Low Blood Pressure anyone?

That makes a lot of sense....I guess I never would've thought about it that way. Afterall...you go to the gym to lose caleries, not gain caleries for the workout. I'll just have to change my eating times to be closer to my workouts. Who knows...maybe I'll feel better overall if I ate smaller amounts less often? (I have a bad habit of over-stuffing myself and not eating again for 8+ hours later).

 

Well "THEY" say that eating 6 small meals a day is better than eating 3 big meals.... You might only need something small like a yogurt or bagel with cheese or a string cheese or two...

You can give eating a shot for a couple of weeks and see if that helps

 

Glad your tests came back normal and it wasn't anything serious.
I agree with eating something small maybe an hour or 2 before your workout. I had to eat before physical training when I was in the police academy, they suggested pb&j sandwhiches and fruit to us.

My problem is the opposite of yours, I have unexplained high blood pressure. All my tests came back normal and no lifestyle factors, so I've been on meds for about 6 months and doing better. I go see the cardiologist next week for a check up ekg.

 

I will certainly try....I think I have some heartburn/acid reflux issues when I eat too much also. So...this will be better for both. I was thinking today what the heck I would pack in my lunch for work.....Nice suggestions!! I'll get those down on the grocery list!

FoxySandChick,
Good Luck with the EKG - it's quick. They might have you wear a holter monitor also. Atleast you're getting some *attention* and testing. Atleast they're not brushing you off like nothing is wrong.

 

Yeah I've had about 4 ekg's already, each one came back different but 'normal'. Already wore a holter monitor also, they didn't think a heart rate of 141 while asleep was anything to be concerned about . Had an echocardiogram-normal. Full blood tests-normal. Been on BP meds for about 6 months and they have helped. I just don't want to be on bp meds forever and not know what the problem is. I'll be talking to the cardiologist about that again this visit. They tried to brush me off, but I insisted on further testing.

Did they suggest to you to check your bp every few weeks? I had to do that when I started the meds. My cardiologist says sometimes it just fixes itself. Hope you feel better soon .

 

Yeah but six hours from a meal is to long to work out hard... it has to do with what type of energy your using and quite frankly I'd have to refresh my memory but I believe you are essentially using energy stores that are not readily available (ATP, etc, blah, blah, blah) and working your body to hard. It is important to get good protein right after the workout to rebuild muscles!

 

Wow ..141 while sleeping? That sounds abnormal for sure!! How do you feel when you wake up? What's your average awake heart rate?
Have you thought about seeing another/different doctor to see if you get any better help? Hate it when they can't find anything.....
Do you have this type of heart symptoms in the family?
I hope you can get some relief - atleast your on medications that help. We're certainly not getting any younger and all this stuff (including yours) makes me wonder if this stuff progressively gets worse as you age??
Gawd, I hope not.

 

I totally agree with you now that I've had a 'slap in the face' to force me to watch my eating habits better. On days that I work out - I'm just gonna nibble on some yogurt at lunch time then, actually eat my lunch at 2:30pm (2nd break). I get to the gym around 4:30pm. I might even buy some protein bars or get protein snacks to nibble on afterwards. See how all that helps.

Thanks Everyone!

 

That was the highest it got in the 24hrs and I'd been asleep for a few hours by then. I went over the chart with the Cardiologist and he said since all my tests come back normal to try meds . Average was about 118bpm I think, somewhere around that. I felt fine when I woke up, I'm wide awake when I wake up no matter how long I'd been asleep. I had no idea it was that high while sleeping. I knew it was over 100bpm regularly which was my reason for visiting the doc who originally said 'well some peoples heart rates are just higher than others' to which I said why all of a sudden is my bp also high, it went from normal to high in 1 month with no cause.
Well I insisted my family practice doc send me to a Cardiologist, the Cardiologist is supposed to be one of the best in town. He is very nice and takes time to listen and answer my questions. He changed the meds the doc gave me and sent me for other blood tests the other doc didn't include. But couldn't provide a reason or suggest other tests.
The only heart problems in my family are with the older members and those who smoked and/or drank and are overweight. I'm 27, never smoked or did drugs, rarely drink, not overweight, active, decent diet . My grandparents are 89/87 yrs old and doing just fine. My gpa had 5 bypass surgery about 13 years ago and has lived past his expected age given the lifespan after the surgery.
I feel much better now than this time last year. I sure hope it fixes itself and doesn't get worse as I get older!!

Sorry this is so long.....

Sounds like your issue will be fixed with lifestyle changes . Glad you got the attention and treatment to make sure it was nothing serious. Definately check it every few weeks or when you aren't feeling so well to monitor any changes.
Did all your blood work come back normal? My cardiologist was mostly concerned with thyroid function and sent me for a special test, don't know if that would be a concern for the opposite problem too.

 

Hey - Keep talking. I don't mind at all....

Yeah, I had the thyroid thing also. I guess the thyroid regulates all sorts of hormones. My sister-in-law had hers removed for various problems (not sure exactly). All my blood work was normal. I don't think he checked red blood cell count - not sure why that's 'on my mind' but thought I'd start taking some iron supplements along with the multi & calciums too. Supplements can't hurt right?

That's really weird...yours went from normal to high in a month? There's gotta be something going on ... hopefully they'll find it and take care of you sooner than later.

Hey, maybe you should start drinking more? (laugh) Actually, that raises your blood pressure. I took my bp one night after I got home. I was pretty relaxed...it was like 95/68. I drank a Mike Hard Lemonaide and checked it again only 10 minutes later, and it was like 115/78. Wow! Didn't realize it did that much!

 

Well glad to hear your blood work came back normal, that is very good. As for supplements, I was told a mulivitamin wouldn't hurt cause anything extra would just be passed as waste and that it is pretty hard for a healthy person to have too many vitamins especially with the way americans diets are now lacking in nutrition.

Yup it was normal on 1 visit then about a month later it was sky high and the nurse was concerned. She checked my charts to see if I had high bp before and I didn't, she took it on the other arm, then again a few minutes later and they were all different. Then they did an EKG which was normal, so the doc was like 'you are young with no history blah blah, I'm not concerned' and I was like 'well I am, so find out why!' .

Haha I should change my lifestyle to be unhealthy and maybe I'd be fine. My bf is a few years older than me, smoked for years, drinks regularly, has a terrible diet and isn't very active, well his blood work all came back normal and I really thought his bp and cholesterol would be a little high or at least on the high end of normal....but no way...he has all the lifestyle factors and is just fine ... no I'm really happy he is internally healthy for being so 'unhealthy'.

My cardiologist said 90-120 on the top # and 60-80 on the bottom # is fine, he wanted me to check mine every few weeks when started the bp meds to make sure it didn't lower too much. Even on the meds I'm on the high side of normal. He said lower than 90/60 to go to the quick care. Did your doc give you any range to be aware of?? Is your heart rate normal?

How have you been feeling recently? Hope you are doing much better. I know talking about it helps to not worry so much .

 

I never really felt 'bad' - per say - I had that episode at the gym where I was really light headed and thought I was gonna pass out. About once a week I'll feel a slight dizzi-light headedness....and just figured it was normal for me. ??
I had ear surgery several years ago and that hasn't been the same since - so as far as I know, that could be related to that?? It is weird...I get heart palpitations after I eat sometimes. I'm not sure if I have some sort of food allergy...??

Doctor didn't really say much although he did offer to do a CAT scan of my head. I didn't think that was necessary.....and said I'd rather not.
If things get worse, then I'll be sure to go back for more tests. But for now, I'm fine with just managing myself.

 

I have a question, do you take vitamin supplements and drink coffee or a lot of diet soda with caffeine? I used to do this and got the heart palps, light headed even chest pains to the point I thought I was having a heart attack (At age 35!). EKG at the E.R. showed steady as a clock. My Home Doc said stop the Vitamins, and cut out the coffee and caffeine, issue went away. go figure

 

Good luck with those BP issues folks, the very fact your keeping up after it has decreased the likelyhood of serious complications because your aware of them and being treated/ supervised by your DR. Millions of people do NOT check their BP on a regular basis and they never know they have it until its too late. Get checked for it, a lot of the chain Rxs have free BP screening days or free BP cuff machines. Get informed, get checked and get it under control, Do it!

 

I do take vitamen supps/calcium and I drink a lot of diet soda, although I try to get caffeine free stuff. But yeah, I can agree with you on the caffeine.

 

Maybe it's the soda causing some of your problems... All the artificial sweetners/stuff in them. "They" say the sweetners are safe, but some other "they" say they're not, so........

I used to drink ALOT of soda - but I've cut back to one a day - in the morning since I don't drink coffee. And then drink water the rest of the day. I'm trying to get off my one, but it's hard

 

From what I've read, some excess vitamins do pass as waste, but others can build up in the body. A regular mulit-vitamin shouldn't be a problem, but taking extra's over that could not be so good for you. I don't remember which ones pass and which ones build up.

I "hate" people who eat horrible, drink, never exercise and stay healthy. My dad used to SALT every bite of food and had low blood pressure. Mom never added a grain of salt and had high blood pressure most of her adult life. I try and do the right stuff, but as I get older, more little things are popping up.

It's good you are keeping on top of your blood pressure / heart rate issues - could prevent issues in the future.

 

My regular bp is 90/50. I get light headed after pt pretty frequently. Just learned to ease out of high intensity exercise so the sudden drop in heart rate doesn't make me dizzy. I like to drink coffee and I don't drink enough water but that only really bothers me when its hot out.

Also drinking coffee before I exercise like less than an hour prior has worked well to keep my hr and bp up during pt. Eating a little something a couple hours prior settles my stomach.

Lifestyle changes seem to be the primary tx from my research.

 

To Janster and Kristen.... ask your doc's if they would treat a guy the same way they are treating you. It's been proven per the news I've read that they treat women differently, not as aggressively. Just wondering if it's actually true....

 

It's funny how heredity is a major source to all our issues...

My husbands side of the family has bad bones and history of back & shoulder problems. My husband just got off shoulder surgery 2 weeks ago. Had injection in his back (slipped disc) and has bad hip also.

My family, well....there's a pot-pourri of issues but all seem somewhat minor.

The thought of menapause came to mind.....(Oh dear - I'm really getting old!).

*ImpulseRed* - yeah, I think iron is one thing that doesn't flush out of your system. I know everytime I visit the doc yearly, theyr'e always pushing you to take calcium supplements because of Osteoporosis. I can't comment on the guy/girl thing... It's nearly impossible for me to see the same doctor because of my work schedule. I've probably seen about 10 different doctors over a period of 3 years. Actually, the guy (nurse practitioner) who saw me through my recent tests....was impressive (compared to the others). He was more genuinely caring and willing to help than most of the others. So - I can't complain.