yeah decaf is okay

According to my doctor, coffee is not going to raise your BP much.

I was put on diuretics and beta blockers. What I found is this: the diuretics help the top number, the beta blockers help the lower number and the heart rate.

I dont take the beta blockers because I am hoping that this diet will help everything, especially once I start exercising regularly. And i know that it is hard to get off once you start. You have to do it carefully. But I did take it at first because the numbers were so high. It defintely lowered them but also left me with a very flat feeling. No adrenaline...no energy.

I also know that aerobic exercise will help the lower number (resting heart pressure) and the heart rate.

I also know that with my lower number being up and my heart rate being up, that this is the number one sign of someone who could have a heart attack, especially in the morning.

So, I am going to try getting off the diuretic after I finish this bottle, hoping that the weight I have already lost and the diet itself with keep everything on an even keel.

I know there are some that would say I am playing with fire, but I know about myself. And I have never had high blood pressure of any type until I became this overweight and insulin resistant. So i am confident that reversing those will also reverse any sign of high BP. And the most aggravating thing is the doctor never even mentioned my weight, exercise or anything. Just gave me some pills. I thought that was bogus.

I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents about the caffine. I'm on medication for my hbp and the first thing my doctor warned me about was caffine.

I guess that proves that medicine and doctors are not perfect. Each of them goes by their own opinion and experience. Perhaps if I was a heavy coffee drinker he would have had me quit, but since I'm not....

I do not think that lc would increase your blood pressure. I was borderline high before starting lc, around 140/90, and after switching to lc and losing over 20 lbs, it stays around 120/70. It is heriditary in my family, too, but so far, so good, I am avoiding the meds they wanted to put me on.

My boyfriends new son-in-law is just 22 and is on blood pressure meds, it is heriditary in his family, and all the men are short and stocky.

Im just a bit miffed, as I have lost over 40lbs.... eat healthy and now feel really unhealthy , after the doctor frowned and said... do you exercise !!

I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, I swim, do weights.... so it annoyed me a bit.....

I can understand that.

My DH was the same way. He has never had a weight problem and exercises every day (almost). heart is so healthy they made him take the test over again because they thought it must be broken.

His BP goes up according to what is going on in his head. He is the high anxiety type and when his brain starts working overtime, so does his BP. He has taken anti-anxiety drugs and they stop the brain and the BP, but he doesn't like the side effects. His doctor has tripled his dose of BP since starting, but when he gets anxiety, it still does no good. The last time, his dr. said he would not raise it anymore because he had to get what was going on in his head under control.

So, my point is, if you suffer with anxiety or any mental problem, this could be what is causing the high numbers and not your actual physical health.

'The Doctor’s Heart Cure: Beyond the Modern Myths of Diet and Exercise' by Al Sears M.D. has many suggestions for lowering blood pressure.

As mentioned, anxiety can raise blood pressure by quite abit. Also, I have read that weight loss can cause a temporary rise in blood pressure. I don't know if 'they' know a reason. Perhaps just the stress of loosing weight? I've bounced around the scale abit trying different eating approaches and once when I dropped about 25lbs in about 10 weeks my blood pressure went up about 20-30pt systolic but subsequently dropped. Too stenuous and frequent exercising can also cause a rise in blood pressure.

I've heard good things about chelation and reducing blood pressure. Also, there are some supplements that are found effective in reducing blood pressure, most of which are listed in 'The Doctor's Heart Cure'. One of the most effective is garlic! For the garlic lover, 3 raw cloves of garlic a day can drop you 20 pts. I dont know the effectiveness of taking the pills but am a bit dubious. Fish oils are said to be effective but for treating a condition I think relatively high amounts, multiple times a day are recommended. (trying to remember... 3-4 grams, 3-4 times a day?) Coenzyme Q10 is a decent supplement (one of the few I take) and even if it doesnt drop your blood pressure, supports your heart and brain functionnnsssss......<pops another> Other herbs like hawthorn are sometimes effective and worth checking out. A Naturopath would prolly be a good bet.

If you need to go the pharmaceutical route, try to stick with the 'water pill'. I think by far they are the most benign and they are usually very effective. The rest are a mixed bag, but the beta blockers have been around the longest and are probably the safest (or at least most tested).

Good luck!

I was on 360 mg. Inderal time release a day, (that's high), and a diuretic, and still my blood pressure was high, but not the 218/110 it was when first discovered. On that for many years. Anyway when I lost about the first 20 pounds or so I got so light headed I couldn't stand up long, so I cut my b/p meds in half then half again a week later. Bout a half year later when I went to have my check up my b/p was better then it usually was and the Dr. nearly dropped when I told her I stopped taking my b/p meds without telling her. I continue to take the diuretic and that's all I need and that is usually the first thing they try on you by the way. It doesn't interfere with weight loss. Keep up reducing the weight......it helps.bottom line! Good luck!

I am a veteran high BP. When it was detected two years ago I was over 200/120, which is the time to make testament, so I had to take some medicine including a betablocker. During the time of strong medication I lost 20 pounds, so I don´t think it affects your weight in a negative way. Some people use it for life and it has no side effects I know of with recommended dosis. Overdosis can destroy your liver! And change pancetamol that also is bad for the liver to aspirin!

The permanent solution for me is the gym three times a week, less worries and stress and food as healthy as possible.

Right now I am using sesam oil, which is supposed to decrese your bloodpressure about thirty percent over about sixty day. My BP is going down every week, so it might be true. Try it. Change all your oil and fat consumption to sesam oil. The taste is neutral so you will not feel much different.

Good luck!

sometimes when you go to the doc you have white coat syndrome ask the doc for a bp pump they will let you take it home and you keep a check on your own bp you might fine thats all thats wrong thats what happened to me when i took it at home where i was relaxed my pressure was brilliant

I went to see a doctor to talk about test results, he took my BP as part of his routine, and it was 240/161. I was hospitalized immediately, and it took months to get it down to an acceptable range. I'm going back to see the doctor soon for the first time since starting this WOE, and REALLY hope to at least scale back on the meds, but since it runs in the family I may never be free.

Don't beat yourself up if you need a little help controlling it; BP issues are very common. You could do everything right and still have a problem to control. The toughest thing about my regimen is remembering to take all the blasted pills every day.

GO SEE YOUR DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just joking, just mocking some people here.


Don't let this discourage you. I truely DO NOT believe that if your eating right, and exercising and your BP is stil high that its hereditary. I don't believe in the word "hereditary." My Uncle and Dad who are eating a low carb plan there blood pressures dropped and alot of people in my family have high blood pressure, although everyone that has high BP has a bit of extra weight on them.

If your talking hereditary, REALLY look at your family and your family roots. Ask questions from your closest family memebers about other family members that you never knew or never met. If you see that there is blood pressure lingering around your family ask or see if they are overweight and if they are not and they are skinny, ask if they smoke, drink, alcohol, and find out about their diet.

Thats what i did with my family. I did a special own research of my family. I didn't just concentrate on one person on my family i checked everyone!

So point is: Know your family and it's roots!

one more thing.....pills really stink!

Hey, pad. I've been on BP meds since I was 10 or 11 years old. I've taken beta blockers, diuretics, ACE inhibitors, and ARBs. For me, the ARBs were the least problematic. At one point, not too long ago, I was taking an ARB along with a diuretic and a beta blocker, but I'm down to just the ARB since starting low-carb, so this WOE has definitely helped me. T'ai chi seems to help, too.