Blood Pressure. Arrrrgggg!

Hoodlt

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So I fell off the Peat Bandwagon briefly and my estrogen shot right up. I am back to peating (lots of milk, oj, salt, collagen, and coffee and add some eggs and liver, too. Back on progesterone, too. I found a functional medicine doc who is willing to do NDT with me, too. My blood pressure is through the roof! It all started back in April when I realized my estrogen had spiked AND I got a UTI . The UTI never really went away and my BP has not been good. Today it was 143/100. The doctor gave me a copy of the dash diet, which I recycled. I am walking an hour a day and doing yoga 2-3 times a week. I am not under much stress at all except for worrying about my blood pressure. I think the nurse today wanted to put me in a home and keep me safe.
 

Blossom

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Today it was 143/100.
Mine was 140/90 right before I gave blood yesterday and I was concerned it would disqualify me from donating but the phlebotomist just laughed and said they accepted donations from people with a blood pressure reading up to 180/100. Back in the early 90's I remember 140/90 was considered borderline high blood pressure but they've lowered the numbers since then so more people would qualify for medication.
 

keith

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If you find something that works, please share. I've been trying to get mine down too. I've read that Ray Peat has recommended large doses of K-2 to people, I think to decalcify arteries. I tried 40 mg daily for two weeks, which, if memory serves, was his recommendation to someone else. Didn't have any impact for me, but might work for you. I think someone said he recommended avoiding citric acid to them; not sure if it worked, but it didn't seem to help me in a shorter experiment (I love my OJ). Some claim magnesium helps. I think that might actually increase mine, though.

I'm planning to try the K-2 again with a different brand, and see if I can get it to budge. I probably really need to lose weight, but much easier said than done. I got myself into a health mess by dieting, and am a little gun shy about restricting calories now. I know the high BP isn't good, but everything else is much better, so I'm not sure how much I'm willing to react to it. Doctors do get all nervous about it. Maybe my aspirin intake will help me avoid stroke, at least, and hopefully I figure out the blood pressure before it creates other issues.
 

keith

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Mine was 140/90 right before I gave blood yesterday and I was concerned it would disqualify me from donating but the phlebotomist just laughed and said they accepted donations from people with a blood pressure reading up to 180/100. Back in the early 90's I remember 140/90 was considered borderline high blood pressure but they've lowered the numbers since then so more people would qualify for medication.

I got deferred the last few times I went due to exceeding 100 on the bottom number. They say it is for safety, but if you had too much pressure in a water pipe, wouldn't you releave it by letting out some of the fluid? If my BP is too high, take out some blood for me, people! :p
 
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Hoodlt

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I would totally try that but lived in the UK back in the '90's during mad cow scare. Darn!
 

Blossom

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I would totally try that but lived in the UK back in the '90's during mad cow scare. Darn!
Yeah that was one of the things they asked on the screening questionnaire. My BP seemed to go down a bit when I was taking theanine but I didn't keep up with taking it regularly. I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence.
I probably really need to lose weight, but much easier said than done. I got myself into a health mess by dieting, and am a little gun shy about restricting calories now.
I feel exactly the same!
 

Matt1951

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My blood pressure started hitting 150/110. I added two drinks a day (had been a teetotaler) and added potato or banana every day for potassium. Blood pressure dropped rather quickly to around 120/80. I relax for at least two minutes before checking. I am old and overweight, with not much exercise. Dropped coffee because it drives my pulse rate too high.
 

milk

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I have high blood pressure too. (Indeed I have posted about this issue a good deal.)

I take losartan, 25 mg before sleep and another 25 mg when I wake up. It's not peaty but doesn't seem to have much negative impact on my metabolism.

Peaty things that worked for me:

- Cyproheptadine, which seems to lower my BP a lot. I don't take it regularly though. But I'll get really good readings like 120/66 (very low for me) on cypro.
- Taurine. I take around 10 g a day, throughout the day. I get it in powder form. It seems to lower BP somewhat and has other great benefits, particularly for hair.
- Vit D. I take 4.000 UI when I wake up and it seems to noticeably lower my BP.

This is just personal anecdotal experience from when I was measuring my BP all the time, including after taking supplements.

Edit: My BP also goes down somewhat right after I take a glass of milk and a glass of OJ. Someone here said the right calcium/potassium ratio can affect BP iirc.
 

keith

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My BP seemed to go down a bit when I was taking theanine but I didn't keep up with taking it regularly. I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence.

Interesting...I've been wondering if theanine is increasing mine. I've taking some to help fight off seasonal allergies. It seems to work well, but if I take more than say 100 mg 3x day, it gives me headaches. I think antihistamines, like benadryl can increase BP, although taking that might explain a recent increase I have had. That's got me thinking. We just finally got some rain here after a long dry period that has coincided with high tree pollen that about killed me, so now the airnis clean and I can back off the benedryl and doxylamine succinate I've been taking. Maybe that will get me down to my normal, slightly less concerning high BP. I'll have to giventhe theanine a by itself trial.
 

keith

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My blood pressure started hitting 150/110. I added two drinks a day (had been a teetotaler) and added potato or banana every day for potassium. Blood pressure dropped rather quickly to around 120/80. I relax for at least two minutes before checking. I am old and overweight, with not much exercise. Dropped coffee because it drives my pulse rate too high.

I used to drink quite a bit. I cut down before Peating, and actually lost all desire for alcohol once I started getting enough sugar, for some reason. I think my liver health wasn't good, because even one or two drinks would give me a hangover, which made it even less appealing. I think I'm in better much liver health now (judging by my apparent glycogen stores), so maybe I'll give it a shot (literally). ;) My blood pressure was always fine back when I drank regularly.
 

keith

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Peaty things that worked for me:

- Cyproheptadine, which seems to lower my BP a lot. I don't take it regularly though. But I'll get really good readings like 120/66 (very low for me) on cypro.
- Taurine. I take around 10 g a day, throughout the day. I get it in powder form. It seems to lower BP somewhat and has other great benefits, particularly for hair.
- Vit D. I take 4.000 UI when I wake up and it seems to noticeably lower my BP.

Other good ideas; I've regularly taken 3 gm taurine to no noticeable effect for me; maybe I'll try going higher. I've been thinking about giving cypro a go for a while. I have to order from overseas, which has been my hangup so far, but my seasonal allergies seem to be getting worse, and I don't really like benedryl (makes me feel loopy the next day, even, particularly with extended use, a the doxylamine seems to give me a headache the next day, although I split one in half last night, and feel ok today). Vit d doesn't impact my BP, even at significantly higher doses than 4000 iu.

These are great tips, though. Good place to start for someone who hasn't tried these yet. The fix seems to be highly variable.
 

XPlus

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From what I understand, blood pressure builds up when blood volume doesn't increase or decreases in the face of increased energy requirements. So drawing out blood should increase blood pressure.
Some of the most common things that increase blood pressure include high citric acid, low sodium, protein deficiency and hardening of the arteries.
Gradual increase in blood pressure in response to aging of the tissues is normal according to Peat and shouldn't be worrying.

I've never had blood pressure problems before few months ago when I ran into some.
The extra citric acid from OJ was part of it and my salt intake was not helping but the biggest offender for me was protein deficiency.

BP finally started to settle down after about a month of being diligent at neutralising citric acid, breathing Co2, taking Aspirin, not skimping on protein as well as maxing salt and K2.

It's easy to slip into a hypertensive quicksand when using too much of the metabolism boosting substances - things like thyroid, light, caffeine, Methylene Blue. These should carefully introduced and be accompanied with increased dietary intake.
 
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Blossom

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These are great tips, though. Good place to start for someone who hasn't tried these yet. The fix seems to be highly variable.
I agree. Even though it's not rigorous science it's always good to hear about things that have helped other people.
I'll have to recheck mine when I'm more relaxed. I was rushing around at work trying to squeeze in some time to donate before the blood mobile left.
I relax for at least two minutes before checking.
I'm pretty sure I literally ran out to the blood mobile and they slapped the blood pressure cuff on me before I could even sit down. Probably not the best idea...:bucktooth:
I take losartan,
I have clonidine on hand just in case I need something. As much as I gripe about big pharma I do begrudgingly partake of some of their products from time to time.:woot:
Best wishes to everyone in managing their blood pressure. I hope we can keep this thread going with updates on things that help (or not). To be honest I'm not too worried about 140/90 but I guess I'm old school. Years ago I used to walk around with a BP of 80/50 and this feels way better to me.
So drawing out blood should increase blood pressure.
Good point, I didn't donate to reduce my blood pressure so I hope I didn't give the impression that I thought it was a tool for doing that!
Methylene Blue.
I was experimenting with this some months ago and stopped because I suspected it might be raising my blood pressure. It's good to know the CO2 is helping.
 

Blossom

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XPlus

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Good point, I didn't donate to reduce my blood pressure so I hope I didn't give the impression that I thought it was a tool for doing that!
Not the impression I got from your post.
I was indirectly referring to keith's post about letting some blood out to relief pressure.

Here's a decent explanation on how hypovolemia from blood donation can effect blood pressure.
Hypovolemia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This looks interestingly more complex than I thought.

I was experimenting with this some months ago and stopped because I suspected it might be raising my blood pressure. It's good to know the CO2 is helping.

Yes. Thanks to a kind and thoughtful lady it's easy for me to keep on top of my Co2 levels.
 

keith

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I'm really not promoting bloodletting as blood pressure control, but from my non-sciency perspective, it would seem like you would want to reduce blood volume to reduce pressure, at least temporarily. Anyway, there are some benefits, including reduced blood pressure, for reasons that are probably more complex than my simple mechanistic view above, to donating blood: Benefits of Donating Blood: Reduced Systolic Blood Pressure and Lower Risks for Heart Disease and Diabetes | Nutrition Review. The best reason, of course, is that it saves lives, but you may get other health benefits as well, so give if you can.
 

XPlus

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The relationship between losing blood and blood pressure maybe a bit more complex, according to the link Blossom's shared.
It appears that when losing some blood, like 10% as in donating blood, BP is maintained by vasoconstriction. Subsequent decrease in pressure could be attributed to lower physiological burden of toxins, like iron, as blood volume is restored shortly after the donation.
 

skycop00

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Been Peating as well and out of no where about 10 days ago, major headaches. Started ruling things out and finally checked BP and wow...180/105 last night. I took potassium and olive leaf and it came down to 140/90. I have to figure this out. I have NEVER had BP issues in my 52 years. Very unsettling!
 
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Hoodlt

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Been Peating as well and out of no where about 10 days ago, major headaches. Started ruling things out and finally checked BP and wow...180/105 last night. I took potassium and olive leaf and it came down to 140/90. I have to figure this out. I have NEVER had BP issues in my 52 years. Very unsettling!
Very unsettling INDEED! Mine just won't budge (unless it goes up)!!! Not feeling stressed...eating well...walking meditative for an hour a day! What gives? Fighting them on the BP meds for now. Had a kidney function test that came out just fine. Really, really really wish I could give blood to try it but nope. Perhaps a lake with leeches is in order!!! Also trying magnesium taurine.
 

skycop00

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Very unsettling INDEED! Mine just won't budge (unless it goes up)!!! Not feeling stressed...eating well...walking meditative for an hour a day! What gives? Fighting them on the BP meds for now. Had a kidney function test that came out just fine. Really, really really wish I could give blood to try it but nope. Perhaps a lake with leeches is in order!!! Also trying magnesium taurine.
Ok, so no headaches for 5 days now and BP is 118/76. Here is what I did. I play ice hockey and do some other intensive training. I started tracking data on cronomter. I don't do much milk and just make 2 glasses of oj. So...
1) calcium was low
2) sodium and potassium were low
3) stopped pregnenolone ... was
using 60mg a day with 5 mg dhea.
4) Upped my hydration with salt

I corrected the above and poof....headaches stopped and BP came right down.

Feeling great again!!
 
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