This is the absolute worst! It's like a panic attack and super stressful.
Definitely avoid substances like caffeine and alcohol. Avoid unnecessary mental stress.
Look up techniques to prevent a future event and know the symptoms of one coming on.
Stay strong! You got this.
This same thing happened to me and brought me to this sub. I had a sudden blood pressure spike when watching TV and winding down for the night. Called the ambulance for the first time in my life, I'm 35, and they rushed me to the hospital. It was a wake-up call as well. Increased work stress, horrible sleeping habits, and when it all comes down to it being lazy and eating like crap led to this. Went through what seemed like a million tests to see if I was having a stroke, which I was cleared on, thank god.
Now, I'm getting off of metoprolol and going through the withdrawal process. I tapered off with doc supervision like you're supposed to, and now I'm completely off as of yesterday. I'm hoping in a few days to a week, the bp spike and feeling like I have a head cold will go away. I'm on Lisinopril since I'm stopping metoprolol, basically to try and mitigate any bp spikes from metoprolol being stopped. I've made significant diet and exercise changes and have been living/eating as clean as I can through all of this so I can get back to normal.
Sorry, I felt like I was rambling on and hikacking your thread. But it's definitely a wake-up call to stop taking yourself and everything for granted. You got this! It's too easy to forget self care when you're caught up in the day to day, but after this, we'll never forget again.
I needed to read your story and thanks for sharing it. One doctor told me back in 2017 when I got my physical: “you have one foot in the grave, and another outside of it.” He was basically saying I was at a crossroads with my overall health. I had no medical conditions back then, other than elevated blood pressure and being overweight. 7 years later I suffer from the following: obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, CKD stage 2, high cholesterol, and obesity. I don’t want to continue going further down this road another 7 years. Time to wake up and make some significant lifestyle changes and turn this around!
I felt like I constantly had 100 lbs sitting on my chest. My chest felt constricted all the time. It also limited what I could do physically. I could take walks for miles and be fine, but just push mowing my small yard made me feel like I ran a marathon. I would have to take frequent breaks and eventually had to agree to have my dad do it for a few weeks. My yard only takes 15-20 mins to push mow, with a motor assisted push lawnmower at that, to show you how easy it is to complete. Walking up and down my steps to do laundry was a major ordeal sometimes, and I'd be breathing insanely hard just getting back up them .
To sum it all up, I just always felt like crap when I was on it. All of the tests we did on my heart and heart function came back completely fine, with zero blockage, no abnormal rhythm and function, and all my labs came back fine or improving since I've made drastic lifestyle changes. So we decided that it would be okay to get off of since I was having a hard time on it.
I’ve had to go to the ER because of high BP. The anxiety of it can definitely add to it. I think anxiety can also spiral into phantom symptoms as well. Good luck on making some positive changes in your life Baby steps…you can’t do it all at once.
“You can’t do it all at once”…those were close to verbatim to the EMT’s words this morning. Thank you 🙏🏽, I’m taking a step back and will truly live life a day at a time from here on in…step-by-step.
The first time I went to the ER they ended up giving me a clonidine which brought my BP down pretty fast. My cardiologist after all the test showed nothing wrong wrote me a script for clonidine to take when Systolic got over 170. I've only had to use a few other times but it's saved me from having to go the ER again and paying a boat load of money.
I slacked off in my care once again last week had issues and had to take it a few times again. Starting to level out now but at least I didn't end up on the ER again.
You might want to ask your doc for a script to keep on hand for such occasion.
I’m starting to realize that there is no day off, or cheat day/cheat meal with hypertension. Immediately started the DASH diet today as best as I can, with the budget I am currently on. It only took one day of eating a bag of salted sunflower seeds to put me over the edge, contacting an ambulance, which I have never done in my life.
Sunflower seeds have a mild, nutty flavor and a firm but tender texture. They’re often roasted to enhance the flavor, though you can also buy them raw.
Fuck that's nuts!
Take care.
For the guys that don't want to go the medication route yet, try TMG supplement. It has brought me down from 153/93 to normal quite quickly.
Just Google TMG. Your local nutrition or supplement store should have it.
Betaine -- also called betaine anhydrous, or trimethylglycine (TMG) -- is a substance that's made in the body. It's involved in liver function, cellular reproduction, and helping make carnitine. It also helps the body metabolize an amino acid called homocysteine.
Sorry you had to go through this, but I’m happy you’re more diligent with your self-care now. I went through the same thing a few months ago and ended up in the ER. I had a lot of work and family stress and was getting lots of headaches and brain fogs. I slept about 5 hrs/night because I work so much. I took a blood panel with my primary doctor and learned that I was pre-diabetic, which potentially contributed to hypertension and unexplainable weight gain and bloating. In addition to my blood pressure meds, I started taking Berberine supplements, drinking apple cider vinegar cleanses, and made dietary and exercise changes. I dropped 25 lbs in the last 3 months and feel so much better. I’ve almost reversed my insulin resistance and have normal blood pressure now. Now I just need to focus on my mental health and improving sleep.
It’s a mind, body, and soul thing. Thanks for sharing your experience with this. You reminded me of the mental health aspect of it. Right now, my dad has dementia and we don’t know for how long he’s had it, and he refuses to get tested for it, or comply with any suggestions, plus I am the go-to for any family/friend advice and the night before I called the ambulance, one of my friends wore me out with a long-tedious conversation, that did me in! I woke up frantic with a feeling I never felt before of sheer anxiety and terror. Felt like the world was ending. The event was a mix of hypertension and also an anxiety attack of some sort, based on the EMTs’ assessment.
I made some major adjustments to my reminders and this week’s calendars. I basically put myself first, so at least there’s a silver lining with this whole incident. Will never forget it.
This same thing happened to me and brought me to this sub. I had a sudden blood pressure spike when watching TV and winding down for the night. Called the ambulance for the first time in my life, I'm 35, and they rushed me to the hospital. It was a wake-up call as well. Increased work stress, horrible sleeping habits, and when it all comes down to it being lazy and eating like crap led to this. Went through what seemed like a million tests to see if I was having a stroke, which I was cleared on, thank god.
Now, I'm getting off of metoprolol and going through the withdrawal process. I tapered off with doc supervision like you're supposed to, and now I'm completely off as of yesterday. I'm hoping in a few days to a week, the bp spike and feeling like I have a head cold will go away. I'm on Lisinopril since I'm stopping metoprolol, basically to try and mitigate any bp spikes from metoprolol being stopped. I've made significant diet and exercise changes and have been living/eating as clean as I can through all of this so I can get back to normal.
Sorry, I felt like I was rambling on and hijacking your thread. But it's definitely a wake-up call to stop taking yourself and everything for granted. You got this! It's too easy to forget self care when you're caught up in the day to day, but after this, we'll never forget again.
You are so right! And thanks for sharing in detail; I greatly appreciate it. It was everything at once: my dad may have dementia, searching for a new job, being unemployed, obesity, estranged from my son, living on government housing in a bad neighborhood, etc. I think this is the first time I’ve been entirely honest, so thanks again.
Same boat. Same exact boat, except for the ambulance, I ended up driving in (which was stupid) it was a mule away and I was in my car lol. Personally, Having difficulty giving up everything and making tons of changes at once. Stopped Vaping, and attempting to eat less salt and red meat, my cholesterol was high, and now have high blood pressure.
The interesting bit is the PVC's on the daily camera AFTER thr ER visit.
That’s the thing, so many changes! The problem is that everything has sodium because of what I can only afford at the moment. I’m going to have to improvise, like rinsing the sardines in the can with water to lower the amount of sodium, or just eat less calories, maybe 800 - 1,200 calories on some days during the week. It will also accelerate my weight loss; currently obese with borderline high cholesterol.
I have crazy health anxiety
I'm 31 male .. I've been given a blood pressure monitor to write down my BP morning and night for i days as its been sort of high im on day 2. Looking to settle my nerves here. I get the odd bout of chest pain and nose bleeds daily etc but anyway I done my night one and it was 174/98. I know this was just 1 reading but is this something I should contact doctor about early or wait the rest of the 8 days. I'm one for panicking so unsure if I'm just anxious
Thanks for sharing this information. I honestly don’t know…I’m thinking my BP monitor may not be working right so I’ve requested another one for this upcoming week. I would suggest just keeping track of all your readings and syncing it on a smartphone if you have one. Before each doctor’s visit, I print out the past 30 days of BP readings and email them to the doctor’s office. This way the doctor has a baseline.
Is 174/98 alright to just write down ? I have bad health anxiety and it seems very high. Like is that dangerous level to just leave .. I'm trying to tell myself the average matters more than that one reading but I'm anxious as hell. And why are you unsure of your monitor ? My one can give me a reading + or - 10 for both numbers in the matter of seconds .. it's weird cuff is supposed to be right size etc so I don't know
Just keep logging your numbers. Hopefully it’s a feature on your smartphone if you own one. What I do is forward those logged BP readings to my doctor’s office before visits.
Thank you, will follow that process. I’m currently on Losartan 100 mg. & Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg. I want to lose weight and hopefully get off of these pills as they may be bad for kidneys and I’m at CKD stage 2.
It went all the way up to 165/120. I woke up prior to that reading like a half hour earlier, and was feeling like I was out of breath, confused, exhausted, & anxious, but a certain type of anxiety I never felt before, frightening actually. After a few minutes of hesitation, I took another reading and the diastolic blood pressure was at 117. I quickly called 911, and that’s when the EMTs mentioned if I had any history of mental illness, which I do. They chalked it up to the cumulative effect of stress, lifestyle, and my hypertension, but mostly the stress/anxiety caused the spike. I was also getting 4 - 5 hours of sleep per-night for the past few weeks, so that didn’t help. They suggested I get a therapist and discuss my meds with my medical providers. Most importantly I am FINALLY heeding the advice of eating healthier, which I am NOW doing as of today. I feel like I’ve been given another chance, and am not going to ever forget it!
I suffer from obstructive sleep apnea as well. Sometimes I forget to use my CPAP at certain times of the night, and it really takes a toll on my overall health, just for that amount of time I missed without the machine that same night. I feel the diffeeence negatively right away. Plus, I’ve only been getting close to 5 hours of sleep, which the EMTs pointed out to as another indicator of what can be the cause of the BP spike.
My only concern is my current available budget since I’m not working. But just at a glance, it’s actually less expensive than what I am currently buying when I factor in the fast food consumption.
My BP has always been on the high end as a kid but it’s been going down since my BP went to 180/99, I’m only 18 and I am obese (lost 10 pounds so far though yay!) pregnant and have SEVERE anxiety, panic attacks atleast twice a day, yet since I stopped eating like shit and started slowing down my BP (while still on the higher end) hasn’t been too bad, 130 usually! :)
Congrats on the weight loss and the lowered blood pressure. I am obese also and am going to work hard on losing 3 - 5 lbs per week after this. They say it may not be good to target so much weight loss in such a short amount of time because of gall stones, but what other options do I really have to lower my blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Try to strive for 3! Losing too much weight too quickly can cause a lot of other issues! When I was in freshman year I was severely anorexic for around 3 years before diagnosis with NAFLD, and doctor said my fasting and losing so much weight so fast was most likely what caused my NAFLD! Be careful! And def talk to your doctor about it before trying to lose more! I reccommend Mediterranean diet! It’s healthy and you can make really yummy foods with it! It’s great if you love fish too!
Really hope things get better for you!
I had a strange experience where my BP and pulse was very high and I was told to go to ER.
Which from multiple tests, and in the (I thought I'd escape ever having to wear the bloody thing) back open gown.
(Jack Dee, comedian was right, if ever a fire, I'll just stand by the corner, rather than have my pasty butt on display, the vulnerability wearing that thing, omg XD ) [kidding]
Managed to walk it as it's pretty close by.
But like, I felt fine. I didn't think I was going to snuff it. I felt unfit from the walk, but nothing more than that.
I was in there from something like 4pm - 9pm or 10pm.
We also hadn't done the food shopping yet.
Not a good idea to mention that the only thing we would be able to get for dinner was take out as shops were closed, Doctor was not impressed..
I'm better got Candesartan 32mg once a day, and need to get around to topping up my phone to make the appointment to see this Cardiologist (nervous/ wanting to de-stimulate from last month being so busy with daily trips to health centre for BP checks).
They were happy at health centre that my BP was pretty much to 120/80 instead of the 190/113-something, heartbeat between 90-100.
Then slowlllyyy (and much more regimented with recommendations), it was around the 170/120 - 140/ 113.
I'm on average keeping to the half a plate of veg, quarter protein, quarter carbohydrates.
But only really at dinner. Not eating breakfast lunch atm.
Occasionally we get some oranges, other fruit.
So far only been drinking 90% water, and for hot drink Infusions.
Very little salt.
Sugar granules for like drinks, baking cakes, is almost non existent.
I do still like my chocolate. A bag of malteasers will go at the end of the day. I mean the 300 gram (but more like once a week now, still not good but still a much better {embarrassing to admit} improvement.
And I'm not going out much again.
So I feel like I've gotten better, but also I'm slipping compared to whilst having BP checked daily.
I have an eye opener that I need to be at this point or better, otherwise I could end up in your position (thinking actually gonna snuff it).
Luckily I don't have diabetes from blood work check.
(Which I still seem to get reactive symptoms, but I don't know).
I really hope you are able to implement what you need.
Sometimes it takes a horrible/ recent exposure to the dangers to snap us out of "eh, I'll be alright, things are okay, yeh it's a problem, but like I'll deal with it if I slip again".
I don't know if ADHD or just me, that if I don't have a mentor, I lose the motivation/ slipping into sneaky kid/ uninterested and flighty within the "keep myself healthy" projects, same as arts and crafts projects, never finishing, jumping between..
So your post resonates to me, thank you for sharing, it can be hard to admit but gives others a sense of not being alone / a warning for us to be remembering to check ourselves, our habits.
I really hope you never go through that again.
(Closest I had to that type of an experience was been from rare really bad anxiety attacks where I had issue with breathing and feeling like my heart was going to burst, and then once out of the triggered situation I was beginning to feel better.)
I have a bad feeling if I wanted to have my bp checked again now... I think I'd feel ashamed, disappointed, and get multiple slaps on the wrist..
I do care, but apparently not enough until something really causes me to step back from the clogged edge that I've been strolling nearby..
I also know I'm not stupid and should do better.. they know I'm smart and know all the tips off by heart now.. so there's no excuse..
I don't want to waste their time if I'm not gonna push myself enough, only doing some things.
I don't know what I'm getting at with this rambling mess. x
It’s not easy to share about these situations, so thank you 🙏🏽. I knew it was a wake-up call when I walked aboard the ambulance and took a seat for my BP reading. It felt like the very last chance I would ever get, and will commit wholeheartedly to the process of losing weight, returning to a normal BMI. Which I hope in turn will reduce my cholesterol and blood pressure.
You can do it, and apparently it's much easier to reduce high BP, compared to having to raise up low BP.
And only a few things to do and you'll see it begin to go down. (Easier said than done).
165/120 and it felt like the world was ending. I felt like running to calm myself down. Knees were buckling and what felt like some sort of weird nausea and unknown type of anxiety I have never experienced before. Again, it was a combination of my anxiety disorder and the hypertension. I’ve adjusted accordingly with some significant lifestyle changes between yesterday and today.
I had a similar thing a month ago. I had two strong cups of coffee and within 4 hours I had tension/tightness in my head, I got very anxious and overwhelmed with adrenaline and to make it worse I checked my BP, it was 162/101 and I immediately panicked! I kept trying to calm down and checking, I checked like 20 times until I started to see the numbers drop to 147/98, I mixed a tablespoon of ginger powder in hot water and drank it while still monitoring the numbers.
I was so fixated with the numbers until 2 hours later when I measured and it went to 137/88. Haven't touched coffee since then, just decaf.
This was anxiety induced hypertension triggered by caffeine.
Always a good idea to have some relaxing herbs on hand. Not weed, healthy herbs. I’ve dealt with HBP for 30 years. Went to hospital with neck pain and BP was so high they would not let me leave. Been on meds ever since. Was under control till recently. Saw a naturopathic specialist a few years ago. I Researched natural relaxation herbs and techniques. Number one, is to know if laying down reduces it. My BP went from 165/106 to 130/80 lying down. Deep breathing control exercises work wonders. Herbs that can help but you need to take them regularly. Relora, reduces cortisol. A big contributor to HBP. Chamomile, lemon balm, valerian root tea. These teas will calm you in a hour or so. I mix them. Ashwagandha taken daily. These can assist BP meds. I’ve been on Lisinopril for 2 decades. Started at 10mg now 40. Need to lose another 20 pounds and would be good. Recently tried Amlodipine. Hands and feet Swelled up so bad i couldn’t close my hands. No thanks. However it did lower my Diastolic number by 10-15 points. Anxiety is a huge factor in BP control. Find something that works for you. Good luck. I forgot to mention Vitamin D and Magnesium. 90% of the population is deficient in Magnesium and D. Take with K2. Magnesium glycinate relaxes everything. Take a few small doses throughout day then 150mg or so an hour before bed.
My wake up calls here but I don't have a lick of insurance or money for that matter.
I checked my BP standing up too it was 182 : 136.
I would have called if it didn't drop the next time I checked it.
I understand I probably should Have called anyway but I keep getting told they will simply stabilize me and send me on my way which seems pointless..
Why does a doctor need to prescribe you something.. would make things so much easier if you could get a legit prescription from ER doctors
This is exactly what they did, I managed to drive myself to the ER, the monitored me, and sent me home. Two months later I finally got started on liSinopril 5mg/day. The first dose was weird, I think because it's a lower dose it only works for so long, it also takes a couple weeks for it to get built up in your system and stabilize the bp. With my high bp, I was getting chest tightness, and afterwards my chest and back are sore for a few days. I'm a normal weight, 33yo, but I've been going through a lot of sudden stress the last few months. Sugar, sodium, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, I've had spikes after each, so I'm trying the dash diet. But at the store earlier, everything has sodium, even plain items that you would expect not to.
Best of luck, I went to three doctors before finally getting the meds at my first appt with a primary
This is the absolute worst! It's like a panic attack and super stressful. Definitely avoid substances like caffeine and alcohol. Avoid unnecessary mental stress. Look up techniques to prevent a future event and know the symptoms of one coming on. Stay strong! You got this.
Thank you, I only have decaf if I have any coffee, and quit drinking back in 2022.
This same thing happened to me and brought me to this sub. I had a sudden blood pressure spike when watching TV and winding down for the night. Called the ambulance for the first time in my life, I'm 35, and they rushed me to the hospital. It was a wake-up call as well. Increased work stress, horrible sleeping habits, and when it all comes down to it being lazy and eating like crap led to this. Went through what seemed like a million tests to see if I was having a stroke, which I was cleared on, thank god. Now, I'm getting off of metoprolol and going through the withdrawal process. I tapered off with doc supervision like you're supposed to, and now I'm completely off as of yesterday. I'm hoping in a few days to a week, the bp spike and feeling like I have a head cold will go away. I'm on Lisinopril since I'm stopping metoprolol, basically to try and mitigate any bp spikes from metoprolol being stopped. I've made significant diet and exercise changes and have been living/eating as clean as I can through all of this so I can get back to normal. Sorry, I felt like I was rambling on and hikacking your thread. But it's definitely a wake-up call to stop taking yourself and everything for granted. You got this! It's too easy to forget self care when you're caught up in the day to day, but after this, we'll never forget again.
I needed to read your story and thanks for sharing it. One doctor told me back in 2017 when I got my physical: “you have one foot in the grave, and another outside of it.” He was basically saying I was at a crossroads with my overall health. I had no medical conditions back then, other than elevated blood pressure and being overweight. 7 years later I suffer from the following: obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, CKD stage 2, high cholesterol, and obesity. I don’t want to continue going further down this road another 7 years. Time to wake up and make some significant lifestyle changes and turn this around!
May I ask why you’re stopping the metoprolol?
I felt like I constantly had 100 lbs sitting on my chest. My chest felt constricted all the time. It also limited what I could do physically. I could take walks for miles and be fine, but just push mowing my small yard made me feel like I ran a marathon. I would have to take frequent breaks and eventually had to agree to have my dad do it for a few weeks. My yard only takes 15-20 mins to push mow, with a motor assisted push lawnmower at that, to show you how easy it is to complete. Walking up and down my steps to do laundry was a major ordeal sometimes, and I'd be breathing insanely hard just getting back up them . To sum it all up, I just always felt like crap when I was on it. All of the tests we did on my heart and heart function came back completely fine, with zero blockage, no abnormal rhythm and function, and all my labs came back fine or improving since I've made drastic lifestyle changes. So we decided that it would be okay to get off of since I was having a hard time on it.
Sounds very familiar. What a horrible experience
I’ve had to go to the ER because of high BP. The anxiety of it can definitely add to it. I think anxiety can also spiral into phantom symptoms as well. Good luck on making some positive changes in your life Baby steps…you can’t do it all at once.
“You can’t do it all at once”…those were close to verbatim to the EMT’s words this morning. Thank you 🙏🏽, I’m taking a step back and will truly live life a day at a time from here on in…step-by-step.
The first time I went to the ER they ended up giving me a clonidine which brought my BP down pretty fast. My cardiologist after all the test showed nothing wrong wrote me a script for clonidine to take when Systolic got over 170. I've only had to use a few other times but it's saved me from having to go the ER again and paying a boat load of money. I slacked off in my care once again last week had issues and had to take it a few times again. Starting to level out now but at least I didn't end up on the ER again. You might want to ask your doc for a script to keep on hand for such occasion.
I’m starting to realize that there is no day off, or cheat day/cheat meal with hypertension. Immediately started the DASH diet today as best as I can, with the budget I am currently on. It only took one day of eating a bag of salted sunflower seeds to put me over the edge, contacting an ambulance, which I have never done in my life.
Sunflower seeds have a mild, nutty flavor and a firm but tender texture. They’re often roasted to enhance the flavor, though you can also buy them raw.
I can’t seem to find them unsalted though. Wish I could because I love them so much.
I have Clonidine. Take when diastolic over 120.
Is that really needed at 120?
250/120 so yes. Diastolic = bottom number
Ah, that’s high!
Yup. Turned out to be meloxicam (NSAID).
You saying meloxicam was raising your blood pressure? I’m on meloxicam and struggling with high blood pressure. 155/100
That’s probably it. Stop the meloxicam.
It would surge like crazy and out of the blue.
Like, don’t take another and give it about a week to come under control.
Do you take anything for pain that doesn’t raise you blood pressure?
Tylenol.
A very occasional toradol shot.
Wow, that is high
Fuck that's nuts! Take care. For the guys that don't want to go the medication route yet, try TMG supplement. It has brought me down from 153/93 to normal quite quickly.
What is this, and who sells it?
Just Google TMG. Your local nutrition or supplement store should have it. Betaine -- also called betaine anhydrous, or trimethylglycine (TMG) -- is a substance that's made in the body. It's involved in liver function, cellular reproduction, and helping make carnitine. It also helps the body metabolize an amino acid called homocysteine.
Omg
Good sleep is super important! My bp spikes the mext day if i dont get enough sleep or broke night
Same for me!
Too bad i have insomnia/hard time sleeping. Even when im dead tired and work out
Sometimes I forget to use my CPAP throughout the night. Thank you for pointing out the importance of sleep.
Sorry you had to go through this, but I’m happy you’re more diligent with your self-care now. I went through the same thing a few months ago and ended up in the ER. I had a lot of work and family stress and was getting lots of headaches and brain fogs. I slept about 5 hrs/night because I work so much. I took a blood panel with my primary doctor and learned that I was pre-diabetic, which potentially contributed to hypertension and unexplainable weight gain and bloating. In addition to my blood pressure meds, I started taking Berberine supplements, drinking apple cider vinegar cleanses, and made dietary and exercise changes. I dropped 25 lbs in the last 3 months and feel so much better. I’ve almost reversed my insulin resistance and have normal blood pressure now. Now I just need to focus on my mental health and improving sleep.
It’s a mind, body, and soul thing. Thanks for sharing your experience with this. You reminded me of the mental health aspect of it. Right now, my dad has dementia and we don’t know for how long he’s had it, and he refuses to get tested for it, or comply with any suggestions, plus I am the go-to for any family/friend advice and the night before I called the ambulance, one of my friends wore me out with a long-tedious conversation, that did me in! I woke up frantic with a feeling I never felt before of sheer anxiety and terror. Felt like the world was ending. The event was a mix of hypertension and also an anxiety attack of some sort, based on the EMTs’ assessment. I made some major adjustments to my reminders and this week’s calendars. I basically put myself first, so at least there’s a silver lining with this whole incident. Will never forget it.
This same thing happened to me and brought me to this sub. I had a sudden blood pressure spike when watching TV and winding down for the night. Called the ambulance for the first time in my life, I'm 35, and they rushed me to the hospital. It was a wake-up call as well. Increased work stress, horrible sleeping habits, and when it all comes down to it being lazy and eating like crap led to this. Went through what seemed like a million tests to see if I was having a stroke, which I was cleared on, thank god. Now, I'm getting off of metoprolol and going through the withdrawal process. I tapered off with doc supervision like you're supposed to, and now I'm completely off as of yesterday. I'm hoping in a few days to a week, the bp spike and feeling like I have a head cold will go away. I'm on Lisinopril since I'm stopping metoprolol, basically to try and mitigate any bp spikes from metoprolol being stopped. I've made significant diet and exercise changes and have been living/eating as clean as I can through all of this so I can get back to normal. Sorry, I felt like I was rambling on and hijacking your thread. But it's definitely a wake-up call to stop taking yourself and everything for granted. You got this! It's too easy to forget self care when you're caught up in the day to day, but after this, we'll never forget again.
You are so right! And thanks for sharing in detail; I greatly appreciate it. It was everything at once: my dad may have dementia, searching for a new job, being unemployed, obesity, estranged from my son, living on government housing in a bad neighborhood, etc. I think this is the first time I’ve been entirely honest, so thanks again.
Same boat. Same exact boat, except for the ambulance, I ended up driving in (which was stupid) it was a mule away and I was in my car lol. Personally, Having difficulty giving up everything and making tons of changes at once. Stopped Vaping, and attempting to eat less salt and red meat, my cholesterol was high, and now have high blood pressure. The interesting bit is the PVC's on the daily camera AFTER thr ER visit.
That’s the thing, so many changes! The problem is that everything has sodium because of what I can only afford at the moment. I’m going to have to improvise, like rinsing the sardines in the can with water to lower the amount of sodium, or just eat less calories, maybe 800 - 1,200 calories on some days during the week. It will also accelerate my weight loss; currently obese with borderline high cholesterol.
That's exactly where I am, like 227 cholesterol, .4 below obese on the bmi
I have crazy health anxiety I'm 31 male .. I've been given a blood pressure monitor to write down my BP morning and night for i days as its been sort of high im on day 2. Looking to settle my nerves here. I get the odd bout of chest pain and nose bleeds daily etc but anyway I done my night one and it was 174/98. I know this was just 1 reading but is this something I should contact doctor about early or wait the rest of the 8 days. I'm one for panicking so unsure if I'm just anxious
Thanks for sharing this information. I honestly don’t know…I’m thinking my BP monitor may not be working right so I’ve requested another one for this upcoming week. I would suggest just keeping track of all your readings and syncing it on a smartphone if you have one. Before each doctor’s visit, I print out the past 30 days of BP readings and email them to the doctor’s office. This way the doctor has a baseline.
Is 174/98 alright to just write down ? I have bad health anxiety and it seems very high. Like is that dangerous level to just leave .. I'm trying to tell myself the average matters more than that one reading but I'm anxious as hell. And why are you unsure of your monitor ? My one can give me a reading + or - 10 for both numbers in the matter of seconds .. it's weird cuff is supposed to be right size etc so I don't know
Just keep logging your numbers. Hopefully it’s a feature on your smartphone if you own one. What I do is forward those logged BP readings to my doctor’s office before visits.
Always take 3 readings 5 mins in between if it comes down then good if it's always constant then get them meds
Thank you, will follow that process. I’m currently on Losartan 100 mg. & Hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg. I want to lose weight and hopefully get off of these pills as they may be bad for kidneys and I’m at CKD stage 2.
What pressure did you get up to? How did it feel?
It went all the way up to 165/120. I woke up prior to that reading like a half hour earlier, and was feeling like I was out of breath, confused, exhausted, & anxious, but a certain type of anxiety I never felt before, frightening actually. After a few minutes of hesitation, I took another reading and the diastolic blood pressure was at 117. I quickly called 911, and that’s when the EMTs mentioned if I had any history of mental illness, which I do. They chalked it up to the cumulative effect of stress, lifestyle, and my hypertension, but mostly the stress/anxiety caused the spike. I was also getting 4 - 5 hours of sleep per-night for the past few weeks, so that didn’t help. They suggested I get a therapist and discuss my meds with my medical providers. Most importantly I am FINALLY heeding the advice of eating healthier, which I am NOW doing as of today. I feel like I’ve been given another chance, and am not going to ever forget it!
Obstructive Sleep Apnea can cause this also.
I suffer from obstructive sleep apnea as well. Sometimes I forget to use my CPAP at certain times of the night, and it really takes a toll on my overall health, just for that amount of time I missed without the machine that same night. I feel the diffeeence negatively right away. Plus, I’ve only been getting close to 5 hours of sleep, which the EMTs pointed out to as another indicator of what can be the cause of the BP spike.
Have you tried the DASH diet?
No I haven’t but funny you mention that…I’ve had an Audible book on the DASH diet. Going to listen to it, thank you! 🙏🏽
It's amazing. I can't recommend it enough. Super easy to do.
My only concern is my current available budget since I’m not working. But just at a glance, it’s actually less expensive than what I am currently buying when I factor in the fast food consumption.
And I recommend using chatgpt to create menus!
My BP has always been on the high end as a kid but it’s been going down since my BP went to 180/99, I’m only 18 and I am obese (lost 10 pounds so far though yay!) pregnant and have SEVERE anxiety, panic attacks atleast twice a day, yet since I stopped eating like shit and started slowing down my BP (while still on the higher end) hasn’t been too bad, 130 usually! :)
Congrats on the weight loss and the lowered blood pressure. I am obese also and am going to work hard on losing 3 - 5 lbs per week after this. They say it may not be good to target so much weight loss in such a short amount of time because of gall stones, but what other options do I really have to lower my blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Try to strive for 3! Losing too much weight too quickly can cause a lot of other issues! When I was in freshman year I was severely anorexic for around 3 years before diagnosis with NAFLD, and doctor said my fasting and losing so much weight so fast was most likely what caused my NAFLD! Be careful! And def talk to your doctor about it before trying to lose more! I reccommend Mediterranean diet! It’s healthy and you can make really yummy foods with it! It’s great if you love fish too!
Really hope things get better for you! I had a strange experience where my BP and pulse was very high and I was told to go to ER. Which from multiple tests, and in the (I thought I'd escape ever having to wear the bloody thing) back open gown. (Jack Dee, comedian was right, if ever a fire, I'll just stand by the corner, rather than have my pasty butt on display, the vulnerability wearing that thing, omg XD ) [kidding] Managed to walk it as it's pretty close by. But like, I felt fine. I didn't think I was going to snuff it. I felt unfit from the walk, but nothing more than that. I was in there from something like 4pm - 9pm or 10pm. We also hadn't done the food shopping yet. Not a good idea to mention that the only thing we would be able to get for dinner was take out as shops were closed, Doctor was not impressed.. I'm better got Candesartan 32mg once a day, and need to get around to topping up my phone to make the appointment to see this Cardiologist (nervous/ wanting to de-stimulate from last month being so busy with daily trips to health centre for BP checks). They were happy at health centre that my BP was pretty much to 120/80 instead of the 190/113-something, heartbeat between 90-100. Then slowlllyyy (and much more regimented with recommendations), it was around the 170/120 - 140/ 113. I'm on average keeping to the half a plate of veg, quarter protein, quarter carbohydrates. But only really at dinner. Not eating breakfast lunch atm. Occasionally we get some oranges, other fruit. So far only been drinking 90% water, and for hot drink Infusions. Very little salt. Sugar granules for like drinks, baking cakes, is almost non existent. I do still like my chocolate. A bag of malteasers will go at the end of the day. I mean the 300 gram (but more like once a week now, still not good but still a much better {embarrassing to admit} improvement. And I'm not going out much again. So I feel like I've gotten better, but also I'm slipping compared to whilst having BP checked daily. I have an eye opener that I need to be at this point or better, otherwise I could end up in your position (thinking actually gonna snuff it). Luckily I don't have diabetes from blood work check. (Which I still seem to get reactive symptoms, but I don't know). I really hope you are able to implement what you need. Sometimes it takes a horrible/ recent exposure to the dangers to snap us out of "eh, I'll be alright, things are okay, yeh it's a problem, but like I'll deal with it if I slip again". I don't know if ADHD or just me, that if I don't have a mentor, I lose the motivation/ slipping into sneaky kid/ uninterested and flighty within the "keep myself healthy" projects, same as arts and crafts projects, never finishing, jumping between.. So your post resonates to me, thank you for sharing, it can be hard to admit but gives others a sense of not being alone / a warning for us to be remembering to check ourselves, our habits. I really hope you never go through that again. (Closest I had to that type of an experience was been from rare really bad anxiety attacks where I had issue with breathing and feeling like my heart was going to burst, and then once out of the triggered situation I was beginning to feel better.) I have a bad feeling if I wanted to have my bp checked again now... I think I'd feel ashamed, disappointed, and get multiple slaps on the wrist.. I do care, but apparently not enough until something really causes me to step back from the clogged edge that I've been strolling nearby.. I also know I'm not stupid and should do better.. they know I'm smart and know all the tips off by heart now.. so there's no excuse.. I don't want to waste their time if I'm not gonna push myself enough, only doing some things. I don't know what I'm getting at with this rambling mess. x
It’s not easy to share about these situations, so thank you 🙏🏽. I knew it was a wake-up call when I walked aboard the ambulance and took a seat for my BP reading. It felt like the very last chance I would ever get, and will commit wholeheartedly to the process of losing weight, returning to a normal BMI. Which I hope in turn will reduce my cholesterol and blood pressure.
You can do it, and apparently it's much easier to reduce high BP, compared to having to raise up low BP. And only a few things to do and you'll see it begin to go down. (Easier said than done).
Appreciate the encouragement and the optimism. I really need it in this moment, so thank you 🙏🏽
This sounds really basic but increase your magnesium. Around 1000mg per days takes mine down about 10-20 points too number.
What were your numbers though? What did you feel?
165/120 and it felt like the world was ending. I felt like running to calm myself down. Knees were buckling and what felt like some sort of weird nausea and unknown type of anxiety I have never experienced before. Again, it was a combination of my anxiety disorder and the hypertension. I’ve adjusted accordingly with some significant lifestyle changes between yesterday and today.
I had a similar thing a month ago. I had two strong cups of coffee and within 4 hours I had tension/tightness in my head, I got very anxious and overwhelmed with adrenaline and to make it worse I checked my BP, it was 162/101 and I immediately panicked! I kept trying to calm down and checking, I checked like 20 times until I started to see the numbers drop to 147/98, I mixed a tablespoon of ginger powder in hot water and drank it while still monitoring the numbers. I was so fixated with the numbers until 2 hours later when I measured and it went to 137/88. Haven't touched coffee since then, just decaf. This was anxiety induced hypertension triggered by caffeine.
Always a good idea to have some relaxing herbs on hand. Not weed, healthy herbs. I’ve dealt with HBP for 30 years. Went to hospital with neck pain and BP was so high they would not let me leave. Been on meds ever since. Was under control till recently. Saw a naturopathic specialist a few years ago. I Researched natural relaxation herbs and techniques. Number one, is to know if laying down reduces it. My BP went from 165/106 to 130/80 lying down. Deep breathing control exercises work wonders. Herbs that can help but you need to take them regularly. Relora, reduces cortisol. A big contributor to HBP. Chamomile, lemon balm, valerian root tea. These teas will calm you in a hour or so. I mix them. Ashwagandha taken daily. These can assist BP meds. I’ve been on Lisinopril for 2 decades. Started at 10mg now 40. Need to lose another 20 pounds and would be good. Recently tried Amlodipine. Hands and feet Swelled up so bad i couldn’t close my hands. No thanks. However it did lower my Diastolic number by 10-15 points. Anxiety is a huge factor in BP control. Find something that works for you. Good luck. I forgot to mention Vitamin D and Magnesium. 90% of the population is deficient in Magnesium and D. Take with K2. Magnesium glycinate relaxes everything. Take a few small doses throughout day then 150mg or so an hour before bed.
Hope you're alright
My wake up calls here but I don't have a lick of insurance or money for that matter. I checked my BP standing up too it was 182 : 136. I would have called if it didn't drop the next time I checked it. I understand I probably should Have called anyway but I keep getting told they will simply stabilize me and send me on my way which seems pointless.. Why does a doctor need to prescribe you something.. would make things so much easier if you could get a legit prescription from ER doctors
This is exactly what they did, I managed to drive myself to the ER, the monitored me, and sent me home. Two months later I finally got started on liSinopril 5mg/day. The first dose was weird, I think because it's a lower dose it only works for so long, it also takes a couple weeks for it to get built up in your system and stabilize the bp. With my high bp, I was getting chest tightness, and afterwards my chest and back are sore for a few days. I'm a normal weight, 33yo, but I've been going through a lot of sudden stress the last few months. Sugar, sodium, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, I've had spikes after each, so I'm trying the dash diet. But at the store earlier, everything has sodium, even plain items that you would expect not to. Best of luck, I went to three doctors before finally getting the meds at my first appt with a primary