your blood pressure?

 

Does high blood pressure just exist in the body as a deep dark secret, or can it cause symptoms?

 

For instance since getting on this stuff I feel like some pressure/numbness I felt in my temple, which brought me to the doc in the first place, has reduced. And lately I haven't felt as if I am close to fainting, which also brought me to the doc in the first place. Is this all psychosematic (sp?) or can high blood pressure f*** u up so to speak??

 

Thank u. I figured somebody on here must have hi blood pressure.

Edited July 29, 2011 by greg775

[Y2HH]

After being ever so healthy most of my life (knock on wood) I got diagnosed with high blood pressure.

After eating way better and monitoring it for 2 months (I haven't even had a beer all summer), it's still too high so they have put me on Bystolic. Have any of u taken this stuff? Did it lower your blood pressure?

 

Does high blood pressure just exist in the body as a deep dark secret, or can it cause symptoms?

 

For instance since getting on this stuff I feel like some pressure/numbness I felt in my temple, which brought me to the doc in the first place, has reduced. And lately I haven't felt as if I am close to fainting, which also brought me to the doc in the first place. Is this all psychosematic (sp?) or can high blood pressure f*** u up so to speak??

 

Thank u. I figured somebody on here must have hi blood pressure.

 

You are feeling the normal aftereffects of lowered BP. People with high blood pressure sometime explain a near feeling of vibration throughout their bodies due to how high their BP is, what they're feeling is the rush of blood through their systems. They think this sensation is normal, but it's not. When your BP is then lowered, and there is less blood rushing through your system because it's rushing at a slower rate, this is where the feint feeling comes in. Your body, your brain in specific, is used to the high rate of oxygen it was getting from the massive amount of blood rushing through it...when your pressure is brought down, less oxygen is flowing -- however, it's also the proper amount of oxygen, you just have to re-acclimate to the lowered/normal amount.

 

High BP is not an "in your head" problem, it's an actual physical problem...and yes, not only can it "f*** you up", so much so that it can kill you. The higher the BP in your system is, the more duress the blood vessels are throughout your body, if they burst, depending on where they burst, it can cause debilitating injury or even instant death. Example, if a blood vessel under pressure bursts in your brain, high chance of saying bye bye forever...either that, or some permanent brain damage.

 

Over time, they will either raise or lower the amount of medication you are on to get your BP back to normal levels, then you will maintain. You can assist this process by eating healthy. And less salt. This is the one time where salt can make BP worse...if you have high BP, salt is bad, which is a pretty common misconception people have about salt. Salt does not cause high BP, but if you have high BP, salt will make it worse.

 

The drug you are on, and I haven't heard of that specific version, is probably just a statin derivative, as most BP drugs are.

 

Edit: No, I do not have high BP. My father, however, did...I had to take him to the emergency room when he had a nosebleed that gushed for hours. Turns out his BP was 290/180...needless to say, they instantly admitted him into the ER and he had a 5 day stay at the hospital due to the extreme rate of BP, they had to lower it in a controlled manner or he would have died from a precipitous fall of BP.

Edited July 29, 2011 by Y2HH

[greg775]

You are feeling the normal aftereffects of lowered BP. People with high blood pressure sometime explain a near feeling of vibration throughout their bodies due to how high their BP is, what they're feeling is the rush of blood through their systems. They think this sensation is normal, but it's not. When your BP is then lowered, and there is less blood rushing through your system because it's rushing at a slower rate, this is where the feint feeling comes in. Your body, your brain in specific, is used to the high rate of oxygen it was getting from the massive amount of blood rushing through it...when your pressure is brought down, less oxygen is flowing -- however, it's also the proper amount of oxygen, you just have to re-acclimate to the lowered/normal amount.

 

High BP is not an "in your head" problem, it's an actual physical problem...and yes, not only can it "f*** you up", so much so that it can kill you. The higher the BP in your system is, the more duress the blood vessels are throughout your body, if they burst, depending on where they burst, it can cause debilitating injury or even instant death. Example, if a blood vessel under pressure bursts in your brain, high chance of saying bye bye forever...either that, or some permanent brain damage.

 

Over time, they will either raise or lower the amount of medication you are on to get your BP back to normal levels, then you will maintain. You can assist this process by eating healthy. And less salt. This is the one time where salt can make BP worse...if you have high BP, salt is bad, which is a pretty common misconception people have about salt. Salt does not cause high BP, but if you have high BP, salt will make it worse.

 

The drug you are on, and I haven't heard of that specific version, is probably just a statin derivative, as most BP drugs are.

 

Edit: No, I do not have high BP. My father, however, did...I had to take him to the emergency room when he had a nosebleed that gushed for hours. Turns out his BP was 290/180...needless to say, they instantly admitted him into the ER and he had a 5 day stay at the hospital due to the extreme rate of BP, they had to lower it in a controlled manner or he would have died from a precipitous fall of BP.

 

Thank u very much.

290??/180? Wow.

Was he overweight? I'm actually not overweight tho I prolly should lose 5-10 pds to get to a perfect weight for my 6-2 height.

I prolly am lucky I'm on the medicine cause I had a throbbing on the side of my temple and maybe something was about to burst.

Thank u sir.

[Chisoxfn]

I believe sometimes High BP can be purely genetic as well. You might be healthy in all other areas, but still have high blood pressure. You also will want to check your blood pressure pretty regularly as you get on the medicine to get a better read.

 

When I had my last physical, my doctor diagnosed me with high blood pressure (140/85). Obviously that isn't ridiculously high, but it was high. I went home and took a reading and I was 115/75, which is pretty darn normal. Never took the medication as the more I checked myself, the more I realized my high BP has to do with my massive fear of hospitals/doctors/etc. I step foot into one of those places and my heart just races.

 

Doctor than checked me at my next physical, but waited till the end, when I had calmed down, and got a pretty normal reading.

 

But it is important to make sure you take the appropriate medication and stay on top of it because high blood pressure can be a very serious problem, but it also seems to be something that a huge amount of the population has.

[greg775]

I believe sometimes High BP can be purely genetic as well. You might be healthy in all other areas, but still have high blood pressure. You also will want to check your blood pressure pretty regularly as you get on the medicine to get a better read.

 

When I had my last physical, my doctor diagnosed me with high blood pressure (140/85). Obviously that isn't ridiculously high, but it was high. I went home and took a reading and I was 115/75, which is pretty darn normal. Never took the medication as the more I checked myself, the more I realized my high BP has to do with my massive fear of hospitals/doctors/etc. I step foot into one of those places and my heart just races.

 

Doctor than checked me at my next physical, but waited till the end, when I had calmed down, and got a pretty normal reading.

 

But it is important to make sure you take the appropriate medication and stay on top of it because high blood pressure can be a very serious problem, but it also seems to be something that a huge amount of the population has.

 

That's about where mine was 140/85 range. Sometimes a little over 90. But at the doc my last trip it was 170/105 or something wacky.

So he finally gave me the pills.

I bought one of those machines and my reading was never as high at 170/105.

I guess I feared doctors/hospitals as well until the last couple years where I've been to the doc more often.

I usually try to strike up a conversation with the doc about sports and that has made me think of them more as non scary individuals.

 

I will say after visiting doctors the past couple years for some 'minor' things (knock on wood) that I think the medical profession is screwed up. They take way too many patients a day and I'm just not impressed with the level of service u receive.

 

[Jenksismyhero]

That's about where mine was 140/85 range. Sometimes a little over 90. But at the doc my last trip it was 170/105 or something wacky.

So he finally gave me the pills.

I bought one of those machines and my reading was never as high at 170/105.

I guess I feared doctors/hospitals as well until the last couple years where I've been to the doc more often.

I usually try to strike up a conversation with the doc about sports and that has made me think of them more as non scary individuals.

 

I will say after visiting doctors the past couple years for some 'minor' things (knock on wood) that I think the medical profession is screwed up. They take way too many patients a day and I'm just not impressed with the level of service u receive.

 

It's f***ing awful. My wife went in a few months back to get this thing on her fingernail checked. The doctor spent approximately 5 minutes with her (after she waited 40 minutes past her scheduled appt) and said "oh i think it's X, do A, B, and C." My wife had the audacity to ask what X was and the doctor told her to google it and then left the room. Luckily my wife works at the hospital in philanthropy and knows the board members and president and other higherups and was able to make a very high level complaint. Hopefully that doctor got canned.

 

Oh, and she was charged like 180 for the visit, 40 dollar copay. For 5 minutes.

[southsider2k5]

High Blood Pressure? Only when Dunn is hitting in the clutch against a lefty...

[greg775]

It's f***ing awful. My wife went in a few months back to get this thing on her fingernail checked. The doctor spent approximately 5 minutes with her (after she waited 40 minutes past her scheduled appt) and said "oh i think it's X, do A, B, and C." My wife had the audacity to ask what X was and the doctor told her to google it and then left the room. Luckily my wife works at the hospital in philanthropy and knows the board members and president and other higherups and was able to make a very high level complaint. Hopefully that doctor got canned.

 

Oh, and she was charged like 180 for the visit, 40 dollar copay. For 5 minutes.

 

My god.

Please check into it and let us know if that doctor got reprimanded. Google it?? What a joke. The doctor couldn't even tell your wife WTF was wrong with her finger?? And 180 bucks?? To not even get a prescription or anything? Just 'i think it's this; do this and that.'

Did the problem even clear up for wife??

 

It is interesting if you are like me, and for 20 years, didn't even go to the doctor once, to now be going and observing what the system is like.

I had to get some heart tests done after being dehydrated a few years ago and I had to wear a monitor for 3 days or something. It was a pain in the ass wearing it. The heart guy never even called to tell me the results. I assume they were OK. Never heard what they were. I figured if they didn't call, I must have checked out OK.

I think I asked my regular doc about it and he said I was ok or something like that.

I've noticed absolutely NO concern from a doctor to follow up and see if you are ok after they prescribe something or do a procedure. I guess they figure, 'he'll call' if he's not OK.

I mean, cmon on. I've never had a doctor give me an e-mail addy. They could f***ing email and take a followup question from customers, but none I've been to, go that route. I guess they are too important and too busy for their 180 bucks for five minutes, to be willing to do a follow up via email.

 

I also had some replacement doctor tell me a specific diagnosis of an Xray a few years ago, and said, 'scary, isn't it?'

I got all worked up and was calling family and telling them of my problem and after some other specialist looked at the Xray and did a few neurological tests, it was deemed I was fine. Thanks, doctor No. 1, for those words of wisdom. I think I even had tears well up in my eyes one day concentrating on his words, 'scary isn't it?' And they wonder why people get emotional illnesses when they pull s*** like that. He never even said 'it might be nothing' which, knock on wood, it was.

 

Also in waiting in the waiting rooms I've observed some wild s*** involving payment.

Some lady was asked, 'do you have insurance?'

She said sadly, 'no. it's what happens when your husband changes careers mid-life.'

The payment lady didn't even smile.

 

I am not a big fan of what I've seen in the medical profession.

 

I have found the care in ER has been quite acceptable though.

 

oh, p.s. just thought of something. there's a sign in one of the offices, 'if you have to wait more than 15 minutes for your scheduled appointment, that is unacceptable' or something. I had to wait 25 and didn't say anything; not worth it. I could see somebody else b****ing about that, however.

 

I know there are probably a lot of 'doctor apologists' out there who probably say, 'you don't know what pressure they are under.' 'you don't know what they go through trying to get payment' and all that. Well, a lot of professionals are under duress but these doctors should at least make their nurses available to field questions in a timely manner. If you wanna know something, you gotta call in, and good luck getting an answer w/out making an apptment and dragging your ass back to see the doc.

Tell me if I'm outta line, folks. It's just become a peeve of mine. In the quick information age, they don't seem interested in handing out information in a precise, timely manner. But they are efficient in getting your payment information. That is a fact, jack.

Edited July 29, 2011 by greg775

[greg775]

How could this have 120 views and so few responses.

 

I want some advice on BP folks.

[daa84]

After being ever so healthy most of my life (knock on wood) I got diagnosed with high blood pressure.

After eating way better and monitoring it for 2 months (I haven't even had a beer all summer), it's still too high so they have put me on Bystolic. Have any of u taken this stuff? Did it lower your blood pressure?

 

Does high blood pressure just exist in the body as a deep dark secret, or can it cause symptoms?

 

For instance since getting on this stuff I feel like some pressure/numbness I felt in my temple, which brought me to the doc in the first place, has reduced. And lately I haven't felt as if I am close to fainting, which also brought me to the doc in the first place. Is this all psychosematic (sp?) or can high blood pressure f*** u up so to speak??

 

Thank u. I figured somebody on here must have hi blood pressure.

hypertension most commonly has no symptoms in and of itself. This is why it gets checked at pretty much every doc visit. That said, those with HTN often have other comorbid conditions (high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, etc), and those things can have presenting symptoms.

 

If you have a hypertensive crisis (generally a systolic over 200) there are usually symptoms (headache, palpitations, changes in vision, etc). This is generally a medical emergency though, and if this was the case, you would have been admitted to a hospital (as was the case someone mentioned above)

 

Likely the symptoms residing are a result of having a healthier lifestyle (not drinking, eating better, maybe working out) which all have multi-system effects and in general are going to make you feel better from top to bottom.

 

The best initial treatment (i'm sure the docs said this) is lifestyle modification - and taking the steps you said previously, cutting back on sodium, exercising, etc. If this doesn't work, they will treat it pharmacologically. The drug you are on Bystolic (nebivolol) is not a statin as mentioned above. It is a beta-blocker which are class of drugs that are used to treat a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Statins are used for high cholesterol, not high blood pressure. I'm assuming that your doc would have checked your cholesterol levels and that they are probably ok otherwise he would have started these.

 

Hypertension is a vascular disease, meaning it effects your blood vessels. As such, it has an effect on pretty much every single organ system. Long standing high BP can cause kidney damage, put you at risk for strokes (due to rupture of blood vessels in the brain), and most commonly it causes increased strain on our heart. As a result of the increased strain the heart enlarges (just like any muscle that has an increase in workload). when the heart enlarges it becomes less effective, and ultimately can lead to heart failure. As bad as your experiences with the docs have been (which is awful and unacceptable btw), it is important to continue to go. In your case the good thing is that you are getting it treated. The bad thing about not going to the doc for 20 years, is that your BP could have been elevated for 10 years (which will take its toll on the body). hopefully its a relatively new thing and if you are compliant with the drugs and lifestyle modifications, hypertension can be effectively treated.

[caulfield12]

I blame greg's problems on Bobby Jenks, Ozzie Guillen, Greg Walker and Obama.

 

Greg, not sure what to say. I know when I was teaching, my first year in a public high school, I went from 120/80 to 130/80.

 

I'm borderline on some of my cholesterol numbers because I have had the most atrocious diet in the world for most of the last 20-25 years...but I try to counterbalance that with exercise as much as possible. And my BP and pulse rates are always normal or within "normal range."

 

My father died of a massive heart attack at 63, and my mom's on Lipitor/Crestor (as well as mild diabetes), so I've been watching things more carefully now that I'm 41. She's 82, by the way. And I did have kidney stones 4 years ago, but that's from my obsession with caffeine/Dr. Pepper and drinking 2-3 sodas per day, which I know is horrible but I can't break that habit.

[greg775]

hypertension most commonly has no symptoms in and of itself. This is why it gets checked at pretty much every doc visit. That said, those with HTN often have other comorbid conditions (high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, etc), and those things can have presenting symptoms.

 

If you have a hypertensive crisis (generally a systolic over 200) there are usually symptoms (headache, palpitations, changes in vision, etc). This is generally a medical emergency though, and if this was the case, you would have been admitted to a hospital (as was the case someone mentioned above)

 

Likely the symptoms residing are a result of having a healthier lifestyle (not drinking, eating better, maybe working out) which all have multi-system effects and in general are going to make you feel better from top to bottom.

 

The best initial treatment (i'm sure the docs said this) is lifestyle modification - and taking the steps you said previously, cutting back on sodium, exercising, etc. If this doesn't work, they will treat it pharmacologically. The drug you are on Bystolic (nebivolol) is not a statin as mentioned above. It is a beta-blocker which are class of drugs that are used to treat a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Statins are used for high cholesterol, not high blood pressure. I'm assuming that your doc would have checked your cholesterol levels and that they are probably ok otherwise he would have started these.

 

Hypertension is a vascular disease, meaning it effects your blood vessels. As such, it has an effect on pretty much every single organ system. Long standing high BP can cause kidney damage, put you at risk for strokes (due to rupture of blood vessels in the brain), and most commonly it causes increased strain on our heart. As a result of the increased strain the heart enlarges (just like any muscle that has an increase in workload). when the heart enlarges it becomes less effective, and ultimately can lead to heart failure. As bad as your experiences with the docs have been (which is awful and unacceptable btw), it is important to continue to go. In your case the good thing is that you are getting it treated. The bad thing about not going to the doc for 20 years, is that your BP could have been elevated for 10 years (which will take its toll on the body). hopefully its a relatively new thing and if you are compliant with the drugs and lifestyle modifications, hypertension can be effectively treated.

 

 

I blame greg's problems on Bobby Jenks, Ozzie Guillen, Greg Walker and Obama.

 

Greg, not sure what to say. I know when I was teaching, my first year in a public high school, I went from 120/80 to 130/80.

 

I'm borderline on some of my cholesterol numbers because I have had the most atrocious diet in the world for most of the last 20-25 years...but I try to counterbalance that with exercise as much as possible. And my BP and pulse rates are always normal or within "normal range."

 

My father died of a massive heart attack at 63, and my mom's on Lipitor/Crestor (as well as mild diabetes), so I've been watching things more carefully now that I'm 41. She's 82, by the way. And I did have kidney stones 4 years ago, but that's from my obsession with caffeine/Dr. Pepper and drinking 2-3 sodas per day, which I know is horrible but I can't break that habit.

 

Thanks for the 2 great posts.

[CanOfCorn]

It's f***ing awful. My wife went in a few months back to get this thing on her fingernail checked. The doctor spent approximately 5 minutes with her (after she waited 40 minutes past her scheduled appt) and said "oh i think it's X, do A, B, and C." My wife had the audacity to ask what X was and the doctor told her to google it and then left the room. Luckily my wife works at the hospital in philanthropy and knows the board members and president and other higherups and was able to make a very high level complaint. Hopefully that doctor got canned.

 

Oh, and she was charged like 180 for the visit, 40 dollar copay. For 5 minutes.

 

On the flipside, a high school friend of mine is a GP and tells me stories of overweight patients complaining about being diabetic and the symptoms that come along with that, only to say they had McDonalds for lunch and a vat of ice cream for dinner. Or Google their own symptoms and proceed to tell her what their diagnosis should be, sometimes demanding drugs that aren't needed. Sooo, it does go both ways. I can't even imagine what it's like being a doctor in this age of the intertubes. Still, 5 minutes is a heinous crime and I hope that doc was shown the door back to the University of the I-have-to-be-a-doctor-or-my-parents-will-disown-me-so-I'll-go-to-a-s***ty-school-in-the Caribbean.

[greg775]

To all my medical friends.

 

After a week and a half of taking Bystolic, my blood pressure is down (according to my Walgreens blood pressure kit; hopefully it works) and the tingling in my head seems to have subsided as well. Is it possible that lower blood pressure is taking care of the tingling in the head or was the tingling something I created because of stress or something?

 

I just realized my outstanding (sarcasm) doctor who gave me five weeks worth of Bystolic for free, didn't tell me what to do when the pills run out.

Do you need a prescription for the stuff? What should I do when the pills are about to run out?

 

Is this Bystolic stuff good? I haven't noticed any weird reactions to it except one day I had pain in my chest arms and back for about 10 minutes til it went away.

 

i'm 6-2 215. should i lose weight?

Edited August 4, 2011 by greg775