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do yourself a favor check your blood pressure.

docjohn

docjohn

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over the last 2 years or so I had been getting more frequent headaches.I also was restless at night feeling anxious,just not feeling 100%.Now I know I'm type A and am always mentaly replaying issues in my mind about the usual daily stuff.My health has always been good I exercise stay fit normal cholesterol,no issues...But I never regularly checked my bp.Well long story short I stuck my arm in the auto meter at fricken Sam's club one day and surprise 145/95:frown: Well for the next 2 wks I took my pressures 3 time per day and It was always around 145/90:eek: I decided to treat it with a ace inhibitor and now it is 125-130/70-80 and boy if I don't feel better,almost like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.No headaches since starting tx:smile: So for all you type A's and I know your out there,get your bp checked,over time htn is a silent killer affecting your kidneys, eyes,heart,and brain! After years and if caught too late that end organ damage may not be reversable.
 
How old are you? Any family history.

I hate to kick you while you are down but come on you are a doctor. Headaches are the most common symptom of HTN. Glad its under control with an ACE.
 
Alright Doc, now it's time to play the game of question and answer:
Did you consult a physician other than yourself?
Have you had a complete physical, EKG?
If not may I suggest that you do, there are certainly good reasons to go to the "experts", and I'm sure that you know the right ones!!!

I'm all for staying away from doctors, but only after I've seen them and found out that they don't want to see me for a year!!! Don't anyone take your health for granted, it's to precious and impossible to buy no matter how much money you have. Glad that you're addressing the problem Doc, just want you to make sure that you're right with your diagnosis and treatment.
 
Try adding Omega-3 (good quality ones!) on top of the medicaments for a long term improvement. My mom went from 130 to 110 in 4 months just adding 1g-2g of Omega 3 fats daily to the diet... or just eat a lot more fish ;)
 
Good suggestion. I TRY to do regular blood pressure check at home. To keep a tap on the ageing body.
But do medical every year as well, compliment of the company I work with of course:smile: That includes blood pressure, blood check(including cholesterol), urine(including glucose and hb trace) ,eye check(vision and peripherals), reflex check and general body check-up.
ECG every 2 years. Audiogram every 5 years. Used to do EEG every 5 years as well.
 
I am just like you doc and I bet I am way younger. It was depressing at first to find out that at 37 and with my exercise and pretty good clean living I still had high blood pressure and high cholesterol (get your blood checked if you haven't lately). My doc gave me 6 months to control it with better eating / more activity and I did get it down some but not enough.

Many good doctors are now very aggressive treating HBP and Cholesterol. The longer you wait the more irreversible damage you can do.

I would also recommend talking to your doctor and seeing if they recommend (as my doctor did) 3-4,000 MG of good Omega 3 Fish Oil and a regiment of low dose aspirin. Both are being shown in study after study to lower the risk and improve the health of your heart.

For those reading this who are not overweight, active, etc - don't assume your blood pressure and cholesterol are fine. I went a period of my life (7 years) where I didn't have a doctor or see one. Now I go for a checkup ever 6 months (with blood work) and a physical every year.

I have a lot to live for!

100_2099.jpg
 
You can kick me but I'm not down.Doctors fall into two broad categories when it comes to thier own health,invincible or I'm dying of everything every day:eek: My point of my personal example is to stress to all the 40 somethings who are busy,live right, look good,exercise ect make sure not to get too complacent and get regular check ups with bp more frequently.Htn can be like your shocks in your 91 nsx they wear out slowly so to you the degredation in performance is unnoticed but put new shocks on and its a new vehicle,see some nsx content.For nsxluvr yes my mother is htn and I was pre htn last year,I chose to waite and see,then forgot about it.,until Sam's:eek:
 
You convinced me...I just dug out my blood pressure monitor out from storage for the first time in forever and gave it a check. All seemed ok. 121 over 70 with pulse of 64. What is the acceptable range low and high again?
 
bp can fluctuate during the day depending on stress and activity.anything below 130/80 is ok,but if you get a reading over 130/80 then you need to be more diligent in starting a log for say a two wk period.IMHO serious kidney involvement and other end organ damage will occure sooner than later if your bp is consistantly over 160/110.But studies are showing it is best to be as low as possible,thus I went on therapy with mild htn.
 
I am surprised at you DocJohn. I would have expected you would consult me for an opinion. I never pass up the opportunity for a free bp check at costco or anyplace that is set up for one (usually a new chiro in the area sets up a table at a drug store or similar location). Considering it runs in my family and you and I have similar personalities, I try to stay on top of it. Been within a point or two of 116/80 for several years now but always paranoid about the other shoe dropping based upon family history.

Now take two pills and see me at Kids Day......
 
docjohn said:
over the last 2 years or so I had been getting more frequent headaches.I also was restless at night feeling anxious,just not feeling 100%.Now I know I'm type A and am always mentaly replaying issues in my mind about the usual daily stuff.My health has always been good I exercise stay fit normal cholesterol,no issues...But I never regularly checked my bp.Well long story short I stuck my arm in the auto meter at fricken Sam's club one day and surprise 145/95:frown: Well for the next 2 wks I took my pressures 3 time per day and It was always around 145/90:eek: I decided to treat it with a ace inhibitor and now it is 125-130/70-80 and boy if I don't feel better,almost like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.No headaches since starting tx:smile: So for all you type A's and I know your out there,get your bp checked,over time htn is a silent killer affecting your kidneys, eyes,heart,and brain! After years and if caught too late that end organ damage may not be reversable.
Click to expand...

I have a similar numbers. Despite turning my life and weight around with diet and exercise about 3 years ago after my mom's diabetes went type 1 (I don't have diabetes, but I'm probably at risk), I learned just last week that my bp remains roughly the same as before: 140's/70-80. I'm 31 years young and your classic "Type A" in most respects.
 
Don't forget that headaches (typically frontal) can be caused by visual impairments as well. It could be from uncorrrected eye prescription, being "stagnant" on the computer or any other long term near activities, lazy eye, etc. Brain tumors trigger headaches as well. The self monitoring BPs is a good start but am afraid some people would be naive enough to supplement annual physicals. I strongly believe eye exams & annual physicals (complete blood panel, cholesterol, BP, etc) are necessary 35 y.o and on. This is suggested EVEN if you don't have any symptoms whatsoever. We spend more time, effort, and $$ on our cars. :eek:

Jeff (Optometrist)
 
Oh wow, this reminds me of 2-3 months ago. OP, read this.

So I started testing my bloodpressure at my local grocery store which has an automated device. It came back at ~145!!! So I did it every week when I went for about a month, and every time it was the same, plus or minus 1-2 points. So I go to the doctor and they don't get as high of a reading, but still too high. The do blood work, urine, etc. Everything is 100% fine there. He tells me to start doing cartio, and try to eat cleaner and see what happens. If I can't get it down, he's going to have to put me on drugs.

In the mean time, I buy one of these: http://www.resperate.com. It worked in that when I went to the store, my BP was getting lower and lower, but still not perfect.

Then I was doing more research and I read that people with larger arms will get false readings(too high) on the automatic machines. They also said if the doctor uses too small of a cuff, it will read high. I then bought my own device to test blood pressure with a medium sized cuff, stopped using the resperate(just for an experiment) and guess what.... It shows I have normal blood pressure. I checked it myself every few days for a month, and then went back to the doctor, and it looks like I'm fine.

My guess is the doctor used the same cuff he uses for most people, but since I lift weights my arms are a little bigger than average. I'm still keeping an eye on it every month or so since high blood pressure is VERY serious. It leads to all kinds of diseases.

But anyway, to the OP, I would do what I did. Google the max size for those automated devices and see if your arms aren't close to the limit. If they are, buy your own device, and test.
If it turns out you really do have high blood pressure, that resperate device seems solid, backed by tons of good reviews.
 
Yes guys thanks for all your helpful advice.If this thread gets one of us to test who normaly would'nt and gets an early start on tx then the power of the internet has helped in a good way.
 
docjohn said:
Yes guys thanks for all your helpful advice.If this thread gets one of us to test who normaly would'nt and gets an early start on tx then the power of the internet has helped in a good way.
Click to expand...
How ironic. I'm getting mine tested today since I can't remember the last time it was checked.
 
After my car accident in 2006, my blood pressure went from 117/69 to 159/89. With insomnia, pain, general worry, and frustration, it didn't take long for my blood pressure to skyrocket. It was six months before I got down to (or near) my pre-accident blood pressure limits.
 
docjohn said:
Yes guys thanks for all your helpful advice.If this thread gets one of us to test who normaly would'nt and gets an early start on tx then the power of the internet has helped in a good way.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%.
From the research I did on high blood pressure, it's linked to every bad thing you can think of. It seems like you simply can not live a long life if you have it.

AND something like 30% of people have it and don't know they have it.
 
Here are my personal tips.

1. Eat whole cloves of garlic (baked in oven) has no aftertaste daily.
2. Keep your heart rate at 85% Max for 30minutes 5 days a week.
3. Meditate several times a day obsolute silence.
4. Strech 15 minutes before you sleep
5. Drink plenty water
6. Black seed oil, olive oil, honey, grapes juice.
7. Long sex!

http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/sts15325.asp

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure should be 120/75 HBPM 70. My goal is 50BPM, alost of cyclists are 40-45bpm.
 
NSXFRIEND said:
Here are my personal tips.

1. Eat whole cloves of garlic (baked in oven) has no aftertaste daily.
2. Keep your heart rate at 85% Max for 30minutes 5 days a week.
3. Meditate several times a day obsolute silence.
4. Strech 15 minutes before you sleep
5. Drink plenty water
6. Black seed oil, olive oil, honey, grapes juice.
7. Long sex!

http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/sts15325.asp

Systolic and diastolic blood pressure should be 120/75 HBPM 70. My goal is 50BPM, alost of cyclists are 40-45bpm.
Click to expand...
I qualify for most of your suggestions,and if someone is normotensive your regimen would work:wink: On the other hand esential htn is what it is and 20 mg of quinapril qd has what it takes.
 
radiologists talking about meds....:rolleyes:
i get the picture.

my famously low bp is history.
i'm gonna try the happy helmet.
litter.jpg
 
Jon ,are you free basing again? You of all peeps should be walking around with a sphignomometer dangling from your arm:wink:
 
docjohn said:
I qualify for most of your suggestions,and if someone is normotensive your regimen would work:wink: On the other hand esential htn is what it is and 20 mg of quinapril qd has what it takes.
Click to expand...


THEREFORE, as Western Medicine would suggest... find a drug to mask the symptom of hypertension rather than the underlying cause.

Classic.


Believe it or not, but this line of reasoning has parallels to the financial markets....
 
Ski if you can educate us on the cause ,,that would be a good start.The reason I say that is because we still don't have a complete understanding of essential htn,but we do have an array of good drugs.Now I'm not going to fall into ski's debate trap of homeotherapy vs traditional pharmicology.We do know that certain plants, accupuncture and the like do have physiologic responses ie they work to a degree,,,, but drugs titered to the correct dose have much more reproducable(robust) measurable(repeatable) results.
 
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A couple of years ago I was at Walmart and they had a BP chair. I sat down put my arm in the cuff and pressed the button. The reading put me in a state of panic. I bought a BP machine and took it home, again high reading. I went right to the emergency room. They took my BP and it was perfect. HMMM. I went home took mine again with the machine I bought, High again. I am like WTF. I took the machine into my regular doctors office and it was giving a false reading.

I thought at the time how dangerous it is that the BP machines they sell are not tested. Imagine if I actually did have high BP and the machine was telling me I was fine??? Not good. I find it just to be my luck that the machine at Walmart and the one I picked off the shelf were both defective and giving bad readings.

BTW I just had my BP taken today and blood work down. My BP was 130/80.
 
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