How often do you take your BP?

[Ryu82]

Every Monday, AM, right before I check by fasted glucose, also once per week and tracked.

 

[Eddie.]

is it best to take your BP right away when you wake up or after you been moving a bit? Or as long as you take it at the same time of day?

I'd say not immediately like first thing after you get off your bed, 10-20' after you wake up would be ok but definitely measure before eating or drinking coffee.

 

[HUGE McBIGLARGE]

I’m 31. My diastolic is always below 70. Sometimes in the low 40s. Averages at about 55.

Problem is there’s no treatment for stiffened arteries (unless something like high cholesterol is to blame), and I don’t really want heart surgery. So I’ve gotta weigh up the cons of high SBP vs the cons of low DBP, and consider AHTs.

I had an echocardiogram which was apparently fine.



Funnily enough I added a lot of soy sauce to my dinner last night because I was so frustrated at eating the same disgusting dinner every night I said “fuck it let’s make it tasty”.

And today my BP is around 120/55. The lowest it’s been in a very long time. Of course n=1 so that doesn’t mean much, but going forwards I might add some salt to my dinner and check the BP. I guesstimate I get around 2g of salt a day ordinarily, so I’ve got a lot of wiggle room before my salt consumption is “high”.

I do drink around 5L of water a day, eat around 100g of fiber a day, and I have 5 heaped teaspoons of instant coffee a day. All of which can deplete sodium.

Maybe the answer is salt. I hope so. I love salt.

I’ve been adding around 2g of salt (in the form of Marmite) to my dinner each day, and coincidentally or causatively, my BP is coming in around 120/60. Pulse pressure is still a little high, but much better than the 140/50 I was getting.

Thank you for the advice you guys gave me so far. I’m hoping that going forwards I can keep my BP here. If so, maybe @Sampei and @Bigoldguy saved my life by suggesting more salt

 

[AlexDavis43]

I’ve been adding around 2g of salt (in the form of Marmite) to my dinner each day, and coincidentally or causatively, my BP is coming in around 120/60. Pulse pressure is still a little high, but much better than the 140/50 I was getting.

Thank you for the advice you guys gave me so far. I’m hoping that going forwards I can keep my BP here. If so, maybe @Sampei and @Bigoldguy saved my life by suggesting more salt

Marmite is something else (to an American). Are you British or something? A friend of mine from NZ loves the stuff. I was not expecting it to taste anything like it did (plain, on toast with butter). Robust.

 

[BamaCrazy]

Marmite is something else (to an American). Are you British or something? A friend of mine from NZ loves the stuff. I was not expecting it to taste anything like it did (plain, on toast with butter). Robust.

I’m such an impulse buyer. Marmite will be delivered in the morning.

 

[HUGE McBIGLARGE]

Marmite is something else (to an American). Are you British or something? A friend of mine from NZ loves the stuff. I was not expecting it to taste anything like it did (plain, on toast with butter). Robust.

English, yeah. I go for the store-brand yeast extract which is the same thing as marmite, minus the huge price.

I’ve also got some nutritional yeast coming my way, which is meant to be very…. nutritional. But it’s not high in salt, so not relevant to my point lol.

Both yeast extract and nutritional yeast are complete proteins, and higher in protein per g and per cal than meat. So pretty good!

 

[HUGE McBIGLARGE]

I’m still adding salt, and my BP is still a lot lower.

The difference seems to be quite significant. A drop of around 10-15 SBP. Amlodipine made no noticeable difference to my BP, but salt dropped it within a day lol. I’m also taking a much higher dose of testosterone than I was on before.

Because of the salt, I’m drinking a lot more water, which may be helping.

I’m only having salt with my final meal of the day, which causes me to drink a lot at night, which might be helping to keep me hydrated while asleep. My piss is now totally clear every time, even in the morning lol

Regardless of why it’s working, I’m happy with the salt.

Thanks guys. I now have one fewer worry in my life.

 

[Sicsemptyran]

I check both arms every time. A few digits difference is likely insignificant. But a difference of more than 10 could be a sign of issues.

“A significant difference in the pressure recorded in the right and left arms can signal circulatory problems that may lead to stroke, peripheral artery disease, or other cardiovascular problems.”

I had fairly significant trauma as a child to one of my arms, right over the brachial artery (I remember being six years old looking at my artery like an anatomy book) that led to a 16 square inch hole in it that had to be pulled back together.

Somehow after multiple workups and doctors, and myself (who I used to consider a fairly smart guy), it took me until a month ago to realize all that scar tissue is why that arm always has a higher systolic. Never felt like a bigger idiot. I'd have perfect blood pressure in my other arm, even slightly low with symptoms of dizziness, but gosh darn it I couldn't get my systolic in the injured arm below 130.

Idiot.

 

[BamaCrazy]

I had fairly significant trauma as a child to one of my arms, right over the brachial artery (I remember being six years old looking at my artery like an anatomy book) that led to a 16 square inch hole in it that had to be pulled back together.

Somehow after multiple workups and doctors, and myself (who I used to consider a fairly smart guy), it took me until a month ago to realize all that scar tissue is why that arm always has a higher systolic. Never felt like a bigger idiot. I'd have perfect blood pressure in my other arm, even slightly low with symptoms of dizziness, but gosh darn it I couldn't get my systolic in the injured arm below 130.

Idiot.

It’s a good thing you didn’t increase your BP medication dosage until that arm had a good reading. Lol Or did you??

 

[Sicsemptyran]

It’s a good thing you didn’t increase your BP medication dosage until that arm had a good reading. Lol Or did you??

I probably overshot slightly, but being on the taller side my version of overshooting is not actually that low (~110/xx), anything below that and I'd take a dive every time I stood up. Meanwhile my wife lives at 95/55 with zero symptoms.

 

[BamaCrazy]

I probably overshot slightly, but being on the taller side my version of overshooting is not actually that low (~110/xx), anything below that and I'd take a dive every time I stood up. Meanwhile my wife lives at 95/55 with zero symptoms.

My Wife is similar. Around 100/60 and no issues. After some Mountain Bike rides I’ve had BP around 90/60 and if I stood up too fast I’d fall over.

 

[trainerulez97]

Got the Omron one with smart intellicuff amd bluetooth (so I can have my records organized and tracked easily in my smartphone)

I take once in the morning (both arms and then it averages that)

I take once in the evening (both arms as well, just before sleeping and already done everything I need to do)

I take it once I feel symptoms of nausea, lightheadedness, or random palpitations while being sedentary or after a gym session (if the symptoms are beyond what I normally experience post gym).

 

[Wizbang]

I take mine before Telmisartan, an hour after taking and then once at night before or long after my last meal. I like to keep tabs on it due to previous health history.

 

[17SS]

I check mine upon waking up, maybe during the day if I’m at the house and right before sleep.

 

[SonhoDourado]

Daily, sometimes 2-8 times a day if my anxiety gets the better of me. I have two Omron wrist cuffs and 1 Omron upper arm monitor. I think it’s a good idea to monitor BP and weight daily. For me when my diet is clean and carbs are 100-150 or less BP and weight reflect it. If my diet gets out of whack or i have a few cheat days to many my BP and weight will be up no matter how hard I train lol. Late 40’s so I really have to pay attention to the little things!

 

[Wizbang]

Daily, sometimes 2-8 times a day if my anxiety gets the better of me. I have two Omron wrist cuffs and 1 Omron upper arm monitor. I think it’s a good idea to monitor BP and weight daily. For me when my diet is clean and carbs are 100-150 or less BP and weight reflect it. If my diet gets out of whack or i have a few cheat days to many my BP and weight will be up no matter how hard I train lol. Late 40’s so I really have to pay attention to the little things!

I only caution that the wrist cuffs are notorious for being inaccurate. My cardiologist has a hatred for them.

 

[BamaCrazy]

I only caution that the wrist cuffs are notorious for being inaccurate. My cardiologist has a hatred for them.

They are very inaccurate. Every time the Doc uses one on me my BP is very high. Then he uses the manual monitor and my BP is normal.