by Jeff
(Akron, OH, USA)
I considered this again in my life. When I was in my 20’s, I maintained a diet full of fruits and veggies, coupled with daily exercise, I was healthy.
Now, nearing 50, and having recently been diagnosed with HBP, and told to go on a diuretic. Never again. My blood pressure came down some, but there are other underlying factors. I quit the meds and took my life in my own hands. My bp is very high. I always believed that this is the way to go, not pills, which mask the problems and create new ones so you can get more pills. Other than vitamins, I hate pills.
I’m currently struggling, but have noticed a difference when adding to my water intake and juicing. Not enough yet as I have yet to rule out the 2 bad, abscessed teeth. One tooth has been addressed, finishing root canal tomorrow, the other tooth, jammed into my sinus’, it’s coming out the next day. With the help of antibiotics, increased water intake and juicing, not to mention monitoring my diet a little closer, and exercise, I’m hoping that this will correct, and my quality of life will return. I’m struggling with my confidence in this, but I remain hopeful that I’m doing the right thing. The alternative is pills. I stopped working out for now but will resume again soon, I’ve just been nervous and tentative about it.
As far as exposure, it’s been there. But for every 1 commercial extolling the benefits, there’s 100 for some pill that will fix you. The only difference is, when I’m told to eat a banana, the side effects are beneficial. With pills you can get violent diarrhea, hair loss, and even death. That to me just is not right.
Time to bring down the pharmaceutical companies, as there the ones poisoning people in America with there wonder drugs. I just know there is a better way, and in this case, I’m hoping that a steady, consistent approach will win out over the quick “fix” of the pill. I can’t die now, to much left to do on this earth.
I Knew There Was an Alternative
This info sent from a friend is going to be very instrumental in the care of my health issues that I am just now becoming aware of. I am glad that I do not have to support the pharmaceutical companies in my quest to better my self health.
As a young girl watching my elderly family take so many medications, sometimes seeing shoe boxes full of them I would think, how could anyone take so much and know if they were getting well, and in the same note, how could any one person afford to be sick. It has scared me to the point of not going in for wellness checks.
Thank goodness I have a Medical research lab close enough by that will send out alarm bells when I am screening for a new homeopathic study and something may occur that needs my attention. Given the information I can go to my local homeopathic health food store and search for some info on which path to take.
Gem writes –
A good diet is central to maintaining good health. We can avoid a great deal of illness along with expensive medical bills and the side effects of pharmaceuticals if we take this to heart.
The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that good nutrition, an adequate, well balanced diet combined with regular physical activity, is a cornerstone of good health. Poor nutrition can lead to reduced immunity, increased susceptibility to disease, impaired physical and mental development, and reduced productivity.
Most of us would picture hungry or starving children in a third world country when these words are read, but this fact is true for everyone, everywhere. I mean, are we really getting the minerals, vitamins, enzymes and amino acids that our bodies need to function properly?
The drugs the doctor writes out for you as a prescription, were only designed to take care of the symptoms. They do not address the underlying problem that is causing the illness in the first place.
The best medicine is education. For only then will we understand why we need to eat right and keep active. It`s amazing what difference a little knowledge can make. The anonymous person above has become aware of alternatives but the wisest course would be prevention which makes us responsible for our own health.
Alternative High Blood Pressure Treatment Really Does Work
by Lynn
(USA)
“This trend is increasing at an alarming rate. Why are you considering it and do you think there is enough exposure to the benefits of making the change? I am interested in your opinion.”
I think the main reason there is a trend of people changing to alternative high blood pressure treatment is because of one word “side effects”. Ok, it is two words :). These two words are why I am trying alternative high blood pressure treatments. My doctor said I had high blood pressure and insisted I go on lisinopril (a very low dosage – told me to cut the pill in half). Well, after five days, I started to experience side effects, frequent urination, pain in my side, lips tingled. I started reading about this drug on line and read that if my tongue swelled up I could end up in the hospital. Ending up in the hospital because of this medication was a very upsetting thought.
So I researched natural cures. I am trying apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, hawthorn, increased my intake of coenzyme Q-10 and tried to eat more vegetables.
It has only been about five days since I stopped taking the lisinopril and switched to the natural stuff. It was about two days without lisinopril before I could get the natural stuff. During that time, I noticed my blood pressure had started to climb again. However, within about 2 days of the natural stuff, I noticed that my blood pressure was coming down. Perhaps it is just a fluke, but I am willing to keep trying it. Apple cider is not going to put me in the hospital, but lisinopril just might. Nor does the apple cider make me feel ill like the lisinopril was doing.
Will it continue to work? Time will tell.
23years old and fighting!
by Ashley
(Sandy Springs, Ga)
I am 23years and fighting high blood pressure. As a child I did have this problems. After I got pregnant with my first my blood pressure was never the same. I do not blame my pregnancy I blame my habits. I grew in the south with a hot bowl of WHITE rice or pasta with butter or plain was fine to me at every dinner. I got older my appetite never changed. I could eat 5 plates of food (all with white rice or pasta in one meal time).
I was 20 when I was in the hospital pregnant with a blood pressure reading of 250/120 yes I should have stroked out but thanks be to God I didn’t. I am still fighting. I will use this page to see if this works and let yall know what happens. I am doing this because I don’t like doctors and I don’t like needles.
So I will let yall know what happens.
Best wish to yall and yours
Ash.
Diet and Hope
by Heidi Lein
(Netherlands)
This is my own story which I want to share with you. It is the correspondence I had with a nurse in Canada who used the information on my site and saw great results. She initiated the dialogue with an email of appreciation as follows:
02 Dec 2009, 05:55:42 AM
Subject: Want a Lasting Solution to HBP? Call for the Herbs
Thank you so much for your newsletters!! I just love reading the information. I am a nurse, and very attuned to nutrition and fitness, etc., but your research and support are of great encouragement for me with this high blood pressure thing.
It is such a blessing that there are people like you who share this information. You show real dedication and kindness. Thanks ever so.
with hugs,
Heidi Lein
—————————-
Hello Heidi
Thank you so much for that nice email. Can I ask you, are you using other methods apart from your medication to control your blood pressure? I would love to hear about it. Also do you mind if I post your letter on my letter page. If not then I will understand.
Gem
08 Dec 2009, 05:12:58 AM
Hi Gem,
I am a 52 year old, who stays fit and tries to eat well. When I first found out about the high BP (last year) I of course scroured the internet, and found your site to be the most informative. It was full of information that centred on diet and hope versus “many patients need meds, etc.”. I still focus on the fact that you said that a little elevation at my age is normal. In fact, I went to a cardiologist at a university hospital here in Leiden, NL, who said that all the tests were so normal that it was abnormal I was in the clinic. He was nice about it.
I started on Ramipril within 6 weeks of finding out about hypertension. My mom and grandmother had died of coronary problems so I wanted to be cautious. My BP then was (on average) 170/110. I waited at an emergency room in Canada to get that prescription, during a Christmas trip home. That doctor wanted me to start on 10 mg.. I went home (as the nurse) and started on 2.5 mg.. Then I tried to eat what your site had recommended. Within 7 days, I had to REDUCE the meds to 1.25 mg. as my BP was down to 125/80. I started walking through the snow for an hour too.
By the time holidays were over, my BP was still normal, and I reduce it to 0.66 mg. Amazing. I had cold finger tips too from a low BP! I tried to quit the meds, but it started hiking back up. For the last year, I have stayed on 1.25 mg. daily, since I started becoming a little cavalier with my diet again. Now my BP is about 135/85.
The diet I found most useful was to eat tons of steamed vegetables daily, including onions and garlic, with breakfast consisting of fruits, and lunch being a huge bowl of oatmeal (with seeds, maple syrup, yogourt). Nobody envied me but they sure admired my resolve to bring the BP down naturally. : ) This very healthy diet was what I tried initially.
Now, as I said, I am more relaxed, but when I receive your newsletter, I feel prompted once again to be involved and win over the need for meds. Thanks so much Gem, to you and your husband, for the work you do.
Please feel free to put anything I’ve written on your website. Merry Christmas!
Heidi
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08 Dec 2009, 06:39:55 AM
Hello Heidi
I am on holiday at the moment, and your letter was the first I read in my emails. It was so nice to read and is highly encouraging to me. Thank you! I will certainly use it on my website when I return. I will write and give you the link when I do so. It will greatly enhance the credibility of my work for the benefit of the visitors to this site.
I am also happy that you have found the best way to heal your body and keep it as healthy as possible. Well done!
Gem
HBP Meds Like Snake Venom
by Sybil Natawa
(Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A.)
Lil ‘ol type B me was sure surprised by a 186/90 blood pressure reading.I agreed pretty readily with my doctor that I had to do something to bring it down. She perscribed Lisinopril and said that she takes it herself. And it did seem, over the next 4 weeks to bring my blood pressure down. BUT I racked up one after another of the negative side effects and began to feel like I was being poisoned. This created so much stress in itself that one day I simply could not bear taking it again. One week later I feel SO much BETTER! My blood pressure is back up but I want to find another way. I’m very motivated because I just can’t understand why I should take a drug that makes me sick when I’m already sick with something else. I’d prefer to address first causes.
sincerely
Sybil Natawa
Gem`s Reply –
Lisinopril severe side effects are disturbing to the user. Especially in some patients when their skin and eyes can take on a yellow appearance. In others, breathing may become difficult, which understandably could provoke a panic reaction. But even the so called mild side effects are making peoples` lives a misery.
Most people complain of a persistant cough. Some end up vomiting when the cough becomes uncontrollable. A dry cough often is a complaint of ACE inhibitors.
Headache and tiredness are also common complaints. So when a patient like Sybil is experiencing 2 or 3 of these symptoms, is it any wonder that they want to stop taking the drug immediately?
The best advice would surely be to go to your GP and complain. Get your meds reduced or changed if possible while you search out ways you can improve diet and lifestyle that can help bring the pressure down. As Sybil points out, we should be more focussed on addressing the cause.
why I want to lower my blood pressure naturally..
by Cathy
(Huntington Beach)
Hi, I am a 48 year old female. I have moderately high blood pressure. My Doctor has put me on blood pressure meds. I have been through 3 different types within the past year. Although they may lower my blood pressure, each one has so many disabling side effects. I am not tolerating any of them.
Since I started taking them I get this feeling of impending death. I feel like I am going to pass out daily. And now because of that feeling I am pretty much completely disabled.
I have gained weight from lack of activity. I am depressed. I have never been depressed in my life. I have terrible panic attacks. But when I have tried to get off the meds, I feel my heart pounding very hard and fast when I am sitting. This too is disabling and makes me afraid to exercise.
The blood pressure pills take that fast irregular pounding heartbeat away. most of the time. I also have pvc’s badly. I have had my heart checked using an echo cardiogram and holter monitor. They found nothing wrong but pvc’s and high blood pressure.
Either way, I am scared. I need to figure something out that is natural. Fast!! Help me please!!!!
Thank You
Alternative High Blood Pressure Treatment is Better than Disparaging Dr. Consults
by Pauline Washington-Diggs
(Fort Washington, MD)
I have hypertension – from time to time. The one thing about a high blood pressure reading that I have noted is that it doesn’t stay all day, all week or forever. It doesn’t even stay for 30 minutes, and often times even less than that. So, it’s puzzling to me to accept a final diagnosis as “you’re hypertensive and there’s nothing to be done about it except to take a pill for the rest of your life . . . a pill that has side affects that you will deal with later.” Considering an alternative treatment for hypertension makes more sense especially when many of the alternative treatments including foods and herbs add additional benefits to your overall health.
Here’s my plan which you may find helpful as well:
(1) Include a variety of foods in my diet that are rich in nutrients that aide in my hypertension ailment.
(2) Get daily (yes daily, at least 60 minutes) exercise. Shopping in the grocery store is over 30 minutes for me, going to the mall and looking for an item of clothing is easily 2 hours of motion, and basically that’s what exercise is -movement. But, do include some resistance and aerobic exercise each week to get and keep the heart muscles strengthened.
(3) Monitor your blood pressure at home with the use of a personalized BP machine. That way you are not blind to which direction the overall summary of your readings are taking. You need to know if you have to increase exercise, add more nutrients to your diet, and/or include a breathing technique. You may find that you are most often right at the target level for normal blood pressure. Don?t get discouraged if you find a high reading from time to time. Understand that this is normal in the realm of daily living. There are stresses, hurts, binges on the wrong foods, and other over or under indulgences that can temporarily change the status quo of your blood pressure. As long as a high blood pressure reading does not linger around for the day without changing in the right (lower) direction, then you may still be in a good position; that is not being considered a chronic hypertensive patient.
Alternative treatments to hypertension should include a knowledge base of where your numbers/readings on a BP machine are, and what they mean. Know what a normal blood pressure range is and make an affirmation and commitment to reach that goal by sticking with an alternative treatment for your soon-to-be post hypertensive state. The first step is to set your mind to the task to be done. Alternative treatments like regular medical treatments also require consistency (key word). Am I right? So, put aside the excuses. Set the goal and write the plan down. Gage (or gauge) what`s happening. Are you most often successful in reaching your goal? If not, make modifications. If so, keep up the good effort.