Need Help, Is it possible to cure hypertension to the point where medication is no longer needed?

Hey peeps,

Normally i do my research online on this sort of thing however I'm only really getting conflicting opinion's and information, knowing you guys it seemed logical to bounce this question off the forums.

I'm Going to (try) join the Royal navy, It's my dream career, the problem is i was diagnosed with high blood pressure early last spring, At it's highest my pressure was 165/95 which for a 22 year old guy, lets admit it' ain't that great at all, at this point white coat syndrome seems to have been ruled out and i have been officially diagnosed with stage1/2 hypertension and i have been taking 5mg Lisinopril daily to counteract the high BP, However i am now on a strict exercise regime and steadily losing the weight that probably caused the bloody problem (pun intended) in the first place, i have completely stopped drinking and Smoking entirely within the last month and my BP; with me still on med's is now 135/75, I've also started eating extremely healthy and have really bought my health and fitness into focus within the past couple of months.

For the navy i cannot have high blood pressure (which i currently don't)

But also i can't be on any medication.

I ask you is it possible to ween myself off the medication if i keep at my healthy lifestyle routine?

Yours always,

Ted

reply to post by TedHodgson


It's very possible to ween yourself off the bp meds. I've been trying to do that for years although my hypertension is pretty insidious, with a lot of people in my family having it. I would definitely ween yourself under your doctor's direction, however. I'm not sure how military recruiting in the UK works, but here in the U.S. if you try to ween yourself off a prescribed medicine, but not under a doctor's guidance, that can be grounds for rejection.

reply to post by Toromos


Thanks very much for you answer

Of course i will be following medical advice, my local Nurse didn't seem too sure it was possible, then again maybe she was just trying to get me more fit and healthy before i tried to get off the things (nurses are sneaky these days) i will follow the advice of my GP or nurse whilst attempting the said "weening" and not come off the lisinopril till i get the go ahead, just needed a bit of hope at the end of the tunnel

Thanks again,

Ted.

It's absolutely possible. It's all about diet and exercise, though. Salt (and sodium in prepared foods) is probably the number one culprit. If you eat a healthy diet, limit sodium intake and exercise regularly, it's not a problem to keep the blood pressure down. I do it every day. And if you're overweight, definitely get your weight down.

Have you ever watched the Biggest Loser? It's a weight loss reality show and the contestants are all evaluated when they arrive and then again about 6 weeks later. They get off ALL their meds, including high blood pressure and even insulin, because their diabetes goes away.

Good luck to you! Salt is the plague.

We need more information from the OP. Like what he eats, how much does he weigh his height, and his lifestyle.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Thanks BH

That bloody salt! It tastes good but destroys health, definitely will keep that in mind and try and cut down the salt intake, the weight is speedily going, might just be OK for my medical test in about 4 months if i really knuckle down

Ted.

Absolutely possible using diet and exercise! Get to a dietician and ask for some help! There's a member here on ATS who just went off her HBP meds thanks to diet, exercise and yoga. I'll U2U her and ask her is she wouldn't mind me posting her name here for you.

peace and good luck!

reply to post by epsilon69


Just put it this way, I'm eating all the right stuff (with maybe just a little too much salt)

I'm & 16 Stone down from 17 1/2 and about 5"4.

I wish you all the best of luck and I'm positive you changing your lifestyle and no drinking or smoking and healthy eating will do wonders for your BP, and overall health, I'm sure it's allready working, don't give up.
Good luck and God bless :-)!

reply to post by silo13


Cheers Silo, that would be brilliant if she got in touch, she might be able to give me some pointers from the horses mouth so to speak

reply to post by TedHodgson



I read that eating two bananas per day really really helps with high blood pressure. Also taking a few tablespoons of honey and apple cider vinegar everyday is said to work wonders. I would check it out if I were you.

Meditation......an absolute must if you're trying to calm down. Calms down the mind and racing throughts and the body follows suit.

reply to post by TedHodgson


Ask your doctor about Niacin (B3) Supplementation . It's natural.

reply to post by TedHodgson


Just out of curiosity. What was your diet before you went on this regime?

Half the time a sensible diet with portion control will cure you.

My husband swears by beet juice. He drinks three 8oz glasses a day. His doctor put him on blood pressure meds about a year ago and within six months, he lost 40 pounds and was taken off his medication.

He didn't do anything else besides watch his portion sizes of his meals. The claims are that a glass of it can temporarily reduce blood pressure for 24 hours, so he drinks it daily.

This is anecdotal evidence at best and only because my husband was completely against taking any medication. He also was able to get off his cholesterol meds. He stopped drinking it for a while and his blood pressure started reading high again, so he got back into drinking it daily.

reply to post by grey580


Don't ask lol No exercise for practically a year, constant eating of fatty foods in high quantity with a high salt content, diet low in an fruit or vegetables, frequent smoking coupled with a large weekly dose of boose and generally spending too much time on ATS when i should have been at the Gym

reply to post by CoherentlyConfused


Thanks for that, ill give it a try, A glass of Beet juice a day cant exactly do any harm can it

Originally posted by TedHodgson
reply to post by grey580

 

Don't ask lol No exercise for practically a year, constant eating of fatty foods in high quantity with a high salt content, diet low in an fruit or vegetables, frequent smoking coupled with a large weekly dose of boose and generally spending too much time on ATS when i should have been at the Gym

I hear you.
You just need a decent diet with good proteins that are lean.
Turkey, chicken, fish etc.
Lots of green veggies. I buy the bag of freshly frozen veggies and steam em up.
Good snacks. I love yogurt.
Stay away from sugar & processed foods etc.

Once you start doing this stuff you won't need medication. Your body will balance itself out.
Right now it's all out of whack with all the crap your shoving in it.

And I'm in the same boat. I need to get my weight under control too.

Fish oil. Get the best and probably the most expensive one on the market. That, in combination with your new exercise regimen and limited salt intake should do the trick. If not, let me know.

I dropped a bp of 134 to 104 in two weeks just by removing soft drinks from my diet. It has 3 parts to it. The caffiene will get you, the sugar will get you, and last but not least the sodium in it will get you. Its a triple threat.
Even if you drink diet soda, the caffiene and sodium will get you. Even if you drink caffiene free diet soda, the sodium will get you. Ditch it all.

Sodium in strong doses causes inflammation, cut it out and it goes away. If you have a swollen or sort of fat look to you, removing the excess sodium should thin you down. Oh and watch the bread, its loaded too.

Just look up the Caveman diet. Its simple, you can only eat what they could have gotten their hands on.

reply to post by TedHodgson

the actions you are taking are spot on! keep that up.this wont go away overnight.
are you a nervous person? alot of stress?(ha! who isn't stressed lately?) good sleep?
lay off the caffine,try herbal teas(natural of coarse)instead. black licorice tea is good from morn till nite!
cammomile tea good for the eve. helps you relax. rosehip tea and st.johns wort wouln't hurt either.
these help with the 'blahs'.
an hour of walking thu a park,or the woods does 10 X more good than a 20 min. workout in a gym.
the walk execises your body,mind,and soul. the gym your body.
plus when your at the gym,all you think about is the work out,which leads you to dwell on why you are working out!
which leads to more stress!
hope this helps mate. good luck on your journey
and oh ya,up yer kilt laddie!