After a lifetime of normal blood pressure I was surprised that it went up when measured last March. My doctor said it was probably due to a weight increase of 8 pounds from the previous year. I've been on a regular exercise routine and have dropped some weight and have been feeling really great, although I don't know if my BP has dropped. So check your weight and lose some pounds if necessary - exercise is known to help. I also recommend regular meditation as a way of decreasing BP. Good luck.
Have you ever had acupuncture? What else can I try for high blood pressure?
by dmouse 17 Replies latest watchtower medical
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Apostate Kate
I am the only one in my family that has never had a blood pressure or cholesteral problems even though I am the only one that inherited a genetic blood disease. The real answer is to stop eating anything that comes from an animal, add fresh organic raw veggies and fruit.
Vegetarian Diets and Organic Foods
Vegetarianism
Some people choose to follow a vegetarian diet, which means they eat mostly plant-based foods (grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds). However, there are several different forms of vegetarian diets:
- Vegans, or total vegetarians, eat only plant foods and do not eat meat, milk, eggs, or animal foods.
- Lacto-vegetarians drink milk and eat milk products, such as cheese and yogurt.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarians include eggs and milk products in their diets.
- Semi-vegetarians may include fish and/or chicken in their diets, but they do not eat red meat.
- Macrobiotic vegetarians emphasize whole grains, especially brown rice, in their diets and include vegetables, soy, legumes, and fruits. White-meat fish may be included. This diet avoids meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy.
If properly planned, vegetarian diets are healthy and can provide all the nutrients a person needs. 7 As a group, vegetarians are less likely to: 7
- Develop high cholesterol .
- Die because of coronary artery disease (CAD) .
- Develop high blood pressure .
- Develop prostate or colorectal cancer.
- Develop type 2 diabetes .
- Be overweight.
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okie46
dmouse.... do you watch your sodium and alcohol intake??? Sometimes blood pressure goes up when we are under alot of stress.. Are you still dating that mean girl??? That might be raising your blood pressure.
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Norm
Hello dmouse,
You said:
I had a bit of a shock last month when, in a routine check-up, my doc told me I had high blood pressure. I can't remember what the reading was the first time but the next few days it was averaging 150/100 Not wanting to go on drugs for the rest of my life I decided to look at alternatives. There are some Chinese clinics in the town where I live so I tried one of those. They recommended a course of herbal medicine and acupuncture. I've had a few sessions and my blood pressure has dropped a bit - average 144/95 but I'm not happy with that. They tried something with glass bowls - acu-suction? My back now looks like I lost a fight with a very angry octopus!
Of course you have to decide this personally but I think you are far better off with ordinary medicine then trying all kinds of mumbo jumbo rip off snake oil. I have taken hypertension medicine (betablockers) for 30 years and is "fit as a fiddle". I have a normal blood pressure now but since I suffer from a very unpleasant but realively harmless heart condition called Tachycardia paroxystica I continue to use a small dose (50 milligrams) tablet every day. The tachycaria is hereditary, many of my male relatives has it and even some females. There are also medicine that falls under the label diuretica.Today there are newer and more sophisticated medicines like calcium blockers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension
Anyway after having been conned by the WTS for years my scepticism is universal and also includes socalled "alternative medicine". I noticed when I was a dub that many JW's was very much into that kind of thing, I mean that alone should make you think. During the years I have tried to do some research every time I have encountered this and that miracle pill or method thats supposedly helps for this of that. It is quite common that so-called food supplement's makes really fantastic claims some times but when analyzed they are full of poisenous heavy metals, rat droppings and fungus spores. Some times they contain medical ingrediences which makes them illegal. Here is a good place to go and check up on such miracle cures of various kinds: http://www.quackwatch.org/
And please remember that anecdotal evidence isn't evidence in any acientific term and when it comes to medicine that's the only evidence that counts. Checking with official and professional organizations like this is is also smart:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ and: http://www.fda.gov/Take care,
Norm
PS. One side effect from the beta blockers that I personally have experienced is that they make you into the "energizer bunny" in bed, you just keep on and on, my personal reckord is 10 hours with 1 hour break for dinner. No I am not joking!
And this isn't a listed side effect on that medicine so I do not know if they just keep it quiet as many would probably want the drug for the wrong reasons. And another thing, my expereince is anecdotal so this side effect might be experienced by me only. -
exjdub
High blood pressure is not a joke diagnosis. There was one study (BBC link) that suggested that acupuncture used with electrical stimulation had some effect on rats. Notice that traditional acupuncture had no effect, so any moxibustion or cupping treatment would likely be as useless.
Before you begin investigating unproven modalities you ought to familiarize yourself with www.quackwatch.org, particularly the "Questionable Products, Services, and Theories" section.
I have to respectfully disagree with the above. Acupuncture is a very powerful treatment and I have seen it work for very severe health problems, most notably for nerve damage in connection with my wife. To call acupuncture quackary is narrow minded and incorrect.
After watching the success with my wife, I had opportunity to witness for myself a "blind study" that proved how powerful acupuncture is: One day, quite unexpectadly, our beloved dog was about to walk outside when her legs just gave out. She lost the use of her hind legs. As it turns out she had a severe case of hip displaysia that is considered incurable without surgical intervention. We were having to carry our poor girl out to go to the bathroom every time she needed to go. We were considering euthanasia, but learned of an animal accupuncturist who was having success with horses and came highly recommended. We decided that we would give it a try, but were prepared to take care of matters if the acupuncture had no effect.
With the very first treatment our Border Collie was able to walk, although very wobbly. After a week of treatments she was able to walk again, although she will always have a little bit of a sway when she walks. We have to take her in periodically for treatment when her gait gets wobbly, however it sure beats the alternative. Just for the record, when our dog went down we initially treated her conventionally for a week, prior to finding the acupuncturist, with no success. She did not gain use of her legs until she recieved acupuncture. If you can call that quackary, then my dog is quacking like a duck as she is walking around today.
To answer the original question, I have heard that acupuncture is quite effective for high blood pressure, however it is important to find the right acupuncturist. Like any field, including the medical field, there are good practitioners and bad practitioners. If you choose to use acupuncture be sure to do research, ask questions, and talk to people that get treated with acupuncture. Many times there can be many acupuncturists to choose from, but there will be one acupuncturist in the community that has most of the patients because he, or she, is skilled. I know that is the case in my community. Good luck with whatever health choice you make.
exjdub
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jgnat
Lose weight. Even a loss of five pounds can take you back in to the normal range. Be careful with any metal supplements such as magnesium. Metals stay in the tissues, and an overdose can be toxic. I've had a fair bit of success with flax seed or flax oil, along with my prescription medicine. I'm with norm. Take the prescription medicine to get your blood pressure under control now. Then you can experiment with holistic treatments on the side.
No matter what the side effects of prescription medicines, high blood pressure is many times more dangerous. I liken it to the oil pressure system in a car. Imagine if the oil pressure went out of control and started leaking out of all the joints. That's why doctors check for it. Maintaining blood pressure is a sure-fire way of extending a person's life or to prevent sudden death.
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Ade
Hi,
I have just been diagnosed with the same problem , high cholesterol and high blood pressure 150 /95. i think its due to current circumstances, mostly its being caused by stress ( the blood pressure anyhow ). Ive gained lots of weight in the last siz months ( probably hasnt helped much ).Have they given you diuretics yet ?? too reduce the amount of water in your body. The doctors normally try various things , diet,diuretics before any serious medication is given.
Have you experienced any other effects of having high BP , as you can have or not have symptoms.
i was prescribed diuretics by the doctor. However i have been and fetched some natural ones first to see if they help. I now have to attend a HBP clinic every two weeks until further notice. If you find anything you try works let me know please
all the best -Ade -
RichieRich
If your high blood pressure is a product of high stress, try something relaxing, or do my favorite thing with a needle, get a tattoo.