OTC blood pressure meds....

[Joe Bob]

Anyone have a recipe to for meds for high blood pressure and cholesterol?

I have had it with prescription drugs...I'm borderline on on both but want to bring them down.

[pavulon]

Serious diet control, exercise, don't drink, don't smoke, reduce stress, get off the computer, go see a friend or 5... maybe a couple of others.

[GH85Carrera]

Yea, change to vegan diet, no alcohol, no smoking, no mind altering substances of any sort, no sex, get 10 to 12 hours of sleep every night, 4 to 6 hours of exercise every day, and even if you don't live longer, it will seem like it.

[masraum]

My cholesterol was ~235. I cut out sugar (it's in everything) and ramped my fiber consumption WAY up. Beans, hummus, oat meal, etc... every day. I also started taking (at the advice of my Dr) Niacin (2 grams per day the kind that makes you flush not niacinimide, you have to start gradually and work up to that and take it 4-5 times a day with food). After 6 months, I was tested again at 165 with all of my numbers good.

[Iciclehead]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Anyone have a recipe to for meds for high blood pressure and cholesterol?

I have had it with prescription drugs...I'm borderline on on both but want to bring them down.

My case exactly.....willing to do pretty well anything except give up on sex and my nightly drink.....

Dennis

[Joe Bob]

Thanks for the suggestions. But as with my IBS, diet and exercise don't change my issues.

I have lost my medical coverage and the douche bags won't sell me the meds w/o a presciption...

[Mad Max]

Antihypertensives - An Alternative Approach to Blood Pressure

No easy answer but I like how these guys explain problems and solutions. It is my understanding that we, as a society are lacking 60 minerals and vitamins in our diet, so that will need to be supplemented by another source. The medical establishment just lowered the numbers from 140 to 130. Great, now a third of the population is now over.

I question everything about health and trust few in the healthcare/health insurance industry and wonder if this is just another profit motive. I recently went in for a check-up and the machine read 150+/- and on a later date I tested at the same faculty at 135. My trust issues are bullish. I take zero medications/drugs and I do not intend to in the future.

[John Rogers]

Well, since you did not say what the readings are for B/P I would suggest going to see a heart specialist. Having known you since the San Diego Porsche auto cross days I would seriously doubt any over the counter drugs can help? If I remember correctly you are a high stress and super active person and I would be surprised if any life style changes can affect the blood pressure enough to bring it down. The cholesterol on the other hand can be brought down if you work at it but that is super hard to stick to. This issue can also be a genetic issue as it is for me as both my mom and dad had B/P and cholesterol issues but with their meds lived to over 90 years old. Remember you are not a spring chicken now days!


For years my B/P was 140 over 85 which my primary care doc thought was okay (with meds) and then 5 years ago I had a mini stroke in the left side of the brain. The brain doctor and also a heart doctor both said to get it down to 120 over 70 so now it is as the original was too high?

[recycled sixtie]

I will echo what John Rodgers above says. When I was 60 I had readings of 140 over 95. I had an ambulatory blood pressure machine attached to my arm for a couple of days. It verified high bp. I declined bp meds initially to see if I could get the bp down by exercise. Still no change after two weeks so I have been on bp meds for eleven years.

Similarly with cholesterol meds. Have been on that for a year. Am not willing to risk a heart attack or stroke by foregoing meds. You do what you gotta do.

I am not a med specialist but would recommend seeing your doc and do what he/she suggests.

[RKDinOKC]

When was younger had high BP and put on meds. Started building and flying Radio Controlled Airplanes as a hobby. BP went down so much took me off the meds. Think it was stress related.

Recently cholesterol was a little high. Doc told me to eat more oats. Started having Cherrios for breakfast and the bad went down and the good went up.

[vash]

go vegan?

[Vipergrün]

I use to get Flonase from these guys prior to it becoming OTC, no script needed for a lot of stuff, or they can prescribe. Looks like they have some options; https://www.kiwidrug.com/

[Tobra]

Exercise more, lose weight and eat healthier. Eat more whole grains, less red meat and no booze or tobacco.

[Tidybuoy]

I take Niacin (Vitamin B3). But do your own research as there are some side effects. I personally have not had any issues except I've lost weight.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705821/

[Deschodt]

My doc whom I see for borderline BP (I could go without meds but when I get pissed off it rises higher) said that the new lowering of the # was likely due to the pharma hobby now being able to target a bigger market.... He's got me on a tiny dose of something until I lose a little weight and eat a little better... his goal is to get me off meds... The previous med was a mild beta blocker which made me loopy... OTC with those things could be dangerous, some you cannot stop cold turkey either... I see that now... different folks react differently to those drugs.

Yeah, 90% diet, 10% exercise...

[jyl]

Here is a suggestion. The docs here will tell you if it is a dumb one.

Blood pressure typically follows a daily cycle. Lowest in the early morning, highest in the afternoon. Measure yours every hour for a couple days, chart it, and see what your highest BP time of day is. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/blood-pressure/faq-20058115

Then get a juicer, make and drink beet juice daily. Beets contain nitrates, metabolized as nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure by dilating blood vessels. The effect can be meaningful, like 8 and 4 mmHg points. See https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288229.php Don't boil the beets, juice them raw. Or roast the beets and eat them. My guess is that eating beets is probably more effective and healthier than juicing, though the clinical studies seem to all use dosing via juice, probably for convenience.

If you can identify the time of day when your BP is highest, try timing your beet juice intake to a few hours before that. Or drink it a couple times per day. The reason is that beet juice seems to take a few hours to affect blood pressure. I don't know what the pharmacokinetic profile is, but a peak at a few hours post ingestion seems a reasonable starting guess. https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20121212/beetroot-juice-blood-pressure

And - lose weight. Like 20+ lb. Blood pressure is higher with higher body mass. So is blood volume, maybe it has to do with higher volume of blood in the same circulatory system? Dunno.

[Chocaholic]

Why put yourself through all that BS? Take your statin and BP Meds and be glad you live in a culture and time that offers those solutions. Sheesh...everyone wants to be Euell Gibbons.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Why put yourself through all that BS? Take your statin and BP Meds and be glad you live in a culture and time that offers those solutions. Sheesh...everyone wants to be Euell Gibbons.

Statins can cause all sorts of issues. They aren't necessarily a good thing. The right answer isn't always to take a pill or the easy way out.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Thanks for the suggestions. But as with my IBS, diet and exercise don't change my issues.

I have lost my medical coverage and the douche bags won't sell me the meds w/o a presciption...

Douche bags? Yeah, my accountant won't do my taxes without seeing me, and my lawyer won't go to court without a retainer, either .

A visit to a primary care doc is about $150. Generic blood pressure or cholesterol meds, 5$ a month. Labs, twice a year, $150.

For $700-1000 a year, without insurance, you can get treatment.

Most insurance plans now a days have $3000 deductibles.

You are no worse off than the guy with a Cadillac plan, unless you get a serious illness.

Bo

[Lyle O]

Try taking psyllium fiber tablets (Metamucil brand, and Kirkland from Costco, are pretty much the same thing). Your numbers will get better (cholesterol and BP), along with your regularity...