I freaked our prior to surgery in late July and my bp was 150/135. Prior to that I'd always been 120/80 or lower. Since the surgery, my bp has come down but isn't normal. Still hovering around 140/90 with inderol.

Here's the deal. First, the pharmaceutical industry keeps lowering the numbers. A few years ago, they wouldn't even consider medicine for me. Then it was - if it's over 120/80. Now it's 115/75. It's ridiculous. But they want more customers.

The problem is that most people need to be on 2, 3 or 4 different bp meds before they see any change. And the side effects are dizziness and being too tired to fully live their lives.

So while I need to keep an eye on things, I don't need to freak out about it. Of course, I do freak out about it which makes my bp go up even more!

I just saw my doctor today and here's what she suggested. Perhaps some of it will help you. First, she suggested I take magnesium. Also she wants me to take epsom salt baths every night - relaxing plus magnesium.

I'm taking fish oil and she wants me to up that dosage by quite a bit. Also CoQ10 and D3 to a therapeutic level (53-80) and primrose oil.

She also told me to get hibiscus tea and drink 3 - 5 cups a day. So I'm taking that. No real taste so I'll brew it and keep it in the fridge and just sip on it all day.

The diet most recommended to people with high blood pressure by MD's has them eating a fair amount of carbs but limiting sugar. My doctor suggested I stick with almost exclusively vegetables, fats like ghee, coconut oil and olive oil, some meat (no more than 8 ounces a day) and organic berries rarely when I HAVE to have something sweet. Lots of tea and water.

For exercise, interval training - walk 10 minutes slow to warm up, then a more intense, fast walk for 10 minutes. Then 10 minutes slow and back and forth. Then a cool down for 10 miinutes. I'm to do that 3 days a week and build up to daily.

The great thing about alternative treatments - diet, exercise, herbs, vitamins - is that it has beneficial side effects like helping your heart health, brain function, gut, arthritis, etc. while pharmaceuticals wind up causing unwanted side-effects.

Blood pressure is notoriously difficult to treat with pharmaceuticals and easily controlled with alternative medicine.

I'd suggest that you consider finding a good naturopathic doctor in your area. Where I am we have MD's who have training in alternative care which I find to be the best solution.

If you can't find a doctor like that in your area, you might want to check out Dr. Mercola. http://www.mercola.com/

Wishing you the best of luck!

Mercola is a quack, not a real doctor and subject of FDA warning letters.

I've been taking bp meds since I was 30. Was a surprise to me when I found out I had it. Was eating good, very active and slim. I was on Toprol XL up until 4 years ago and then had to add Amlodipine 5 mg. I requested to change from Toprol to Atenolol because of price. So now I take Atenolol 25 mg and Amlodipine 5 mg. Bp is just right. I have W hits coat hypertension too. I log a couple of weeks of readings and take it with me to the clinic. I get better readings at home. You may have to go up on the Amlodipine. 2.5 is a low dose. Its a trial and error thing to find the right combination of meds. When you do you'll know it. I take my daily meds and enjoy life as usual. Its not frustrating after you find the right treatment.

I think it's really important to take everything with a grain of salt, but Mercola does have some good information. I don't believe everything he says, but I don't believe everything anyone says. I research it and check it against my own common sense.

My cardiologist - one of the best in the area - told me it was silly to take CoQ10 with statin drugs. Even though we know it is ESSENTIAL to heart health - especially if you're on statins.

My neurologist - another gentleman who is widely respected and serves as the liason with media whenever a neurological issue is discussed - tried to prescribe me a medication that, when combined with my current meds, would've made me very sick. The pharmacist caught it.

So...read a wide variety of publications, listen to what everyone has to say, do more research, check what your instincts are telling you and go from there.

But Mercola suggests, for example, as does Dr. Christiane Northrup, using thermal imaging to detect breast cancer rather than mammograms or as an adjunct. http://www.drnorthrup.com/best-breast-test/

This is particularly important because thermography can see inflammation much sooner, in a much larger area and can catch cancers far earlier. Mammograms, however, have become the gold standard so doctors are loathe to move away from them.

People practicing alternative health and offering herbs/vitamins/oils cannot claim to "cure" people even though we know that turmeric helps with inflammation, acupuncture helps with arthritis and Hawthorn can be effective in lowering blood pressure. So the FDA can go after anyone making these claims - even though time and studies have proven them very effective.

As for Dr Mercola's "not being a real doctor" here's his educational background:
University of Illinois at Chicago - UIC 1972-1976
Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine Midwestern University 1978-1982
Chicago Osteopathic Hospital 1982-1985 Family Practice Residency. Chief resident 1984-1985
Board Certified American College Osteopathic General Practitioners July 1985
State of Illinois Licensed Physician and Surgeon

Thanks for providing links to defend Mercola all from his own site.

In the interest of balance I'm backing up my brief post with other links and more information. Unfortunately most people don't check other sites so I hope this will help them make up their own minds.

He now has had 4 warnings from the FDA Here is one
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2011/ucm250701.htm

He claims that he can cure autism, vaccinations are dangerous, and virtually anything other than something he sells will give you cancer.These are just a few sites that make an assessment of his claims and business activities. You will then find references to other documentation from them.

http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Mercola

http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/four-biggest-quacks-plaguing-america-their-bad-claims-about-science

http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/February-2012/Dr-Joseph-Mercola-Visionary-or-Quack/

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2012/08/03/15-years-of-promoting-quackery/

http://skepdic.com/mercola.html

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Joseph_Mercola

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/03/23-more-things-dr-mercola-has-said-cause-cancer.html

http://americanloons.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/273-joseph-joe-mercola.html

https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/glp-facts/joe-mercola-alternative-health-merchant-promotes-quack-cures-funds-organic-and-anti-gmo-groups/

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4283

http://www.science20.com/pfired_but_still_kicking/crazy_joe_mercola_is_behind_the_times-154197

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Joseph_M._Mercola

You have picked me up again and agian on saying he is not a real doctor. To clarify he is not an M.D and that is what most people regard as a doctor. So he is legally a doctor in parts of the US but not the kind people usually mean and it isn't recognised as a doctor where I live.

http://www.gustrength.com/health:is-dr-joseph-mercola-not-a-real-doctor

Apologies - I provided the link to Mercola's site because it lists his education and experience as a physician. In the United States a DO is on equal footing with an MD. I prefer them because they tend to look at the body as a whole. They have training in complementary medicine as well as Western medicine.

The articles you list aren't scholarly or academic but instead rather blogy with exaggerations (Mercola is a cult leader) and swearing so I have a hard time accepting their conclusions.

The FDA warnings are interesting. If an MD knows that a certain medicine helps with a specific condition, they may prescribe it even if the FDA has not approved it for that condition. That's a violation. Doctors may exaggerate the effectiveness of a medication (I've never had a patient complain of side effects) in hopes of getting a patient to try them. Also an FDA violation.

These are similar to the warnings Mercola received.

He has never claimed he can cure autism, though he has posted some studies that show various vitamins might help with autism symptoms. These studies are now backed up with larger scale studies by respected institutions like the American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/vitamin-d-and-autism-case-report-improved-symptoms

As for vaccinations, the jury is still out on that. He posts studies that discuss concerns and people can decide for themselves.

And he doesn't sell any cures for cancers. In fact, he states on his site that he really doesn't work much with cancer patients as he focuses more on prevention.

I don't think anyone should blindly follow the advice of anyone else. Common sense, instincts and second opinions should be seriously considered along with research.