High Blood Pressure and Me
By: sheldon archer | Posted: 16th March 2010
The problem with high blood pressure is that when you have it you don't know that you have it, until you happen to get a pressure test. I am now 75 years old and have had the problem for more than 35 years that I have known about. It all started one day when I twisted my ankle. Wanting to make sure that it wasn't broken, I limped off to the local hospital emergency room. The nurse, as is usually the case, went through the usual temperature and blood pressure testing. She wrapped the pressure pad around my arm and began squeezing the rubber bulb. After a few minutes, her face dropped and she gave me a little smile as she disconnected the machine and wheeled it out of the room. A few moments later, she returned with a different machine and hooked it up to me. She retook the reading and left the room again. When she returned, she was accompanied by a couple of doctors and was holding a small tray containing some pills and a glass of water.
"What about my ankle?" I enquired of one of the doctors.
"Your ankle is the least of your worries at the moment," the doctor replied gravely?"
"What do you mean?" I asked a little nervously.
"You are lucky you weren't carried in here," the doctor continued. "You have a blood pressure reading of 225 over 110. That is extremely dangerous!"
I swallowed the pills and lay down on the bed for about fifteen minutes. Then the nurse returned and rechecked the pressure which was now at the high end of the normal range. She then began examining my ankle which turned out just to be a sprain.
So, since then I have had to contend with blood pressure which needs to be controlled regularly. I have never smoked or been a drinker. My father was a vegetarian and I had some tendencies in that direction. After my hypertension diagnosis I cut out all meat. I do everything by the book...exercise regularly, eat lots of fruit and vegetables, no salt or fat. I drink green tea all the time. I live a relaxed life, retired in Indonesia and have an ultra happy, stress free married life etc etc, yet I have never been able to get away from chemical medication.
I have tried so called natural products. I consume virtually anything that I can find which is claimed to reduce blood pressure including dragon fruit, broccoli, spinach, tofu, carrot juice, parsley, ginger, garlic and onions etc. None of them seem to do anything as, as soon as I stop the medication, my pressure zooms back up again.
A year or so ago I tried Compound Hypotensive Tablets which are from China and contain 5 potent medicines: reserpine, chlordiazepoxide, hydrochlorothiazide, dihydralazine sulfate, triamterene. They appeared to work OK and I had no side effects. Then, after a few days everything went downhill. My wife and I were at a kids' outdoor exercise display. The sun was very hot and, after about an hour I began to feel a little weak and had to sit down. I decided to go home and felt progressively worse. My temperature was 39C, pulse about 75 and blood pressure 175/110. I also had diarrhea. I took DEXA amiodpine and atenolol and after about 2 hours my temperature and pulse were normal and pressure was 130/80. That night I had trouble sleeping. I had been working with a computer program formula and this was somehow fixed in my mind and every time I tried to think about something else my thoughts kept coming back to this stupid formula. Here in Indonesia it is always hot and I am used to the UK cold. Thus I always use a fan. For about 2 hours I got the chills and ended up covered with a thick blanket. My appetite was zero and so was my energy. The next morning I felt fine and all the symptoms except the diarrhea had disappeared. Needless to say, I quit using THAT medication.
Today my blood pressure is generally under control but occasionally even now it will soar up to 212/100 for short periods of time, even when I am just sitting around relaxing. I am presently taking Atenolol 50mg, Angioten 50mg for pressure and Aceite for cholesterol.
So, personally I find all these internet ads claiming "Lower your blood pressure the natural way" misleading and useless. I just wish that I COULD find a way of doing without prescription drugs but it doesn't seem likely.
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sheldon archer
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Tags: worries, few minutes, high blood pressure, few moments, pills, tendencies, hypertension, glass of water, fruit and vegetables, fifteen minutes, green tea, drinker, 35 years, local hospital, sprain, hospital emergency room, little smile