# Blood Pressure Medication



## paulsed1 (Dec 28, 2010)

I have had on-again, off-again issues with high blood pressure for a while now.  I weigh around 250 lbs, not sure of my body fat percentage.  51 inch chest, 18 1/2 inch arms or so, waist is a little over 40 inches, so I could definitely lose some fat.  I know all the various methods one can approach for lowering the BP.  The question is more about the medication.  I have a history of trying both Bennicar and Lisinopril, both for a pretty short period of time.  I usually felt worse taking those than I did from any symptoms from HBP.  I need to up the cardio and try one last time to get this down naturally before taking medicine again, but I sometimes wonder if I am destined to take medicine because it can get pretty high sometimes.  Does anyone take any medicine that has helped them and not affected anything atl all; i.e. workouts are the same, can take any supplement, etc?  Nothing would make me happier to take a simple pill and get the BP down without side effects, but it seems hard to do.


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## MDR (Dec 28, 2010)

paulsed1 said:


> I have had on-again, off-again issues with high blood pressure for a while now.  I weigh around 250 lbs, not sure of my body fat percentage.  51 inch chest, 18 1/2 inch arms or so, waist is a little over 40 inches, so I could definitely lose some fat.  I know all the various methods one can approach for lowering the BP.  The question is more about the medication.  I have a history of trying both Bennicar and Lisinopril, both for a pretty short period of time.  I usually felt worse taking those than I did from any symptoms from HBP.  I need to up the cardio and try one last time to get this down naturally before taking medicine again, but I sometimes wonder if I am destined to take medicine because it can get pretty high sometimes.  Does anyone take any medicine that has helped them and not affected anything atl all; i.e. workouts are the same, can take any supplement, etc?  Nothing would make me happier to take a simple pill and get the BP down without side effects, but it seems hard to do.



I take Lipitor and Lotensin with few issues.  I was a little tired at first with the Lotensin, but it passed after my body got used to the drug.  The combo works well for me 'cause I have High Cholesterol as well.  Sounds like you are smart to try to do all you can before resorting to meds.  I take Whey and Creatine, along with fish oil and a multi-vitamin as far as supplements.  Workouts are not affected.  Good luck in finding a solution that works for you.


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## DarkHorse (Dec 28, 2010)

Ask your doctor about a beta-blocker like Propranolol


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## zoco (Dec 28, 2010)

I've had problems with BP a few months ago.Here is what I did to normalize it:

-Cut salt,coffee,carbonated drinks and don't cheat.Cut them entirely.
-Do cardio sessions EVERY DAY.It does not need to be intensive,but do it for 25-35 minutes.
-I also was/am taking garlic and parsley pills,green tea and parsley tea.
-Sleep more - fatigue can cause high blood pressure. 

These three things really helped me to reduce it.


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## IrishMonk (Dec 28, 2010)

I take a beta blocker with no side effects. It's used for high BP, although that's not why I take it.... I take it for anxiety. 
Only thing is it reduces the heart rate... that's what it's meant to do. S0 when I do cardio I cant get my heart rate up over 110. ( Just fast walking and bike... not to the level where Im running yet..., if I did I'm sure I could get the heart rate up more. ) If I miss a dose cardio hbpm is in the 120s. So I have to judge my cardio not on a target heart rate, but rather just how I feel... ie what I feel my output level is.

I highly recommend the beta blockers...


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## DarkHorse (Dec 28, 2010)

IrishMonk said:


> I take a beta blocker with no side effects. It's used for high BP, although that's not why I take it.... I take it for anxiety.
> Only thing is it reduces the heart rate... that's what it's meant to do. S0 when I do cardio I cant get my heart rate up over 110. ( Just fast walking and bike... not to the level where Im running yet..., if I did I'm sure I could get the heart rate up more. ) If I miss a dose cardio hbpm is in the 120s. So I have to judge my cardio not on a target heart rate, but rather just how I feel... ie what I feel my output level is.
> 
> I highly recommend the beta blockers...


 
Some doctors prescribe beta blockers for anxiety instead of benzos. IMO this is a good practice *to start with* so people don't become dependent on bezos.


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## paulsed1 (Dec 28, 2010)

Interesting on the Beta Blockers.  Wondering if anything that slows heart rate would affect exercise performance with the weights?


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## paulsed1 (Jan 4, 2011)

Looks like I will be giving Amlodipine a try, calcium channel blocker. I am not extremely well researched on this class, but I know calcium is needed for muscle contracttion, so I hope this will not be negatively impacting the workouts.


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## Life (Jan 4, 2011)

You could try:

Red Yeast Rice + CoQ10
Hawthorne Berry
Garlic Pills

My dad is on lipitor but it can never get him where he needs to be. I bought that stack for him for Christmas and his bp is well within a good range. Plus side is they are relatively cheap. Try the red yeast rice and coq10. Should see results within 3-4 days. Walmart carries all the above.


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## paulsed1 (Jan 4, 2011)

Life said:


> You could try:
> 
> Red Yeast Rice + CoQ10
> Hawthorne Berry
> ...




Do you know his BP pre- and post-stack?


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## Life (Jan 4, 2011)

His pre BP was around ~150/95. Last time he took it, ~130/80. But mostly he can just feel the difference. No headaches or bloated feeling.


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## paulsed1 (Jan 4, 2011)

Life said:


> His pre BP was around ~150/95. Last time he took it, ~130/80. But mostly he can just feel the difference. No headaches or bloated feeling.



Hmm, pretty good difference.  Just sucks becasue my doctor is really pressuring me to take meds, but I really feel like they cause other problems even though they might lower BP.  I have tried two others in the past that always made my heart act funny, Lisinopril and Bennicar.  I am willing to give this stack a try, but just don't want to do anything too risky.


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## Life (Jan 4, 2011)

Doctors are pressured to push certain drugs by pharm reps. They get certain things in exchange for pushing them. I don't know your situation and I'm not saying this is the case but you can always get a second opinion from another doctor. If you're not on anything now then hawthorne, coq10 and red yeast rice aren't going to hurt you.


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## paulsed1 (Jan 4, 2011)

Life said:


> Doctors are pressured to push certain drugs by pharm reps. They get certain things in exchange for pushing them. I don't know your situation and I'm not saying this is the case but you can always get a second opinion from another doctor. If you're not on anything now then hawthorne, coq10 and red yeast rice aren't going to hurt you.



Very true; I won't say who my doctor is, but he works quite a bit with weight lifters.  I do trust his opinion, but I just can't get rid of the nagging feeling that none of these drugs are good for you in the long run.  The thing that has me near convinced to try one is my lower number has been high the last couple days, over 100.  I was getting headaches and my eyes were bugging out.  I feel better today.  It typically hovers in the 90ish range.  I have also been sick with a cold the last several days and had a very high salt meal a couple nights ago.  That could have impacted it too.


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## Soul12 (Jan 4, 2011)

paulsed1 said:


> I have had on-again, off-again issues with high blood pressure for a while now.  I weigh around 250 lbs, not sure of my body fat percentage.  51 inch chest, 18 1/2 inch arms or so, waist is a little over 40 inches, so I could definitely lose some fat.  I know all the various methods one can approach for lowering the BP.  The question is more about the medication.  I have a history of trying both Bennicar and Lisinopril, both for a pretty short period of time.  I usually felt worse taking those than I did from any symptoms from HBP.  I need to up the cardio and try one last time to get this down naturally before taking medicine again, but I sometimes wonder if I am destined to take medicine because it can get pretty high sometimes.  *Does anyone take any medicine that has helped them and not affected anything atl all; i.e. workouts are the same, can take any supplement, etc?  Nothing would make me happier to take a simple pill and get the BP down without side effects, but it seems hard to do*.



I have been on Toprol XL for 7 years, which is a beta blocker for high blood pressure. I will say that it makes it more difficult to raise your heartrate during cardio. Higher doses can make you tired, which is why many people take them at night. But really, I can't say that it has affected my workouts. I lift weights and run several times a week. But I am on a very small dosage. But don't worry about being on a medicine and it affecting your workouts because there are many different medicines to try if one doesn't agree with your body.


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## paulsed1 (Jan 7, 2011)

Been on Amlodipine for two days now.  No noticeable differences yet, positive or negative, although I may be feeling slightly bettter, hard to judge.  It is a pretty small dose too, 2.5 mgs.  The BP for some reason just went up like crazy this week, not really sure why.  I didn't do anything out of the ordinary.  The bottom number read over 100 several times, so that is why I was more open to medicine, since I was freaking out.  I was sick with a bad cold last week, but doc says that would not spike the BP by itself.  See how things are in the gym next week.


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## Glycomann (Jan 7, 2011)

paulsed1 said:


> I have had on-again, off-again issues with high blood pressure for a while now.  I weigh around 250 lbs, not sure of my body fat percentage.  51 inch chest, 18 1/2 inch arms or so, waist is a little over 40 inches, so I could definitely lose some fat.  I know all the various methods one can approach for lowering the BP.  The question is more about the medication.  I have a history of trying both Bennicar and Lisinopril, both for a pretty short period of time.  I usually felt worse taking those than I did from any symptoms from HBP.  I need to up the cardio and try one last time to get this down naturally before taking medicine again, but I sometimes wonder if I am destined to take medicine because it can get pretty high sometimes.  Does anyone take any medicine that has helped them and not affected anything atl all; i.e. workouts are the same, can take any supplement, etc?  Nothing would make me happier to take a simple pill and get the BP down without side effects, but it seems hard to do.


Do you use AAS? The mechanisms that lead to high BP on cycle are starting to be better understood.  This is the reason I ask.


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## paulsed1 (Jan 7, 2011)

Glycomann said:


> Do you use AAS? The mechanisms that lead to high BP on cycle are starting to be better understood.  This is the reason I ask.



never


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## paulsed1 (Jan 12, 2011)

Been on Amlodipine now for a week.  Small dose at first, 2.5 mgs. No noticeable difference and the BP was still quite high from time to time.  Increased the does to 5 mgs two days ago and it was down to 125 over 79 this morning, so not too bad.  I still don't want to stay on it forever though.  I can't tell if anything is affected in the gym yet.  I read somewhere that this drug can restrict blood flow to muscles, which concerns me, but it is also a vasodiolator, so not quite sure.  I usually feel pretty pumped still the day after a workout if it was intense, but am feeling kind of flat today.

I wonder too about the pre-workout energy drinks.  I know those are obviously not good for high BP, but I wonder how the meds would affect them.  Can one still benefit from energy drinks without blood pressure temporarily spiking?


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## paulsed1 (Jan 25, 2011)

On 5 mgs. of Amlodipine now.  Seems to be helping somewhat for normal activity, but the BP still spikes during weight training and I feel crappy.  Really sucks, it wasn't that long ago I was feeling fine, now any type of intense straining seems to spike it.


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## Hubauer (Jan 26, 2011)

Did you doctor give you any reason that you couldn`t take a diuretic?
I`m surprised he didn`t start you on a thiazide diuretic or a beta blocker. Alot of people have good results from one of those or a combination.

Do you take any other meds (OTC or Rx) apart from the Amlodipine?


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## Hubauer (Jan 26, 2011)

Life said:


> My dad is on lipitor but it can never get him where he needs to be. I bought that stack for him for Christmas and his bp is well within a good range.



Not to be a dirtbag, just a heads up - Lipitor is an HMG CoEnzymeA Reductase Inhibitor (a statin if you will) used to reduce lipid levels. Probably will have very little effect on BP


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## paulsed1 (Jan 26, 2011)

Hubauer said:


> Did you doctor give you any reason that you couldn`t take a diuretic?
> I`m surprised he didn`t start you on a thiazide diuretic or a beta blocker. Alot of people have good results from one of those or a combination.
> 
> Do you take any other meds (OTC or Rx) apart from the Amlodipine?



We might try a diuretic eventually if the amlodipie alone is not working well enough.  He is very anti beta-blocker because he thinks that will effect performance in the gym.  I am not taking any other meds at this point.  I also need to get it in my thick head to layoff any and all supplemnts that negatively impact BP.  Used to love all the pre-workout stimulants, but obviuosly are not good for long-term health.


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## MDR (Jan 26, 2011)

Hubauer said:


> Not to be a dirtbag, just a heads up - Lipitor is an HMG CoEnzymeA Reductase Inhibitor (a statin if you will) used to reduce lipid levels. Probably will have very little effect on BP



The Lipitor is for high cholesterol.  The Lotensin is for BP.  Many who suffer from hypertension have multiple symptoms.


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## Hubauer (Jan 26, 2011)

MDR said:


> The Lipitor is for high cholesterol.  The Lotensin is for BP.  Many who suffer from hypertension have multiple symptoms.



I know what they both are for, but he never mentioned his dad being on Lotensin or any other blood pressure meds, did he? Oh well...


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