Hypertension Remedies

As a lot of you know, I am about to finish my relocation and start my CDL schooling. In the mean time, I thought it would be wise to get a physical to make sure there was no funny business going on. To make a long story short, I found out I have hypertension; enough for the doctor to prescribe meds. Since I am not a 'meds' kind of guy, does anyone have some natural remedies that could bring down BP long enough for the test? I know grapefruit is a natural BP reducer, as well as ginger and cayenne pepper. And just yesterday, I was talking to a prospective school and they mentioned a recent student had shared something that worked for him. He would eat a packet of mustard and lay down for about 20 minutes. That lowered his blood pressure far enough to pass the test. He said it worked every time for him.

So I am wondering if there are any other "remedies" out there that work for you. I will try anything natural to control this now that I know I need to control it. Of course, I will be adjusting my diet, etc. I just do not want to get on the pill-taking spiral.

Steven I have to jump in here. Like you I am not a pill popper. I dont even do pain pills. I have had two different surgeries, minor ones, the first thing they did was give me Percaset (spelling) and lower tabs. Trash as far as I'm concered. I never took any of them. I did just fine. I know some need it but I just dont want any more habbits than I already have. I also have high blood pressure. I have ignored it for years. I stopped using salt and what ever else they said I should do. In the end when I went for my annual they wouldnt let me out of the doctors office. 166/120something. Not good. I started out with just what I call a pee pill. It brought it down for awhile, but again you had to take it everyday. I am not good at pills, then throw in there everyday! Come on. I dont need that crap! Yeah right. Again they wouldnt let me leave the doctors office. I am now taking something else, a combo pill. Almost everyone I talk to has high blood pressure. Thats called getting older, and being a type 1 personality. I have given in and take my pill everyday. I dont miss em ever. I am dow to about 133/88 Not great but way better. No side effects. Anything you do to just pass the test is going to help for the moment. The effects of hypertention is nothing but bad. I am sure your doc has told you all of them. I suggest you take the pills, lower your salt and enjoy life a few more years :) Sit back, have a good old German beer and realize if high blood pressure is the worst that has happened your are doing great! Good luck brother.

Steven I have to jump in here. Like you I am not a pill popper. I dont even do pain pills. I have had two different surgeries, minor ones, the first thing they did was give me Percaset (spelling) and lower tabs. Trash as far as I'm concered. I never took any of them. I did just fine. I know some need it but I just dont want any more habbits than I already have. I also have high blood pressure. I have ignored it for years. I stopped using salt and what ever else they said I should do. In the end when I went for my annual they wouldnt let me out of the doctors office. 166/120something. Not good. I started out with just what I call a pee pill. It brought it down for awhile, but again you had to take it everyday. I am not good at pills, then throw in there everyday! Come on. I dont need that crap! Yeah right. Again they wouldnt let me leave the doctors office. I am now taking something else, a combo pill. Almost everyone I talk to has high blood pressure. Thats called getting older, and being a type 1 personality. I have given in and take my pill everyday. I dont miss em ever. I am dow to about 133/88 Not great but way better. No side effects. Anything you do to just pass the test is going to help for the moment. The effects of hypertention is nothing but bad. I am sure your doc has told you all of them. I suggest you take the pills, lower your salt and enjoy life a few more years :) Sit back, have a good old German beer and realize if high blood pressure is the worst that has happened your are doing great! Good luck brother.

Sounds kind of like me. I have never been a popper and I don't really want to start. The doctors talked me into taking a stress test and even I was surprised. My BP spiked out at 250! The only thing I experienced through that was I was just winded from being out of shape doing a cardio-vascular exercise. I bought a blood pressure monitor and mine seems never to be in the same spot. Sometimes it is 110 and sometimes it is 150; and I am just doing my every day living. So I just don't know about this pill popping business, but you are certainly right about one thing. I am getting older. I just turned 60 but I feel so much younger. I think I may just have another 20 years that I can still work. It's just this crazy BP that is trying to shut my dreams down. Then on top of that, my wife does not want me to start taking pills either. So I have to find a way, if it exists, to lower and control this beast without meds. If it is impossible, then I might just have to bite the bullet and start if it is the only way to get licensed with a CDL.

OK...I'm gonna get ornery here...so get out your first aid kit... So..you don't like pills....none of us do...the pee pills are the worst...and tryin to remember to take em...its a bother... OK.. So here's the deal...if you don't care about your own health, and don't mind wondering everyday if you are gonna blow a hose, and IF you live, possibly end up drooling in your gruel, while someone else feeds you..........

How about you have a care about some other people ????

Your family...do you want your wife to look forward to a life of wipin' your butt, feeding you, and picking you up, rollin' you around, and MAKING SURE THAT YOU TAKE YOUR PILLS ??

How about if you blow a hose while you are driving a big truck ?? How many lives will you forever change because "you aren't a pill popper"..and how many lives will stop at that moment in time ??

Truck driving is STRESSFUL...and if you are just starting out, its the worst. So nut up....for the sake of everyone involved....take your doctors advice and get your BP in check....the entire motoring public will thank you...oh...and so will your wife...I"m sure she has changed enough diapers .....

I gotta go with Starcar on this one man. Untreated BP is a killer. Just that simple. If you die going down the road we will all read about it. I take lisinopril. There are several "****pril drugs" They work, side effect are lite. My physical is only good for a year because of it but I'll take the year. $9 for 90 days at Walmart. The first pills I was prescribed were $2 a day. I did some reading and asked my doc to change over.

I feel better when my BP is low. That's enough reason to take the time to swallow a pill for breakfast. Be all you can B man. Feel as good as you can. Just that simple...

Not only should you takes the BP pills but since you were diagnosed with hypertension you will not go near a truck till you either get an all clear from a doctor saying your cured or 2 taking your pills to control it.

Guess what will happen when you have a heart attack while driving? Those people that you kill will not only come after your company in a lab suit but they will also come after your estate meaning your family for the money for wrongful death law suits. Yes it does happen and yes they do take years in the courts. Hope your family has lots of money to stay in court that long and you can afford high powered lawyers...ccause the insurance companies sure can.

Now with all that being said you have hypertension for one reason or another. To this point you are avoiding taking the pills prescribed by a doctor that I am guessing he knows what he is talking about. If by chance you do find an alternative to pills can you honestly say with everything going on in trucking you that you will remember To Use This "Other " treatment every day? Doubtful. And you said your BP is all over the place. In other words out of control. It's never the same. What happens when you check your BP and it's at 110 and 10 minutes later it spikes to 250? That's fine if you want to look for an alternative to taking pills just don't do it in a truck. Sorry if we are being harsh but you need to understand and I mean REALLY UNDERSTAND we are always under pressure of some kind out here and have high levels of stress everyday. This is a very stressful job and it's even worse your first year cause you have alot of pressure on you to learn a ton of stuff in trucking.

If you have learned anything by now you should know that we will not shoot you a line of bull. We live this lifestyle everyday and know how hard it can be. If there was a safe way to get around having to take medication then we would tell you but there is not.

It's Good For The Soul

Truck driving is a dangerous job but it has started turning me into a better person. I never prayed much before I started driving a truck but I found myself asking “Someone” or “Something” to please get me through this on several different occasions. Maybe I was starting to develop a relationship with a Higher Power that I had neglected in the past when things always seemed more “solid” and “secure.” Truck driving is good for the soul I think. It keeps you awake and aware and, most of all, it keeps you humble and glad to be alive. I found this here @ TT it is in a blog post by Philosopher Paul . It a simple thought but perspective and clarity of mind can help any situation. Stress manifest itself in various ways . Meditation or medication find balance in all things .

I just do not want to get on the pill-taking spiral

You won't as long as you begin doing everything you can with fitness and nutrition to bring that blood pressure down.

But I agree with everyone else on this - take the meds until your own natural methods kick in and you don't need them anymore. It's just entirely too dangerous to mess with. I put a lot of time and effort into nutrition and fitness and I take great pride in my health. But I take even greater pride in making smart decisions. I would be quite disappointed to find out I had hypertension but I would swallow my pride, swallow my pills, and immediately go on a mission to clear it up naturally as quickly as possible. Then I'd be off the pills and all would be well again.

As far as remedies, I'm not really sure. I'm sure if you Google it you'll come up with 5,000 contradictory answers. That's the tough part about being healthy - finding good information. No matter what aspect of fitness and nutrition you're researching you'll constantly find blatantly contradictory information. It's frustrating. But find a program you think may help, stick with it, see what kind of results you're getting, and adjust the program as needed. That's all you can really do.

Thank you, everyone for your input. I definitely do not want to 'blow a hose' at any time. Putting it that way makes it scary. I have some things to think about.