"Essential" Hypertension And Appreciating It For What It Really Is

LLight

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I don't know if it's related to your case but I find this article interesting :):: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30829-2

"During dehydration, the relative sodium concentration within the renal medulla increases to facilitate water reabsorption from filtrate to concentrate urine and restore normovolaemia. This scenario produces physical conditions that are permissive for infection, with low urine flow and reduced expulsion of bacteria ascending from the bladder. Our data suggest that it is in just such conditions that the medullary defense zone is optimized. This is achieved by utilizing the same environmental signal that is required for urine concentration to position antibacterial MNPs in the medulla and to augment their function. This elegant mechanism allows local conditions to orchestrate a responsive and adaptable defense zone, commensurate with the likely challenge; when physical expulsion of bacteria is at its weakest, tissue-resident sentinels are strengthened by the local hypersalinity."
 
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yerrag

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I just want to update you on my bp lowering project. I've been posting on other threads so I can be more focused in discussing some topics that I deem related to my hypertension and on how to reduce it.

In case I haven't mentioned it, I've began to see my hypertensive condition as a kidney condition that is also a cardiovascular condition. As such, I suspect it is a buildup of plaque in my glomerular capillaries. And the reason I suspect that is because I've learned that plaque can result from chronic bacterial infection, and I've come to learn in the past year that I had a long period of periodontal infection that had gone undetected. Those 15 + years of doing nothing about a simmering low-grade infection has allowed the plaque to accumulate. It is not surprising that my blood pressure had steadily increased all those years.
, and
Because the body's innate immune system's response to the chronic bacterial infection has been steady as well, I could go back to my past blood tests and see a confirmation of the increase in the low-grade infection. My white blood cell count has increased from 4.5 to 7.4 over this period, and my neutrophil has gone from 50 to 74. Since my periodontal condition was discovered and fixed, I've seen my wbc and neutrophils gone down.

Another CBC marker, the RDW, has also gone down from 13.5 to 13.1 since the periodontal condition was fixed. The RDW is a marker that isn't widely used, but it has proven useful as it correlates well with the degree of cardiovascular risk. Specifically, I consider it useful in my case as I use it to gauge the level of plaque formation in my vascular system.

I'm about a month and a half into using ZymEssence, a proteolytic enzyme blend that I take to lyse away plaque. It is a blend that incorporates pancreatin, bromelain, papain, and serrapeptidase. I believe it is working as I can see that after I leave my urine in the bowl, fibrin can be seen floating where it used to not be seen. It is a sign that the enzyme blend is lysing away plaque. The enzyme blend doesn't do the job alone, as I am also using magnesium acetate or magnesium succinate, vitamin b6, and vitamin k2 to decalcify ; and vitamin C and lysine to remove Lp(a); and I've also started to use cyclodextrin with vitamin E (TocoVit) topically to eat away cholesteryl ester or oxidized LDL. I also took colloidal silver and NAC, whih serve as biofilm disruptors. All these are part of plaque. I've also begun to drink a solution to improve the zeta potential of blood, in order to ensure good flow, as I want to make sure that that if and when plaque is broken down, it doesn't agglomerate and cause any embolism to occur.

I took a CBC blood test just a few days ago. I didn't like the results. My WBC and my neutrophils went very high. It pretty much gave back all the gains I've experienced since the periodontal infection was resolved. My WBC, which had gone down to 5.92 before I began the protocol, went up to 7.38, and my neutrophils, which had gone down to 62.30, had gone up to 71.3. My RDW also went up from 13.1 to 13.2.

As for my blood pressure. it had gone up as well fro 180/120 to 200/120. As for my temperature, it had gone up from 37 to 37.2C, which would indicate some sort of low grade infection. My heart rate had gone down as well, though slightly.

All these seem to indicate that bacterial activity has increased since the plaque began breaking down. I suspect it is the biofilm being broken, and with this bacteria is being released and the increase in wbc and neutrophils is a response to that. Along with this, there would be an increase in inflammation, and this is the reason for the increase in blood pressure. And the increased temperature is my immune response to bacterial infection.

Today, I've ordered doxycyline so I can use it to deal with the increased bacterial load from the biofilm being broken. I hope I can start using them tomorrow. By the way, I'm not new to doxycycline anymore as I've used it for about a month and a half before I began using ZymEssence. I had unexpected results from it as it, to my pleasant surprise, fixed me of my arthritic left knee which had been bothering for twenty years. It also kept my sebborheic dermatitis condition at bay as well.

I'll get back to you after a month or two to report back on my progress. Thanks.
 
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yerrag

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@ecstatichamster do you have any idea how much doxycycline I should be taking for my condition? My condition being that biofilms being disrupted in my plaque is releasing bacteria- more likely oral periodontal bacteria. I've got 100 mg doxy capsules.
 
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@ecstatichamster do you have any idea how much doxycycline I should be taking for my condition? My condition being that biofilms being disrupted in my plaque is releasing bacteria- more likely oral periodontal bacteria. I've got 100 mg doxy capsules.

I don’t know. But I do know that you could take 100mg or 200mg a day for an extended time and really have no ill effects. Dr. Peat takes full dosage to the point where he detects the antibiotic on his breath and in his system, then pulls back the dose a bit.
 
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yerrag

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I don’t know. But I do know that you could take 100mg or 200mg a day for an extended time and really have no ill effects. Dr. Peat takes full dosage to the point where he detects the antibiotic on his breath and in his system, then pulls back the dose a bit.
Thanks. Good to know I can go as high as 200mg/day. Perhaps I'll try 100mg a day. I had gone 40mg/day for a month before but I wanted to try a higher dose.
 
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yerrag

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I started out last night with 100 mg doxycycline. This will be the start of a 200mg doxycycline treatment for a week. After that I'll taper off to 100 mg/day.

Will be taking down notes on my blood pressure, and an index I came up with, yerrag index: pulse pressure/heart rate.

I'll also check my spO2 and pulse readings when I wake up. I think I'm detecting some changes here. I seem to be observing lower spO2 as well as higher heart rates. It may be a bleep, but I want to make sure that if there's a trend I'm following.

Also, a week later I'll get a CBC and I'll see how my WBC, neutrophils, and RDW responds.

Keeping my fingers crossed. I've had many false "aha" moments. Not falling for it this time though.
 

Owen B

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I can't say I had essential hypertension, but I had definitely acquired a hypertensive condition. Arrhythmias, muscle cramps and excessive urination.

My BP and HR were not high, yet I still had hypertensive symptoms.

Peat purists will not like to hear this but I was using way too much salt. Of course people will say I'm not getting enough CO2, progesterone or thyroid. They may very well be right. But when I stopped the salt those symptoms disappeared within a day. My BP got lower and I felt a lot less agitated.

Admittedly, not true hypertension but still in the ballpark.

Have you seen a cardiologist or looked at aldosterone? Adrenaline is probably at play too.
 
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yerrag

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Have you seen a cardiologist or looked at aldosterone? Adrenaline is probably at play too.

You're spot on with this.

I had taken my aldosterone test early this year. Got 24.4 ng/dL. It was within the lab's ref range of 2.52-39.2.

But I couldn't find any answer from this forum, nor for the internet. regarding the optimal range. And I don't like seeing cardiologists. So I left the question of my aldosterone being too high hanging. And just assumed it was fine. Big mistake.

Yesterday, I got some basis from an ebook Dr. Peat Asked Me For An Aldosterone Blood Test to base my aldosterone readings on: I may have high aldosterone.

I had taken 2 teaspoons of salt one night, and followed that with 2 more teaspoons the next morning. My blood pressure did not go down.

So, it's either my aldesterone is not really high (unlikely) or my adrenals are producing too much aldosterone regardless of how much salt is in my system.

I may have a case of primary aldosteronism, and I have to verify if this is the case.

I can find out by taking spironolactone, or better still, webenolactone (which doesn't have the anti-androgenic properties of spironolactone). But it's easier to get spironolactone rather than webenolactone (thru the powder from eclipta prosrata), so I'll have to try that, just to confirm if I have primary aldosteronism.

Another way is to use pregnenolone/DHEA/progesterone/cyproheptadine in sufficient amounts to have an effect in lowering my blood pressure. All these are aldosterone antagonists. So far, at my levels I've used yesterday (20mg pregnenolone, 10mg pansterone, 6mg progesterone, and 4 mg cyproheptadine), my blood pressure hasn't budged a bit.

But one thing's for sure. My blood pressure had gone up instead of down since I started using ZymEssence. The hope is that ZymEssence would break down plaque, and it seems to have done so as I can see my RDW go slightly down. Along with that I hoped blood pressure would go down. Instead it's gone up. My wbc and neutrophils have gone up as well, so there's probably some inflammation going on.

I'd have to wait until next week to get a G6PD test. If indeed the test shows G6PD deficiency, it would explain oxidative stress going on. Aldosterone excess could lead to G6PD deficiency, and the increased oxdative stress could be leading to higher blood pressure as well. Here's one on G6PD: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency | McMaster Pathophysiology Review

Last night, I had cramps. Have not had it in a long while. Low potassium is my guess. And this would point me towards high aldosterone as culprit. I have also been urinating a lot. I didn't have cramps for a long time though because I had been drinking plenty of fruit and veggie juices. But the past month I've stopped that. So it could be that I need lots of potassium intake to help keep my blood pressure lower, because high aldosterone keeps wasting away my potassium stores.

I would have to modify my protocol pending verification of my aldosterone status.
 
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You're spot on with this.

I had taken my aldosterone test early this year. Got 24.4 ng/dL. It was within the lab's ref range of 2.52-39.2.

But I couldn't find any answer from this forum, nor for the internet. regarding the optimal range. And I don't like seeing cardiologists. So I left the question of my aldosterone being too high hanging. And just assumed it was fine. Big mistake.

Yesterday, I got some basis from an ebook Dr. Peat Asked Me For An Aldosterone Blood Test to base my aldosterone readings on: I may have high aldosterone.

I had taken 2 teaspoons of salt one night, and followed that with 2 more teaspoons the next morning. My blood pressure did not go down.

So, it's either my aldesterone is not really high (unlikely) or my adrenals are producing too much aldosterone regardless of how much salt is in my system.

I may have a case of primary aldosteronism, and I have to verify if this is the case.

I can find out by taking spironolactone, or better still, webenolactone (which doesn't have the anti-androgenic properties of spironolactone). But it's easier to get spironolactone rather than webenolactone (thru the powder from eclipta prosrata), so I'll have to try that, just to confirm if I have primary aldosteronism.

Another way is to use pregnenolone/DHEA/progesterone/cyproheptadine in sufficient amounts to have an effect in lowering my blood pressure. All these are aldosterone antagonists. So far, at my levels I've used yesterday (20mg pregnenolone, 10mg pansterone, 6mg progesterone, and 4 mg cyproheptadine), my blood pressure hasn't budged a bit.

But one thing's for sure. My blood pressure had gone up instead of down since I started using ZymEssence. The hope is that ZymEssence would break down plaque, and it seems to have done so as I can see my RDW go slightly down. Along with that I hoped blood pressure would go down. Instead it's gone up. My wbc and neutrophils have gone up as well, so there's probably some inflammation going on.

I'd have to wait until next week to get a G6PD test. If indeed the test shows G6PD deficiency, it would explain oxidative stress going on. Aldosterone excess could lead to G6PD deficiency, and the increased oxdative stress could be leading to higher blood pressure as well. Here's one on G6PD: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency | McMaster Pathophysiology Review

Last night, I had cramps. Have not had it in a long while. Low potassium is my guess. And this would point me towards high aldosterone as culprit. I have also been urinating a lot. I didn't have cramps for a long time though because I had been drinking plenty of fruit and veggie juices. But the past month I've stopped that. So it could be that I need lots of potassium intake to help keep my blood pressure lower, because high aldosterone keeps wasting away my potassium stores.

I would have to modify my protocol pending verification of my aldosterone status.

Primary aldosteronism sounds spot on. Definitely start increasing the juices. Cramping is often low potassium.It can also be low magnesium. Are you getting enough magnesium into your body (often a challenge as you know)?
 
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yerrag

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Primary aldosteronism sounds spot on. Definitely start increasing the juices. Cramping is often low potassium.It can also be low magnesium. Are you getting enough magnesium into your body (often a challenge as you know)?
I kinda slacked off on the magnesium and potassium supplementation, after loading up on them therapeutically for a year. All the magnesium and potassium stores accumulated just quickly got wasted through the excessive urination related to primary aldosteronism. Along with that, my heart rate went down, and I think it's because magnesium stores went down. So, cramps from low potassium, and low heart rate through low magnesium.

What I don't understand is why conserving sodium requires mangesium and potassium to be wasted through urine.

I'm looking for the eclipta alba herb locally so I can try using it to counter the high aldosterone in order to lower blood pressure. If I don't find it tomorrow, I'll have to order from Amazon. I went around my area hoping I'd find the plant as it just grows like a weed, but can't find it. I used an app called plantnet to help me look for it. It's a nifty app.
 
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Hans

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The increased urination is most likely due to aldosterone antagonism due to the progesterone.
This caused you to waste even more minerals even though aldosterone was low, and this caused the cramps.
Speculating here: aldosterone wastes magnesium and potassium, but if you're not urinating a lot you're not losing much. And as you lower it you increase urination and lose much more minerals.
 
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yerrag

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The increased urination is most likely due to aldosterone antagonism due to the progesterone.
This caused you to waste even more minerals even though aldosterone was low, and this caused the cramps.
Speculating here: aldosterone wastes magnesium and potassium, but if you're not urinating a lot you're not losing much. And as you lower it you increase urination and lose much more minerals.
I don't understand. I only took progesterone along with the other steroids one day. I didn't try it again. So it wouldn't be progesterone all this time I was urinating a lot.

You made me think about the urinating part. I think aldosterone excess has a cascade effect. It caused G6PD deficiency, and this would limit the pentose phosphate pathway, and affect some signalling systems, among them cAMP. I vaguely recall this, and I can't explain it well, but the action of vasopressin, or ADH, on suppressing urination depends on a secondary messenger, cAMP, and if cAMP is deficient, urination is not suppressed. And then with urination, magnesium and potassium gets wasted.
 
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yerrag

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Update: The past 2 days I took 3x3g of bhringraj powder. Bhringraj powder has wedololactone, which is the natural equivalent of spironolactone in reducing hypertension. It blocks the aldosterone receptor. I learned of it from Travis' posts and finally found it locally from a store that sells hair and skin beautifying aids. It's being sold as a powder to be mixed into a paste with water and applied to hair to increase hair growth. The beauty of it is that it doesn't have the anti-androgenic side-effects of spironolactone.

I started Monday with 3x1g doses. It seemed to lower my blood pressure. Yesterday I amped up the dosage to 3x3. It did nothing to lower my blood pressure. I don't have to wait anymore. It doesn't work for my hypertension. It should be like spironolactone, having more immediate effects. So, I'm dropping primary aldosteronism as a cause for my hypertension for now.

I'm now looking at two angles for my high blood condition:

1. High aldosterone - still looking at it since my aldosterone values are still suspect at 24.4 ng/dL whereas the non-suspect value is <15. I'm urinating a lot and I still see this as aldesterone conserving sodium too much and wasting potassium. I'm trying hormones pregnenolone and DHEA , with DHEA from 5-15mg/day, to see if this helps. Will try this for a week to see if there is letup on the blood pressure front.

2. G6PD deficiency - if the above doesn't work, I'm testing for G6PD deficiency even if a recent peripheral blood smear test result shows I don't have hemolytic anemia.

Yet this finding (negative for hemolytic anemia) doesn't yet mean I don't have this deficiency. It's possible I haven't been exposed to enough food or drugs that trigger the symptoms for this deficiency. From the article:

Red blood cell destruction can be triggered by infections, certain foods (such as fava beans), and certain medicines, including:

  • Antimalarial medicines such as quinine
  • Aspirin (high doses)
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
  • Quinidine
  • Sulfa drugs
  • Antibiotics such as quinolones, nitrofurantoin
If I'm affected, quinones and aspirin, which are Peat staples I've used, should be avoided. Methylene blue as well (see article). I've used these before and didn't experience anything bad, or maybe I just didn't notice their effect.
 
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Hans

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Will try this for a week to see if there is letup on the blood pressure front.
You might have to take it for a couple weeks for a meaningful increase in DHEA. You could experience immediate benefit, but if not, you'd have to wait for your levels to rise.
 
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yerrag

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You might have to take it for a couple weeks for a meaningful increase in DHEA. You could experience immediate benefit, but if not, you'd have to wait for your levels to rise.
Thanks Hans. At 15mg/day, my two bottles of Pansterone would last 20 days.
 
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yerrag

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Another thought I have I wanted to share:

Today I finished a bottle of ZymEssence (180/3 capsules= 60 days). I wasn't expecting it to lower my blood pressure much by itself, and it didn't. I think, however, that while it lysed away plaque, it also disrupted the balance along my endothelial walls. My WBC and neutrophils went up significantly, and my RDW, which was on its way down after my periodontal issue was resolved, from 13.5 to 13.1, went back up to 13.4. It's as if my innate immune system wanted to put my plaque back. I believe that when the endothelial lining was exposed thru the lysing of the plaque. it was exposed to bacteria from biofilm being disrupted while the lysis was ongoing, and neutrophils were summoned to protect the lining.

If I should test positive for G6PD deficiency, then I would have to see how I can manage the situation.
 
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yerrag

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Didn't know Pansterone was that powerful. I took 5mg (4 drops) in the afternoon, and another at night. I couldn't sleep the whole night, and I wasn't sleepy the following morning. I'm going to skip the day and start tomorrow at a lower dosage at 5 mg for the whole day. My heart rate increased to as high 95 from around 67, but the blood pressure didn't go up.
 

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The RDA for potassium is 4700 mg a day. Coming close to this amount could cure your hypertension. I think I've read one report of a person who cured his hypertension with supplementing potassium powder. There's also studies that showed big reductions in hypertension after increasing potassium intake daily to come close to the RDA. Potassium is the mineral responsible for blood pressure control.

But supplementing with potassium is said to be dangerous and deadly. I think Dr. Berg adviced smoothies to reach this amount of potassium.
 
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yerrag

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The RDA for potassium is 4700 mg a day. Coming close to this amount could cure your hypertension. I think I've read one report of a person who cured his hypertension with supplementing potassium powder. There's also studies that showed big reductions in hypertension after increasing potassium intake daily to come close to the RDA. Potassium is the mineral responsible for blood pressure control.

But supplementing with potassium is said to be dangerous and deadly. I think Dr. Berg adviced smoothies to reach this amount of potassium.
That's something to keep in mind. Smoothies or fruit juices are big help. Thanks.
 

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