High Blood Pressure from the juice?

[0331FTW]

So I've been off here for a while but still training steadily. I finished my PCT from my second cycle one year ago. My question is that I've noticed that everytime I get my BP checked over the past year it is pretty high, depending on the time of day it is usually around 140-150/90-105 and I have a feeling it has something to do with the juice, which I'm okay with I knew what I was getting in to when I did them, but out of all this research I've been doing on ways to naturally get it back down a lot of info contradicts itself as everyone knows. So I figured if anyone knows nutrition it's you guys. THE MAD SCIENTISTS! Any help would be appreciated. It does run in the fam so it could very well be hereditary hypertension, and could just now be catching up to me, but I would like to get it under control naturally if possible. Thanks.

Currently training 6 days a week. 3 days of lifting, mainly supersets with powerlifting and combined lift exercises fast paced. 3 days of intense running, long distance and sprint intervals.

24y/o
6'0
9%bf
205lb-215lb depending on hydration

First cycle consisted of Test E, Deca, Dbol 8 weeks. Second cycle consisted of Test Cyp, Winni 10 weeks. I took Arimidex during second cycle and PCT Nolva and Clomid for both. If you want actual doses, let me know, but it was a basic beginner's dosing cycle for each. After I completed the second cycle I maintained 85% of the weight I gained as well as 75-80% of the strength. Great cycles very few sides. High BP being one of them. I supp with Whey usually 120g split on training days, 48-60 non training day. 3000mg fish oil and 1000mg hawthorn berry everyday. 200-300mg caffeine mornings. Very clean diet, low salt intake.

[Honkey_Kong]

Are you getting enough potassium? And how clean is this diet?

[The Bishop]

So I've been off here for a while but still training steadily. I finished my PCT from my second cycle one year ago. My question is that I've noticed that everytime I get my BP checked over the past year it is pretty high, depending on the time of day it is usually around 140-150/90-105 and I have a feeling it has something to do with the juice, which I'm okay with I knew what I was getting in to when I did them, but out of all this research I've been doing on ways to naturally get it back down a lot of info contradicts itself as everyone knows. So I figured if anyone knows nutrition it's you guys. THE MAD SCIENTISTS! Any help would be appreciated. It does run in the fam so it could very well be hereditary hypertension, and could just now be catching up to me, but I would like to get it under control naturally if possible. Thanks.

Currently training 6 days a week. 3 days of lifting, mainly supersets with powerlifting and combined lift exercises fast paced. 3 days of intense running, long distance and sprint intervals.

24y/o
6'0
9%bf
205lb-215lb depending on hydration

First cycle consisted of Test E, Deca, Dbol 8 weeks. Second cycle consisted of Test Cyp, Winni 10 weeks. I took Arimidex during second cycle and PCT Nolva and Clomid for both. If you want actual doses, let me know, but it was a basic beginner's dosing cycle for each. After I completed the second cycle I maintained 85% of the weight I gained as well as 75-80% of the strength. Great cycles very few sides. High BP being one of them. I supp with Whey usually 120g split on training days, 48-60 non training day. 3000mg fish oil and 1000mg hawthorn berry everyday. 200-300mg caffeine mornings. Very clean diet, low salt intake.

You say when you have it checked... Have you thought about buying a BP machine to check it yourself? I bought a decent one from the pharmacy for about 50.00 and check mine twice daily and it will allow me to check my "average" pressure. I have found that my BP range varys greatly throughout the day. 140/90 isnt too high based on a google chart source. 150/100 is a low-high...

[0331FTW]

Are you getting enough potassium? And how clean is this diet?

I mean it's not bodybuilding clean but I've been doing sports since I was nine and I have always eaten good clean foods, my point is I don't see how it could be the reason for my high BP but I can list out my diet if you would like. I have had recent blood tests and my potassium levels were good they always have been.

[0331FTW]

You say when you have it checked... Have you thought about buying a BP machine to check it yourself? I bought a decent one from the pharmacy for about 50.00 and check mine twice daily and it will allow me to check my "average" pressure. I have found that my BP range varys greatly throughout the day. 140/90 isnt too high based on a google chart source. 150/100 is a low-high...

I have my roommate who's in the medical field check it a lot and whenever I get it checked by a machine it always seems higher than if it was checked manually.

[gearbox]

they changed the standards to 140 is start of prehypertension. it use to be 130...

[0331FTW]

they changed the standards to 140 is start of prehypertension. it use to be 130...

Yeah I think 140/90 is the magic numbr.

[Times Roman]

yes,. gear raises blood pressure. lots of cardio can help reduce. I also take Bp meds when on cycle.

[gearbox]

That's my next thing I will do is to take bp pills while on cycle. Diet can help control while on gear.

[JimmySidewalk]

I also take Bp meds when on cycle.

For example ?

[Juicing Post Whore]

Op, How high is your average bp? or do you just have a top amount?

[Jean Claude]

I've been controlling my BP since around 18. Was diagnosed as having HBP then. It would steadily read around 145/90. I had an EKG cardiogram, test on my kidneys and adrenal glands. Everything was good. My natural testosterone at that age was 875. The doctors didn't know what the cause of it was but I was prescribed medication, that I took off and on until like 2 years ago. I started being more serious about it and now I take it regularly. It's around 125/70 now, resting.

I take:
Benicar 40mg/12.5 mg

and

Benicar HCT 40mg/12.5 mg.

I don't take them on the same day, cause 40 mg is actually the maximum dose. So I take the HCT on monday, regular on tuesday, hct wednesday, regular thursday, and so on.
I believe the HCT has a diuretic and the other one is without the diuretic. As the bodybuilding community knows, diuretics decrease the amount of water in your blood, thus you pee a lot.
The active ingredient in both is olmesartan medoxomil 40 mg.
This is the only BP medicine that has worked for me. I've tried others like Altace and they didn't work.

I was never overweight in my life and I still am not overweight. My bodyfat has never exceeded 14%. When I was diagnosed, I had around 10% bf if not less.
You can imagine how happy I was at that age to find out I had high BP. Well, fortunately, there are many things you can do that WILL lower blood pressure.

Things to keep in mind about blood pressure and testing it:
- Most blood pressure cuffs are made for people with regular sized arms (under 15"). Having big muscular arms will result in showing blood pressure that is higher than what it actually is. So a BP reading of 145/90 with a regular cuff would be like 138/85 in reality, for example.
- You can buy large bp monitors with large cuffs and for most bp monitors, you can change out the cuff by just unplugging it and replacing it with another cuff.
- Realize that the *anticipation* of having your bp checked will likely raise your blood pressure 5-10 points. If you're like me, when you hear that Beep beep beep, you already feel your heart beating faster. Couple this with being at the doctor's office and having the hospital butterflies can easily make your BP spike 20 points higher than normal. If you feel calm and relaxed, this shouldn't be an issue.
- Breathing slower rather than faster without breathing too deep will decrease the BP readings, from my experience. If I take in deep breaths, the heart rate will go up significantly when the breath is pulled in and will drop when I breathe out. An increase in heart rate means an increase in BP.
- BP will be at different levels during different times of the day. Check yours to see how it fluctuates and what you can do to reduce it during the times where it reads higher than normal.
- To prevent BP peaks during exercise (heavy lifting esp), don't hold your breath in too much on heavy sets. No exercise should be done without breathing slowly and steadily.
- Drinking too many fluids will also raise BP, without a doubt. That's why eating salty is bad. Salt creates a chemical imbalance in your blood and in order to maintain homeostasis your body will absorb more water into the blood stream to maintain a steady water/sodium ratio. I never put salt on anything, other than some seasoning salt on chicken when I cook it. Pickles, or pretty much anything pickled have a lot of sodium. Processed meats like salami, and especially progiutto have a lot of sodium. Chicken and fish are much better for BP.
- Caffeine is bad for BP. Caffeine is included in many pre-workout supplements but they should be banned. Caffeine hardens and constricts the arteries. A constriction of the arteries cannot be good for BP.
- L-Arginine, a precursor of Nitric-Oxide has been found to reduce BP by relaxing the arteries and the peripheral blood vessels. Every notice a tingly sensation in your hands and feet from an NO product? Be careful when taking any NO product if you are also taking BP medication. it can cause a dangerous decrease in BP. Also don't take NO products with sexual enhancers like Viagra or Maxidus. If I take any NO product, I always take half of what it says to take, just to be safe.
- Being even 10 lbs overweight will significantly increase BP. If you lost 15 lbs, I guarantee you you will take off a minimum of 5 points off your systolic/diastolic readings.
- Chocolate/Ice tea/coke/pepsi/any non-decafinated tea will raise BP.
- Need I say drugs? Yes, most drugs, illicit and non will raise BP. Cold or Flu medicines will raise BP and are not recommended if your BP is high. There are cold and flu medicines that are made for people with HBP. Marijuana is a stimulant and a depressant. It first acts as a stimulant and will raise your heart rate and BP significantly. Then after an hour or so, the BP might drop below your average levels. I'm not condoning drug use, but if you do smoke, I'd suggest taking small hits and not holding them in for long until you build up a high rather than ripping bongs and having your BP spike. Alcohol will also raise your BP if taken in excess.

That's all i can think of right now. I'm sure I left something out but this foundation of knowledge that I gained over the years of dealing with high blood pressure should help most people regulate theirs. Once you know what to do, you just have to do it.

[0331FTW]

I've been controlling my BP since around 18. Was diagnosed as having HBP then. It would steadily read around 145/90. I had an EKG cardiogram, test on my kidneys and adrenal glands. Everything was good. My natural testosterone at that age was 875. The doctors didn't know what the cause of it was but I was prescribed medication, that I took off and on until like 2 years ago. I started being more serious about it and now I take it regularly. It's around 125/70 now, resting.

I take:
Benicar 40mg/12.5 mg

and

Benicar HCT 40mg/12.5 mg.

I don't take them on the same day, cause 40 mg is actually the maximum dose. So I take the HCT on monday, regular on tuesday, hct wednesday, regular thursday, and so on.
I believe the HCT has a diuretic and the other one is without the diuretic. As the bodybuilding community knows, diuretics decrease the amount of water in your blood, thus you pee a lot.
The active ingredient in both is olmesartan medoxomil 40 mg.
This is the only BP medicine that has worked for me. I've tried others like Altace and they didn't work.

I was never overweight in my life and I still am not overweight. My bodyfat has never exceeded 14%. When I was diagnosed, I had around 10% bf if not less.
You can imagine how happy I was at that age to find out I had high BP. Well, fortunately, there are many things you can do that WILL lower blood pressure.

Things to keep in mind about blood pressure and testing it:
- Most blood pressure cuffs are made for people with regular sized arms (under 15"). Having big muscular arms will result in showing blood pressure that is higher than what it actually is. So a BP reading of 145/90 with a regular cuff would be like 138/85 in reality, for example.
- You can buy large bp monitors with large cuffs and for most bp monitors, you can change out the cuff by just unplugging it and replacing it with another cuff.
- Realize that the *anticipation* of having your bp checked will likely raise your blood pressure 5-10 points. If you're like me, when you hear that Beep beep beep, you already feel your heart beating faster. Couple this with being at the doctor's office and having the hospital butterflies can easily make your BP spike 20 points higher than normal. If you feel calm and relaxed, this shouldn't be an issue.
- Breathing slower rather than faster without breathing too deep will decrease the BP readings, from my experience. If I take in deep breaths, the heart rate will go up significantly when the breath is pulled in and will drop when I breathe out. An increase in heart rate means an increase in BP.
- BP will be at different levels during different times of the day. Check yours to see how it fluctuates and what you can do to reduce it during the times where it reads higher than normal.
- To prevent BP peaks during exercise (heavy lifting esp), don't hold your breath in too much on heavy sets. No exercise should be done without breathing slowly and steadily.
- Drinking too many fluids will also raise BP, without a doubt. That's why eating salty is bad. Salt creates a chemical imbalance in your blood and in order to maintain homeostasis your body will absorb more water into the blood stream to maintain a steady water/sodium ratio. I never put salt on anything, other than some seasoning salt on chicken when I cook it. Pickles, or pretty much anything pickled have a lot of sodium. Processed meats like salami, and especially progiutto have a lot of sodium. Chicken and fish are much better for BP.
- Caffeine is bad for BP. Caffeine is included in many pre-workout supplements but they should be banned. Caffeine hardens and constricts the arteries. A constriction of the arteries cannot be good for BP.
- L-Arginine, a precursor of Nitric-Oxide has been found to reduce BP by relaxing the arteries and the peripheral blood vessels. Every notice a tingly sensation in your hands and feet from an NO product? Be careful when taking any NO product if you are also taking BP medication. it can cause a dangerous decrease in BP. Also don't take NO products with sexual enhancers like Viagra or Maxidus. If I take any NO product, I always take half of what it says to take, just to be safe.
- Being even 10 lbs overweight will significantly increase BP. If you lost 15 lbs, I guarantee you you will take off a minimum of 5 points off your systolic/diastolic readings.
- Chocolate/Ice tea/coke/pepsi/any non-decafinated tea will raise BP.
- Need I say drugs? Yes, most drugs, illicit and non will raise BP. Cold or Flu medicines will raise BP and are not recommended if your BP is high. There are cold and flu medicines that are made for people with HBP. Marijuana is a stimulant and a depressant. It first acts as a stimulant and will raise your heart rate and BP significantly. Then after an hour or so, the BP might drop below your average levels. I'm not condoning drug use, but if you do smoke, I'd suggest taking small hits and not holding them in for long until you build up a high rather than ripping bongs and having your BP spike. Alcohol will also raise your BP if taken in excess.

That's all i can think of right now. I'm sure I left something out but this foundation of knowledge that I gained over the years of dealing with high blood pressure should help most people regulate theirs. Once you know what to do, you just have to do it.

Great info. Thanks

[AndrewD54]

Also, make sure the cuff is put on tightly, if is is loose it will over inflate and give a false higher reading. learned that in the hospital in paramedic school when I read a guys BP as 275 over 110 and the doc almost crapped his pants. My average BP is around 112-115 over 70-80 but after a pro hormone cycle is was up to about 125 over 90.

[Juicing Post Whore]

I've been controlling my BP since around 18. Was diagnosed as having HBP then. It would steadily read around 145/90. I had an EKG cardiogram, test on my kidneys and adrenal glands. Everything was good. My natural testosterone at that age was 875. The doctors didn't know what the cause of it was but I was prescribed medication, that I took off and on until like 2 years ago. I started being more serious about it and now I take it regularly. It's around 125/70 now, resting.

I take:
Benicar 40mg/12.5 mg

and

Benicar HCT 40mg/12.5 mg.

I don't take them on the same day, cause 40 mg is actually the maximum dose. So I take the HCT on monday, regular on tuesday, hct wednesday, regular thursday, and so on.
I believe the HCT has a diuretic and the other one is without the diuretic. As the bodybuilding community knows, diuretics decrease the amount of water in your blood, thus you pee a lot.
The active ingredient in both is olmesartan medoxomil 40 mg.
This is the only BP medicine that has worked for me. I've tried others like Altace and they didn't work.

I was never overweight in my life and I still am not overweight. My bodyfat has never exceeded 14%. When I was diagnosed, I had around 10% bf if not less.
You can imagine how happy I was at that age to find out I had high BP. Well, fortunately, there are many things you can do that WILL lower blood pressure.

Things to keep in mind about blood pressure and testing it:
- Most blood pressure cuffs are made for people with regular sized arms (under 15"). Having big muscular arms will result in showing blood pressure that is higher than what it actually is. So a BP reading of 145/90 with a regular cuff would be like 138/85 in reality, for example.
- You can buy large bp monitors with large cuffs and for most bp monitors, you can change out the cuff by just unplugging it and replacing it with another cuff.
- Realize that the *anticipation* of having your bp checked will likely raise your blood pressure 5-10 points. If you're like me, when you hear that Beep beep beep, you already feel your heart beating faster. Couple this with being at the doctor's office and having the hospital butterflies can easily make your BP spike 20 points higher than normal. If you feel calm and relaxed, this shouldn't be an issue.
- Breathing slower rather than faster without breathing too deep will decrease the BP readings, from my experience. If I take in deep breaths, the heart rate will go up significantly when the breath is pulled in and will drop when I breathe out. An increase in heart rate means an increase in BP.
- BP will be at different levels during different times of the day. Check yours to see how it fluctuates and what you can do to reduce it during the times where it reads higher than normal.
- To prevent BP peaks during exercise (heavy lifting esp), don't hold your breath in too much on heavy sets. No exercise should be done without breathing slowly and steadily.
- Drinking too many fluids will also raise BP, without a doubt. That's why eating salty is bad. Salt creates a chemical imbalance in your blood and in order to maintain homeostasis your body will absorb more water into the blood stream to maintain a steady water/sodium ratio. I never put salt on anything, other than some seasoning salt on chicken when I cook it. Pickles, or pretty much anything pickled have a lot of sodium. Processed meats like salami, and especially progiutto have a lot of sodium. Chicken and fish are much better for BP.
- Caffeine is bad for BP. Caffeine is included in many pre-workout supplements but they should be banned. Caffeine hardens and constricts the arteries. A constriction of the arteries cannot be good for BP.
- L-Arginine, a precursor of Nitric-Oxide has been found to reduce BP by relaxing the arteries and the peripheral blood vessels. Every notice a tingly sensation in your hands and feet from an NO product? Be careful when taking any NO product if you are also taking BP medication. it can cause a dangerous decrease in BP. Also don't take NO products with sexual enhancers like Viagra or Maxidus. If I take any NO product, I always take half of what it says to take, just to be safe.
- Being even 10 lbs overweight will significantly increase BP. If you lost 15 lbs, I guarantee you you will take off a minimum of 5 points off your systolic/diastolic readings.
- Chocolate/Ice tea/coke/pepsi/any non-decafinated tea will raise BP.
- Need I say drugs? Yes, most drugs, illicit and non will raise BP. Cold or Flu medicines will raise BP and are not recommended if your BP is high. There are cold and flu medicines that are made for people with HBP. Marijuana is a stimulant and a depressant. It first acts as a stimulant and will raise your heart rate and BP significantly. Then after an hour or so, the BP might drop below your average levels. I'm not condoning drug use, but if you do smoke, I'd suggest taking small hits and not holding them in for long until you build up a high rather than ripping bongs and having your BP spike. Alcohol will also raise your BP if taken in excess.

That's all i can think of right now. I'm sure I left something out but this foundation of knowledge that I gained over the years of dealing with high blood pressure should help most people regulate theirs. Once you know what to do, you just have to do it.

OK OK Good Info.

[0331FTW]

Now say you have a good diet, a low sodium diet, and you drink atleast a gallon of water a day which a lot of athletes do, could that be a reason for this high BP? And if so, should dehydrating yourself the night before show a significant decrease in BP the next morning? I tried it a few times and sometimes it works sometimes not..

[Jean Claude]

Well dehydrating yourself is not good on the body either. A gallon may be a bit too much water a day. There are environmental factors that will increase BP like stress. And thinking about your BP all the time can become compulsive and may also lead to "hyper-awareness." Being very conscious of your BP or heart rate will do more harm than good. Just check your BP twice a day and forget about it for the rest of the time. Feel good that you are doing steps to reduce it and be confident about it. Try to find some medicine. If you are still having BP problems, go to an Endocrinologist and ask them to give you some BP medication samples. Most doctors will give you samples. You could try what I'm using: Benicar. Now, it's more than likely that an endo will have you get some bloodwork and maybe some other tests. This is normal. They want to know the source of what they're treating. Many times it's genetics and medication is the only answer.

[Swifto]

Get BW done, kidney function is also closely related to BP. High BPm stresses the kidney's.

Luckily, I have never had high BP. I actually suffer from slightly low BP.

[0331FTW]

Well dehydrating yourself is not good on the body either. A gallon may be a bit too much water a day. There are environmental factors that will increase BP like stress. And thinking about your BP all the time can become compulsive and may also lead to "hyper-awareness." Being very conscious of your BP or heart rate will do more harm than good. Just check your BP twice a day and forget about it for the rest of the time. Feel good that you are doing steps to reduce it and be confident about it. Try to find some medicine. If you are still having BP problems, go to an Endocrinologist and ask them to give you some BP medication samples. Most doctors will give you samples. You could try what I'm using: Benicar. Now, it's more than likely that an endo will have you get some bloodwork and maybe some other tests. This is normal. They want to know the source of what they're treating. Many times it's genetics and medication is the only answer.

Yeah I think I just stress about it too much. I'll check ou that benicar but I would like to try to stay off meds as long as I can so I'll stick with the natural supps for a few more months and see if it goes down with the doses I just started. Any recommendations other than fish oil and hawthorn berries on top of a clean diet?

[charcold]

they changed the standards to 140 is start of prehypertension. it use to be 130...

Who is they? Current JNC7( in the US) guidelines consider 140 systolic or 90 diastolic to be diagnostic of HTN.


Look into the DASH diet for a realistic TLC approach to stopping HTN. As well as there are better and cheaper first line options than benicar

[gearbox]

Get BW done, kidney function is also closely related to BP. High BPm stresses the kidney's.

Luckily, I have never had high BP. I actually suffer from slightly low BP.

so your a monster and you have low BP...i give up....

[Jean Claude]

Yeah I think I just stress about it too much. I'll check ou that benicar but I would like to try to stay off meds as long as I can so I'll stick with the natural supps for a few more months and see if it goes down with the doses I just started. Any recommendations other than fish oil and hawthorn berries on top of a clean diet?

Like I said, try taking some L-Arginine at about 500 mg a day. You can spread it out 250 mg in the morning, 250 mg in the evening. Then if it doesn't work try a little higher dosage. Always read what it says on the bottle about dosing. Remember, some people use it for bodybuilding purposes because it dilates and relaxes the arteries, but it also has an effect of lowering blood pressure for the same reason. The directions might or might not be for your intended purpose. There should be some good info out there about dosing L-Arginine for lowering blood pressure.

Oh, and if you're not getting your 8 hours of sleep (especially being that you lift), the sleep deprivation will undoubtedly raise your BP. Be in bed by 11, you're good to go.

[0331FTW]

Like I said, try taking some L-Arginine at about 500 mg a day. You can spread it out 250 mg in the morning, 250 mg in the evening. Then if it doesn't work try a little higher dosage. Always read what it says on the bottle about dosing. Remember, some people use it for bodybuilding purposes because it dilates and relaxes the arteries, but it also has an effect of lowering blood pressure for the same reason. The directions might or might not be for your intended purpose. There should be some good info out there about dosing L-Arginine for lowering blood pressure.

Oh, and if you're not getting your 8 hours of sleep (especially being that you lift), the sleep deprivation will undoubtedly raise your BP. Be in bed by 11, you're good to go.

Roger that