Q: I have lost 25 lbs. I walk regularly, avoid salt, sugar, and fats. My bp is 102/65. Should I stop my meds?
A: You should not stop your blood pressure medicine without talking to your doctor. It is possible with life style changes and weight loss blood pressure medicine can be lowered or stopped. This needs to be done under the supervision of a doctor as it is dangerous to stop certain blood pressure medicines all at once.
(23 votes, average: 4.39 out of 5)
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It sounds like you have had great results! Stopping your blood pressure medications is easier said than done, however. It depends on what medication(s) you are taking, and on how much you are taking of it/them. Dr. Sherry Rogers explains how to stop taking blood pressure meds in her book, “The High Blood Pressure Hoax!”. It is a great book for controlling blood pressure naturally. Beta blockers are more difficult to stop taking than ACE inhibitors or diuretics, as they are typically designed to have what is called a “rebound effect” to keep you on them, but essentially, Dr. Rogers’ advice is to very, very gradually begin reducing your medications on about two week intervals, taking your blood pressure several times daily along the way, to see how reductions in medications affect your blood pressure. If you can do this, and once off all drugs for at least one month with your blood pressure remaining within normal ranges, then stopping medications is possible. I tried to get off drugs three times using this method before I succeeded, and I spent months each time doing it. As slow as it seems you are going to reduce your meds, sometimes it is just not slow enough. That was my experience anyway, because even though I was down to very low doses, once stopped completely, blood pressure again rose. This is one of the dirty little secrets about blood pressure medications, and especially beta blockers. They are designed to keep you on them! So near the end, I ultimately had to go even slower! Remember that Dr. Rogers recommends constant blood pressure monitoring along the way, and indeed, it is essential. All the best to you!
Great answer! Most people jump to fill the first prescription not knowing they will be trapped on taking it for the rest of their lives. The damage done to other organs far outweighs the risks of high blood pressure for those not in the dangerous zone. Doctors also jump to write the prescriptions. Sound anything like the local pusher on the corner?
You are right Jim! from the day I started taking BP medication, my health deteriorated. I am 57 my bp was 140/90 which i felt better, now is 135/80 with medication (Plendi 5mg) now I have knee pain and chest pain.The doctor prescribed again by adding Esidrex(diuretic)and Beta blocker (forgot the brand name). oh my!! I did not take them, I think he wants to kill me,. I just want to stop the first prescribed medicine gradually, exercise more and lose weight. Enough!! AS Billybill rightly said ;
Got an ill
here is the pill
here’s the bill
just to kill.(added)
I was in perfect health at the age of 67. In 2008 I went to doctor .My blood pressure was 20 points higher when taken in the doctors office. I waited two hours for a doctor that spent less than 5 minutes with me. His scare tastics plus the long wait made pressure go up higher and the next thing I knew I was on HBP drugs. My health has gone down hill since then although I was able to come off half the medication. I now suffer from depression with suicide thoughts and insomia,loss of hearing.These doctors are to fast to write a deadly prescription.I started having depression and insomia within 3 months after taking the drugs.
Sounds like the chemical strategy with Camels or Luckies? Tell Russell Crowe to get ready to play the part of the researcher who turns over the data? On the flipside, it may help to improve positive compliance. Was this documented in the same book by Sherry Rogers? Thx for your comments.
for the last year my blood pressure has gone from being a steady 120/80 to 100/?. the nurses take my bp repeatedly just to try to register something. cannot think of why it dropped, less exercise than before. do you feel “hypotension” is a risk?
Hi D. Carestia,
Thanks for the info that you shared. Where is Dr. Rogers based at and what’s his contact nos.?
Thanks.
Lirio
I following Dr. Rowena’s emails in order to keep informed for my mother who is on blood pressure meds and I’m trying to help her get off. I’m wondering who D. Carestia is as I always read replies from this individual. Can you tell me?
The doctor is a member of the American Board of Family Practice and had a Fellowship with the American College of Allergy and Immunology. Google those terms including her name and you’re bound to strike gold.
What good is this sight. Say ask you doctor is something anyone can. Stop taking your meds and see what your blood pressure does. Although I recommend going of them slowly.
Too many bad doctors out there.
Got an ill
here’s the pill
and here’s the bill
It is equally, if not more, dangerous to continue taking BP medications after your BP has stabilized. I also lost around 33 lbs by moving to a primarily animal protein free diet but continued my meds. Once after a meal, I fainted from very low blood pressure. Paramedics said it was around 70/40. So beware! See your doctor immediately.
Reduce pill taking frequency & see BP behaviour! Gradual reduction & not sudden cut-off! I suggest half the dose, gradually & take garlic at intervals. likely solution!
I was interested in knowing more about the use of garlic in the treatment of high BP
I’d go and see the doctor first! He/she knows your personal history, a book doesn’t. If you are fit and otherwise healthy you may try to cut down on your meds, personally I would do so under a doctor’s supervision. If he/she thinks you ought not to stop medications seek a second opinion.
Some drugs do have nasty side effects when withdrawn to quickly, in fact can be deadly. Beta Blockers are just about designed to get you addicted and to keep you on the pills. In this regard I agree with D. Caresta. They are the most difficult to withdraw amd really MUST be withdrawn under doctor’s supervision.
They had me on two Beta blockers (12.5 mg twice daily) and two calcium Channel blockers plus two others. I stoped taking the last two. I stopped taking one of the Beta Blockers with no problems. When I tried cutting back on the other Beta Blocker the blood pressure went up to high. But I will try again. The insomia makes my blood pressure higher and the depression doesn’t help. These or both side effects from the Beta and calcium Blockers.Most doctors love it when they can put you on HBP medicine because you are their bread and butter each time they refill your prescription. They are not to anxious to help you get off medication. U are on your own!
My BP was 130/90 when doctors prescribed Losartan Potassium with Hydrochlorothiazide and Amlodipine Besilate(Asomex-2.5)about 5 years ago. Can you tell me if these medicines are beta blockers? Thanks and regards.
you should have went with life style changes such as diet,losing weight,and exercises. The doctor over medicated you.
I stopped taking the BP meds 3 months ago and feel much better. Listen to your intuition and not doctors who are whores for the drug industry!
P.S.
I’m still alive.
I stopped five weeks ago–I’m still alive! And feeling better, have lost five lbs (cannot lose while on the drug.) Feeling empowered to deal with this SYMPTOM (nonspecific hypertension is NOT a disease). Getting more exercise, because I feel better. Taking a number of good supplements, eating even better (tho I didn’t eat badly before–no fast food, no processed food, little red meat).
I’ve been taking olmesat 40 for sometime now. the BP is down but the side effect seems to be erectile dysfunction. The pecker seems to have lost all enthusiasm. Previous to this I was taking Repace H for sometime. That gave me hell of apainful time with Uric acid. The moment I switched all uric acid pains had gone!
Im not much keen on popping pills, even hate it when necessary. Some medicines are intended for the doctor’s & manufacturer’s benefit! they are there for keeping themselves wellfed.
I believe that patients need to be told before they start meds that they will be addicted for life. I am taking so much and was told by my doctor “they do not and will not assist in getting me off of them” As I get older, I find the meds are having terrible side effects and I would never have started this if I had known. Every year a few more are added, it never ends.Prescription drugs are a big racket. The people I know who work in that field do not even take aspirin. I hope this helps someone with his or her decision to start on a trip that never ends.
For quite a year ago, I stopped my medication for hypertension because it had been controlled, a relative 120/80 was achived. Suddenly, a week ago, it started to go up and has reached an alarming rate of 150/110 now. Pls, what should I do to address the situation. Am scared of going back to the drug. Please, help.
I stopped all my medications right away. I dont have felt any side effects. I am Diabetic type 2. I was exposed to a herbicide, called agent Orange, Dioxin when I was stationed in Vietnam during the war. Insulin resistant. I only take Turmeric Tea and Banaba Tea. and my blood sugar reading became 118.
My daughter was also exposed to Dioxin and suffers from inflamation of the heart, high BP and Diabetes for which she takes no drugs because she has MCS. I wanted to know how to make the Turmeric Tea and where do we get Banaba Tea. Eating chopped garlic every morning is also good for BP. Or you can chop a pod of garlic and a couple of sprigs of parsley and mix well with lemon juice and store in the fridge. Have a heaped teaspoon of the same every morning.
I eat about a teaspoon+ of tumeric 2 times every day like this: warm about half cup of milk. Add about teaspoon of honey. Add teaspoon + of tumeric and stir well. Tastes great. Flax seed is great, too. Get it groudn up at helth store and take a teaspoon straight 3 x per day until BP and cholesterol drop (6 to 12 months, it is gradual)
If BP drops to 110 – 120 after a number of weeks should the doctor be able to reduce the medication? It does rise if I am experiencing stress like a painful dental operation, but will fall during the appointment as I calm down.
The diastolic measurement is just as important, if not more so, than the systolic measurement. I disagree with taking repeated measurements over a short period of time at home, as mentioned in other posts and as recommended by Mayo and others. The reason is that arteries, like veins, heart muscle, other muscle and skin, is a soft tissue that has what we call viscoelastic properties. In other words, arteries are not fully elastic and don’t return to their original form right away after loads or pressures are removed. I find it useful to take two readings in the morning, right and left, and two more of the same before bed, several hours after any meal due to blood pooling in the gut. Doing this regularly for a few weeks will give you a good idea what your BP really is. Technique is important; the cuff should be at heart level. If you drop your arm to your side, your pressures will both go up by about 10 mmHg due to an added pressure artifact. So, a normal pressure of 120/80 could then appear to be 130/90 and not really be high at all. Only your doctor can help you decide whether or not your medication should be decreased; but regular, consistent measurements will provide a guide to help inform that decision. Best of luck!
This is fantastic information, but I wonder why virtually no medical professional knows how to take blood pressure?? I have observed more than 30 doctors and nurses take blood pressure and they are all different, with none of them keeping the arm level with heart. I have long ago found the same thing you mention, that pressure is lower with arm elevated.
I am on Asomex5 and lisinopril5 and my BP has come down from 170/110 to 120/80…i wish to stop this medication because i;m fed up of using BP medication.Alternatively,would you suggest a single pill for me that will be as good as this Asomex5 and lisinopril5.
Doctors are not healers, they are drug pushers addressing the symptoms and not the causes of ailments such as blood pressure and cholesterol. Usually the drugs the prescribe have more harmful side effects than the issue they are supposed to be correcting.
Once BP has stabilized maintain it via careful diet. I consume a plant based diet and my BP is excellent. You can reverse the atherosclerosis which is causing the high BP in the first place by eating this way.