i haven,t taken any yet as am very frightened off the side effects that i have read about . i have bought myself a blood pressure monitor ,but i am very anxious and every time i take my pressure it keeps going up and is now higher than ever ,is there any advice as to what is the best medication to take and should i ask for a 24hr monitor before taking medication . i am going on holiday in 4 days time only my second ever holiday abroad and do not want complications with either the medication or the hypertension
Marilyn...you're obviously concerned about your health, but make no mistake...lowering high blood pressure is critical...you can prevent damage to your heart, your kidneys, your eyes....for heaven's sake, you can save your very life!! So let's do this....start takng your pressure many times a day! You have to get over the fear of taking it...and, you'll learn how your own body's pressure varies throughout the day. It's different for everyone...but do start ...do not delay!! It's your life...don't depend on anyone else...no one cares more about you....tha you! If you don't take action...no one will!!! Call me in the morning! Arthur
Marilyn, I have so understand your fear as I've been there myself. You haven't said how eye your blood pressure is but if it is very high then you would be wise to at least give the Ramipril a try. Yes, some people do suffer side effects but others don't have any side effects at all, just the benefits of getting their BP down. I believe 1.25mg is a very small dose anyway. You have every right to request a 24 hour monitor before embarking on the medication if that would help to reassure you of the need for medication and it can be an especially good idea for those people who have what is called 'white coat syndrome' where their BP only rises when they are at the surgery. Mine goes sky high at both the surgery and the hospital, so now the consultant has stopped taking it and relies on my occasional readings. One thing I would say is that it isn't a good idea to keep taking your blood pressure several times a day - some people can experience further stress from doing just this and consequently their blood pressure will rise. I was advised by my consultant to take my blood pressure three times leaving a couple of minutes between each recording, and then make a note of the average of the 2nd and 3rd readings for him. I now just do this about once a week. If you sit very quietly for a few minutes before taking it and completely relax, breathing into your stomach slowly and letting your body go, you will probably find that the 3rd reading is lower. As far as what is the best medication to take, I have been told by my pharmacist that Losartan Potassium is generally well tolerated and is the one he hears the least complaint of side effects from patients. Hope that helps - importantly, relax, relax, relax......Tai Chi is great for reducing BP.
Wait until you have taken the medication before you worry about the side effects. They have to warn you about them but not everyone gets any.
How high is your BP? 1.25mg is the minimum dosage. There is no best medication it depends to a degree on your GP to what is prescribed. Often others are added or the the original changed if the initial one does not help. Obviously anxiety is the greatest factor in increasing your BP. Relax, sit back and enjoy your holiday. Once you are there you will soon forget your BP. I have flown all over the world since it was diagnosed 14 years ago. Normally you should tell your insurer that you have a pre-existing condition but with BP if it is controlled by two medications that is not usually a problem. As soon as you say you are taking three medications they mostly slap a £75 surcharge on an annual policy.
When my hypertension was discovered (210/110) I was a week away from flying to Barbados. They said that I should not fly long haul when it was so high. After four days my BP was down to 168/78 and off I went. Actually flying in a pressurised cabin is quite safe.
Hi Marilyn,
I know how scarey it can be to find out about having high BP, but it is better to know and be able to do something about it. I was put on Ramipril, starting on a low dose until I got to 10mg. For me I toloerated it fine as it was gradually increased, but it was the start of me taking responsiblity for my own health, so as well as taking the tablets I also increased my exercise levels, cut out as much salt as I could and made sure I relaxed when possible.
Think Arthur sums it up well 
Hi there this bp thing is a nightmare if you are a anxious person I know that because I am, some days keep taking pressure and it goes up and up all due to worry of the outcome, think your relaxed and your not... only advice I can give is take the pills scary as it is and stop taking your bp when you get an acceptable reading and keep that reading in your head. not the high numbers.. sometimes home bp monoitors can give you alot of reassurance and we all know what else they can do cause alot of worry. How high was your pressure? may be it is white coat that you have! Have a great holiday take the bp pills you will know its under control then and when you get back ask for a monitor, you might get good news that it is onlt whit coat..
Hi, I would start medication as soon as possible, the dosage is very low anyway so you shouldn't have any side effects, on your return from holiday your GP should monitor your BP and see what's going on, I started medication before going abroad and it took four different types of tablets before a correct balance was found that was probably around three months after I came home,so enjoy your holiday and don't worry.
Hi Marilyn
At the end of the day you have got to take something because hypertension is a silent killer. I believe you don't want to be admitted while you should be enjoying your holiday.
thank you helen your reply was very helpfull ,i can not get the idea of high blood pressure out of my head it came out of the blue , it was not very high 160/90 but i used to have low pressure and my family history convinced the dr to put me on meds, unfortunatly since i know of my hypertension i have taken readings of 178/114 think this is all down to me getting anxious,my heart is pounding and tight band round my head . have had the rimipiril 2 weeks but think i will start them after my hols am due back at dr,s on Thursday for an ECG may discuss it with nurse and perhaps will start them on thurs night if pressure really high .
thank you for your reply have to see the nurse on Thurs for ECG if pressure high (think it will be due to my anxiety) may start them Thurs night
thank you for your reply it is the min dose my pressure at the dr,s was 160/90 but have always had low presure but i have taken readings now of 178/114 i think due to the anxiety of the whole thing
thank you for your reply it helped to hear from someone who has taken ramipril without side effects , i dont smoke ,drink take moderate exercise walking, but i have now cut out salt was hoping to bring it down myself but looks unlikely now
sounds like anxiety to me marilyn esp 178/114 amazing how high worry can make it go, as long as you are not going to spoil your hols thinking about it, peace of mind is what you need.. good luck
thank you for your reply was good to hear you took your medication before a holiday
Normal practice is not to prescribe on your first visit and to have you back twice more to be sure that the readings are sustained. If stress at the doctors put it up you could probably take at least 30 off.
Problem with 24 hour monitors at your GP is that they don't have many of them and have a waiting list. Given a reason they will fit you in for an ECG even it it means the nurse cancelling a few appointments for other patients. Last year she had to fit another woman and myself in.
The other woman then collapsed and was taken to hospital by paramedics. I later asked the nurse how the woman had got on. Anxiety attack she said and she had been kept in overnight for more tests.
I had stopped salt and sugar in 1982 and smoking in 1993 before getting hypertension in 2000 and had always exercised and not eaten junk food. It just happens unless their is someting like a kidney problem causing it.
Ramipril takes a while for it to start working, and 1.5 is a very low dose. Also if you are going abroad make sure that you have let your travel insurance know that you have hypertension as it is easy to cover, but you need to declare it. This may also be why you need to take your meds before you go as you have been diagnosed and prescribed. I know I found it hard to accept I had high BP, but it is something I needed to face and take control off. It can be well controlled if you take charge .. My BP was 220/110 at my last review it was 118/75 but that was after 1 and half years of being in charge of my BP, taking my meds and trying (though not always succeeding!) to live a healthy life.
Have a great holiday.
Hello there are you taking ramiprill that is a gret result I had to stop it really bad cough, atenolol did the trick for me but it still goes up if I get stressed which is very often .. I worry about my pressure and ofcourse that makes it worse take care
Hi its very important that you take the pills as the consequences of not taking them could be far worse unfortunately i have had some side affects with b/p pills but have not been on the one that youve been given my advice would be start taking them and if you have any probs make an appt and go back am starting new pills today myself always remember if you have any issues your nurse/doctor will help you