Well I went back on Sunday at my readings where still high with Right arm being at 176/73 and left are being at 153/87. I was prescribed medication...but feeling so frustrated because that's simply not the route that I wanted to take. I have no idea what's going on! My workouts have not been the same ever since I was told that I have high blood pressure. I don't know if its all in my mind, but I'm simply having trouble with my workouts and find that I can't push myself the way I use to simply because I'm afraid of doing more damage when doing my high intensity workouts. Does anyone in this forum have high blood pressure and taking meds, if so how do you find that it affects your workouts...should I be changing the way I workout???
Not a nurse/MD. Take my response for what it is worth.
We went through something similar with my husband few years back. Here is what we learned along the way:
1-Blood pressure is hereditary. 30% of cases are due to salt sensitivity and 70% are due to a protein that the kidneys produce. It is easier to control with diet and exercise if it is the salt sensitive kind (which is what my husband has). The rest need the right combination of meds.
Regardless, exercise is more important than ever and consistency is the key. DH controlled his BP for 35 years with running every morning. Never showed up on a single physical. We only found out he has high blood pressure after he had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon and couldn't do his regular workouts anymore.
2-You need to get past the confusion/anger/denial or whatever you are going to feel over the next few months. They won't help anything. You didn't do anything to deserve it. It just happened to be your genetic card. At least it is something that doctors can treat and cure to allow you to live a normal life. Most people with genetic diseases aren't this lucky. I can make you a long list but it will be too depressing. Remember how lucky you are that you have something treatable.
3-If your doctor did not tell you to get your eyes checked, I highly recommend that you do it. Damage from high blood pressure shows up in the eyes first. If it is early, it is reversible.
4-
Salt is out for good. Once you get used to eating a low salt diet, you won't miss it. Your doctor should have gone over the DASH diet with you. You can find the details at this link:
What Is the DASH Eating Plan? - NHLBI, NIH. It works very well.
5-If you drink a gallon of water a day,
you need to stop. Drink to avoid thirst, but don't overdrink because it raises the blood pressure.
6-You will be able to do again whatever exercise you feel like. It will take few month. You need to be careful until you have your BP controlled with the right meds. My suggestion for right now is to do the lowest intensity cardio that makes you sweat plus some weights. Sweating is diuretic (which happens to be the most common and successful class of BP meds.) You can increase the intensity later once everything is stable. You need to find out how the meds affect your body. DH hurt his knees running while on one of the failed meds. It turned out it was a common problem for people taking that particular medication. I don't remember which one. It took almost a year for him to run again. If you slowly increase your intensity, you are less likely to hurt yourself. Also, some meds will affect your maximal HR and your exercise HR (which is the reason for the next recommendation).
7-If you don't have
a heart rate monitor, I highly recommend that you get one. My preference is for Polar because their HRMs are backed by extensive science. Use their Ownzone test and work on increasing your aerobic capacity (VO2 max). It will make controlling you BP a lot easier. Plus you will make your heart stronger (aerobically), reduces risk of enlargement.
8-It might take multiple tries to find the right med or combination of meds. If your primary physician fails after 2 tries, you need to look for a kidney doctor/internal medicine specialist, with emphasis on preventative treatment. I wish we did that with DH.
9-Monitor your BP everyday 2 to 3x a day until stable. Then once a day is enough.
Keep a log including food. DH's doctor insisted on it and collected the data.
DH is doing well. He has cut his med dosages by half with the help of his doctor and will slowly do more. He is back to doing whatever workout he wants.
