Herbal remedies and homeopathy.

Don't waste your money- listen to your GP and stick to the meds prescribed.

Having said that good diet and exercise shouldn't be overlooked either.

I totally agree stick with the prescribed meds. Herbal remedies and homeopathy have their place but not when dealing with high blood pressure. Give the new tablets a change to kick in. Hope they work for you.

It’s sometimes trial and error on new medication, I’d discuss with my GP.

Hawthorn tincture from Napier Herbalist online - you can discuss for free with qualified herbalist for 15 mins. I am on BP tablets and I take hawthorn tincture as it is nutritious for the heart and circulation and helps balance out BP. It is prescribed by doctors in Germany for heart and circulation issues. Do your own research - it is interesting.

I'd take the medication prescribed by the doctor. Having said that, I have had only 2 experiences of homeopathy - both positive. When young, one of my daughters had a cough that went on for months. The doctor couldn't prescribe anything that worked. In desperation, I took her to a local homeopath. She gave her a remedy which quickly cured it. Another time, our other daughter had a health problem the dr couldn't help with, but the homeopath sorted it. Any good, registered homeopath would check what prescription you are on and make sure nothing clashed. But it's important to ensure that the homeopath is registered.

Give the tablets time. I'm on amlodipine. They worked a little bit to start with, but now I've been on them for a while, they are very effective.
I recommend (gentle and regular) exercise and a careful diet, but haven't much experience of herbal meds

It's worth remembering herbs and homeopathy are complementary therapies, meant to complement medical treatment and not replace it, furthermore some can be quite potent so take care

pluckyluckyme

Hawthorn tincture from Napier Herbalist online - you can discuss for free with qualified herbalist for 15 mins. I am on BP tablets and I take hawthorn tincture as it is nutritious for the heart and circulation and helps balance out BP. It is prescribed by doctors in Germany for heart and circulation issues. Do your own research - it is interesting.

Ooh thanks for that. I'll have to check that out myself - as I've been told my blood pressure is worryingly high.

Two thoughts:
- the "desirable" blood pressure readings have been changed (downwards) in recent years. Can't remember what the 1970s numbers are offhand (think it's about 30 more for the first one?? - but it's noticeably higher than present day ones). Errrm...could the drug manufacturers want to sell their medications to more people?

- only just read advice this morning telling people to sit down and relax for 10-15 minutes whilst taking their own blood pressure - to allow for it being a true reading (rather than a higher one). That makes sense to me - as 15 minutes of waiting as patiently as possible later and one would have gone into a more meditative/normal mindset. Whereas taking the reading pretty much as soon as one sits down would be more conducive to having a "must work my way through my checklist of tasks to do" and wanting to tick that point off the list before getting on with whatever is next on the list.

I am a homeopath. I would say that if your current medication hasn’t lowered your bp, you might want to consider the relevance of factors such as weight, diet and importantly, stress, all examples of things that can raise your blood pressure.

I go for alternatives every time. I avoid Big Pharma. Alternatives have no side effects and they treat the whole person, not just one problem. I agree with Stillness that stress is an important factor: my first advice would be to avoid the news. Meditation is good for you. As is exercise. You might enjoy and benefit from Reiki. Good luck.

Losing weight lowers BP. Mine was high so I lost about half a stone and it did drop.

pluckyluckyme

Hawthorn tincture from Napier Herbalist online - you can discuss for free with qualified herbalist for 15 mins. I am on BP tablets and I take hawthorn tincture as it is nutritious for the heart and circulation and helps balance out BP. It is prescribed by doctors in Germany for heart and circulation issues. Do your own research - it is interesting.

Those dreaded words 'do your own research'!

Fine, set up a clinic, run controlled tests on a large group of people using different medications and treatments, publish the results for peer review...

But you don't mean that, do you? You mean 'find some opinions on the Internet that reinforce your suspicion that Doctors Don't Know Everything'.

The phrase "Do your own research" is indeed one to take account of.

My first suspicion that doctors didn't "know it all" came as early as my 30's - when I went to the doctor about a health problem I was experiencing and that was getting worse. Cue for totally ignorant doctor (yep....there are decent doctors - at least prior to 2020) but that one certainly wasnt.

He made out it was "just one of those things" and one health problem and nothing I could do.

Cue for I knew he was wrong...very very wrong...there was a cause (rather than it being my own body's fault) and I strongly suspected what it was and what had caused it. Cue for I swopped doctor on the spot - next one could see exactly what I meant/what it was at any rate and then I could start on the road to cure it (which I never would have - left to the first doctor).

That's not the only time a doctor has been "way off track".....

Please don’t mix herbal remedies with prescription meds unless you’ve discussed with GP/ pharmacist

High blood pressure is dangerous so please don't rely on going to the healthfood shop and buying remedies from an unqualified person .
Stick to the prescribed meds and if they really aren't working then consult your GP again .
I've had a weekend off from my health diet designed to get my weight and BP down .
As from tomorrow it's no alcohol , caffeine ,frozen meals and sweet treats .
The key to reducing blood pressure is weight loss , exercise, a low sodium diet and reducing stress .
I'll start the day with a bowl of porridge with a little honey and sprinkled with cinnamon .
Snacks will be fruit lunch and dinner will be fish ,chicken ,turkey or nuts with either salad and vegetables.
I'll try to walk more or play music and dance .
I'll meditate as well .
I've done this before and got my BP down very quickly.
I'll drink green or ginger tea .
I know that I'll struggle for a few days then I'll feel less sluggish .
Take care and good luck .

There's absolutely no evidence that homeopathy works, in fact it can be dangerous.. It's literally psuedo science.

And herbal remedies on top of prescription medications can be fatal, especially when blood pressure is involved. I know someone who ended up in hospital very unwell after taking lions mane and something I can't remember with blood pressure tablets.

Stick to what your dr suggests and avoid snake oil.

No evidence ever, of homeopathic medicine being dangerous as mentioned in this thread. It’s best prescribed by a fully qualified homeopath who has trained for four years or a medical doctor who has also trained ( for slightly less time) in homeopathy and indeed, it is often used for people who have high blood pressure. However, if some of the issues already mentioned in this thread are prevalent, eg weight, diet, they can override the treatment….and may even do so with allopathic treatment.

You do need to be careful with herbal treatments if you are on any other medication. The most innocuous substances can react badly with prescribed medication, so do check with your doctor.

Years ago my husband had a lot of problems, the most annoying of which was a constant cough. Whatever he did it went on and on. In the end our GP said that there was a homeopathic remedy he could try. My husband was the biggest sceptic ever but I went and got the pills anyway. Two days later the cough was gone. Was it the pills? Was it mind over matter - although he was certainly convinced it was all rubbish? At least it meant I wasn't going to have to strangle him to shut him up!

I don't know about BP but I managed to lower my cholesterol from 7 to 5.6 with plant sterols as the statins I took gave me nosebleeds. I was really chuffed with myself but the GP said it was still too high and asked me to try another statin.

Beetroot (but not pickled) is good for lowering BP.
Also;
Cruciferous vegetables
Bay leaf tea
Please check with your doctor they don't clash with any of your medications.

Homeopathic remedies often work when conventional medicine fails, they even work on animals so there is no placebo effect. The problem is that results are not consistent and cannot be proved, one remedy may work for one person but not in another.

We’ve used them, the only explanation is that they switch your own immune system on so that the body itself can fight the illness. Most useful for everyday minor illnesses

Stick with conventional medicine. There's something available to suit everyone (from my experience).

You need to watch the salt content of your food, it is so easy to go over the recommended level. My husband recently had a TIA, BP approximately 156/90 - I have cut out most salt and watch his diet - no eating of processed meats, increasing the amount of fish and fruit and veg eaten. BP is now down to 122/66. He has lost weight and feels much better.
Please rely on your GP and ask to see a dietician to help you.

You have to be careful with herbal remedies, they can interact with medication. Check with your GP first.
Just a word of caution: I have known two people who died of cancer because they refused medical treatment and relied on homeopathic remedies. By the time they realised it wasn't working it was too late. They are not a replacement for medical treatment.