My Dr. told me if I get a dry cough stop the pills immediately and we would try something else. I got the feeling that was a potentially serious side effect?

Yep, I was on Lisinopril and ended up with the dry cough.
We switched to Diovan - while Lisinopril worked the Diovan (Valsartan) ended up working much much better for me with no side effects.

Not life threatening, but it is annoying as hell and will lead to not taking the BP med. Another class of drugs very similar to the -prils have a much lower chance of causing the persistent cough.

The best sandwiches are made at the mayo clinic.................

Lifestyle changes dude.

Eat better (DASH diet), get more exercise, get more sleep, and remove as many stressors from your life as you can.

DO NOT rely on the BP machines they have at any store; they are notoriously inaccurate.

Get yourself an Omron unit, that others have mentioned, to monitor it at home. I check it once a week or so when I get up in the morning or late in the evening, after sitting quietly for about 5-10 minutes.

I have white coat syndrome so my BP is usually on the high side at the doctor but well within acceptable limits at home when I check it on the machine or manually by someone I know.

Weight loss of any kind will help, cutting out most sugar/carbs in your diet will help, and cardiovascular exercise will help.

If none of the above works then heredity might force you to use some type of medication.

The Ace Inhibitor cough is no fun at all. Mine was so bad they thought it was Bronchitis.

A good wrist machine is fine, but get one that indicates when the cuff is at the right level.  Mine has always synced well with other methods.

Or, if you can find a cheap wrist unit that will allow the pressure to be taken with the wrist at any level you would be amazed at the different readings you get if you hold it at shoulder level vs. waist level.  Likewise with an arm cuff, but you can generate pronounced differences with the wrist cuff.

I live the same and usually get 144 ish over low 60s. The high systolic is a mystery. I live a very low stress life.

Doesn't matter how clean I eat and how much I exercise my BP runs high. Same for my dad and three grandparents...
My BP was 140/95 as a soph in high school when I was in good shape and playing basketball 6 days a week.

Elimination of all high fat foods will show a vast improvement, no fried foods at all.

I have an OMRON, I think it is a 5 series, it measures at the arm and fits a large arm. I have had good luck with it.

Or, go keto enjoy fat and watch your BP drop

I'm learning that high blood pressure is due to leaking heart valves, which many have.  The medication masks the issue

Have your doc do a echo-cardiogram and they will give you a heart/valve performance rating

EDIT
They can fix your leaking heart values at a younger age.  My mom has one but is too old for surgery. Back then she had high blood pressure

I've been on blood pressure meds for more than 25 years. Some of it was caused by heredity, some of it was occupational. I also suffer from white coat syndrome, don't like needles, don't like going to the doctor. I took Vastoec (and later the generic Enalapril) for a long time, the only side effect was the dry cough. I was switched to lisinopril, same thing, had a dry cough but not as bad. Recently switched to Losartan, no cough. Saw my doctor for a checkup several weeks ago, my BP was 122/60. My diastolic (bottom number) has never been that low (I was first put on meds when my BP was 140/108).

Usually, the first reading that nurse takes is a little high. The doc comes in, we BS a little bit about sports and then my BP is taken again. Usually a lot lower then. This last time the 122/60 reading was the first one taken right after getting to the exam room.

This is a new doc (very laid back guy), at my age now I do a little bit better with the needles, and I've retired from a high stress job in an ultra liberal/progressive West Coast city. I was a runner for a long time, now to save wear and tear on my hips and knees, I walk a lot.  Never really been overweight, but watching my diet a little bit better now

buy yourself a cuff so you can monitor it yourself. I have one and it's a good investment. You'll find your BP will vary based on the time of day, and what you've been doing.  More reading are better than fewer readings.

My BP is around 100/75, it varies up or down depending on when I do the measuring.  (110 / 80, once I had 90/70 <- that's when they realized they needed to drop my BP meds)

I started out with high BP and then decided to do something about it. I've lost 50 lbs and have 10 more to go before I'll be happy. At this point all my blood work is good, low cholesterol and all my metabolic where they should be.

My overall health is good, my rest pulse is in the low to mid 50's

Basic blood pressure monitors in the $25-$35 range are available at Walmart. Some prefer the arm cuff, others the wrist style. I have both and the readings closely agree if used properly. Be aware that preparation and arm position are important and can affect the readings significantly!

Once you get one, take it by the doctor's office and have them check your method and the monitor's calibration -- it only takes a moment. Most clinics and offices are glad to do it if you call in advance. The pharmacist may even do it for you.

Reduce your Sodium intake by using a salt substitute, Potassium Chloride in place of Sodium Chloride. There is a difference in taste, but you can adjust by blending the two and changing the ratio over a couple of weeks or so. Mrs. Dash is another substitute that uses herbs and spices instead of NaCl. Vinegar and lemon/lime juice are other viable options.

I've seen recommendations that HCTZ (diuretic) should be the first drug tried because it's cheap and the side effects are low.
Combos are added if that doesn't work by itself.
I just bought this BP cuff at Walmart, CR recommends it as a best buy.

BP cuff

I cleaned up my diet (details available upon request), quit smoking, quit drinking, and started moving around a bit. That was a little over two weeks ago. 

My blood pressure has returned to normal. It's been ~160/110 for the last couple of years. My doctor was practically begging me to go on BP meds. I said not until I made some diet and lifestyle changes first, to see how that went. 

It's 119/73 now. 

Another +1 for the Omron arm (not wrist) cuffs.  I've had the BP785 for ~ 4 years now, take it in twice a year to check against the cardiologist's.  It's been dead on since the first measurement.

So you let your diastolic stay in severe range for several years until you changed your lifestyle two weeks ago?

lol

Yessir. 

Ok, about 18 months ago I started running higher than normal blood pressure.  I'm 48, 5'11", 185-190 lbs.

I'd been borderline 140/85 for years, and was eating right, exercising, etc.  Most meds didn't work well for me, all classes were tried over the course of about 5 years.  Some worked fine like lisinopril but I got that horrible cough.  Most others didn't work, or raised my blood pressure, or I had real bad side effects.

Then one day, 18 months ago, I go to give blood and it's 160/110.  Huh.

Went to my doc, it was the same there.  Monitored at home, the same.

They decided to monitor it for a while, and it kept creeeping up.  Got to 180/120 in a month.  Still gave me no meds (since we know they don't really work well for me).  Just advice like to lose more weight, exercise more.  Because I kept gaining weight during all this, even eating 1500-1800 calories a day and walking.  And I was having night sweats, intermittent racing pulse, adrenalin surges, and felt like crap.

Got to 195/125 one night during a heavy snowstorm.  Was having palpitations and feeling sick and weak.  Nurse friend came over in her 4WD and took me to the ER.  They gave me one clonidine tablet for the night and said to call 911 if I have a heart attack or stroke (nice).

Next day, it was 200/130.  I'm flushed, I'm weak.  Go to doc, they put me on an alpha-blocker, which they don't like to use, it's a last resort thing.  Dropped it quite a bit.  Actually made it fluctuate about 40 points during the day.  But mostly I felt better.  

And so there I stayed for about two months.  

Then I go to my urologist for an annual checkup and x-ray and they find a kidney stone blocking my right ureter.  My right kidney was enlarged.  Turns out a kidney stone can be "silent" and not cause any pain, but block the ureter and cause problems, like kidney failure, and adrenalin rushes (adrenal glands are on top of the kidney, when the kidney expands the gland gets stretched and it secretes hormones like a squeezed sponge).  The big symptom of this is spikes in blood pressure that don't respond well to treatment.  Huh.

And yes, it was all in my medical history that I had kidney stones.  Didn't know they could be "silent" though.  I'd seen 3-4 doctors about my crazy blood pressure and they all missed it.

Had the ultrasound procedure to pulverize it.  Couple of days later my blood pressure was 140/85.

Now they put me on two pills, losartan and a calcium channel blocker.  It runs 125/80 pretty consistently now.

It's likely that many of my problems for years were due to kidney stones.  It's not something that they usually check for, but it's there.

So, OP, I'm just saying you might want to get a KUB x-ray to rule out kidney stones.

What I've learned in this thread:

Immediately switch off lisinopril 10mg because it didn't work for someone else and is inadequate.

Get an echo because it's likely due to valvular damage.

Immediately get an x ray to rule out kidney stones.

Chloride ions cause hypertension even though every diuretic we use targets sodium re-uptake.


Treasure trove of medical advice.

So dang wrong

Sample sizes of 1 for the winnnnn

Stay after it, OP. I've been monitoring and treating HBP for almost 10 years now.  Just something you have to do.

My cousin, who was 8 months younger than me (45) a couple of weeks ago started getting numbness in his feet.  They took him to the hospital and found that his aorta had ruptured severely due to undiagnosed high blood pressure.

He had lost so much blood that there was nothing they could do for him.  It was a complete shock and the family is devastated...he's got one boy in college and one in high school.  I had to be a pallbearer for him. Never thought that would happen.

Just do what you need to do, even though it is a pain in the butt.  The alternative will be far worse for you and your family.

I was diagnosed with hypertension and put on meds at the tender age of 20 (DNA testing confirmed it was just a matter of time) and in the 29 years since then, I have not missed a single dose of my BP meds.  A few months ago I had a heart ultrasound to look for the structural changes associated with hypertension and my heart was completely normal.  OTOH, a friend of mine was diagnosed around the same time and hasn't taken a single pill for it in his life.  He'll be lucky to be alive on his 50th birthday.  Actually, he'll probably find it a relief when his time comes.  He's basically an invalid at 45 and I'm afraid his health problems are just getting started.  

BP meds are cheap although doctor's visits can add up quick. OP, sell a gun or some ammo if you need to.  You don't want to fuck around with high blood pressure.  

A good diet (Paleo is great) and exercise can't hurt and they might even help.  

Works for me too I was on like 40 and 5 of something else.

Parents passed away and cut down to just 40 lisinpril

got past the stress of dealing with their estate and went down to 20

Now I am breaking that in half and my blood pressure is 120 over 78 most of the time.

Stress of dealing with aging parents and running a family business his way for years ran my pressure up

It is true not killing people that desperately need it is creates stress.

In my case working with my father and doing things his way when I knew we could do much better was very stressful, and spending time caring for him and my mother while  my wife giving me hell for it ran it up even more.

It was just the way it was.  

So relieve the stress, cut back on salt,  cut back on feed,  cut back on some of the booze,  start walking and get that doctor to double the dose of give you another med.

In many cases yes - some can't do anything about it due to genetics.

Or so says the studies I've read.


I've been doing pretty well with diet though.  

Bad news OP, its gonna take you a few visits, and probably a few months to get this under control with just the right meds. Hopefully your doctor will work with you a bit and just call in a new medication if it isn't working and not make you come back in.

Call and talk to the nurse. They may be willing to change your med without a visit.

It's amazing how low carb seems to help all of the fat related ailments.

Not bad advice.  Lisinipril worked for my blood pressure (even at 5 mg per day) but it made me go limp noodle most of the time.  on a comparable dose of Losartan and it doesn't cause that issue.

I took prinzide which controls my bp really well but I had a terrible terrible cough.

Now on lorsartan, no cough but bp still pretty high

I eat like crap, Exercise sparingly, and have hereditary issues. Mine runs routinely 130/90. Am I going to die soon. 37 y/o.

Even more amazing is how many people just discount all the evidence that sugar and carbs and the insulin response they create is the reason for all these health problems. They completely ignore it.

The progression of insulin resistance ( metabolic syndrome ) is well documented, so is the cure.
and people ignore it and opt for health problems, drugs, and more health problems.

This has always puzzled me. We know this stuff is killing people but they are still teaching our children that it is nutritious.

Eat your fruits

The first time I looked at the glycemic index of some common foods I was shocked. Having a family member with severe diabetes was eye opening as well. Eating bread is damn near as bad as just pouring sugar in your mouth.

Nothing wrong with carbs if you are active.

Lisinopril, HCT, Metoprolol, Diltiazem, all generic, all cheap.

If you don't develop the lisinopril cough, you can go up to 40mg/day, however you might have some other underlying issue, where a Beta blocker might be preferable.

Yeah, I'm not one of those "carbs are evil" people, but I do think the average american would be a lot better off not consuming most of their calories as processed shit carbs. Well that and being active like you said.

Low blood pressure is more dangerous than hi blood pressure

You should tell that to the Type-2 pro road biker I know with a 6-pack

I'm now on lisinopril, hctz, amlodipine and bystolic. Bystolic is the only drug that has ever decreased my lower number and it has made my life a lot better. Prior to that I would take medicine to get the upper number down but then have problems passing out when I stood up too quick. I just wish I could find a generic equivalent, it's expensive as hell, even with my insurance which is pretty good.

Dibs on guns.

A list of recommended home BP monitors for the arm.  The wrist ones do not seem to be suggested by anyone, really.  Mine is one of the Omrons on the list, though I don't recall which one.  It consistently gives a read about 3-4 mms higher than my doctor gets when I bring it in with me.



http://www.dableducational.org/sphygmomanometers/devices_2_sbpm.html

Roger that, all of the benefits you can get from insulin and carbs are not important because we know of a pro biker that has diabeetus.

Cuff too small?  Pressure will read high.
Cuff too big?  Pressure will read low.