Blood pressure weirdness
By peavey
@peavey (16936)
United States
January 5, 2013 8:19pm CST
I have a problem with my blood pressure due to kidney disease, so I have to keep a close watch on it. A few months back, it began to go up to 170 or 180 over 90 or 100, so I went to the doctor to get my medicine adjusted.
She put me on a different medicine to go with the old and it began to stabilize except that now and then I have a day where my blood pressure plummets - down to 90 or even 80 over 60 or so. When that happens, I feel awful. I am weak and tired and can't do anything. The doctor said to take a half dose and watch it.
So... I had the flu over the past week and my blood pressure kept dropping and dropping. I quit taking the second medicine and it still dropped. I quit taking the first medicine and it stabilized, but much lower than ever before (for me) at around 110 to 114 over 75 to 80.
I'm feeling better now, but my blood pressure is still low. Has anyone else had things like that happen? I hate to go to the doctor again because I'm so tired of it all. If my blood pressure stays low, I won't take the pills again, but if it starts to go higher I'll regulate the doses myself. Am I being foolish for trying to be my own doctor?
4 people like this
11 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
6 Jan 13
No you are not foolish, you said your doctor told you to "watch it" and that is what you are doing.
Of course if your blood pressure start to rise, you should go back to maybe the previous medication and then add the second one if needed. Of course you can also consult with your doctor on that.
Sometimes we have to be own doctor. For example I had to research and ask here about both my tendinitis and bronchitis since I didn't know anything about either. Found a great stretch that helped heal my tendinitis and it also keeps it from coming back and I found that I could just stop using my inhaler, but to keep it in case I get another flare-up. I had to search that last one because even though I asked my doctor, she was too vague about it for my taste..
@peavey (16936)
• United States
7 Jan 13
I remember the inhaler question and I agree that sometimes we have to be our own doctor. I was getting nervous about just doing it without talking to her about it, but I'm more confident now. All she would do is take my blood pressure and decide if it's too high. I can do that myself.
2 people like this
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
7 Jan 13
That's true, but if your blood pressure is way too high, you might want to call your doctor.
@KrauseHome (36447)
• United States
21 Jan 13
Personally sometimes, there are times where we have to be our own doctor. We are the ones really who is in control of what goes on, and Doctors need to remember to not just want to continue to just add something to your medications instead change one, and see what works best. I wonder if they would wonder the same thing if it was a role reversal, and hope you are feeling better now.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
21 Jan 13
I agree. I've been watching my blood pressure closely and taking a half a dose of the original prescription. One time it went fairly high and I took a quarter of a dose of the second one and that brought it right back down. I am feeling much better, thanks.
1 person likes this
@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
7 Jan 13
What type of kidney disease you have been suffering from? It means you are a victim of secondary hypertension. So I think you would consult a nephrologist immediately. Do not waste your time. It is very important to see if you need a surgery or medicines would be sufficient to control your pressure. And it needs a constant monitoring by an expert in this field.
@DoctorDidi (7018)
• India
8 Jan 13
Then you need again to consult him, you might need a milder dose. So you have to talk to him for a new dose schedule or for a replacement of that particular medicine.
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
7 Jan 13
No you are not but if you do need meds you have to go to the doctor again. Perhaps it's a good idea to keep a diary. Write down how late you wake up, go to bed, rest inbetween. What you eat when. Perhaps if you read it back after some days/weeks you can see a connection. What exactly your blood pressure should be now can be different from some time ago. Since this can happen to everyone sooner or later. Age can be a reason or hormons or... Most important is you do feel well. So I would advice you to keep a diary, check, live a regular life and see what happens. This way you can also tell you doctor exactly what you did discover/think.
@ErrollLeVant (4353)
• United States
6 Jan 13
I would suggest that you continue to monitor and record your bp at least once a day, if there is a great change, then you can see your MD.
@GardenGerty (160879)
• United States
7 Jan 13
My sister had the same issues with her blood pressure early this fall. She was taking lisinopril. First they cut her doses in half, then later they cut it off completely, then her bp went up too high again. She is diabetic and sometimes has some kidney problems. A blood pressure of 110 -114 over 75 or 80 is a pretty decent blood pressure. I will not give you medical advice, but I can tell you what I would try in your shoes. If my blood pressure got up to more than 140 over 90 I would try taking a whole dose of the medication, but only every other day. It is much more accurate to do it that way than to try to cut the pill in half. As I said, I am not qualified to give medical advice, but this is just what my personal approach would be. My blood pressure usually is about 120 over 70, though.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
7 Jan 13
Taking a pill every other day makes a lot of sense. I should have thought of it myself! My kidney problem means that it takes longer to "use up" medicine in my system and I think that's why I was getting the occasional very low reading before. The doctor said to cut the pills in half, but it makes more sense to take a whole one every other day.
Thanks!
@magtibaygom (4858)
• Philippines
6 Jan 13
Sometimes, you don't have to always depend on your doctor to treat hypertension. By educating yourself about the remedies and prevention, you can get rid of your hypertension. Educate yourself about natural remedies to counteract hypertension problems. Like for example, a change in your diet can help.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
7 Jan 13
I think that you should always consult your doctor whenever you are not feeling well. It is bad to have a very low or high blood pressure. Well, I have only experienced having a very low BP due to my having a hypocalcemia. I got dehydrated when I had severe diarrhea two years ago. I was hospitalized for 4 days. It was very difficult to breath. I always felt that I am out of breath or there were instances that I stop breathing for a few seconds.
@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
5 Mar 13
Hi,
You should take check your blood pressure with regular intervals. You should take second opinion by other specialist doctor. But you should not neglect or treat yourself in your own way. As you have kidney trouble you should take care of yourself. Doctors also make experiments on our body and then fix the doss which will suit us. Take care.
