Blood pressure needs lowering anyone managed it without medication?

I managed to get my ex husband's BP down using Hawthorn tablets and persuading him to do 15 minutes of Qi Gong (or you could do Tai Chi or Yoga) each day.

Hawthorn Berry: Amazing Herb for Heart Health - RESPeRATE
www.resperate.com/.../hypertension/.../hawthorn-amazing-herb-heart-health-bl...

Good luck Lollin but why not have your blood pressure actually checked by GP first?
Years ago my GP said that patients could lose weight which would help ( and walking is good) but if blood pressure is high it needs to be brought under control immediately, which means medication.I have no side effects with the ones that I take.

Nope I've always walked, right weight for height, healthy diet and yet I've been on bp tablets since middle age. In my case it's hereditary and lifestyle helps but does not cure it.

You can help yourself to be healthier with a better diet, exercise and so on, but why are you hesitating to go to the GP to find out just how high your blood pressure is? How will you know whether you are succeeding with the lifestyle changes if you don't know what the current level is? That is not "rushing to the doctors", it is getting the facts before the acts.

If you say to them that you want to try not using medication, you will get plenty of help and advice, but it may be that the medication is the best way to start off the process of lowering it (if it is indeed raised)

Like BlueSky I walk everywhere,not overweight,don’t smoke good diet etc but have been on bp meds since my early 40s,am now 69. I take 25gms of Atenolol daily,never had to increase it, no side effects and it keeps my bp in an acceptable range. My Mum had very high blood pressure for years so mine too might be hereditary. As others have said find out first if it is actually high, if so try what you can to help by lifestyle measures but if they don’t work go with the doctors advice,it’s not worth taking any risks with your health as bp meds, of which there are many, work for most people.

Best to go to doctor and get it checked, but Lloyds chemist will test your bp for free if you don't want to go see the doc. Also my surgery has a machine in reception that takes your bp without seeing the doc, so yours might do to. But like other posters I have been on BP medication (Atenolol) for years without side effects or increase in dose, it did take me a few weeks to get used to it though.

Some pharmacies will do blood pressure checks or the practise nurse if you don't want to bother your doctor.

I agree, get your BP checked (the nurse at your GP will do it for you). If you have no idea what it is at the moment it could even be low!

Then you know whether it is something you need to do anything about. However, eating sensibly, a gradual build up to walking a little more each week etc will never do anybody any harm. As it sounds like you may have had medical issues in the past then certainly don't start to take any supplements etc until you have discussed it with your GP.

Get it checked - don't just assume it's high . Doing no exercise doesn't mean you have high BP. See your doctor and get a blood pressure check. Don't start doing things until you know what your health status is.

It is a strange one as i know my blood pressure is high but last visit doctor just kept taking it until it gave a reasonable reading. I was relieved and vowed to make sure it improved. Ill health (family members then mine due to deglecting myself to rush round for those with greater or more urgent needs) led me to find i am in a bad way. After the shock i compared it to DH on same machine only to have it confirmed. So with calming exercises it has come down a little and now i want to try walking too. Wondered if anyone had success and how. Looking at hawthorn thank you poster for that.

I know it sounds like a waste if time talking to me but thanks anyway.

I understand that the OP is asking how to lower blood pressure before going to see a doctor. So, even though telling her to see one is good, it doesn´t answer her question. I am in much the same position, hate going to the doctor, hate being on any medication long term, am quite a nervous person though and my BP always goes sky high when measured by a doctor. There are lots of things you can do to lower blood pressure naturally and there are lots of useful hints on youtube and elsewhere on the internet. Changing diet is the most important, avoid processed foods for a start, if it´s not found in nature, then don´t eat it. Cut down on or avoid alcohol, caffeine, sugar and wheat. Things that are known to lower bloodpressure are garlic, chilli, ginger, leeks, onions, parsley, citrus fruits and many others. Making a clear vegetable broth from various root vegetables (as well as leek, onion, garlic and parsley) and drinking this regularly has helped me a lot. Drinking the juice of a lime diluted with water can lower BP quite quickly. Breathing exercises are also useful, basically, whenever you can, while walking or watching television make a conscious effort to breathe deeply and slowly, after a while it will become a habit. Hope this helps a bit, don´t underestimate seeing a doctor though.

Thank you very much polyester57 . One of the confusing things i cannot find (have spent hours searching when I could have been walking) is how much and in what way - eg how exactly do you have a drink wuth a juice of lime? How do you make your vegetable broth. How much and with what do you cook with garlic? Sorry but receipes are either too complicated fir everyday use or expensive occassional receipes.

Jumping the gun here methinks. Why not check yourself in with the practice nurse for a well person check? There is no point considering supplements of any kind until you know where you stand with B/P or anything else. On the other hand walking will do you no harm.

If you are as anxious as your post suggests then meditation could be worth considering for you. That has been proven to lower blood pressure in clinical trials.

Good luck!

Vegetable broth is easy peasy, take a large saucepan, put in a couple of peeled carrots, some celery sticks (or a piece of celeriac - the root of a celery), a leek (cut up into big pieces), an onion (halved), a couple of garlic cloves, some parsley stalks, anything else that you have in that vein (swedes, bits of cauliflower, pieces of cabbage), a little bit of salt and pepper, let it simmer for about an hour, then strain and drink the liquid (you can eat the veggies too if you like). Drink warm throughout the day whenever you fancy a hot drink. The squeezed out juice of a lemon or a lime in a glass topped with plain tap water is great drunk first thing in the morning. I cook almost everything with garlic, so difficult for me to say how to add it to someone else´s cooking, try looking up some Mediterranean dishes. I do lots of stir fried vegetables, first of all fry a chopped up clove of garlic and a small chopped chilli pepper in olive oil, then add vegetables of your choice (carrots and courgettes go well together), fry only briefly so veggies stay crunchy. Garlic can, I think, be bought in tablet form for those who cannnot stand the taste.

Thank you polyester57. I have tried on and off over many years to master including things like garlic in my cooking but always end up wuth dried up hard garlic in the fridge. I will try again. I did try tge oacjets if frozen garlic but not sure how much to use and didn't notice it flavouring anything.

If you don't notice garlic flavour, you could use loads and it wouldn't matter. I don't think you can overdose on garlic.

It is less pungent the more it is cooked.

Using loads would solve the dried up garlic in the fridge thing.

I don't keep onions or garlic in the fridge because they make the fridge smell. I don't think they need to be refridgerated. They aren't in shops.

This is a good and very reliable/reputable link

www.bloodpressureuk.org/BloodPressureandyou/Yourlifestyle/Eatingwell

Do you know for certain your BP is too high, as there are dangers in it being too low as well.
I would suggest either a BP check at your surgery or your own BP meter to check morning and night if your Dr feels there is a need to monitor it.

Mine went down significantly after a few months of intermittent fasting (the 5:2). My doctor told me that he followed the diet as well to help keep his BP and cholesterol levels down.

I read an interesting article today about the connection between dental health and high BP.
In brief - people with dental health problems are more likely to have BP problems. And poor dental health can negate the effect of taking BP meds.

Obviously go the your GP for a reading and advice. Following on from that you could try Resperate. It is a little device that helps you slow down your breathing rate, hopefully for 10 mins, and as a result your BP falls. You need to use it regularly. You can buy second hand ones on eBay, or similar devices from a pharmacy.

My husband was told to cut out salt to reduce his blood pressure. I immediately did exactly as told and removed salt from his diet. Not just added salt but all processed food. I read labels religiously and it is surprising how much salt we aren't aware of. I've always cooked from scratch but bought things like bread, ketchup, pickles etc.
Going cold turkey wasn't easy. I had to use herbs and spices to give flavour where in the past I would have used salt, stock cubes, soy sauce, cheese, bacon etc.
One month later his blood pressure was normal and the doctor was amazed. He said he advises everyone to remove salt from their diet but my husband was the only person who had followed his advice 100% thanks to me.
So, it can be done. It takes time to adjust and because food is less tasty you do eat less so weight loss is an added advantage.