Do you have high BP? What has helped you?
I was first diagnosed with labile hypertension more than 30 years ago. I was investigated thoroughly by several cardiologists at different times and the basic conclusion was do nothing, keep an eye on BP.
Most doctors thought I would end up with more permanent hypertension but I haven't.
Over this time the frequency and extent of hypertensive episodes have varied considerably. It first appeared long before my first episode of CFS/ME but I have often wondered about the links to the disease.
I first noticed it around the time I began acquiring the various infections that presumably resulted in my subsequent succumbing to the disease.
I have also observed that in general it was much more frequent when the disease was waxing rather than when it was waning and was largely associated with sympathetic over-activity.
In this current relapse I have experienced notable OI and my BP has been more unstable than ever - plummeting and skyrocketing.
Earlier this year, for the first time, I went through a period when the hypertension did become more permanent and steadily worsened. In the past I had had periods when BP was elevated most of the time but this never lasted long so at first I wasn't worried. Eventually though I became concerned. Not only was the hypertension more or less permanent, it was seriously high.
Blood tests through this time showed that my cortisol was steadily rising also to seriously high levels. I had tried a few things to moderate cortisol and had a bit of success with
Withania somnifera, but BP remained stubbornly high. It seemed clear that the cortisol was driving the hypertension but I thought it would take more time to experiment with trying to influence that, so in the meantime, I asked my doctor for an anti-hypertensive. I found that Lisinopril (an ACE inhibitor) was very effective at quite a low dose with no obvious side effects.
Soon after I had a serious crash - my BP plummeted and stayed lowish (very low for me) almost permanently. Based on symptoms (I didn't have blood tests) I believe my cortisol had plummeted also.
I had no idea what this was about but just stopped the Lisinopril and
Withania. Eventually things stabilised and the creeping hypertension and cortisol started again though in a much milder fashion.
I was also experimenting (again) with B12/folate at this time as I have discussed with you on another
thread. This has consistently been the single most beneficial intervention that I have tried but also one that has been difficult to sustain. This time around mineral and certain B vitamin depletion seemed to be the problem and once I addressed those I began to get a lot of benefit from B12/folate again.
More recently I have experimented further and found that my sensitivity to methylB12 has disappeared and as I always suspected, what I needed was more - A LOT more.
I have been pursuing this over the past couple of weeks and a completely unexpected side effect has been that my BP has completely stabilised. So far, no hypertension, occasionally a little falling BP.
I am amazed. Nothing has ever done this before. I don't know if it will last - only time will tell, but for now it feels as if I am onto something important.
I tell this long story not because you will necessarily have the same responses but to illustrate the complexity of BP and how it can change a lot.
By all means experiment with things that help your overall condition and that maybe influence BP. You might just hit on something that is very effective.
The home BP measurements will be helpful in monitoring progress and understanding how serious the hypertension might be.
If it remains persistent and fairly constant I wouldn't hesitate to try anti-hypertensives; hypertension is serious. The ACE inhibitors, or alternatively the angiotensin receptor antagonists (in Australia the latter are only available on our pharmaceutical benefits scheme if the former are ineffective or not tolerated) are pretty clean drugs - well targeted with few side-effects.
On the drug issue, I find a low dose beta blocker is invaluable in controlling tachycardia.
