B.P Problems

[KICKSTART]

Or more like b.p.tablet problems ! For some reason i cannot tolerate b.p.tablets and i have tried LOTS. My latest has been Amlodipine which i have been on for a few months now , with little result in lowering my b.p. I was asked to increase the dosage , which left me like a zombie , i just couldnt function at all. However i have noticed other changes which untill now i didnt connect with my b.p.tablets. Tonight i did a bit of research into this tablet and found alot of the things happening to me are linked to this tablet. I know keeping your b.p.down with kidney failure is near impossible ...but are there any natural ways of helping , anything at all ? Obviously i watch my fluid intake , but i am sick of argueing with my doctor about the side effects of tablets like these, making my life miserable or adding more problems. I basically get told take them or have a heart attack ,' you have been through all the b.p. tablets and none seem to suit you' ..so tough in other words. So if there is anything natural out there that may help ..please let me know !!!!

[Sunny]

Kickstart,
I am definitely with you on this one for I also have difficulty with HBP meds.
First of all, let me just say I have tried natural methods and it didn't work for me. I tried large doses of fish oil, vitamin C, Yoga, excercise, and just about anything else that was presented to me as an option before I finally concluded medicine was the only option. I think you are pre-dialysis, like me, and due to lowered kidney function HBP results.
I have tried all sorts of HBP meds to no avail, including Norvasc (which you mentioned). They never get my blood pressure low enough to satisfy my renal doctors, and when they start increasing the doses, that is when I begin having unbarable side-effects (i.e., lethargy, depression, tingling feet, aching muscles, swelling, etc.) The doctor finally told me I need to find one
with the fewest side effects and "live with it." The alternative is possible heart attacks or stroke. Now I am on Benicar (15 MG) which so far only has caused tingling feet at night when I lay down to sleep.Even with this, my Blood pressure is still about 130/90. I am at the point where next time my renal doctor complains about my Blood pressure, I think I will simply say I am
willing to take the risks and leave it as is. The only thing about Benicar, is that it needed special doctor "pre-authorization" for my health insurance to cover it.Also, there is no generic and
it costs more.
Hope this helps a little. Hang in there. Try other meds. In the end, it's your body and you have to live with the effects of medicines prescribed. It's just I'm not sure a natural way exists for people with lowered kidney function. However, maybe you would be different.

[Sunny]

Hey Kickstart,
I just read another thread that says you are on dialysis.
Hope some of my input can still help.

[mysty]

I just read an entire thing on lowering bp naturally.. one of them.. is garlic.
I was researching this because I always had extremely low blood pressure..
I was normally.. 100/60 on a good day.....normally i was 95/50..

Stayed that way thru two pregnancies..
Then.. i was flat out in pain.. kidney stones..huge ones in each kidney..
One is removed.. that was such an ordeal as it all happened over Christmas holidays
and i had to hold out till after new years..
Still have the other one as its not really causing discomfort or pain..
but.. since then.. a few months later my blood pressure sky rocketed
and was put in the hospital to stabilize my pressure..
i was 260 over 140.. stroke was close but it was discovered.. my high blood pressure
cause my left ankle was swollen and wouldn't get normal.. so i went to see my doc
and went straight into emergency..
So here I am taking BP pills and looking for natural ways to assist it.

Doc told me it was high for two reasons.. My one kidney needs that stone out here soon..
and I have a flappy valve....
The stone needs to be blasted and its still going to do that .. finding its way out thing cause not
all of it can be sucked/vacuumed out..
the flappy valve.. well...I ain't going there....

Vitamin C, Hawthorne, Garlic, Coleus Forskohlii, Folic Acid, Olive leaf extract, Buchu, Juniper berry, green tea. 

Now.. in saying all this the one thing is fiber diets..

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS.. I AM NOT ON DIALYSIS!.
If you go to the recipe section on the site.. you will notice that Star Fruit is dangerous.. extremely.. for dialysis patients...
AND BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING... talk to your Doctor.. he truly is your best source of information and could probably set you up with a dietitian that specializes in this.

Even I wouldn't take, drink or swallow any of the stuff listed unless I talked to my Doc.  Some natural herbs DO interfere with your meds..

Did you know that grapefruit juice makes your BP meds useless?  I know I didn't.. but reading and reading and reading..on this site is like heaven.. Things I didn't know and wasn't aware of...

Do your self a major favor and talk to your Doc..
 

[MelissaJean]

Have you tried clonidine?  I had some trouble with BP medications and this one seemed to work the best.   

[paddbear0000]

It's not natural, but I take Benazepril (I think the brand name is Lotensin) and it seems to work well. My BP used to get up to 200/110, but taking only 10mg has dropped my bp down to normal, sometimes even 100/65. Now of course my endocrinologist thinks it's not not working cause my bp goes way up every time i go there! Of course it does. I hate going there and I get really stressed out!

[devon]

FWIW...  Coreg works very well for me.  Dropped my BP to 170/70 average.  It's avaliable in generic too but I don't know the name.

Sometimes it's tough to get the Doc to understand that his approach isn't working.  I'm very fortuate to have a Hypertension specialist who won't stop trying until WE find the correct method to deal with MY iissues.  He knows that all patients are different and not everyone responds in the same way to the same drugs.  (Thanks Doc John).

-Devon

[KR Cincy]

I used to think there were too many BP medicines out there...how can any doc keep 'em straight. But having had some reactions to different ones over the years, I guess it's necessary.
I'm not on any anymore, but Norvasc worked for me.