BP issues...STUBBORN Labile hypertension

[aussigal]

OK...

My Bp is NOT doing as its told and is refusing to go back down to its 105-110/60-65 level where it previously sat on this combo of BP pills meanwhile the heartrate is all over the place too anywhere from 48-82 bpm ...


YES I am under heaps of stress at the present, but thats nothing different for me...I try let these stressful things affect me as little as possible...

It has crept back up to 130-140-?/80'ish...and thats just wandering 'round home doing normal nuthing sorta stuff...I dread to think what it is still going up to when I am not looking ...

I am on 50mg Metoprolol twice a day and 1 Coversyl-plus in the mornings ,,,this is a big increase in BP meds. I was previously on 2.5 then 5 then 10 mg of enalapril until I got these new pills a few months back in October. The enalapril did nothing for my BP it was waaaaay up whenever i moved....

I am looking for others who have had the same thing happen to them and wondering what if anything was tried and or effective for you?

 

[tobagotwo]

Everyone's system is different, and every drug has a different action. It sometimes takes a lot of tries to match the individual with a compound that does the trick. It's annoying, but you'll get there. Hope it's the next set of meds for you...

Best wishes,

 

[Natanni]

Hey Ton,

I have no words of wisdom, only wishes that this will get under control for you soon and that darn stress too!! Nathan was on Enalapril for years, and they dc'd it after surgery due to a dry cough at bedtime, and they felt it really wasn't doing the job much anymore. He was switched to Cozaar and it seems to be doing the trick (and Toprol).

Take care there girl

Ann

 

[Georgia]

Ton - when I was first diagnosed, my bp was 195/135. They slapped me on 100 mg Toprol XL twice a day, 80 mg lasix (I had chf), and Mavik (an ACE-inhibitor). As your valve worsens your bp can climb. In fact, the surgeon delayed surgery until I had a couple of weeks' worth of heart meds in me.

So you may need larger doses of what you're taking - your heart is stressed irrespective of the external stresses you're under.

Take care of yourself.

 

[aussigal]

I am thinking I should call my Cardio today cos actually when I was playing with the BP monitor last nite I got a reading of 148/83 and thought ...

I was just doing the usual take your BP a couple of times in a row for fun thing,,,
1st was 133/78 then the next one blew me away!,,,
it was only a few seconds later and all I did differently was sit up straighter and "put my shoulders back !",, ...

I do have something weird going on in my brachial-plexus area and am wondering if this is what it is....My pulse can easily be turned off by moving my arms above my head or sticking them out anyway but normal down by your side ...and I forgot to talk to the cardio about this and what effects if any it would have on my BP.???

 

[aussigal]

Well this morning the BP decided to have a lil turn all by itself and went crazy...
so I booked myself in to the doctors and have come back with my beta-blocker doubled...
now up to 100mg metoprolol twice a day...
BP was still measuring 150/100 at the clinic and yes thats a resting BP...

...also got valium to try calm me down...

I am going back to see my Cardio ASAP sometime next week depending on when he can squeeze me in.....

My GP also let it slip that my cardio told him I am on my way to surgery SOON!...

can we start the celebrations early!?

 

[OldManEmu]

I get the feeling you are stressing out over the valve and that may be contributing to the BP. 200mg of Metoprolol a day and I wouldn't be able to sit here and type this. I was on 47.5mg of Toprol XL and when the dose was doubled after 6 months I became totally dysfunctional and had to go back to 47.5 mg. You are doing well if you can take 200mg a day and still function. I noticed in one of your earlier posts you mentioned you are an ex-smoker I hope your body has had sufficient time as an ex-smoker before surgery as this is one of the major risk factors.

 

[Marguerite53]

Hi Ton. Sorry you are having these problems. I hope you are communicating to your family (or whomever is causing you the need to stress out) that you are having trouble coping (or your body seems to be).

I bet you're gonna just love the valium!! Sometimes it is the only way to get that kick in the butt that you need!! Please be careful about lowering your pressure and taking the valium at the same time!! You could get pretty woozie, I would think.

While I'm so glad that you are so focused on your own health, maybe the valium can help you relax a little about it. I swear, I think that my condition has caused me to be more anxious. And I honsestly think it's physical, not psychological. It's as if the anxiety takes on a life of its own and escalates so quickly and then the heart is all thumpy and I'm dreadfully thirsty and spiraling out of my normal zone. Very weird. We finally got my BP dosage right and I've been "hysteria" free for months. What I've noticed is that I seem to crave foods that will amp up the problem!! As if my body misses the charge or ramping up feeling.

With that in mind, I hope you are not doing any caffeine, not hoarding chocolates and are dutifully shying away from highly spiced foods. Loud noises, strong smells.....I found that I was very sensitive to all of those things.

Anyway, I hope you can get relaxed. Your body will be grateful. And please understand, I am not saying that you can control what is going on....I honestly believe that our condition somehow enlarges the affect of how our body responds to what we are used to coping with. Hang in there. Be good to yourself! Breathe.

Marguerite

 

[Georgia]

When your heart's irritable, as with valve problems, you overreact to adrenalin (found this out many moons ago when first diagnosed with mvp). So certainly the nervousness, dry mouth, tachycardia, etc., fit - your heart overreacts, so the bod produces more adrenalin, until you're a mess.

I was on 100 mg toprolxl twice a day prior to surgery and for several months afterward (fast hr). It's a lot, but you do become somewhat accustomed to it - I worked while on that dosage. It should help your bp, Ton.

And if it doesn't, why, the valium will ensure that you won't care !

Seriously, glad you got help from the doc - they sure believe you now, don't they????

 

[aussigal]

Saturdays' are good!

Saturdays' are good!

aww Thanks for the kind words and continued support.... ..

My BP was 136/81 this morning so it has dropped a little, talk about stubborn !!!! ...
I am hoping it will continue to drop as the "betaloc" does its job . I think I read it takes up to 2 weeks for its full effect to show...well it better keep going down or I'll be getting my Cardio to have stern words with it...isnt quitting smoking sposed to lower your BP?

I am feeling less stressed and much less headachey than yesterdy. My temples were just throbbing yesterday with worry. You know the worry you have when youre trying not to worry .


My GP was so good ...he understands totally the stress I am under and he also knows how difficult hubby has been (and hes met hubby too, he's in denial). He liked my idea of valium instead of those yucky nicabate patches...( yes I'm only a new quitter )I have sensitive skin and even bandaids give me a rash!...I would look seriously ill & weird if I had plastered those other patches all-over me. I would have lovely red squares everywhere...lol..I have been on the valiums as needed for a while now and I know they help me heaps...I am not about to become addicted to them though...I keep a close eye on them...I always wait 2 hours before I venture outside of home when all doped-up too...and very rarely go out without a chaperone...how sad is that!...lol...

I am watching-out for any woozy effects but so-far so-good ...and I get all my scripts filled at the one chemist next door to my doctors so they are aware of all the pills I am on . I thought that was a good idea .


About the only thing left I could do to further reduce stress is to move into the grannie-village up the street for some quiet-time .

Loud boisterous boyz definately raise my stress level and I have 3 of them, 4 if you count hubby .they will get the lecture this weekend!

Coffee is a hard one too..I was brought up on coffee...I am restricting myself to 1 morning cuppa and thats IT... ...
I am missing my coffee more than the ciggies...

Marguerite...how did you know I hold my breath alot?...
Yes I defiantely must try more to remember to breathe!

 

[Nan]

HI Ton, sorry you are having to go through this with your BP. Hopefully that old valium as well as the betablocker will do the trick. They may still have to try other meds and combinations of meds.

I also have on-going problems with BP....it is currently controlled, but it took a lot to get it controlled. It was 220/100+ in an ER ( ) and they were giving me IV "pushes" to get it down. Worked the first time, but then didn't. Took some trying of different drugs to get it down. I'm now on Cartia XT 240mg, Diovan 320mg, Betapace (more for AFIB, but also impacts BP) 120mg 2x day and good old Lasix, 40 to 60 mg a day. So, that is quite a package.

I share this with you just to let you know that it can take a while, and several meds, but it can be done.

Can you have one cuppa high test and then have decaf for the rest of the day? If you are used to drinking coffee, it seems you should be able to at least enjoy the taste! Can't give everything up!

The other thing that I have been trying is meditation. Just taking a few minutes to sit quietly and just think about my breathing, in and out, in and out and when other thoughts come, just to recognize them and let them go and go back to breathing. It seems to help the BP as well as helping make me feel calmer.

Might be worth a try.

sorry this post is so long!

Good luck,

 

[aussigal]

OOOOOps...its still not staying still or reasonably still...already gone from 115/75 up to 147/86..I am not pleased with this...

Luckily today my Cardio is available so I shall get him to sort it out

report back later...

meanwhile I am STILL SMOKEFREE YAY!!!!

I will go meditate for 2 hours I think...lol

 

[aussigal]

Well I have been stressing about NOT stressing... ...

I spoke to my Cardio who said I shall be OK...and if he increases the dose of metoprolol anymore I'll spend the whole day fainting because my heartrate is already quite low....

He also told me to give it a few more days to settle-down and giving up the smokes was the BEST thing I have done for my life so far!

and to keep doing what I am doing...staying slightly bored...

I have seen Tai-chi notice down on my local beach...
I think I had better go join up quick-smart....
I have been waiting for a tai-chi class to open on my beach and finally someone has done it YIPPEE!

Its only a 3 weeks til the next scan of my annie and valve .
That will go really quickly.
In no-time at all I will know how much this has grown if at all...

luckily school starts back this wednesday ...
should keep me outta trouble, sorting these 3 kids out for the next few weeks

 

[CCRN]

Classic!

Classic!

OK...

My Bp is NOT doing as its told and is refusing to go back down to its 105-110/60-65 level where it previously sat on this combo of BP pills meanwhile the heartrate is all over the place too anywhere from 48-82 bpm ...


YES I am under heaps of stress at the present, but thats nothing different for me...I try let these stressful things affect me as little as possible...

It has crept back up to 130-140-?/80'ish...and thats just wandering 'round home doing normal nuthing sorta stuff...I dread to think what it is still going up to when I am not looking ...

I am on 50mg Metoprolol twice a day and 1 Coversyl-plus in the mornings ,,,this is a big increase in BP meds. I was previously on 2.5 then 5 then 10 mg of enalapril until I got these new pills a few months back in October. The enalapril did nothing for my BP it was waaaaay up whenever i moved....

I am looking for others who have had the same thing happen to them and wondering what if anything was tried and or effective for you?

Dearest,

You are suffering from one of the classic signs of a congenital bicuspid aortic valve. Just go back to Bicuspid Aortic Foundation site and read. Don't ya feel lucky? I suggest you closely consult with your Cardiologist and/or find someone who is familiar with managing people like us. I myself had to go off the blockers and back off the diuretic due to dizziness. Hope this helps.

 

[aussigal]

Thanks CC...
Yep!..

I sure am a "classic-case" of BAVD

I even managed to pass it on properly according to the statistics...

I am just gonna sit here patiently and pretend to ignore my blood-pressure and see if that helps...
while waiting for the 20th Feb. to arrive 19 more sleeps !...lol..
....then grill Dr Dembo for a preview . He is the radioligist & cardioligist who will be doing my scans again...I do like having the same expert read all my scans...