Salt and high blood pressure
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Anonymous
| Just take the medication. I don't understand the stubborness of people when it comes to this. The meds are effective. Don't mess around with potentially having a stroke. |
Anonymous
| Do you have to take the medication forever if you start on it? Maybe I am thinking of another type of medicine... |
Anonymous
Again, it depends. You cannot go off the medicine without the permission of the doctor. If you can stabilize you BP with excercise and low-salt diet it is possible to come off the medications slowly. |
Anonymous
The using finishing salts can help you reduce salt by adding after things are cooked and reducing the use of salting during cooking. There is little difference b/w table salt and sea salt, just some trace elements like iodine. So using sea salt in the same manor as table salt with not change your intake of salt. |
Anonymous
It is hard to stabilize it over a long period of time, especially if genetics are at play. BP is easily controlled by meds. |
Anonymous
Yes, but my Mother was able to after losing weight and low-salt diet. My Father (who is still very overweight and on a low salt diet) cannot wean off. |
Anonymous
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Have them try the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
Anyone can try this at home. It emphasizes whole grains, low fat dairy and protein, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables. It was found to be highly effective after a huge study conducted by NIH. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/dash-diet/art-20048456 |
Anonymous
I don't think I could survive on that diet! I could easily eat four times as much. Those portions are tiny. |
Anonymous
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OP I have been down this road. Hopefully I can save you some time and confusion with my story.
When I was pregnant, I developed high blood pressure. Noone knows why this happens, but it does, and in a worst case scenario, it can be a life and death situation for both mother and baby. So I _had_ to take medication. and _had_ to take weekly blood pressure checks, and _had_ to listen EVERY WEEK to the description of symptoms of stroke and possible impending really bad things. So any form of control issues regarding this were taken from me. I kept trying to find a way around needing the medication, thinking I was stressing and causing it, but as one nurse told me, who had been through the same during her pregnancy "Youre trying to control something that is not under your control." She was right, and I understood. AFTER the pregnancy, however, the BP continued to be elevated, in the borderline area. It seems a switch was tripped. My father has high BP and it started to kick in at around the same age. So I stayed on the same meds at the same dose. Then I thought "Huh, I wonder if I reduced my sodium, what would happen?" NOONE encouraged me to do this, I just decided to do it. I drastically cut sodium to under 1000mg per day. I changed my whole diet, which was actually very healthy already in every way except this one way. Lo and behold, after several months my readings went down enough that I was able to cut the meds down a tad. However, after about 6 months back up it went, and back I went to the previous dose. I have had dreams of going off the meds, but since I have something that works here, and doesnt have bad side effects, I have gotten beyond the control issue and taken the wider view of my goal: to stay alive for my kid. MY CONCLUSION: As someone else pointed out, its genetics, diet and lifestyle. You may just need to come to terms with the fact that you can only control diet and lifestyle, and you SHOULD go ahead and take this opportunity to optmize your health by doing all the things we know are good: exercise, sleep, diet, stress management. However, when it comes to the meds, I encourage you to take the long view as well. Its not about whether you are on or not on meds, its if you are doing everything you can for your health. You may be able to reduce meds someday, or even eliminate them, but keep an open mind. You just may not, and its not a personal failing on your part if all your efforts do not allow you to eliminate them. I would prefer not to be dependent on this stuff, but what is the realistic alternative? Maybe if I lived on a mountain and meditated for a year, I would learn how to control my blood pressure and respiration, and a host of other things. But since that is not going to happen, I just do my best to keep fit and trim, and continue to eat a reduced sodium diet AND I take my pills. Hope that helps. I spent SO many years stressed about my BP and I just had to STOP OBSESSING and start living and arrange my priorities in accordance with that. |