High Blood Pressure

[MTRJ75]

Well, I don't know how it happened, but over the last week or so, my blood pressure has been consistently in the 130-140/85-90 range unless I'm lying flat. I hadn't been taking it much prior to that, but I have gained over 30 pounds since starting Lexapro about a year and a half ago.

I figure that has to be a factor, but are there any others here with high blood pressure and if so, how has it been treated (if medications are needed) w/o having to cut down on salt? I absolutely dread statins, but have a cardio appt next week and fear that's going to be the direction. 

I've floated borderline high in the past, before dysautonomia, but even then, not this high except for rare occasions of stress. 

[POTSie78]

I'm in the same boat.  My bp used to run low to normal until my dysautonomia diagnosis. I was started on propanolol and other meds for migraines and nerve pain.  I was also given midodrine in the beginning but was then told not to take it because my bp generally started creeping up after increasing my salt and water. The other day at the dr my bp was 140/110.  My distolic is now typically 90 and above but then it I still have times where systolic and distolic drops low.  When they check my labs my sodium is barely in the normal range but my cholesterol is high so they started me on crestor.  To my understanding they haven't specifically addressed my bp because it is labile.  So far they haven't been able to control my hr and now I'm having more issues with high bp.  I would suspect I am getting too much sodium except that dosent show in the labs. Sorry I can't be of more help other than that I'm going through it too.

[Pistol]

@MTRJ75 - I have HPOTS, so both my HR and BP are high ( when untreated ). I take high doses of Carvelidol and Diltiazem - they control it pretty well. I also get IV fluids every week, they also keep my BP and HR down. Without the IV fluids I run a high BP even WITH the meds. 

1 hour ago, MTRJ75 said:

I absolutely dread statins, but have a cardio appt next week and fear that's going to be the direction.

I have been on a stating for several years for high cholesterol. Once the levels came down I stopped it and tried to keep the cholesterol down with diet and exercise ( well - as much as I could ) but it went right back up. Now I am back on the Rosuvastatin. 

[MTRJ75]

I mixed up my meds @Pistol. Statins are for cholesterol, not BP of course. I'm not a candidate for frequent IV at this point and diet isn't helping unfortunately. 

[MTRJ75]

Also now reading that Ivabradine/Corlanor does not lower blood pressure, as the Propanolol may have been doing. It has helped with some other rate and skip issues I feel, so it's not really something I'm really willing to go back on and using a combination would probably drop my heart rate too low since I'm on a low dose anyway. 

[MomtoGiuliana]

My blood pressure goes up when I am in a flare.  Increasing fluids paradoxically brings my bp down.  I do also increase my beta blocker as that helps bring both my hr and my bp down a little.

[MTRJ75]

Thanks. I still have some Propanolol on hand, but I'm afraid to use it during these flares because my HR hasn't been increased recently. I've been 70-75 during these flares, of which I'm currently having another one right now. 

[ramakentesh]

My flares are mostly just tachycardia amd a minor increase in standing bp that normalised after i started Florinef amd Midodrine 

Recently hoeever I had an intense hyperadrenergic crash with bps regularly sitting at 180/120 hr 138, etc amd my neuro wired me clonidine.

I took a tiny fragment during an 8 hour adrenalin surge and my bp dropped to 79/57 within 10 minutes. Weirdly i felt no more  dizzy, just less wired.

Pots us strange

[MTRJ75]

Ironically, my fourth flare up in less than three weeks today. Blood pressure has been as high as 147/98 today. Missed an in office appointment with the cardiologist and had to do it over the phone. 

She's not immediately concerned with the blood pressure in the short term as long as it doesn't get too high. There are a few reasons we talked about why it could be increasing. 

1 - Weight gain over the last year (30 pounds), possibly connected to Lexapro (gain started around the same time w/o dietary changes). 

2 - Switch from Propanolol to Ivabradine. Ivabradine has helped some heart rate issues more than Propanolol, but it doesn't affect blood pressure at all. She said I could combine them and not to worry about my heart rate dipping too low since it's such a low dose (10 mg Propanolol, 2.5 Ivabradine if snap it in half). 

3 - Vaccine. She's seen some weird results from the vax and can't necessarily say it is the reason for BP rise or the increase in flare ups over the last few weeks, but it does activate immune system (and probably nervous system). It would make sense. But she still advised getting the second shot next week. I'm kinda hoping it is the vax, as long as it means the flare ups are going to calm down after a few months. 

4 - I have to call the neurologist tomorrow and find out if the new meds we're trying to control mast cells with are causing the BP rise too. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be doing what I hoped anyway. Been on an H1 & H2 for a few months now and I'm still getting daily allergies, my body feels like an oven frequently and I'm still flaring. 

So I guess we really still don't know anything. All I know is that every muscle in my body is flaring, my BP is still elevated and my fight or flight has been lit up with drenching sweats and nausea most of the day.