Hi John, I hope you are still following this thread. As a high blood pressure patient myself, my first concern is that you see your GP and get a basic check up and diagnosis, before you take anything at all. This is a subject too near and dear to my heart to pass by. During the check up, be sure they do a thyroid blood test, as both hyper and hypo thyroid, cause altered metabolism and high blood pressure. What you and I must avoid is a heart attack or stroke. If I have a stroke, I will be forced to watch my garden go to rack and ruin. :-( As it is now, I am as in control as possible, but I must be careful with all garden tasks, and take much longer to complete projects that in the past. IF I had gone in, and been diagnosed correctly years back, the solution would have been simple, and I could be running at normal speed. Not being able to ever again hike up a steep hill and enjoy the wildflowers is one of my biggest regrets. Back then, when things were only starting to go bad... I sounded exactly like you do in this first post. I know you fellows think going to the doctor is for girls...but this time you really need to just call and make an appointment. Not knowing does not make it go away. And not knowing but aware...causes stress...which causes long term damage to the immune system, and then the heart. With no diagnosis... and not knowing your current thyroid status, I will strongly advise against adding any so called safe supplements... the wrong guess and "bad to much worse" is the story. We get new people all the time being diagnosed either hyper or hypo... all because they added the wrong vitamins and herbs, thinking it was harmless and so basic and simple... it wouldn't hurt them. And I have to tell all of you... as a long term support person elsewhere... I am tired of picking up the damaged patients. Let's always insist on a diagnosis before a cure is prescribed. Don't take me wrong. I am a huge supporter of alternative healing, and my use of supplements and herbals was a HUGE part of my own "rare" success/ remission. But ya gotta' be aware of all the possible problems before hand. Be smart and careful. AFTER you have a diagnosis, THEN self education and a good, experienced NP will be of great value. We need to enjoy our golden years . Plus... have the opportunity to finally enjoy those tiny little plants we started, the ones that had to grow for years and years to be magnificent. ;) I'm starting to see this... and can not even start to tell you the joy ! Take care of yourself, so we can all enjoy your garden. :-D -Pam L- my rant for the year ;) Don't be skeeered... I'm really am nice, *lol*

I am 73 years old. Some 30 years ago, my BP started going up, and I was advised to reduce salt. I did it and monitored my BP every day, and watched it go down gradually but steadily. and it stayed down for a few years. Then it started climbing again, and I started taking anti-hypertensive medications. I now take two different such medications to keep my BP within normal range, and I watch my diet. Eliminating salt from your diet is very difficult because so many things contain salt. It's not just avoiding the salt shaker and avoiding salt in the food you cook. Most people do not know it, but milk, bread and most cold cuts and cheeses contain salt. Meats and fishes also contain some salt. The only things that contain no salt are potatoes, fruit and veggies, rice, grains, beans and unsalted nuts. You can accustom your taste buds to "like" unsalted food and, after a few weeks, you will find even lightly salted things too salty and wonder how you ever ate them. Depending on your personal situation, you might make life very complicated for the people you live with. If you decide to embark on this low sodium effort, make sure your BP elevation is not so high as to pose a serious risk, because you could do yourself harm if you do not get your BP under control promptly. Another thing to consider is that some people with high BP have a form of the disease that is particularly salt-sensitive. They respond especially well to reduced sodium intake. If your illness is not of that type, then you will probably eventually find that sodium restriction does not afford you the degree of BP control that you need, and you will have to start taking medication. Of you can try calcium supplements, but they can be constipating. The cheapest and for most people safest starting antihypertensive medication is hydochlorthiazide (HCZT), which is available as a generic and costs less than $20 per month. It's a very safe drug, and you will probably not experience any unpleasant side effects. Blood pressure control is one of the few areas where the drug industry has succeeded very well. The available treatments are highly effective and extremely safe. You will hardly know you are taking any medication, and the "silent killer" can be kept safely at bay.

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!