Flipping Blood Pressure!!!...

[Darthvadar]

Hi Folks...

May I have a  , please???....

My blood pressure is STILL very high... This is despite my being on the highest possible dose of two medications... Istin and Cozar Comp...

My last reading was 190/100...

I'm having some tests done at the moment... There are suspicions about MY kidneys now... I've done the 24hr Urine collection... How dignified is that???... Women just aren't built for this... Thank goodness for funnels!... ... Had the blood taken over a period of five hours... I'm due to have an Echocardiagram and a Renal CT scan on the 21st of this month... Then back to the cardiologist for results in early May...

I can't figure out what's going wrong... I eat very little salt... I eat Renal most of the time because I'm cooking for Mum, and just can't be bothered to cook a seperate meal, I stopped smoking in 1997, I never drank alcohol, and despite being a wheelchair user, I excercise by swimming for an hour a couple of times a week... Yes, I'm slightly overweight (from the steroids I take for breathing difficulties), but that's it...

Can't understand why I can't get my BP down...

Would appreciate any insight IHD's can offer...

God bless you all...

Darth....

[dwcrawford]

When my blood pressure was high like yours I was told to drink lots of water.  Now it is 88/60 and they are saying drink lots of water.  It is all a mystery.  Today is only the 10th.  Can you possible bump up the time frame  on those tests??

[Darthvadar]

Hi D...

Thank you for your speedy reply...

Today is only the 10th.  Can you possible bump up the time frame  on those tests??

Afraid I can't be pushed forward for the tests... We've a health service in difficulties in lots of ways... On the plus side, I'm alive!...

When my blood pressure was high like yours I was told to drink lots of water. 

Certainly the water idea's a good one... Can't do any harm anyway... I'll try that...

  Now it is 88/60

Are you taking medication???....

[MandaMe1986]

For a really long time mine didn't get much lower then that. I was taking Cozar and Lisinapril (sp) and it sitll was pretty high.  Have you tried Lisinapril?  Have you cut down on your sodium intake?    The combo for me worked.  And keeping on a really strict diet.  Have you been really stressed latley?  That always makes mine go really high. Umm I don't know what kind of stuff have you done already?

[Darthvadar]

Hi Manda...

Thanks for this... Good to know I'm not alone in this!...

Have you cut down on your sodium intake?    The combo for me worked.  And keeping on a really strict diet

My salt intake is very low... As I said, I'm basically eating Renal, and besides, I've a nut allergy, so I have to be REALLY careful about what I eat... 

Have you been really stressed latley?  That always makes mine go really high. Umm I don't know what kind of stuff have you done already?

This is the only thing I can put it down to, and I hope I'm right... I'm a carer, so I suppose stress goes with the territory... Mum has been REALLY ill on several occasions recently, so I can't help thinking that it's a factor... Can't think of anything else anyway...

[MandaMe1986]

Sometimes even when you think you are handling stress well, it isn't enough.  I have to watch my stress level like crazy because I have lupus and it just gets all crazy everytime I get stressed.  I would it.  Do you drink a lot of caffeine?  Caffeine can play a really big part in it.   One of the things I used to do when I was really bad was drink pomegranate juice.  I don't know if it helped any but I did it. And I took fish oil with Omga in it.  Doctor said that was more of a natural way of going about it without adding another med.  Maybe those might help.

[RichardMEL]

Darth may I suggest you try not to think about my visiting you and Dougal? That might lower the BP a bit !! 

Seriously though high blood pressure is a big no no for your kidneys so I can understand why they are doing the tests and want to check you out. I'm sorry this is happening.. perhaps you just need a different sort of blood pressure medication? I know my father was on some beta blockers and they were horrible for him but he went on an ACE inhibitor (Coversyl, which is what I was on for 14 years) and that was really good. Not saying that specifically would work for you (but ACE's are good in terms of slowing kidney disease, aparently) - so maybe you should look to a different class of BP meds..

good luck!

[Ang]

funny  thing  about  bp,at  the  moment  it  sits  around  130/85  160/95,  about  6  months  ago  it was  80/55,only  difference  i  got  my  second  kidney  removed.  go  figure.

[Bill Peckham]

You're getting higher readings than I was - I was stubbornly 130s, 140s over 90s, 100s but I wasn't taking it correctly. Just recently recently the correct way to take BP was explained and since I started doing it "by the book" my BP has improved to 120s over 80s

The National Institutes of Health direct two things I wasn't doing: keeping the arm at heart level and sitting quietly before taking it
1/ I now stack pillows under my elbow so that my arm from the elbow to the hand is at heart level
2/ I sit quietly - TV turned off, no talking - for three to five minutes before I take the first one and then I sit quietly for two to three minutes to take a second one

I then average the two. Before I would sit down and take my pressure resting my arm on the arm rest of the chair so it was basically waist height.

My little experiment the last two nights has been to take my pressure the old way and then take it the correct way. Each time I've seen my BP drop 12 to 15%.

How's your BP technique?

[peleroja]

You say you eat "very little salt."  One person's "very little" is another person's "wow, that's a lot."  As an example, I stopped eating Kentucky Fried Chicken because it suddenly became too salty for my taste.  Do you eat a lot of processed foods, fast food, salty foods, etc.  Adding salt to your food isn't the only way it gets into your body.  My first thought is to examine the "very little salt."  Just a thought.

[G-Ma]

All info is good..one question I have not noticed.  Are you drinking any of the new Juice or Drink mixtures out there that are supposed to be so healthy.  Read those labels carefully as you will have everything from corn syrup, several of them, then sodiums, then  different phosphates.  The phosphorus or phosphates are preservatives and those will make blood pressure crawl the walls.  My son bought a case of the ACAI drink and by the time he was half way through we had to rush him to the hospital with major chest pressure, all symptoms of Heart Attack and his BP was 300/222L Those Drs had bags of fluid running through him constantly for two days and finally determined it was the juice.  Some people can handle it and some can't.

[Darthvadar]

Hi again, Folks...

REALLY appreciate all your help... I've looked at everything you've all suggested!...

Darth may I suggest you try not to think about my visiting you and Dougal? That might lower the BP a bit !! 
good luck!

Oh yes Richard... I'm SO excited at the prospect... YAWN!...  ...

The National Institutes of Health direct two things I wasn't doing: keeping the arm at heart level and sitting quietly before taking it
1/ I now stack pillows under my elbow so that my arm from the elbow to the hand is at heart level
2/ I sit quietly - TV turned off, no talking - for three to five minutes before I take the first one and then I sit quietly for two to three minutes to take a second one

I use the very same technique... Suggested by the Cardiology Nurse... Still getting high readings... This afternoon's was 185/115...

You say you eat "very little salt."  One person's "very little" is another person's "wow, that's a lot."  As an example, I stopped eating Kentucky Fried Chicken because it suddenly became too salty for my taste.  Do you eat a lot of processed foods, fast food, salty foods, etc.  Adding salt to your food isn't the only way it gets into your body.  My first thought is to examine the "very little salt."  Just a thought.

Thanks for that thought... Really appreciate it... My salt intake IS low because I have to cook everything from scratch... Eating renal leaves no room for salt, and I just can't be bothered with cooking anything different for myself... And of course, because I've the nut allergy, I can't have most processed foods because they all have a nut allergy warning on the packaging, so I have to steer WELL clear... Same goes for take-aways, and junk food... The only ready meals I eat are about twice a month we have one from the range suggested by Mum's Renal Dietition as being low salt, and suitable for people in renal failure...  In fact about three months ago, I got a call from the hospital after a blood workup suggesting that I have an occasional packet of crisps and a banana each day because my sodium and potassium levels were far too low... All my bloods since have shown my sodium levels to be on the low end of the normal range!...

All info is good..one question I have not noticed.  Are you drinking any of the new Juice or Drink mixtures out there that are supposed to be so healthy.  Read those labels carefully as you will have everything from corn syrum, several of them, then sodiums, then  different phosphates.  The phosphorus or phosphates are preservatives and those will make blood pressure crawl the walls.  My son bought a case of the ACAI drink and by the time he was half way through we had to rush him to the hospital with major chest pressure, all symptoms of Heart Attack and his BP was 300/222L Those Drs had bags of fluid running through him constantly for two days and finally determined it was the juice.  Some people can handle it and some can't.

I'm going to sound SO boring... I usually just drink filtered, iced water... About once a month, I might have a Diet Coke... I DO have a weakness for Grapefruit Juice, and I know that it can interfere with the effectiveness of some BP meds... But I spoke to my pharmacist, and she says that my meds aren't affected...

Sometimes even when you think you are handling stress well, it isn't enough.  I have to watch my stress level like crazy because I have lupus and it just gets all crazy everytime I get stressed.  I would it.  Do you drink a lot of caffeine?  Caffeine can play a really big part in it.   One of the things I used to do when I was really bad was drink pomegranate juice.  I don't know if it helped any but I did it. And I took fish oil with Omga in it.  Doctor said that was more of a natural way of going about it without adding another med.  Maybe those might help.

I have to say that the stress thing is probably a major contributing factor... Hey, I'm a carer... What's new???... ... In relation to caffine, you should see how weak my coffee is... I use instant (Maxwell House Mild Blend)... I like it so weak that you can see the bottom of the cup!... A teaspoon (level) makes five MUGS of coffee for me!... This is my total caffine intake, besides the can of Diet Coke once a month... One of Mum's renal team saw my coffee in the canteen and said "I've dipped test sticks in stronger looking liquids than that... You CAN'T call that coffee!"...

The joys of it!... But on the plus side, I should have a good idea what's going on by this time next month!... And as I've said before, I'm still here!...

God bless you all, and thank you...

Very much appreciate your help....

Love...

Darth....

[RichardMEL]

I had such a weird thing happen yesterday at the end of Dialysis. I was doing my standing BP and the first one was something like 146/115 (!) The nurse and I totally didn't believe it, so we went again.. and it was 94/56 !!! Talk about a screwed up machine. We decided to just give up on it. I felt fine so... who knows??? hmmm I guess I shouldn't have been thinking about the girls of IHD should I? 

[Darthvadar]

I had such a weird thing happen yesterday at the end of Dialysis. I was doing my standing BP and the first one was something like 146/115 (!) The nurse and I totally didn't believe it, so we went again.. and it was 94/56 !!! Talk about a screwed up machine. We decided to just give up on it. I felt fine so... who knows??? hmmm I guess I shouldn't have been thinking about the girls of IHD should I? 

Ah ha!!!... That's what happens when you have your mind on a fellow IHD's boobs, Richard!!!!....

[monrein]

I foresee a few calendars..."The Girls of IHD", "The Women of IHD", "The Wenches of IHD", "The Lasses of IHD", "The teases of IHD"...and so on and so on, until every last one of us is accounted for.     RichardMelt can be production manager.

[RichardMEL]

You forgot "The Wenchies of IHD" - she's enough woman for all 12 months!!! 

And thinking about boobs has been beneficial when my BP has gone down heading me towards a crash!!!! 

[Darthvadar]

I foresee a few calendars..."The Girls of IHD", "The Women of IHD", "The Wenches of IHD", "The Lasses of IHD", "The teases of IHD"...and so on and so on, until every last one of us is accounted for.     RichardMelt can be production manager.

Sounds like a BRILLIANT idea, Monrein... But what about we women???... Can't we have some fun closely examining the merits of the males from IHD from one end of the man... Ooooops sorry, I mean from one end of the year to the other!... So come on, Richard... Get 'em off!...

[Wenchie58]

Hey wait......how the heck did I get so far into RM's mind??  He should be afraid......very afraid!  <snicker>

[Darthvadar]

Hey wait......how the heck did I get so far into RM's mind??  He should be afraid......very afraid!  <snicker>

On the plus side, Wenchie, It's so good for your ego... Nice to know that you can have such an effect on Richard!...

Great to see you home safely... Onward and upward, eh???..

God bless...

[dwcrawford]

Blood Pressure question... I just finished my first week of dialysis Hemo...my  blood pressure has been Up and Down all week, but not on Saturday it is down and low and I'm dizzy.  100/55.  What can I do until  Monday.  I think he will change my meds then.  Should I stop the meds till then?

[jbeany]

You can hold off the meds, but be careful.  Some need to be stepped down gradually to keep you from withdrawal symptoms.  You can also drink a bit more water or have a bit of salt. 

Good excuse to have a pickle!

[MandaMe1986]

Awww a pickle I want a pickle.. A nice big juicy pickle... *licks lips*

But maybe you can treat yourself to an extra scoop of ice cream, or maybe a candy bar. Or some chips for dinner.. Just a few ideas.

[jbeany]

Maybe I should put this on the confessions post - but I have pickles in my fridge. Giant Klaussen deli style dill spears.  Yummy. 

Here's the trick to eating them, though.  Leach them in cold water before you eat them.  I let one soak about 5 minutes, drain the water and repeat.  It cuts down enough of the salt that I don't get the massive thirst, but they still taste like cold, crunchy pickles.  I tried draining the brine in the jar and replacing it with plain water so that the pickles would de-salt without the leaching time, but it just kind of made them soggy.

A single dill spear is 450 mg of sodium.  With the leaching, the salt content is low enough that I can have them without going into fluid overload the rest of the day.

[MandaMe1986]

I am going to go buy a really big pickle right now and do that! Yey!

[dwcrawford]

I ate a couple bites of pickles.  bp is up to 129/69 but now sugar is down to 52.  This has been a miserable up and down day.  I'm afraid to lie down.  drinking apple juice.  no orange in the house.