High Blood Pressure

[nick]

Well i found out i have high blood pressure.  How, i don't know, i'm fit and eat great.  Damn those family genes.  The only problem is i'm only 25!  My pressure has been at a constant 140/80 +/-  a few.  Doctors seem to suck and just say hey you got it and wanna just write you a prescription and send you on your marry way.  Well before i take some crazy meds that have so many side effects.  i started to look for natural alternatives.  Has anyone heard of anything good or use something that works.  i found this "C12 Peptide", anyone heard about it.  the doctor told me my condition was probably stress related "could be".  i feel pretty relaxed most of the time just like anyone else.  Maybe i need some St.Johns wort  

[triggernigha]

do you take creatine man??

what suppliments do you take?

[nick]

As of right now creatine and protein and i just went off trib.

[triggernigha]

dude, it could be the creatine.

i took it twice(not two servings but two peroids of time) and both times it sent my Blood Pressure sky high, 140/90. anything which makes you retain water messes with your BP.

if i was you, i would stop it and see what effect it has on your BP, it might be the cause.

when i stopped my BP dropped back to 105/50 - crazy but true. same happens to a friend of mine

BTW it was the only suppliment i was taking, so there were no other possible causes.

it also fucked with my kidney functions - doc refered me to a kidney specialist who checked me out and said all was now perfect, that was after i had stopped the creatine.

[nick]

well something to considor for sure.  i'll try it.  It kinda sucks though i love creatine!

[nick]

BTW, how long did it take for your BP to return to normal after you stopped taking creatine?

[Camilo]

Ok, first of all, 140/80 is not considered high blood pressure. Any doctor who has read the 7th Joint Committee on Hypertension knows so.  Its true it’s a higher pressure than the one you would like for your age, but it isn’t between pathological levels yet. 

The measures to be taken now are really simple.  You should avoid salt in your meals, try to avoid processed food (just like a bodybuilding diet anyway), and make some cardiovascular exercise.  That should be the only thing you do for now.  You can have things like Green Tea as well, which might lower your water levels and decrease pressure, and you should totally avoid consuming products like ephedrine or high quantities of caffeine.

Cheers,


Camilo

[nick]

i already eat low salt and no processed foods.  I'll cut coffee and ginseng.  Should i exclude lifting from my workout and go all cardio or just make sure i have cardio with my normal routine?  As of right now i lift and run 20 -30 min on my elliptical everyday.

[triggernigha]

keep with the weight lifting man, its as good for you as cardio if not better according to some research

best to do both, esp if you have some BP issues

[dancerqueen]

keep with the weight lifting man, its as good for you as cardio if not better according to some research

best to do both, esp if you have some BP issues

Agreed!  Keep up with the lifting and a bit of cardio.  The cardio could help burn off any excess stress.  In with the good air out with the bad....

[triggernigha]

BTW, how long did it take for your BP to return to normal after you stopped taking creatine?

not 100% sure, it was a few months ago, but around two weeks after i stopped taking it i got checked again and all was well

[Jack Tragic]

OK, now you guys just stop that crazy talk about Creatine, now, hey! Camillo is 100% correct! This is NOT high blood pressure! Not so long ago I used to have readings of 190+/90. This is high blood pressure! And yes, mine is due solely to genetics as it runs through many generations of my family line! Old wives tale...Creatine causes high blood pressure...NOT! Creatine does NOTHING to add to your blood pressure. IMO, after much studies (even when most if not ALL Doctors won't admit). High blood pressure is caused mainly from the kidneys NOT recognizing the overage of fluids in the human body! As a rule of thumb here, remember that the heart pumps and circulates 1000 of gallons of fluids per day. If the Kidneys  do not "realize" their importance...problems will occure! A no brainer example here...I can drink an entire 16 oz. bottle of :"Hot Sauce" BY It' self and have 0 reaction to my blood pressure after 60 minutes, BUT...I can consume  a c1/2 gallon of bottled water and within 30 minutes, my BP will pump 10 points! I can consume a 16 OZ bottle of "Power-Aid"...and nothing (electrolite replacement drink). SO...all of this leads me to think this...as long as you add electrolites to your source of "hydration", no problems shall occure as it seems the human Kidneys need an ample amount of electrolites to work at 100% capacity

[triggernigha]

OK, now you guys just stop that crazy talk about Creatine, now, hey! Camillo is 100% correct! This is NOT high blood pressure! Not so long ago I used to have readings of 190+/90. This is high blood pressure! And yes, mine is due solely to genetics as it runs through many generations of my family line! Old wives tale...Creatine causes high blood pressure...NOT! Creatine does NOTHING to add to your blood pressure. IMO, after much studies (even when most if not ALL Doctors won't admit). High blood pressure is caused mainly from the kidneys NOT recognizing the overage of fluids in the human body! As a rule of thumb here, remember that the heart pumps and circulates 1000 of gallons of fluids per day. If the Kidneys  do not "realize" their importance...problems will occure! A no brainer example here...I can drink an entire 16 oz. bottle of :"Hot Sauce" BY It' self and have 0 reaction to my blood pressure after 60 minutes, BUT...I can consume  a c1/2 gallon of bottled water and within 30 minutes, my BP will pump 10 points! I can consume a 16 OZ bottle of "Power-Aid"...and nothing (electrolite replacement drink). SO...all of this leads me to think this...as long as you add electrolites to your source of "hydration", no problems shall occure as it seems the human Kidneys need an ample amount of electrolites to work at 100% capacity

TRAGIC you have gone way too technical on my ass........but my 'elevated' not high but elevated BP was due to the creatine, or at least its effects - once stopped, the BP was back to normal and have had no probs since. i guess it affects different people different ways. my kidney functs went back to normal from having elevated urea and creatinine levels after stopping too, so either the creatine was affecting my kidneys which was subsequently affecting my BP, or the other way around, but someing fucked was definately happening - basically my kidneys were not functioning as they should

[Camilo]

High blood pressure is caused mainly from the kidneys NOT recognizing the overage of fluids in the human body!

I'm sorry with you mate, but I'll have to disagree with you here. Essential hypertension covers almost 90% of the hypertensive people.  Hypertension due to hyperhydratation (happening on an acute renal failure for example) is a very very rare thing to happen.  If you have too much fluid, your vessels extravasate it and complications like pulmonary edema happen then.

On the contrary, if you add "PowerAde" as you say, or any electrolyte source, you would be adding a lot of sodium. Sodium traps water, and by avoiding sodium intake you can lower pressure by almost 5mmHg.  I would never recommend someone with high blood pressure to take a bottle of Gatorade nor PowerAde, nor any other sport beverage. 

Your blood pressure won’t increase if you have half a gallon of water in half an hour.  But it would increase by having a cup of coffee or tea.

Triggernigha, in your case, the elevated urea and creatinine (don’t confuse with creatine lol) are surely explained by a higher amount of muscle you are packing, and a quite high protein diet, rather than anything else. 
When you go on a hypertonic diet as well, its not infrequent to have an elevation in your blood pressure which should pass almost unnoticeable to most people.

Cheers,

Camilo

[triggernigha]

Triggernigha, in your case, the elevated urea and creatinine (don’t confuse with creatine lol) are surely explained by a higher amount of muscle you are packing, and a quite high protein diet, rather than anything else. 
When you go on a hypertonic diet as well, its not infrequent to have an elevation in your blood pressure which should pass almost unnoticeable to most people.

Cheers,

Camilo

i thought the same as you when the inital blood test results came back, but my doc, who i dont think knows her ass from her elbow, didnt agree, whereas the renal specialist said it was a possibility. trouble with that theory is urea evels dropped to within normal when i stopped creatine (maybe it was making me dehydrated?? but drink more than 8 litres of water everyday, so not sure, creatinine still high but my clearance rate is excellent - so muscle mass, high protein intake prob explains) and so did BP. i just got the letter she sent my doc from my check a few weeks ago. it was hilarious, i think she wants me........she stated and i quote "he is very muscular (what a laugh) and analysis of his urine sample, which was a remarkable 7.2 litres......" even my pee is remarkable, aint i lucky