Blood Pressure Meds

[OrlandoTommy]

Hi Everyone, its been a while and im guilty of feeling great and not checking the board to often so I apolgoize but I have a question and just would like some general feedback...

Its been over a year now since my surgery, i feel awesome, i run 3-5 miles 5 x a week, i go out with my friends, im extremely active, moreso now than i ever was and im off all meds except 10mg of Coumadin every day.

Ive seen my family doc a few times over the last 6 months and he keeps barking at me telling me my blood pressure is high 135/85-90.

When i first got out of the hospital i was on Toprol XL and it didnt agree with me well, i felt like i was in a fog all the time, i would get angry easy and i gained alot of weight, even though i was hardly eating!

My blood pressure though was perfect when i was on it. I got off of it with my docs permissions and really havent checked it in about 6+ months until my recent visits.

I told my doc i did not want to go to Toprol again and he suggested i try "Diovan". He said he himself was on it and it was tolerated great by folks and i should try it.

I have a drawer full of samples waiting for me to "try" it but i just am so paranoid about getting back on the BP meds.

I do eat pretty bad but i also excersie alot, i know, not exactly a harmonious combo but i try.

Has anyone else had a bad time with Toprol and switched to Diovan and had positve results, any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,

Tommy

 

[Duff Man]

Tommy, I've not taken Toprol, but I can tell you Toprol is a beta blocker, where Diovan is an angiotensin receptor blocker. Beta blockers (toprol) tend to give you that kind of sleepy drugged feeling and they invite weight gain, where Diovan doesn't usually. My personal opinion is that Diovan is a good choice by your Doc if you can't tolerate the beta blocker.

I'd definitely do what your doctor recommends, and if you don't feel like you can't trust him I'd get a different doctor immediately. Hypertension has serious consequences, and it's been proven over and over that people who control their BP live longer.

 

[Susan BAV]

I took Diovan for quite awhile pre-valve replacement with no problems that I recall. I think there's more than one variety and I'm not sure now which one I might have been on but the one I took was only a bp med and not one with a diuretic combo. Now I'm on a med called Micardis and I like it also--it works very well for my hypertension and I have no side-effects that I'm aware of.

Immediately post-op, my blood pressure was excellent. But my primary care physician said that my hypertension would return and he was correct in that it slowly crept back up so about a year post-op I had to go back on a hypertensive medication.

 

[DebbyA]

Could you home-monitor it? Take 3-5 readings a day for a week. Ask to bring your monitor to the physician's office and compare readings so you know how close yours is to theirs.
(I hate to start or change medicine based on a few readings in the doctor's office.)
My cardiologist told me to check for a week every month, or for a week after dosage change.
If you could cut salt from your 'bad' diet, your blood pressure might drop.

 

[tprice54]

Tom, I also had problems tih ToprolXL, including the weight gain. Post op, I have been on 4mg. of an ACE inhibitor, which generally acts just like the ARB in Diovan, in that it restricts the contraction of the blood vessels. I tolerate it well, with no side effects. Just a note, watch out for profusely sweating if you are running in Fl. The drug may not let your vessels contrict enough when you actually need them to!

 

[perrypiratesdad]

Tom, I agree with Debby. Measure your BP at home for a week (a few times a day as you will notice a cycadian rythem) and bring that to your next visit.

My BP was high and it caused me to have an aneursyum rupture back in 2000 and almost killed me. Since then I have been on various BP meds. The Beta blockers (Toporol) though I did not like. For one thing, you are an active guy and that will limit your heart rate and may cause you to have exercise intollerance (could be why you gained weight). Now I am on a combination of things (Ace Inhibitor, Water Pill and ARB). I wish I would only have to have one pill, but it just didn't work that way for me. Now that I am off the Beta blocker though I can exercise again, and hopefully run a 10k with my kids by the end of this summer.

Best of luck to you!

- John

 

[Rebecca]

I?m over 13 years in the waiting room. Six and half years ago I was put on Diovan 160mg/HCT 12.5 to get my blood pressure down. I have had no weight gain and no side effects. Four years ago my doctor added Nifedipine 30. Every year I have blood work done because the drugs can cause kidney failure. I can still do any exercise. My doctor said that when I exercise I must still be able to say three words. If I can?t say three words while I?m exercising, that I am pushing myself to hard. Also I have been told by a personal trainer (the trainer has a master?s degree in exercise physiology) that if you are on blood pressure med. that you should not use the heart rate monitor.

 

[OrlandoTommy]

Thanks Everyone

Thanks Everyone

Thanks for all the good info!
I do monitor my BP often, almost every evening. If i lean back in my chair a tiny bit my BP is around 130/85, if i sit straight up when i take it its 140/90.
I called my cardio doc today and he would like to see me so i guess i will go see him before i officially start taking the diovan.
Thank you all
Tommy

 

[Duff Man]

That's too high for at home man. Get it lower and you'll be happy. I think you'll feel better.

 

[tprice54]

Hrm

Hrm

Rebecca, I have never heard that about not wearing a heart rate monitor on BP medicine. I would be interested in the details...why, what it does, etc. as I have been wearing one on long runs for quite awhile, and thought I was helping.....thanks!

 

[Rebecca]

Exercise Heart Rate Monitorer:
I was told by a personal trainer not to used one because a few high blood pressure medications lower the maximum heart rate and thus the target zone rate. If you're taking such medicine, call your physician to find out if you need to use a lower target heart rate.

 

[JAJ99]

Years ago I took Toprol to control PVC's. I could not tolerate it so my cardio put me on propranolol. I think propranolol is one of the first beta-blockers. I tolerated that with no adverse side-effects and still take it on occasion. Perhaps all beta-blockers aren't created equal. Try something to get that blood pressure down.

 

[perrypiratesdad]

Exercise Heart Rate Monitorer:
I was told by a personal trainer not to used one because a few high blood pressure medications lower the maximum heart rate and thus the target zone rate. If you're taking such medicine, call your physician to find out if you need to use a lower target heart rate.

When I used to run, I always wore one even though I was on a beta blocker. My Cardiologist insisted that I do. He also made sure I went for a cardio stress test to find out what my range should be. What we found though was that I had an extremely narrow range, which really prevented me from really running (more like really fast walking).