I am a 33 year old male, I do not smoke and never have, I don't drink alcohol unless its a special occasion, I eat quite healthy, workout 3 x per week with weights.
My blood pressure started spiking over the past 2 years, Feb 2014 I ws hitting levels of 170/125, I was flushing with headache, My GP surgery (I have seen various GPs there keep putting it down to stress/anxiety or essential hypertension) I did have 3, 24 hour urine tests, one of which came back with slight above range catecholamines, I think the adrenaline one, but I was then told to cut out certain foods/drink and redo the tests both of which came out normal after.
I am in need of an eye operation, however I failed pre-op as my blood pressure on the day was consistant 160/110, I have since been trying to get this down and have tried Ramipril 2.5mg - not enough 5g made me very fatigued and still didnt bring it down, propranolol 80mg sustained release (worked for a little time) propranolol 160mg sustained release ( hindered my exercise without making a massive difference to bp), currently on Ramipril 2.5mg alongside amlodopine 5mg for the past 2 days, bp readings from today are, 159/98 - 70bpm (irregular beat detected), 140/88 - 83 bpm, 144/89 - 85 bpm, 160/101 - 75 bpm, 143/101 - 79 bpm, 156/109 - 81 bpm.
I have asked for 24 hour bp monitoring and ecg monitoring but have been refused by my gp saying they dont do that anymore, not sure where to go with this, I will fail pre-op again and I also believe this is going to be secondary hypertension. any ideas?
I have had what I would call boarderline high BP for some years as in my baseline was around 140/90
I realise that circumstances alter cases, but what you are describing is reminescent of my own circumstances when I was in my early thirties.
If I remember my BP regularly topped-out at 200/150 and my doctor tried many different meds on me, and it only finally came down when a new Indian lady doctor completely changed my meds regime.
At that time I was called-in to the surgery for BP checks every two or three days for what seemed like an eternity, but finally with the new meds it did gradually start to come down.
Today I am in my 70's and my BP floats around 140/80 which I am told is still too high as I am now a diabetic.
I think the main issue here is whether your surgery is taking a real and involved interest in your health.
I do realise that things today are somewhat different, as all surgeries seem overcrowded and overworked, which I must say doesn't interest me one bit.
If I feel that something needs to be done about my health and they are not doing it I simply pester the life out of them until they react the way that I want them to.
If your surgery will not give you the regular checks that you have requested, if I were you I would consider purchasing your own decent quality sphygmomanometer and keep a regular graphic record of the BP readings taken at regular times.
You could always produce this analysis as 'evidence' if you feel that the present meds are not working.
It would also be helpful to you in ascertaining when the peaks and troughs occur during the day, which might give you a clue as to what exactly is going on.
Stick with the amlodipine it takes a while but does work. Try drinking beet root juice and go fir long walks. I know you said you work out but walks in the fresh air seem to ease stress which is a great one for increasing bp
I had similar situation, it sounds like stress, I ate healthy and excersised daily but it was stress and not relaxing, spent 2 years learning to relax and doing meditation, if your spikes in BP are stress related then no BP med will help anyway, amlodipine will definitely work but try not to stay on it long, if you research it you will see it is banned in most other countries and only used in veterinary practice!!!! I now do yoga which is fab and really does work at relaxing the mind, you will get there, good luck
Hi Vigilante. Interesting post. Before I chuck my "sixpeneth" in, can I ask one thing? You work out you say. Do you or have you taken ANY stimulants/supplements to help you? If so what are they and how long have you taken them. I include energy drinks in this. Get back to me when you can.
Thanks all for the replies, The only supplements I take are vitamins, CoQ10, Vit D3, B12, ALA, occasionaly I will use whey protein powders, I do eat a high satuated fat high protein caveman style diet and avoid gluten/sugars and most man made foods when possible.
I am also splitting up when I take the meds, I do the Ramipril 2.5mg in the mornings and Amlodopine 5mg before bed? would that make a difference, should I take both together either mornings or evenings?
Reading just after waking up this morning - 133/96
Vigilante, I can't understand your GP saying that they don't do 24 hr BP monitoring any more! If that is the case, I think I would change to another practice. I'm sorry I'm unable to help as to which medication will work for you to get your blood pressure down as I am in a similar boat having tried six different meds to date. Some do work on the BP but produce horrendous side effects for me. Amlodipine is supposed to be one of the best at tackling blood pressure, providing you aren't someone who suffers the side effects - it is not, as one person has mentioned, "banned in most other countries".
As you are so young and not responding to different medications, I think your GP should at least refer you for investigation to rule out any problems with your kidney function, for instance, that may be keeping your BP high.
I'm sorry I can't be more helpful than this - you need a different GP who is prepared to work with you not against you. Good luck with both the BP and the eye op, and do let us know how you get on.
I agree with Mrs.O.Any practice who says they don't do 24 hr monitoring any more needs the sack! Of course they do and if they don't then they should. You should insist.
And saturated fat is good for you too although the dinosaurs at the NHS will tell you otherwise, butter tastes better than plastic margarine in any event.
Does sound to me as though the GP isn't too interested in sorting this for you. I was lucky I guess with a good GP who listened. Initially another GP had implied it was hereditary and "I wouldn't be able to sort it on my own". This attitude of his made me all the more determined to try. Didn't actually work but all the same I only take the lowest dose of Losartan. Ramipril gave me a cough.
a 24 hr monitor diagnosed me at 163/96 [stage 2] and now have an average of between 120 and 130 systolic and 75-80 diastolic. I'm 70 btw. This was after one of the NHS health checks.
Hi. Doesn't seem to be anything too disastrous in your diet. Opinion on saturated fats is changing. They are considered good. I agree that butter is better than plastic margarine. But I think you should be pushing your GP for help as you are due an eye operation and the surgeon won't be happy if you need an op but are failing pre op procedures due to high bp.
Get another appointment with your GP and push the eye surgery thing and/or see a different GP at your practise.
Sadly in this day and age its those who shout loudest who get the attention!!
Hey all thanks for the replies, I managed to have a chat to my gp, who has now taken me off the ramipril as he thinks im unsuited to that as I get irregular heart beats show up on my monitor and increasing dose of it fatigues me badly, he wants to stop the calcium channel blocker for now too and try me on Losartan 50mg?
Vigilante, after trying 6 different BP pills, Losartan 50mg is, so far, the only one that hasn't produced any discernible side effects for me. Unfortunately, for some reason it isn't doing a thing for my blood pressure so, no doubt at my next renal appointment yet another drug will be introduced. My pharmacist has told me that Losartan is the drug about which he hears the least complaints from patients, so looking very promising for you. Good luck and do keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
Thank you all, I will keep you updated. My GP did say that Losartan was much better for side effects, he didnt say how long it might take to see any effect on readings though?
Interestingly I've just been reading in the Daily Mail that Ace inhibitors and beta blockers REDUCE blood pressure and calcium channel blockers STABILISE it. Losartan isn't either though, it's an angiotensin receptor blocker - not entirely the same thing I don't think.
The point being that it's wild fluctuations in BP that causes problems, strokdes specifically they mentioned.
Articles always say that but all doctors and specialists I've seen deny it just as they tell me that it is my average BP that matters not the high and lows.
My GP often says that sounds like a Daily Mail story. The practice nurse buys the Mail to be prepared for the influx of patients an article can bring in.