Herbal remedies and homeopathy.

I'll stick with Amlodipine. It has kept my blood pressure under control for over ten years now.

janeainsworth

SpringsEternal
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.
That is dangerous nonsense.
Google ‘hepatotoxicity of turmeric and black cohosh’ for starters.

Exactly this

And this is what can happen when you think alternative medicine is better than mainstream medicine www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/02/paloma-shemirani-cancer-inquest-mother-kate-shemirani?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As Tim Minchin famously said
‘If alternative medicine worked, it wouldn’t be alternative. It would be mainstream.’

SpringsEternal
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.
That is dangerous nonsense.
Google ‘hepatotoxicity of turmeric and black cohosh’ for starters.

Could you go to an accredited dietician in a private practice who could advise you foodwise? I am hoping to do this with my acid reflux.

When I started nurse training 50 years ago (good grief 😳) I was told B.P. if the top number is 100 plus the age of the patient was good and the lower number had to be under 100, a lot has changed since then.

SpringsEternal

I know 23 people who died from cancer after having followed Drs' orders to the letter. Allopathic treatments can be brutal.

Crikey! That's a lot.....and there was me just thinking of one person (younger than myself) who has breast cancer. Maybe things might have been different if they (ie the NHS) had found it when she first started complaining about pain. But I have to say my own take is she's wasting her time going through all the chemotherapy (with accompanying hair loss) etc that they're now putting her through - as she's Stage 4 anyway and the treatment itself is making her feel more ill.

I admire the way she's determined to "live" as much as she can until the end and taking a very positive attitude about it - but it does look very pointless to me re the conventional NHS treatment she's having.

Do you have any underlying issues apart from blood pressure?
Carrying extra weight plays a big part as does stress.

I had a severe chest infection a couple of years ago and my BP went through the roof and despite the GP going into a bit of a panic mode, I said its because of my chest infection and that Ive just climbed steep stairs. Normally, its fine.

I had to agree to phone my BP in when I got home or immediately return to the surgery for meds.

I did as I was told and it dropped but i had to monitor and send in readings for a week.

I was determined to stay off medication.

I have since lost a stone and.a half in weight which has also contributed to lowering my BP.

Same with cholesterol a few years back - (now we know its not all bad for you!) - mine was higher than they liked and ‘statins’ were suggested (more drugs). I said no, I would self manage and changed my diet.
It can be done.

If I can self manage and avoid being stuck on the merry go round of constant meds, I will.

Just my personal story and choosing to be med-free.

Milliedog

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.

Homeopathy isn't going to interact with anything so don't worry. Herbal stuff is of such variable quality it is difficult to say

I know 23 people who died from cancer after having followed Drs' orders to the letter. Allopathic treatments can be brutal.

Ive just signed up for this research programme - my BP is in the "could do better" range.

I'm genuinely interested to find out whether doing daily wall squats will help

www.isofitter.org.uk/

Losing 20lb and increasing exercise seemed to have a good effect on my blood pressure going from 140 average systolic to 125. I managed to come off amlodipine. I woud go back on it if needed though so I still monitor bp at home.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 .

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

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".....

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'.