Blood Pressure Jumps All Over The Place - Frustrating!

[yerrag]

thanks @Blossom, yes, also its very important to ensure to have very good batteries if the b/p machine is battery operated. The arm can be at the side or resting in a lateral position. Its also prudent to assess both arms for a average reading.

I usually just wait for the battery low sign before I recharge the batteries. Maybe I should charge before it reaches that point. I'll also try from both arms to see if it makes a difference. So far, so good though with the crossed arms. Thanks.

Have you had an iron panel and/or tried to donate blood? I think all heavy metals, including excess iron, put extra stress on the kidneys, so lowering even a moderatly high iron burden may help out with the condition you have. My blood pressure went down over time as I lowered iron via phlebotomy. Beyond this, it certainly helps reduce blood pressure in the short term.

Yes, had an iron panel and there's no need to donate blood. I had given blood from a test long ago that shows hemochromatosis though.

Also, if you haven't checked out the inclined bed therapy thread here, you might want to too. One of the benefits of IBT is improved detox, and I am wondering if that might help in your case.

That's a good idea. I'll look at that thread. Thanks.

https://www.heartmath.com/
Probably not the kind of thing you're looking for, but training with a heart rate variability biofeedback device has been shown to slow respiration rate, heart rate and blood pressure. Probably also change respiratory sinus arrhythmia.

Increasing heart rate variability is the goal. It increases the coherence of the heart rhythm and will relate to other coherent systems.

Like also, probably, metabolic changes at the molecular level.

Interesting. Will check it out. Thanks.

My Omron does the same thing, I don't think it's all that important. Take an average of the readings and you'll have a good idea of where you are. Like one's weight, the particular number is not as important as the range it's in.

Somewhere there is a report of a scientist who reviewed all the high blood pressure studies that were supposed to show how bad high sodium is, and concluded that it is really low calcium that causes it. That stimulates aldosterone and then there is a cascade ending with the renin-angiotensin system increasing BP. That might be an approach to lowering your BP (and keeping phosphorous lower than calcium, as usual).

I was doing it wrong when my readings were jumping all over the place. But having to find my pulse, I was able to position the cuff correctly, and the readings were more tightly together now. I also felt some pain as the pressure in the cuff increases, when I wasn't feeling it when I was positioning the cuff wrongly. It reminded me of how it felt when I go to a clinic before.

I think you're right about the calcium. When I take calcium, it helps lower my blood pressure. I just couldn't pin it down as to where. Sometimes it's the systolic going down. Sometimes it's the diastolic. This was when I take magnesium and add calcium to see what it would do, as I would think calcium balances magnesium, and vice versa.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Yes, had an iron panel and there's no need to donate blood. I had given blood from a test long ago that shows hemochromatosis though.

Well, beyond simply the iron issue, phlebotomy has been studied to reduce blood pressure, and apparently is pretty effective.

Blood-Letting Therapy for Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

"A total of 7 RCTs with 637 hypertensive patients from 1989 to 2017 were identified. Compared with antihypertensive drugs, blood pressure was significantly reduced by BLT [phlebotomy](RR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.44, P=0.03; heterogeneity: P=0.06, I2=60%) and BPAD [phlebotomy and antihypertensive drugs ](RR=1.25, 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.53, P=0.03; heterogeneity: P= 0.01, I2=71%)."

If there is no other reason you can't donate blood, you may still want to give it a shot. And if you did have a test that showed hemochormatosis, it's probably good to donate a couple times a year, if nothing else for precautionary measures. It's really safe, and with modern practices, negative side effects are pretty minor and easily mitigated.

 

[yerrag]

Well, beyond simply the iron issue, phlebotomy has been studied to reduce blood pressure, and apparently is pretty effective.

Blood-Letting Therapy for Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

"A total of 7 RCTs with 637 hypertensive patients from 1989 to 2017 were identified. Compared with antihypertensive drugs, blood pressure was significantly reduced by BLT [phlebotomy](RR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.44, P=0.03; heterogeneity: P=0.06, I2=60%) and BPAD [phlebotomy and antihypertensive drugs ](RR=1.25, 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.53, P=0.03; heterogeneity: P= 0.01, I2=71%)."

If there is no other reason you can't donate blood, you may still want to give it a shot. And if you did have a test that showed hemochormatosis, it's probably good to donate a couple times a year, if nothing else for precautionary measures. It's really safe, and with modern practices, negative side effects are pretty minor and easily mitigated.

I hear you bro, but there's one hitch. With my blood pressure this high, they wouldn't dare draw my blood. They would want to rush me to the ER.

 

[yerrag]

@Blossom I found that crossing the arm works great. Not only that, if I do it in such a way that my left arm almost wraps around my chest, I get lower and more consistent blood pressure readings. I'm not sure, and I have to test further, but it seems that if I'm holding my cellphone, it seems to affect the reading. Have to play some more with it.

@Owen B The heartmath is interesting.I'm intrigued. I hope I can get back to it sometime soon. It entails me buying a device and using an app with it. Since I've not been able for awhile to incorporate meditation into my daily life, it would be interesting to go back to it, and be able to see it help with my heart rate variability.

 

[yerrag]

I'm finding that I can get very consistent results with my Omron now, after doing two things: gettng the cuff (with a suitable size) positioned correctly (so that the pulse can be detected easily), and with crossing the arm (to the point of almost wrapping around the chest). Here are my latest readings: 202/129, 202/130, 200/135, 201/133.

The reading is very high now. This is the third time I've taken readings showing very high blood pressure, and I can say it is no coincidence anymore that this happens each time I eat tortilla chips. Being that I don't eat corn chips at all, I think I can now confirm that corn chips make my blood pressure go high. I suspect it is the GMO corn that is causing it.

I may be able to make my own masa and my own tortilla chips soon, as I may have located a source of local non-GMO corn. It would be nice to eat nixtamalized corn and have the extra calcium coming from eating it. I'll test my blood pressure after eating my homemade tortilla chips, and see if my blood pressure would be affected in the way it was in eating GMO corn-based tortilla chips.

 

[Blossom]

located a source of local non-GMO corn.

I wonder if that really exists? I'm glad you are getting consistent readings. I feel that is an important step.

 

[yerrag]

I wonder if that really exists?

It exists alright. I just have to go to the farm itself and buy from the farmer. My farm market vendor says she can take me there. Will see how that goes. I suppose I can test my blood pressure after eating it and if my blood pressure doesn't go up, it isn't glyphosate contaminated. I can sell my personal glyphosate contamination detection service now

I'm glad you are getting consistent readings. I feel that is an important step

Yes, thanks to you all! I'm just glad I didn't have to buy the sphygno.

 

[Blossom]

It exists alright. I just have to go to the farm itself and buy from the farmer.

That's good to know! We grew sweet corn in our garden this year. It was delicious but I wondered about it because I'm surrounded by GMO seed corn fields.
I thought I'd read/heard at one point that nearly all corn has been impacted due to bees cross pollinating regular corn and GMO corn. I'm not educated in farming enough to know if there's any truth to that though. Maybe it's just corn in my area because we are a major corn producing state.
I hope you find some corn that agrees with you!