She was taking a B complex for a while and she may have stopped. She said "the bottle says to take two but I thought more might be better so I take three" -- that's another thing that stands out because she is a retired RN and always was very sensible and conservatibe about taking medications. She was taking a multivitamin for a while, but may have stopped that too. My dad is a health fanatic and tends to nag and correct her when she starts to take vitamins -- "did you take your vitamins?"; "don't take those together...", etc. I told her to take them in private when he's not around, but I suspect she stopped taking them altogether. She makes such a big deal about eating a regular sized meal of moderate portions -- "I can't believe I ate all that!" etc. when everyone else ate the same amount or more. Or she passes around her plate at the table at social functions to share her food, saying how full she already is and "I can't eat all this food!" when everyone else is enjoying their full plate (how do I politely stop her from passing around her plate like that? I wish she would just stop eating and not say anything to bring attention to herself). I don't understand what that's all about, but I think if she is so full with half a plate of food when she hasn't eaten for hours, then she is probably undereating (dieting) and her metabolism has slowed down. But whatever I say will go in one ear and out the other -- especially now that she has successfully lost weight and is thinner than ever. I don't know if she'll ever let any of us do anything for her unless she is totally helpless. Jen

I also have high BP and take a diuretic and Lotensin. I don't really like taking meds, they always seem to have side effects. I upped my exercise, trying to do 25 min on the treadmill 5x per week. Also, I lost 5 lbs. Although not terribly overweight, I should lose about 10 more lbs. Losing weight does help, my BP went down for a time. Then I stopped losing the weight (the Holidays, you know!) and it went up again. Doctors just want to give you meds, they don't have the time to do anything else. I think the diuretic has dehydrated me because I wake up with a headache many mornings. I also have a stuffy nose in the morning which goes away as the day goes on. I guess it's from the dry air in the winter. We can't put a humidifier on the furnace, so I just put a bucket of water in my bedroom. I was never allergic to anything before, but as I age, I seem to mind certain scents, etc. (Like scented candles) I think this is one of those situations where I have to figure out what's causing the headaches, etc. I do see the health provider on a regular basis. I would love to stop taking the meds, we'll see how well I do with losing weight and exercising. My chloresterol is also borderline, but I refuse to take statins. My DH took them and had joint pain.

I just saw these posts! I am so scatterbrained, it's often embarrassing. jerzee, there's GOOD news, actually, and it's held for two days now so I guess I can post it: I've gotten 119/79ish (yesterday was something like 119/83, so same area) in the am!! PM it goes to 145/93, but there's definitely a change in the mornings. I called my doc yesterday to deliver the news and of course she never got back to me. I think I could die of something she should have noticed and she'd shrug and laugh. NOT a good feeling about a doctor. Off to a better practice, even if it costs more. The atenolol is slowing down my heartbeat too, but not as slow as yours! Mine is now in the 70s, whereas it used to be in the 80s/90s. I'm getting the *slightest* feeling of what life must be like for my DH, who has a heartbeat in the 50s, usually. VERY different, in a good way, yes? :) sjerin, I'm glad your mom's heart surgery went well--I was thinking about her the other day when I read an article about how older folks are having surgery more often now. I hope she recovers fast and uneventfully and goes back to marathoning :) (we live in hope :)) May I ask how much atenolol your family members took? I'm on 50 now, at bedtime, but am wondering if 100 at bedtime might be better to keep the bp down all day. I sure do get good sleep at night, though. I might be tired like your family during the day if I up the dose. I read something interesting--that walking on cobblestones was found to be better for lowering blood pressure than prescription medications! It's been confirmed and published, even...and you can buy cobblestone mats to walk on!

I'm female, 5' 7", 125 lbs, my cholesterol levels are great, I eat healthy and work out at a gym daily. My BP was around 105/65 since I was in my twenties. Two years ago (at 52) I got a sore throat with swollen glands so I went to the doctor. My BP had gone up to 175/95 overnight! I know this because I check my heart rate and BP at the gym every day and it was my normal 105/65 the day before I got the sore throat. My throat culture came back positive for strep throat (which my doc said isn't too common among middle age folks) and I was put on antibiotics. The doctor wanted to wait until I'd finished the medication and the strep had cleared to see if my BP went back to normal. Unfortunately, it never did, and I had to be put on BP medication. My doctor thinks the strep throat somehow shocked my system and caused my BP to be permanently altered. On medication (the lowest dose possible) it hovers around my previous 105/65, but if she takes me off that low dose, it shoots right back up again. So I guess I'm on meds for life now. Just wanted to share that it's possible for BP to go haywire with a virus or bacterial infection and be unable to regulate itself back to normal afterwards.