High Blood Pressure - | Arthritis Information

 

So, guess why my BP has been spiking?  Which dummy dropped the supps too?

I was interested to see lack of folic acid can cause high blood pressure, since MTX depletes folic acid.

I was planning on including this in my AP update, but about 3 months ago I went to my Dr and an eager intern took my blood pressure (which had always been 120 over 80) and it had gone way up! Like, 135 over 90! My Dr told me to go every couple of days to the drug store and take my blood pressure with the machine, and stop putting salt on my food. and then report back in 2 weeks. I was bummed out about the salt thing because I eat a lot of food preserved with salt like probiotic sauerkraut and prosciutto and so on.

So I was taking my blood pressure regularly and it seemed kind of sporadic. Like, It would be 140 over 95 and then 3 minutes later it would be 125 over 85. Also, I was so stressed out by the hypertension thing I could just feel my blood pressure rising whenever I got near the machine thing.

Anyway, this summer I had felt so good I stopped talking fish oil, and I noticed my blood was thick and sticky when I would go for my blood tests, so I started talking that again and now my blood is thin again.

I wore a 24 hour blood pressure monitor about 2 weeks ago, and the results came back fine----maybe a little high during the day, and low at night, but overall in a good range.

So, anyway, I have no idea what that was all about, but I'm glad it's under control now. There are many possibilities. Hypertension is a form of herxing, for one thing. Or my blood could be sticky. It could be from Dexedrine but that seems unlikey since I don't take it that often. Or it could be inflammation of the blood vessels caused by RA. Or dystolic disfunction caused by RA. Because of your post, Pip, I know know it could be caused by folic acid depravation caused by taking MTX. I mean, no one really knows what causes high blood pressure to begin with, so these are all guesses.

Thanks for posting this, Pip. In addition to my other steps I think I will now eat more avocados and bananas to increase my potassium intake.

I don't want to have to take statins or give up salt.Oddly, what stopped the flare was sushi.  And that's what's ping-ponging the blood pressure because of all the salt in the low sodium soy sauce.  Well, I'm already eating salt again. I looked up calcium, magnesium, and potassium rich foods and I should be getting plenty of each already, due to eating oatmeal, raisins, nuts, yoghurt, carrots, celery, and broccoli almost every day. Do you think we need higher than the recommended daily amount? 'Cause I think I'm already getting that through diet.Done with this placeLibby22009-02-10 01:20:37Hi,

same here with the spiking BP.  the doc thinks maybe the heart is compensating for low blood clount in my body and also that I am not oxygenating my blood very well which is causing my heart to pump harder over compensating sending my pressure up.  I am on bp meds. but thanks for the web site.  good suggestions there.  My kidneys are sluggish in ridding the body of its potassium so I won't add that but I do notice I feel more energetic when taking my magnesium and iron as prescribed, the magic minerals mentioned on the web site.

Are you getting the headaches with the spiking bp? the headaches are from another world, unbearable.

WAIT.  I'm so confused w/ this post..

Sorry guys, that was my joking around.  What I meant was....when I flared it was because of all the sugar and other bad foods in my diet.  I went, on a scale of 1 to 10, from a 1 to a 11 with sugar consumption over the Holiday.  We had 1, count it 1, meal that was home cooked.  Everything was prepackaged and loaded in junk or stuff in a restaurant which is loaded in preservatives.  Mostly I ate sugar junk.  I started craving sushi before we got back to LA.  I assume my body needed raw, uncooked (processed) food and wanted it NOW.  The last time I craved anything it was hummus which is super high in magnesium or potassium (can't remember) and when I figured it out, got the supps (which I then forgot over Christmas) my RLS went away.  So, the flare started on New Years Day, I didn't want to eat because I hurt, but when hubby asked what I wanted I said Sushi and I ate that for 3 days.  Flare was over in 36 hours but I'm still craving the Sushi and had it for dinner Friday night and lunch on Saturday.  So...it wasn't sushi per see, it was 'real' food.

Shelly - no, I'm not getting the headache but like GoGo, I'm dreading the machine in the pharmacies and it's freaking me out.  The sites I found all said BP is easily controlled with diet.  If you are not going to regulate your diet, a pill is a better choice.  I don't want to take the pills and didn't realize I HAD been controlling my BP with the supps until I stopped them.

Libby - lots of people control their RA with diet.  There are a ton of anti-inflam diets so if you find your triggers and take them out, then the flares will stop.  Look into gluten.

GoGo - yes, I think we need way more of the Big 3 then regular peeps.  There is a ton of info on how the microbes hijack the cells of needed nutrients.  I'd been starving mine out but sugar is a fuel (knew that) and when that's all they got, they re-emerged.  I'm getting my blood drawn and will see what is now low again. 

Hugs,

Pip

If you're having issues with blood pressure, why not buy a portable wrist blood pressure monitor?  That way you can monitor your BP in "real-world" situations (for instance, upon awakening; in the evening; when stressed; when having a headache; after eating different foods, etc).  Most will keep track of your results; some will even graph your results and do some rudimentary stats.  We have the Omron HEM-637 and it works well.  It's small enough to fit in a purse or backpack.

My BP started to spike right before we left for Mexico and I've been trying to lose weight.  Had moderate success and pressure is still a little high, so I'm really serious about my inflammation diet.  Hopefully, in a couple of weeks I'll see a difference.  LindyI have a stupid purse now that is just toooo small.  I keep searching for a new one but nothing looks right - you know, dress up or dress down.  I have an old jean one I think I'm going to fix so I don't have to arrange things perfectly of it won't shut.  I'm not worried per see, just a little shocked that I have a BP issue at all.  I was always perfect pre-RA. Yeah I am all for using diet to wean off medicines or greatly reduce them.

I see areas I can work on and will do so this year.

mainly become more active and eat less sugar. my appetite isn't all that great so I don't have a weight problem.  I am 136-38 regularly, 5' 8".  and with edema, I go up 10 to 20 pounds in one day. that is usually when they admit me and give iv lasx. 

 

I need to improve in the protein department. don't care for meat. but am not a vegetarian. and if I listen to the book "eat right for your type" I should eat more protein. I have a lot of muscle wasting. the cardiologist suggested I drink boost, so I have a lot of it in the fridge, but need to do better with actually drinking it.

 

for my magnesium, instead of taking pills, I need to eat more foods rich in magnesium. my blood count is chronically low accompanied with lack of energy, not sure how to improve blood count.  I am on iron tablets but not sure if I can maybe do more where I wouldn't need the iron pills.

I would love to train myself to eat more cashews, almonds, walnuts, etc for the magnesium and omega-3's.  I don't care for the wheat grass, barley, and tofu kind of diet. but love carrots, spinach, broccoli, broccoli sprouts, all greens, yams, beans, white flesh fish. not too crazy for salmon but will eat it for my health. I eat a lot of tuna out of the can when I do want meat. other than that I eat a ton of melons, grapes, grapefruit, green salads and could live on just that with an occasional boost drink.

my hope used to be to use diet to wean from meds, the diagnses keep coming anyway, so now will settle using diet to at least cut back on meds. and just overall improved health.  Maybe seeing a nutritionist would help with that too.

 

I usually eat more 'good' foods but when you start to mess up, you really mess up.  I'm going food shopping later today.  Need fresh veggies. I think it is more like I am allergic to these meds they are giving me.  not enough to break out in hives or anything but causing a lot of the discomfort I am having.  and maybe not the meds per se but the fillers they use in the generics.  the bp meds make my heart race and something is causing constant postnasal drip so I think it's the meds. and of course I need to cut back on the sugar more.  I have reduced my sugar intake to almost half but still put it on grapefruit and cereal.  eliminated sodas and coffee for a long time then fell off the wagon a few times but overall they are not a problem for me anymore.

soy is a problem for me. so I avoid it when possible. i stopped eating tomatoes at one point because it was a nightshade but have since started back with them. i had heard nightshade plants were bad for us. I didn't experience relief for 2 years without them. still avoid the green bell pepper however. so the point is I am very careful with my diet, could do better, but the meds I take concern me more.

I heard gluten-free diets can be good for ra too so that is something else I will give a try. still searching for relief.:)

I wonder why gluten free diets help so many people with RA? Maybe there's more to the leaky gut theory than we're accounting for.Done with this placeLibby22009-02-10 01:13:53Hi,

Thanks for the web site.  Interesting.  I never heard of this before but it says the research is out of PA.  So that is good that it is home grown.  I hate that so many things we eat and medicines we take come from overseas. trading cars is one thing but trading fish, medicines, things ingested makes no sense.

I like the fact it is only 3 ounces and packed with protein.  It's good to have options.

Thanks. take care.
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