2016-02-03

Blood pressure

Stuff that they just don't tell you at school.

OK, there was a lot of shit at school, but very little on "life" and what happens in life and getting old.

I have diabetes, and I knew about that solely because my mum had it, and so was ready for it.

Blood pressure issues is a new one - I was always scared of this. Largely because you get asked "are you on blood pressure medication" when buying Sudafed.

But actually it is one of those odd conditions. For many, high blood pressure has no symptoms apart from high risk of suddenly being dead.

For me it has some symptoms. One I notice is that with high blood pressure, excessive alcohol consumption causes really very bad headaches and unwell feelings. Not like any normal hangover. Seriously this is not at all nice.

But also, and what I had not noticed, is a general "not that well" feeling - tired early in the day. Not doing that well mentally. I did not notice any of this until taking meds for blood pressure made it all go away. I feel way better now.

The meds have side effects - one was a nasty rash! The one I have now is a cough. But the meds do work.

So, seriously, check it out. High blood pressure may be a "symptomless" issue (apart from suddenly being dead) but it may be making your life shit without your realising it - get checked out and medicated!

7 comments:

  1. ACE inhibitors cause the cough. Get them to move you to an Angiotensin 2 type like Candesartan.
    Worked for me - no cough!
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cough is going though, so I think I am Ok on these.

      Delete
  2. Being tired early in the day is also a classic symptom of overnight caffeine withdrawal, and is often fixed by going decaf for a week, for me at least. One symptom of a (quite considerable) caffeine overdose: high blood pressure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ironically I drink way less coffee these days than I used to.

      Delete
  3. I sympathise Revk having suffered from high BP for a few years now. My troubles started after a serious illness of Multiple Pulmonary Embolisms in my lung back in 2009, nearly killed me. Since then I've been on a roller coaster however they eventually managed to get my BP stable and fairly consistent with CandiStaton (Oh crikey no, that would increase mine) Candesarten only on 20 mg daily and amlodipine now seems to work for me though the recent addition of Naproxen with the Gabapentin for suspected Arthritis and Cervical Spondylosis might disrupt all that.

    Now then, where did I park my zimmer?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've been diagnosed with HBP since I was 21 (41 now) my dad was 23 when he was diagnosed he's now 70 and going strong. Keep taking the tablets we are both still here! I had the cough until they changed my meds, when I thought to mention it recently and it went away. Key is getting it managed and then not worrying about it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The gotcha with HBP isn't just that it could silently kill you, it's that it can silently cause big problems.

    HBP can damage your kidneys. Kidney damage can cause HBP - i.e., you can get trapped in a vicous circle where your blood pressure gets higher and your kidneys get worse. And you don't realise anything is wrong.

    Get your blood pressure checked regularly!

    ReplyDelete

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