Suggestions for high blood pressure

[BRM]

Actually it is, but I don't drink, so no problems there

That's what I thought. I asked my friend about it and he held firm claiming all his doctor said was regular exercise. I know he drinks LOTS of beer and I worry that even with exercise, he's not going to be able to get his HBP under control because of that.

[vaticanplum]

I really appreciate all the responses so quickly. My doctor was very helpful in the discussion I had with him. He told me to stay away from salt, and to up my potassium and calcium intake, as well as exercising regularly.

I just thought it would help me understand it even further if I got some input from people that have experienced it. Makes for pretty devastating news when you're only 22, but it's the price one pays for not taking care of their body.

Thanks for all the help, it's GREATLY appreciated

Keep watch on yourself, because high blood pressure at 22 is not incredibly common even in people who don't take care of themselves (translation: don't entirely blame yourself ) I'm by no means a doctor, and presumably you've spoken with your doctor about this, but I'd start getting your cholesterol checked regularly and just in general keeping an eye on your heart. Does high blood pressure run in your family? You have a great deal of control over your blood pressure, of course, but these things are hugely genetic and HPB at 22 is usually a flag.

[SunDeck]

I really appreciate all the responses so quickly. My doctor was very helpful in the discussion I had with him. He told me to stay away from salt, and to up my potassium and calcium intake, as well as exercising regularly.

I just thought it would help me understand it even further if I got some input from people that have experienced it. Makes for pretty devastating news when you're only 22, but it's the price one pays for not taking care of their body.

Thanks for all the help, it's GREATLY appreciated

The upside is that you are young.
As a relative pup, I'm guessing you have a significant chance of getting your BP down and keeping it there.

[cincrazy]

Thanks for all the support. It's just been a rough few days. High blood pressure runs in the family, so it's had me a bit on edge. I've had a lot of stress lately, which I think has a lot to do with it. It's just disappointing. When you're this age you think you're invincible to all that stuff.

And the doctor suggested cholestoral blood work, but my health insurance isn't good at the moment, and he said that he thought it could wait, that it wasn't an urgent matter

[Roy Tucker]

Don't have kids.

[pedro]

Don't have kids.

I knew that was going to be your response before I even opened up the thread.

[goreds2]

Stay away from the game threads.

Especially after tonight.

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

Dont watch the reds games..I'm considering it.. I do have high blood pressure and by the end of these games I have projectile vomiting and explosive flatuence...

[rotnoid]

I've been told that sea salt is the way to go. Not sure if there's necessarily less sodium in it, but several people have told me to make the switch. I think it tastes better anyway.

[gm]

I've been told that sea salt is the way to go. Not sure if there's necessarily less sodium in it, but several people have told me to make the switch. I think it tastes better anyway.

Colloidal silver and websites like this http://www.healthline.cc/

[Spring~Fields]

Get serious about eating right, don't play with fire.

Like another said get off the salt.

Just curious, was this the first time that your blood pressure was high?

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

Dont watch the reds games..I'm considering it.. I do have high blood pressure and by the end of these games I have projectile vomiting and explosive flatuence...

I intentionally did not watch the game tonight--and I swear as of 11:23pm I dont have that ticked off mad attitude that i normally have...

[Yachtzee]

Thanks for all the support. It's just been a rough few days. High blood pressure runs in the family, so it's had me a bit on edge. I've had a lot of stress lately, which I think has a lot to do with it. It's just disappointing. When you're this age you think you're invincible to all that stuff.

And the doctor suggested cholestoral blood work, but my health insurance isn't good at the moment, and he said that he thought it could wait, that it wasn't an urgent matter

Get some sleep.

I had issues with high blood pressure. I dealt with it by graduating from law school. What you eat may cause hbp and it can also be hereditary, but don't discount how you're living. Throughout law school, I was stressed out, I got little sleep, and I was often either trudging around with heavy books and a laptop or spending hours on end tossing back Red Bull and burying my nose in the books. Then I would come home and wrangle two young boys while my wife was working late to support us while I was in school. The lifestyle really took its toll by the third year. I was so bad that my hands would constantly shake and I had trouble getting to sleep from acid reflux and feeling my heart pound in my chest.

My doctor took a conservative approach and suggested I check my blood pressure regularly at the drug store or grocery and just keep an eye on it. Once I graduated from law school, I started getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night, dropped down to 1 cup of coffee and 1 diet carbonated soda a day. I also started Weightwatchers online and chose to do the flex plan where it focuses on portion sizes and balancing your bad choices with good choices. I lost 25 lbs., my blood pressure went down, and I got off the prescription for Acid Reflux, something I've had a problem with for over 10 years.

[dfs]

Thanks for all the support. It's just been a rough few days. High blood pressure runs in the family, so it's had me a bit on edge. I've had a lot of stress lately, which I think has a lot to do with it. It's just disappointing. When you're this age you think you're invincible to all that stuff.

And the doctor suggested cholestoral blood work, but my health insurance isn't good at the moment, and he said that he thought it could wait, that it wasn't an urgent matter

A couple of thoughts come to mind.

First of all, pay attention to your diet and get regular daily exercise. There are six bazillian reasons that this is good advice for everybody at any age and any physical condition. Don't overdo exercise, but do SOMETHING every day. That way the next day, you can do a bit more.

Second of all.....you're 23 year's old and your blood pressure is 160/90....how consistently? Is this one reading? several readings over several years? If it's one single reading...How did you feel at the time? You were at the doctor's? Where you nervous? Where you ill? If so, it's very possible that you've got one slightly high reading under understandable conditions....have somebody reliable take your BP reading on a semi-regular basis to confirm if this is a diagnosis that you should take seriously.

What I'm getting at ...is that if you were at the doctor, feeling ill and uncomfortable while they were taking your blood pressure, it's possible that the reader caught a spike and your regular BP is 130/80 which is fine and nothing to be alarmed about. That does happen.

Again, refer to the first paragraph were you are encouraged to eat right and exercize anyway.

[oneupper]

Thanks for all the support. It's just been a rough few days. High blood pressure runs in the family, so it's had me a bit on edge. I've had a lot of stress lately, which I think has a lot to do with it. It's just disappointing. When you're this age you think you're invincible to all that stuff.

And the doctor suggested cholestoral blood work, but my health insurance isn't good at the moment, and he said that he thought it could wait, that it wasn't an urgent matter

This may be WAY off, but I had high blood pressure at a very early age (250/220 at age 8) and it turned out to be a pheochromocytoma (a rare benign tumor of the adrenalin glands). This is a condition which can "run in the family" and there are easy tests (urine) to discard it a as a possibility. You want to rule this out because unchecked it can be very harmful.
Onset of symptoms for Pheos are not normally at the age I had mine, but around your age.