[Strawberry]

I've been treated for high blood pressure for many years. I currently take three different medications plus a diuretic making a grand total of four different meds. Last weekend it made a steady climb upwards and I couldn't reach my GP, so I went to the Urgent Care clinic in my town.

Turns out that the Physicians Assistant there took one look at my long list of medicines and my history with hypertension and diabetes and said "I don't want to get in the middle of this mess". "See your own Doctor next week". He gave me the impression he didn't want to touch me with a 50 ft barge pole.

My own Doctor has been wavering back and forth since May 2010 about changing medicines for me to something that may work better. I feel quite depressed to think that there may not be any more medicines to try. I can't take Ace inhibitors because of the 'cough side effect'. My Doctor tried a stronger diuretic like Lasix and Bumex. Both of them caused a permanent hearing loss. I can't help but wonder if my situation means the end of the road for me? I've changed doctors four times in the last 18 months because of my husband's job has changed insurance plans. I'm running out of choices of Doctors. Is there any help for me?

 

[onaughmae]

Have they tried a diuretic such as hydrochlorothiazide? It is a mild diuretic but not ototoxic. I dont take an ACE either because of the cough. I take a low dose of Benicar HCT, which is a combo of benicar/hydrochlorothiazide.

 

[Strawberry]

Yes Pam, HCTZ is one of the meds I'm currently taking along with:

Micardis
Norvasc (which causes edema in my feet and legs)
Toprol XL

I've looked and looked on the Internet for ways to help myself such as avoiding salt (obviously) and exercising more. Beyond that I am out of ideas.

 

[ColaJim]

ascorbic acid

your doctor can't tell you this because he would lose his AMA Big Pharma license if he did, but Linus Pauling exposed this AMA quackery 20 years ago.

i was at 140/82 mm Hg and on Lisinopril to cover up the symptoms but not relieve the cause.

then i read about Linus Pauling and what he and some doctors had recommended.

after 1 month on Pauling Therapy my reading at the doctor's office was 106/68 mm Hg and i didn't even use the right stuff, i used OTC tabs of vitamin C that can make you sick because of the fillers instead of pure ascorbic acid powder. i also crushed the tabs , added a little bicarb in 1/4 cup of water, when it finished bubbling i filled the cup up with cold water and drank it.

i used Pauling's Therapy, ascorbic acid 3 grams, L-Lysine 1 gram, L-Proline 500 mg, Alpha-Lipoic-Acid 600 mg, CoQ10 200 mg three times a day for at least a month.

an opposing view is that free radicals and toxic metals are much more the source of heart disease than these lesions and deficiency in vitamin C

google Pauling's Therapy for more background and more authoritative references than this old hillbilly

ColaJim

Just wondering, do you take even 1000 mg minimum of ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) a day?

Have a nice day

 

[breezeonby]

I've been treated for high blood pressure for many years. I currently take three different medications plus a diuretic making a grand total of four different meds. Last weekend it made a steady climb upwards and I couldn't reach my GP, so I went to the Urgent Care clinic in my town.

Turns out that the Physicians Assistant there took one look at my long list of medicines and my history with hypertension and diabetes and said "I don't want to get in the middle of this mess". "See your own Doctor next week". He gave me the impression he didn't want to touch me with a 50 ft barge pole.

My own Doctor has been wavering back and forth since May 2010 about changing medicines for me to something that may work better. I feel quite depressed to think that there may not be any more medicines to try. I can't take Ace inhibitors because of the 'cough side effect'. My Doctor tried a stronger diuretic like Lasix and Bumex. Both of them caused a permanent hearing loss. I can't help but wonder if my situation means the end of the road for me? I've changed doctors four times in the last 18 months because of my husband's job has changed insurance plans. I'm running out of choices of Doctors. Is there any help for me?

Strawberry, do you live near a university that has a hospital? Many times, the doctors who practice at the hospital or a clinic near by, have a lot more tests that they can run. Don't worry about seeing so many doctors, do what you have to do. There is still help for you. I don't have high blood pressure yet so I don't understand your medications. I do know that eating a lower sodium diet should help. Sounds like your blood pressure is treatment resistant. I will try and run a report on Angie's list for you and see how many doctors are in your area.

 

[MinisMom]

Have they tried a diuretic such as hydrochlorothiazide? It is a mild diuretic but not ototoxic. I dont take an ACE either because of the cough. I take a low dose of Benicar HCT, which is a combo of benicar/hydrochlorothiazide.

My husband takes Lisinopril and has THE COUGH; what would a generic non-cough inducing one he could ask his doctor about?

 

[Shanny]

My husband takes Lisinopril and has THE COUGH; what would a generic non-cough inducing one he could ask his doctor about?

I was prescribed Lisinopril in the beginning, with the stern warning that if the cough developed I was to report immediately. My doc's words were "there's no need to put up with the cough". So when I started coughing, I let him know and he switched me to atenolol. It keeps my b/p nicely low and there's no cough. I think it may also be responsible for my low heart rate . . . at least that's what I was told by the technician who administered my EKG one time last year . . . my heart rate runs about 55 - 65 bpm.

 

[Strawberry]

ColaJim - Yes, I do take about 1500 mg Vitamin C plus I eat a grapefruit most days in the morning and strawberries in the evening. Why do you call yourself a "hillbilly"? (Inquiring minds want to know).

Breezeonby - The clinic I go to is run by the University of IL School of Medicine. Sometimes I see a student in addition to my Doctor.

MinisMom - I am not up on medicines I haven't taken, is Benicar generic or is there a generic version of it?

Shanny - When I took an ace inhibitor I didn't receive the warning you did. I had the cough for 8 weeks before I got to see the doctor again. Then he didn't want to take it away from me because it did lower my BP. I'm at that point where I'm desperate and might be willing to put up with the cough again. I feel like somehow I'm responsible for the elevated BP just like the doctor tried to tell me I was responsible for getting the big D.

 

[ColaJim]

Strawberry

ColaJim - Yes, I do take about 1500 mg Vitamin C plus I eat a grapefruit most days in the morning and strawberries in the evening. Why do you call yourself a "hillbilly"? (Inquiring minds want to know).

Breezeonby - The clinic I go to is run by the University of IL School of Medicine. Sometimes I see a student in addition to my Doctor.

MinisMom - I am not up on medicines I haven't taken, is Benicar generic or is there a generic version of it?

Shanny - When I took an ace inhibitor I didn't receive the warning you did. I had the cough for 8 weeks before I got to see the doctor again. Then he didn't want to take it away from me because it did lower my BP. I'm at that point where I'm desperate and might be willing to put up with the cough again. I feel like somehow I'm responsible for the elevated BP just like the doctor tried to tell me I was responsible for getting the big D.

------------------------------------------

i call myself a "hillbilly" because i was born in Evart, Michigan, an old logging/farming village, now incorporated as a city and both of my families were small time farmers barely making a subsistence on the rocky hilly ground there.
also the original definition of "hillbilly" was a "Michigan farmer". there were only 65 or so graduates in my 1960 high school class. i was partly raised on farms around Evart and my stepfather's 120 acre farm was only 3 blocks from the one and only stop light in Evart. our farm's address had a city address of 301 East 7th Street. does that sound "hillbilly" enough for you?

ColaJim

 

[Shanny]

I feel like somehow I'm responsible for the elevated BP just like the doctor tried to tell me I was responsible for getting the big D.

Even if they don't mean to give that impression, a lot of them do, and we really have to consider the source. These guys are not the be-all and end-all authorities (I oughta know - I'm married to one! ). There is just no excuse for dumping that crap on a patient, even if they think it's true - they need to keep that opinion to themselves and find ways to motivate people to improve. Nothing cuts a person off at the knees like hearing from their DOCTOR that its their own fault. Makes my blood boil!

 

[onaughmae]

My husband takes Lisinopril and has THE COUGH; what would a generic non-cough inducing one he could ask his doctor about?

That cough is common from an ACE inhibitor. If it really bothers him, he can ask to be changed to a BP med that is not an ACE inhibitor.

 

[Strawberry]

ColaJim

My husband was also born and raised on a farm in northern WI. The town's post office was at one end of the local pub with a feed store right next door. He went to a one room school house for 8 grades. When he graduated from High School there were 3 students in the graduating class.

Shanny

If the truth was known, I am actually afraid of going to the Doctor's office. I grow weary of being blamed for everything that goes wrong with me. Yes, I am overweight and for that I take full responsibility. But both my parents had type 2 diabetes and yet I end up with type 1.....go figure.

I would drive a long distance if I could find a doctor that wouldn't make me feel awful after I had been in his office. I read a article recently that said Doctors have a much different priority list in regard to an office call than the patient himself does. I had a doctor last year that asked me if I took the medicine he prescribed or if I was "cheating"?

 

[breezeonby]

I wouldn't listen when they start blaming you for getting a disease. I could have very well inherited my diabetes from my maternal grandmother, who will ever know? I have never had a doctor who blamed me for getting a disease. Your high blood pressure could very well be inherited. Is there any doctor who specializes in hypertension? I am not versed very well in hypertension. My father and brother both have it. It is under control with medication, so I expect one day to get hypertension.

 

[breezeonby]

What does your blood pressure run normally?

 

[Strawberry]

breezeonby - My BP has been running anywhere from 160/89 to 164/91. Pulse runs from 59 to 72. I definitely need help before I have a stroke or a heart attack.

 

[Strawberry]

omyr - You have excellent English and a good understanding to the causes of high blood pressure. I don't smoke, but I had poor eating habits when I was younger. I ate too much 'fast foods' and not much vegetables. I am trying harder now to eat healthy foods.

My blood pressure, with the new medicine is running about 130/65. This is a big improvement. When I see the doctor next week she will be surprised I hope. Maybe she will stop one of the other blood pressure medicine I take.

 

[Fabio P]

Strawberry
I was diagnosed as Type 2 because a check up due a high BP I had. I started to have Olmetec and my BP is running 10/6.

I really dont know what is an ACE, so I am sorry if it is.

 

[dinabeth]

Strawberry
When you can have several people on the same diet and living the same lifestyle and have a mixture of those who are diabetic, have other health issues and then also those who are perfectly healthy - It's not your fault you are sick.

I have food intolerances that can affect my overall health. I can't eat dairy products without developing symptoms akin to flue, when I eat pork my mood changes and I become irritable and angry at those around me and then I need to go for a sleep. Unless you get these reactions to perfectly normal foods you can't understand how different each of us react to different stimuli in our environment.

We have the choice to make our own observations on our bodies responses to our environment and to the foods we eat and we can we can adjust accordingly.

When it comes to medications I like to research them further than what is on the information sheet that comes with it when you buy them. It annoys me how little information a doctor imparts about the medications they prescribe unless you give them the third degree about it.

I've had some adverse reactions to my medications and I'm sure my previous doctor thought I was being paranoid about them. I had been on metformin (diaformin) for many years before I read that it could, due to it's depleting the body of B 12, cause symptoms of bipolar disorder. I don't have bipolar disorder but my mother, sister and sister inlaw all were diabetics who at some point were being treated with diaformin and had each been diagnosed with bipolar. Now I can't say that metformin was the cause as the family history of bipolar started with my mother and goes back many years - but, hey, I did find my mental attitude changed after I went off the metformin. Having grown up with a mum who suffered from mental illness from as far back as I can remember I'm very sensitive to observing mood changes/swings in myself (sorry - it's a sensitive issue for myself - just because a medication might be perfect for one person it doesn't mean it's going to the same for another).

Lantus ended up making my already bad sleeping pattern almost non existent. After being on it for about a week and experiencing 2 nights in a row of maybe 2 hours sleep if i was lucky I had to come off that one.

I have blood pressure problems too. Presently I don't take blood pressure tablets through a choice of my own. I suffer from anxiety disorder and have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia - I try to lower the blood pressure through relaxation techniques (not always successful unfortunately but that is a lifestyle choice I made - my blood pressure is only mildly elevated).

According to all readings I've done and some of my own experience over the many years of dealing with sugar metabolism problems a good exercise routine would be beneficial to both my diabetes and the blood pressure problems - now I know I don't do this, though I do want to, and if your doctor is referring to any lack of motivation on your part - well usually there is some underlying problem in regards to lack of motivation too.

I feel a doctor should be a part of the process of healing, encouraging you to take on beneficial steps towards lifestyle change where needed and directing you towards seeking more information where needed. It's counter productive to blame a patient for their own ill health. I find when a health professional has empowered me with the information I need to make my own decisions about the direction my health care should take I am a much happier patient. Too often I've left a doctors surgery feeling like a hypochondriac and the stress of that only compounds my situation (and I'm left feeling I'm the one to blame for my health issues). I'm happy with my new doctor - she listens and has been understanding.

I can't be blamed for the pattern of food habits and the pattern of exercise routines (which were non existent) and the pattern of behaviour in response to stress that were instilled to me as a child and teenager. I can't be blamed for the lack of education given me in regards to lifestyle choices I've needed to make in the years leading up to becoming a diabetic and beginning to experience blood pressure problems. In my younger years there was none of the media hype about heart disease and diabetes and the rest that there is now.

You've got to have an inquisitive mind when it comes to working with your health professionals to work out what is the best steps to take to manage your illness. I recommend seeing a nutritionist if you can afford one - the nutritionist I saw 25 years ago helped me to understand the reasons behind my need for diet change more than anyone else I'd ever come across. Since then I've done a lot of reading and experimenting (and realise I've also not been a good follower of doing what was right for me at all times).

Still - my diabetes has progressed to this stage much slower than it had with my mother, who was experiencing many of the long term affects of poor diabetes control by my age (50), was already blind, had suffered several strokes and was still mentally unstable. Mum died at age 53 of renal failure. Not something I'd like to go through, and I've changed my lifestyle enough to have so far remained in comparison reasonably healthy (now that I've managed the chronic fatigue I used to suffer).

 

[marshagolightly]

I think this thread is old dinabeth. No one has posted here since Feb 2011

Sent from my iPhone using Diabetes

 

[Shanny]

And I will now close it, okay?