beicster 

I have had high blood pressure since I was young. I always got the "you need to keep an eye on that" speech at the docs in my 20's. For about the last 20 or so years, I have tried a variety of BP meds and none of them have been consistently good at controlling it. Some worked for a while but it crept back up. I currently take 40mg of lisinopril, HCTZ and Amlodipine (can't recall dosage of those two right now) and still run about 140/85 ish. Last time I was at the doc he told me that if I can't get it down, he will need to try a different approach with the meds and that I may not like the side effects. Over the years my exercise and weight have fluctuated but no matter what, it stays high. When I trained for a half marathon-high blood pressure. When I trained to complete a century, high blood pressure. I am assuming that the next level drug is a beta blocker. Are there other classes of drugs that I should know about? I don't plan to deviate from what my doc prescribes but I find that if I can look things up and learn about them, it helps me deal with things better. So, what else is out there? Is my assumption about beta blockers correct or might be recommend a different kind of drug? Thanks.

late

I tried a beta blocker. It limited my training. I just couldn't get up to speed.

I take the generic form of Norvasc. No idea if it would work for you. My Doc started trying to find me a better one, and one of them nearly killed me, so he stopped.

Good luck.

Wilbur Bud

If you've never tried it, then as an experiment (and with medical supervision given your history), take a 3 week experience on the zero carbohydrate diet. In my experience, at about days 7-10, BP drops an keeps dropping. The medical supervision is necessary if you do it because the drugs currently taken could then lead to really low BP, if the zero carb chemistry has the typical BP-lowering effect for you. I don't know many people that sustain the zero-carb lifestyle, but you might find the few weeks without a worthy experiment in terms of leverage on the high BP.

TiHabanero

Wilbur Bud made a good suggestion. I got rid of the high carb diet and noticed a slight drop in BP. Just this past month I have cut down on the meat consumed and increased veggies, another small drop in BP. Overall it tells me that I am headed in the right direction. I will never be able to rid myself of the BP meds completely as the trouble comes from my mother's side of the family, but I feel better knowing that I am actively participating in the process of lowering my BP.

boozergut

140 over 85 doesn't sound that bad. I remember reading that the British aren't concerned until one gets to 150 over 90. My doc would tell me to lose ten pounds and call it good.

gringomojado

Have you tried Beet Powder? I wouldn't fret too much 140/80

gm