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49 female. Since going low carb my BP is about 125/75. Dr is raising my Lisinopril from 5 to 10 mg. Will that drop it too low? I am on that and 25 mg of Metoprolol (12.5 in morning and 12.5 at night). The Metoprolol didn’t work at all by itself but adding in the 5 mg of Lisinopril brought it from 160/90 to around 135/85 and now lower since eating low carb. When I am stressed though especially at the dr it can go up to 150/90.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by southernlady5464
Sounds like a question to ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Yes, most people on a forum are not as knowledgeable on blood pressure as your doctor. When mine added Losartan to my amlodipine he warned me that if I felt light-headed or dizzy I should stop the second one and call the office.
49 female. Since going low carb my BP is about 125/75. Dr is raising my Lisinopril from 5 to 10 mg. Will that drop it too low? I am on that and 25 mg of Metoprolol (12.5 in morning and 12.5 at night). The Metoprolol didn’t work at all by itself but adding in the 5 mg of Lisinopril brought it from 160/90 to around 135/85 and now lower since eating low carb. When I am stressed though especially at the dr it can go up to 150/90.
You sound a little like me, however...
And remember, this is my experience and may not apply to you.
My 25 mg of metoprolol for my heart condition takes care of my blood pressure very well except for perhaps one or two days every 4-6 weeks; sometimes I get too stressed out about stuff or maybe go a little heavy on the sodium, and then I can have a "bad day" when I might hit that 150/90 status. But most days I am somewhere around 120/75. On a bad day I have a backup of Lisinopril. My cardiologist doesn't want me to take any Lisinopril unless my morning BP is over 140/85, because if I do take it when it is lower than that (in the morning), as the afternoon and evening progress I can get down to 90/60...and that is problematic. On those bad days I will start with 5 mg of Lisinopril, and if need be a second 5 mg dose. But for me, that brings things down very quickly, so I have to cautious in decided to take it.
I'm not saying this should be your routine, but it has worked for me. But yes, too much and my BP drops too low, especially later in the day and in the evening.
Something to consider. Many meds, including lisinopril can effect multiple health concerns in addition to the one they are best known for. So called "off label" uses. As many as one out of five prescriptions gets used that way. Another example would be the beta blocker metoprolol. It is often prescribed to help lower BP but it also provides other cardiac-related benefits. I have SVT and take metoprolol to help manage heart rate/rhythm, not to lower BP. My BP has always been within normal range.
Ask your prescriber why he selected lisinopril for you. It might be for reasons other than lowering your BP. There might be other options that wouldn't put you at risk for very low BP.
Doubtful your BP will go too low. Just monitor your blood pressure and see what happens. Make sure your BP monitor is calibrated with your doctor's office, too. I was using an old one and it turns out BP monitors are only good for a few years. Who knew? I now have an Omron 10, which wasn't cheap, but it's accurate and has an app that my cardiologist loves to look at.
Also, not for nothing, but BP lower than 120/80 isn't necessarily a bad thing. A large part of it is whether or not you have symptoms of low blood pressure. I keep mine around 105/68 and I feel fine. Calmer than I used to be, actually, which is probably the beta blocker. (Trivia: Performers sometimes take beta blockers for stage fright.) I had a heart attack last October, and they put me on a whole bunch of stuff--beta blocker, sacubitril-valsartan (Entresto), and spironolactone.
As I recovered, did cardiac rehab, and my heart got stronger, the spironolactone proved to be too much, as my BP was getting down to 83/55 and I was having symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, and being off-kilter, so they took me off it. I was walking like a drunk person, which I can laugh at now but it was scary at the time.
It's normal for blood pressure to go up a little when you're stressed, although yours seems a little too much for white coat--make sure they let you sit in peace for five minutes before they measure it.
BP will also go up when you're working out. Then after you are done working out, your blood vessels open and it goes back down. That's also how I learned the spironolactone was too much. It was going too low post-workout.
Buy yourself a good home blood pressure machine and find out. But google things first to make sure you aren't going over the maximum safe dosage. Increase it by small degrees, and again, make sure to go online and make sure increasing the dosage won't interfere w/ any other meds you may be on.
Believe it or not, this is exactly what a doctor would do, except they wouldn't even bother to ck things like I suggested. At best, they would up the dosage and have you come back in later just to have your blood pressure checked. That would be even less cautious than what I mentioned.
What's causing this high blood pressure, and what can you do to reverse it? Diet, exercise, lifestyle change?
All this commonplace drug lingo boggles my mind. Sometimes I feel like the only person not taking some sort of pharmaceutical drug just for everyday existence.
What's causing this high blood pressure, and what can you do to reverse it? Diet, exercise, lifestyle change?
All this commonplace drug lingo boggles my mind. Sometimes I feel like the only person not taking some sort of pharmaceutical drug just for everyday existence.
Something to consider. Many meds, including lisinopril can effect multiple health concerns in addition to the one they are best known for. So called "off label" uses. As many as one out of five prescriptions gets used that way. Another example would be the beta blocker metoprolol. It is often prescribed to help lower BP but it also provides other cardiac-related benefits. I have SVT and take metoprolol to help manage heart rate/rhythm, not to lower BP. My BP has always been within normal range.
Ask your prescriber why he selected lisinopril for you. It might be for reasons other than lowering your BP. There might be other options that wouldn't put you at risk for very low BP.
Young doctors have no idea what they're doing. They only follow the "best practices guidelines."
HTN has more than one underlying cause. There's no cheap, convenient way of testing what is the specific cause for any given pt, so docs prescribe a drug that experience shows has a good chance of working. It may or may not be enough, so they start adding on...
An analogy-- suppose a pt has a fever, malaise and productive cough. The doc decides to start PCN because that works so well so often....This time it doesn't seem to be working, so he adds on Tamiflu in case it's a virus-- no improvement so he adds on rifampin and the pt gets better (because he really has TB)....The doc is pleased with himself and keeps on writing scripts for all three drugs.
A diuretic should always be the first choice for all new cases of confirmed HTN (if life style changes "cure" your hi bp, then you just have hi bp readings, not the disease HTN).....For pts over about 60y/o that's often all they need....If it's only working partially, then ACEs, Ca channel blockers or beta blockers can be added depending, as Parnassia pointed out, on specific additional problems the pt may have......Ca channel & ACE blockers cause edema in about 75% of pts so they'll need a diuretic anyway. That's why it should be started first.
If 5mg of Lisinopril "works" for you, then just rub it on your forehead and it will work just as well. It's a sub- therapeutic dose.
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