Active Low-Carber Forums - TO ALL!! HELP!! Need your experiences with high blood pressure for my mother

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TO ALL!! HELP!! Need your experiences with high blood pressure for my mother

Hello everyone. I think I've worked a miracle and have gotten my mother to try lowcarbing. She is most interested in the effect of lowering blood pressure. Her cholesterol is quite normal, but she has problems with overweight and hypertension. She's taking Altace. They want to increase her dose.

She wants experiences from anyone doing lowcarbing how their blood pressure has reacted (whether good or bad). [No cholesterol stats please, she keeps reminding me hers are fine.]

I would truly appreciate any help in this area as my blood pressure was low to begin with.

Also, did you have bad responses from maybe your blood pressure lowering too fast? Did you feel sick from the diet because of this? How soon did you start lowering your medications? Can you supplement with potassium as suggested for most people doing a ketogenic diet?

I'd like to get quite a collection of responses here. To save those who have already shared, I'll quote those I've found here:

Quote:

Yippeee my blood pressure is now normal
Hi everyone

I have posted this in my journal, but just wanted to share it here as well.
I stated LC 13 weeks ago, when I started my doctor tested my blood pressure and ordered cholesterol blood tests.
The results were not good !!!!!!!
blood pressure was 140/110
cholesterol was 8.1 (anything over 5 is not good)

Went back to the doctor today (13 weeks later)
My blood pressure is now PERFECT 120/80
and my cholesterol is now 6.4, which is still a little bit high, but definately on the way down.

I am just so thrilled with these results, I know I still have a long way to go with my weight, but I know if I stick to this plan it's really going to happen. I have lost almost 20 kilos in 13 weeks, which to me is just amazing.

Hope everyone is having a great LC day !!!!!
bye for now
Kaye

Quote:

Low Carb And Blood Pressure
When I started this WOE almost 2 months ago,

my BP was a worrying 140/98 in a 45 year old male .

This morning my BP reading was 120/77 , a huge and unexpected and most welcome decrease .

I am really pleased

Rob

Quote:

That blood pressure looks much better, Rob! Isn't it wonderful? I was taking Altace for high blood pressure when I started. Now I don't need it anymore and my blood pressure pretty consistantly runs 125/80 (except when I go to the doctor, of course! ).
LisaN

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Livin' low carb and loving it.

Quote:

This WOE has defintitely amazed me! Started on 5/14/02 with a BP of 140/90+ and now, only a month later it is very consistantly 121/72. If for no other reason....I am sticking with this! Hey...even lost a few pounds, too!

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Aks

Need more detail guys. Is it dangerous if your blood pressure drops too fast? Do you feel sick? When do you lower your medication? HELP! Anyone? What was your personal experience? What did your doctor tell you?

Hi Voyajer!

I know you already have a quote from me, but I'd like to add my 2 cent's worth. When I started low carbing, my blood pressure was 180/106. Doc put me on too much Altace and my blood pressure came down, but I felt dizzy and nauseous for a week until I talked him into cutting my dose in half. I continued taking it for another month or two after I started low carbing, but then my blood pressure started running too low again (100/60) and I started feeling dizzy again. I quit taking it, but continued to monitor my blood pressure and it has stayed in the normal range now for almost a year without medication. Good luck to your mother! My advice would be to have her monitor her blood pressure every few days either with a home blood pressure kit or at one of the blood pressure stations at the store and call her doctor right away if she feels dizzy or notices that it's getting too low. HTH!

Lisa

Thanks Lisa,

You don't know how much I appreciate the input. Very helpful. Did you take potassium supplements from the beginning?

DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS?

Voyajer...

Honestly, I didn't take anything but a multivitamin and some chromium until about 6 months into low carbing. At that point, I added some niacin, fish oil capsules and red yeast rice to help my cholesterol come down a bit more (my readings had gone up slightly). I added the potassium and calcium/magnesium a few months ago when I started working out actively 3 times a week and started having problems with leg cramps during my workout. Maybe I didn't notice a problem with potassium because I was already eating a lot of veggies that are naturally high in potassium and didn't need the extra supplement until I started putting more strain on my body by working out. I also started drinking more water at that time, too so it may have been a factor with increased electrolyte loss. I probably should have been taking them from the beginning, but we learn as we go don't we?