My blood pressure is 152/94 and I don't know what to do

This thread has reminded me that I must take my BP at home this morning and submit it on the NHS app to my GP surgery. I'm always being told my BP is "not great" during routine checkups. (My BP is always higher in a clinical setting).

At 77, I think next time I'm told that by the doctor, I'll say "Just give me the darn medicine!"

I know I've commented already ..............

But how do you get to see a GP at 8 pm on a Sunday?

Sally, I'd like to add my voice to those who say that they take medication for high BP with no problems.
I'm in my mid seventies, do yoga, walk, volunteer, and look after GC.
Untreated, very high BP can be dangerous. Good luck.

First of all I am sending sympathy for how you are feeling about this diagnosis. Being scared or angry when your body lets you down is something I have great sympathy with. Mine is in full revolt mode and I am pretty pissed off about it!

I agree about monitoring at home and using the breathing techniques... take BP before and after so you can see each time if it is helping. And document this day by day so your GP can get a clear picture of what is really going on when you are at home.

Most people have no problems with BP medication so do not be put off my your Mum's experiences which may not have been due to the meds at all but to other factors. If you can do all the other sensible things and breathing techniques you may find you only need a small dose.

Strokes can be pretty grim and preventing these has to have a high priority. I take an anticoagulant to prevent stroke as I have a heart rhythm problem. I would prefer not to take them but place stroke prevention top of my list.

I hope you manage to find the right treatment for you.

Some have mentioned changing your lifestyle but if you already do what is recommended ie, eat healthily, don’t smoke, don’t drink, avoid stress and take regular exercise and it still makes no difference then it’s down to a cocktail of BP drugs.
My husband’s was so high he was refused surgery for back operation while he was gowned up on the hospital bed! The anaesthetist and surgeon came to see him and said they dare not operate as he might have a stroke or die on the op table.

I would suggest you buy a blood pressure monitor to have at home. When you take a reading, sit quietly with your arm resting on a cushion and your feet flat on the floor. Relax and do deep breathing. Take 3 readings with a minute's break between each one. Record the lowest reading.
Self help will mean losing weight, avoiding ultra processed foods, not smoking and taking more exercise.
You don't mention your age but my GP told me that blood pressure increases with age so it may mean you have to resort to medication.

I am also someone who has been on blood pressure medication for over 20 years with no ill effect. My blood pressure is always high in a clinical setting. Once you have been told by a medical professional that your blood pressure is too high you are naturally tense and anxious each time it is measured and that adds to the high readings. As has been suggested get a home monitor and learn some relaxation techniques you may well find that when you are relaxed in a home setting your readings will be fine, if still a bit high do not be afraid of the appropriate medication. Good luck.

Beetroot apparently helps reduce BP as a natural product.
Lots of research on line check it out to see if help you.

My husband had a BP of 248/90 in A&E a few months ago. He had no idea, that he even had hypertension. He hadn't been to a GP since 1991!
He is now waiting to see a cardiologist, because he is on three medications, which have brought his BP down a bit, but not enough.
However, he is on the maximum dose possible and can't have any more.
His BP is still very high.

Mine sits at approx 166/ 80. There are underlying reasons for this. I have to record it on the NHS app and a GP checks it.
Did your GP ask you to record it?
We have a very healthy diet, but sometimes diet changes are not enough.

It can be a matter of trial and error, to find the right treatment.
Better taking the pills, than having a stroke. My DH was very lucky, I got him to A&E in time.

I've been on Losartin for years. No problems at all. Amlodipine didn't agree with me so my GP changed the prescription.

I am rather surprised at the OP's post. Says she has just returned from seeing her GP - and that is shown at 8.00 pm on a Sunday. Where in GB does she get a Sunday evening GP appointment??

Usually, when a GP gets a higher than liked bp reading from a patient, they send the home telling them to take their own readings in their own home, for at least a week, sometimes a fortnight, readings morning and evening - three each time and lowest to be listed. Then these readings are returned to clinician and an average is taken.

So very many people take BP medication. Once it has been sorted out for that patient, then they have little or no side effects. Yes, some bp medication (particularly the cheaper pills), can cause problems. When I started I developed a dreadful cough, which totally shook me at each bout. This was proved to be due to the 'piril' bp tabs I had been prescribed. But this was over 20 years ago, and I was changed to other bp tabs, which work extremely well and have (as far as I can feel), absolutely no side effects - and keep my bp pretty good.

I got it down by what you are doing; eating masses of vegetable daily; reducing saturated fat (low fat spreads/cheeses etc) and limited alcohol But it too 3-4 months

I am another who suggests you buy a BP machine and take your own readings before committing to medication if it worries you. I sit comfortably wearing the machine, preferably with the sun on my face and relax for a few minutes, sometimes almost dozing off. I then quickly press 'go' to catch it unawares. The reading is then perfect! In any other setting it is sky high. This white coat syndrome has caused problems prior to medical procedures when I can't relax. I went into breast cancer surgery with a machine on each arm and each leg, all repeatedly inflating - far from relaxing!

I had a well woman check in February, I was 68. Obese, high bp and cholesterol. I was asked to record my bp at home for two weeks and it was consistently high. I decided to give The Jane Plan a try to lose weight.

I was 69 in April, and called for a routine eye test. I was offered a new machine photograph for £50 which I treated myself to on my Barclaycard. It revealed a ‘bleed’ behind my optic nerve. The optician said it could have been a sneeze - or could be diabetes II. He said he would write to my doctor, and asked if I’d been offered any medication. I said I had, but was trying to lose weight - he said many of his clients my age were only alive because they were on the medication, and I could have a stroke or heart attack at any time. I went and got tablets for both the following week, no ill effects.

I was sent for an ecg - clear - and to the eye clinic at the hospital. Luckily my eye is OK and does not require treatment.

I now accept my body is deteriorating as I am ageing, and will accept all help. I have a new grandson and hope to see him into his teenage years at least.

We got our BP machine from the local chemist, and use it from time to time. At the time it was about £15. My dh has been on bp meds for years, without complications.

I'd been on Indapamide for 20 years for HBP. Late last year I had an emergency rush to hospital and because my BP was low I was taken of the drug and it was not re-prescribed, for 10 months I wasn't taking any HBP medication.

In August this year I felt unwell, took my BP at home, it was 191/90. A chat with my doctor and I was immediately put back onto Indapamide and within 2 weeks my reading lowered to around 140/70, it's now around 130ish/70ish.

I believe if I hadn't been put back on the Indapamide I wouldn't be here now.

Personally I've had no side effects from taking the blood thinners, the benefits outweigh the anxiety of what happens when I stop taking them

Please try not to worry, as that will have a detrimental effect on your blood pressure. My BP was routinely in the 150s and my GP didn’t seem to worry about it. I was not overweight, not a big drinker, had never smoked and watched what I ate. Only when I had a serious spike and it suddenly went up in the 170s and then over 200 did I call 111 and was taken to A&E. There was nothing seriously wrong with me; no apparent reason why it spiked but it scared the life out of me. They sent me home with BP meds and I’ve been on amlodipine ever since. Try all the natural methods of keeping it down - diet, exercise - but don’t kick against the medication.

I have been on blood pressure tablets for years without any problems, I was recently at nurse for a yearly checkup and she took my BP twice to make sure,,,it was a bit high, she gave me a form to fill in to take my BP at home for a week twice morning and twice at night.then hand it in at the gp practice it was fine, sometimes it is the white coat syndrome..

Visgir1

Beetroot apparently helps reduce BP as a natural product.
Lots of research on line check it out to see if help you.

SallyL2 has beetroot juice every morning in her OP.

I cannot remember when I was last so upset and angry, to the point of shaking. I called the GP surgery last Friday for an appointment. He has been i pain for 3 weeks with his shoulder and neck, I didn’t know it had been that long. He also has a lump on his chest that he would like to be checked. There were no appointments available and I was told to ring back Monday, I waited 30 mins as there is always a queue and was told there was an appointment at 11.00 if it was an emergency. I said I’m not sure it’s an emergency but he does need to be seen. Then she said there’s an appointment at 12.00. I was delighted then she said next Monday we don’t make routine appointments the same day and that was that. My dad is 91 years old. I offered to make a private appointment for him and I would happily have paid. He wouldn’t. Are there any doctors receptionists here, is it a very difficult job. I wasn’t rude or impolite.

Sorry SallyL1 - I didn’t mean to hijack your thread. I thought I was posting a new one.

I,m a bit controversial on this,I was on BP pils for decades ,had the dreaded Ramipril cough.I was told for a long time to just live with it
I came off the pills a year ago against my Gp.s advice ,I started taking 24 month aged black garlic 1 capsule a day my blood pressure has been normal ever since.This mornings reading was 119/68!
My readings on the pills. were never that good ,in fact they were regularly very high ,if I got a reading of 146/85 it was a good day .
If you’re not on pills try either the garlic or the very high dose Beetroot capsules that contain nitric oxide ,my daughter uses them with great results.
If you’re not on try garlic make sure it’s 24months aged.
Good luck

Your GP is unusual, to give you an appointment on a Sunday evening. Mine has the phone diverted to an advice line at the weekend.

Your mother must be in her eighties now - even if she has NOT had high blood pressure and a lot of medication for it, she still would very likely be "A shell of what she was". In fact, if it was very high and didn't respond to the medication, she would probably not still be here. So don't compare yourself to her.

Two weeks is not long to bring your BP down on your own. Beetroot juice and walking every day are not going to work that fast. Did the GP give you a diet sheet? The only foods you mention are beetroot juice and garlic, which are additions to you daily meals. Adjusting what you normally eat, and how of each thing, could make more difference than adding things in the hope that they will act like medication and magically alter your metabolism without changing your daily eating routine. Ask for a diet sheet and/or look online for nutritional advice - for instance the DASH diet. www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/foods-that-lower-blood-pressure/dash-diet

If you don't succeed in lowering your BP on your own, accept the BP pills. The first one they try will probably be a water pill - that can make a surprising amount of difference.

"had the dreaded Ramipril cough"
Interesting. My husband had that, we didn't realise the cause at first, then they changed him to something which is not actually a BP tablet but helps reduce blood pressure as a side effect.

I will investigate aged black garlic.

I'm surprised you weren't put on BP medication straight away. When my GP saw my readings, I walked out of the surgery 10 minutes later clutching my little box of tablets! That was 24 years ago and, with a few tweaks, I'm doing OK. It isn't a death sentence. As long as you put your trust in your doctor -- and hold up your end of the bargain by actually swallowing the pills -- you should be fine. Good luck.