High blood pressure the silent killer, do you know your numbers??

Dear Jeff, my Doctor has told me that once I am on my blood pressure medicine that I will be on it for ever, is that true?

This is one of the best questions, and I receive it almost on a daily basis. It is true that some individuals will always be on blood pressure medicine because they have no intention of ever making a change in their lifestyles to get off of it, or take control of their lives, or to make the sacrifices to reverse the problems that put them on the meds in the first place. So to answer your question, some people will always be on it.

Now there are many reasons someone's blood pressure is high, and most are controllable, reversible, and fixable, with some attention to detail, and some curtailment of bad daily habits. Not everyone wants to make the changes that could reverse the blood pressure problem, or do what is necessary to get of the prescription. Some people actually feel that once they are on it that there is nothing they can do, or the opposite, they feel that they have been saved from their problem and now they can have all of their bad habits and the medicine will fix them and their problem.

Many Diabetics fall in this category too," I am on the medication so I can eat all the sweets I want, and I will just take more if my sugar gets too high". Blood pressure is not the same can of worms at all. Once on it, you can continue to do all of the wrong things and then you can hit the wall with the medication and it will not work any longer, and then another will be tried or added to it, and then the game begins. Hitting and missing, and the whole time the person never stops the things they are doing that put them in this quandary in the first place.

If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, ask your Doctor if you can have one month to bring it down. Lose weight immediately, exercise every single day, cut out all fast food and sodium, caffeine needs to go and water needs to become your best friend. Just these things will lower the pressure, and in many instances enough to prevent having to go on the prescription.

Remember, side effects from blood pressure meds can cause dizziness, trouble concentrating, abdominal pain, upset stomach, breathing problems, headaches, impotence for men, lack of libido for both men and women. You can be fatigued and have no energy, it can disrupt your sleep cycle, can make you moody and depressed and just plain make you feel lousy. Not really the tradeoff I want, although there are people whose high blood pressure medication has saved their life, and thank goodness for it.

If you are given a month to lower it, beside the changes discussed above add garlic to the regime as well as cayenne pepper capsules, look for a natural blood pressure blend, I like the BP Blend, it works very well. Make sure you are taking a good multiple vitamin daily and add some additional B- Complex for your stress control, these will make a dramatic difference both in lowering the blood pressure and also making you feel better. Some people do not know how bad you can feel when your pressure is high.

You CAN be in control of your blood pressure, this is just one more thing we die from in this country that we can control, should control, but don't. Do not become a statistic because you are stubborn, no bad habit is worth being on a medication for thirty to fifty years when you can prevent it completely by giving up the things that created it in the first place.