High Blood Pressure

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If I did not stay active, and exercise I would be dead by now compliments of ConocoPhillips. So although meds may be important the ultimate is staying active and exercising regularly.
 
Originally Posted By: Chuck1986
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: jcwit
Any REAL reason you refuse to take Meds?


Because I can fix the problem by exercising and eating better, and I'm not lining a doctor or a pharmaceutical companies wallets. Plus, blood pressure meds can have serious side affects. I'm generally don't agree with prescription medication and it's overuse in today's society. I know people, to include my father, who gets prescriptions and takes pills for EVERYTHING, and they're generally not healthy at all because they and their doctors are trying to solve problems with pills instead of fixing root causes. It's a giant money making scheme if you ask me.

Obviously some meds are legitimate, and as I age, if I can't keep my HBP under control, I'll take meds.

But I can't believe you can watch a TV commercial advertising a prescription medication, then go to your doctor, and get it! That's insane. Make it OTC if you're going to commercialize medicine that much. Or legalize narcotics for crying out loud - can't do that or the Pharmaceutical companies lose big. That's the number one reason why narcotics are illegal.


I applaud your will to make lifestyle changes. But $4/month for a generic ACE inhibitor wouldn't put much (if any) money in the pharmaceutical companies' pockets. Pharmacological management is often times a necessary evil, especially for genetic conditions that need a little extra than lifestyle changes. If you stay hypertensive long enough, down the road your heart and kidneys will fail and that's when thing you'll really make the pharmaceutical companies rich.

I do wholeheartedly agree with you on the greed of pharmaceutical companies. I'm currently going to school to get my PharmD and I'm shocked at how some of the most widely prescribed meds (Lipitor, Nexium, Lexapro, etc) cost about 30x more than older similar drugs whose patents expired, yet the research clearly states that the "new" drug is no more effective than the old one.


This is just the info I am looking for. I came home from the hospital Wednesday with 4 different prescriptions and will be talking to another doctor next week. The only one I filled was for Plavix, $178 for a months's worth. I also need to be on Lipitor, blood pressure medicine, and nitro glycerine. Can you give me some names to ask about? I have already gone the route of using Omeprazole in place of Nexium. I will drop it because it messes up the Plavix.
 
Originally Posted By: PT1
Drew: I have had HBP for 30 years. I have taken meds for 25 years. They are very benign and can save your life. HBP is hereditary in my family so all my siblings have it. My older brother who also refused to take meds suffered a brain hemorage at age 40 and required 4 surgeries and is now disabled for 19 years. The surgeon who did his operations said if he had taken his BP meds he would have not burst the blood vessel in his brain. My meds cost me $3 a month and many are available at Walmart or similar generic discount programs. Note: My older brother was only about 10 lbs heavier than his high school weight when he has his hemorage. He was bending over to pick up a wrench he dropped when it first hit.

Lose all of your weight...but protect yourself with medication until you have it 100% under control. Trust me on this one. You DO NOT want to end up like my brother.

BTW, I work out 60-90 minutes a day in the gym. I have quit drinking & smoking and am in excellent physical shape. But I still take a very small dose just to be sure. Ask your MD about 81 mg. asprin daily to protect you against stroke as well.


+1,000,000
 
Labman, are you a Veteran? If so get to the VA and get enrolled.

Otherwise google up Candain Drug Store, my wife used one of the companies listed and saved bundles. I think she used www.tcds.com.

Hope this helps.
 
I'm exercising to stay alive. When I got hurt at work in 95 I sat for yrs and I gained weight. The diabetes I had got out of control and almost killed me. After coming back from a death bed I have been fighting back to being healthy. I've entered a program for the over 60 crowd that wants to exercise to supliment the lifestyle of retirement. It's got me back to where I go out in the garage as long as the money holds out. It allows me to get around my arthritis some what and enjoy the grand kids.
 
This is a very interesting and timely thread. A lot of these experiences have recently been visited upon me. I'm 60, and up until I was 50 I was in great shape. Then I simultaneously lost my job (and medical insurance) and blew out a ligament in my knee, carrying some heavy stuff up the stairs.

I've always been a medical minimalist (haven't seen a Dr in 20 years) and went into denial, hoping my knee would heal itself. I could hardly walk and didn't leave my apartment for months, going on a pizza diet. Bottom line, I put on an extra hundred pounds. About a year ago my body started retaining fluids, I developed a sack of water that was hanging next to the family jewels, which I ignored. Then about 2 months ago the family jewels actually swelled up to canteloupe size in a few days. This finally scared me enough to go to a hospital.

They checked my BP, 155/90, and said the oxygen level in my blood was very low. They put me in a bed for 8 days on water pills, and I lost about 25 LB of fluid. They gave me water pills and 2 BP pills to take daily when I left. I've got my first appointment coming up next week. I didn't know anything about BP meds, are they all the same? Do all of them kill off the bone? How long does that take to take effect? I dunno if I want buy in on that. What are the other bad side effects? I'm going to get my knee fixed so I can exercise and lose the weight, but right now it's very hard to exercise. Any advice?
 
First off if u want to live follow the doctor's directions. I got a wake up call when an ulcer perforated. After waking up alive from an operation I still weighed in at over 400 lbs. and couldn't walk. it was get up and go or lay there and die. My BP used to be where yours is. Now I have to exercise for 30 minutes to raise my pressure to my old resting pressure. It's been a long road uphill to the point I am at now but I can't wait to hit the floor every morning. Yes the arthritis hurts but I just go on with my day. It's all up to u. I love working on my truck and I love playing with our greatnephews and grandchildren. Life is good. Go out and live it.
 
Last month I had a colonoscopy done. After checking in I had my BP checked three times by three different nurses with three different results. They were 141/92, 138/85, and 135/75. All were done within an 1/2 hour. Fri. night I went to see my regular doctor for something else and his nurse took my BP, 144/85. Doctor comes in 15 minutes later and takes it again 138/70. I tell the doctor the story and he says he always checks the BP himself because he does not trust the nurses to do it the same way all the time. We take it again, 135/72. Go figure!
 
I'm in an over 60 exercise program. By no means is it ez unless u want it to be. They record your blood pressure after 20 mins at rest and after 30 mins at exercising. If I see a difference in readings from the recorded ones I ask for another reading. If the 2 are close I believe it and if not I record the lower of the 2. I take my rythem charts and bp records to my doctor so she may make any changes she may want to. Usuall y it just makes her happy.
 
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