Does anyone have high blood pressure?

[RagingInMiami]

I am 36 years old and I've been told that I have high blood pressure after years of having normal BP. So I'm tripping out now, trying to figure out why all of a sudden I have HBP. After all, for years, I've cooked solely with olive oil and I eat plenty of garlic, which is all suppose to lower BP.
I think it might have something to do with these new vitamins I'm taking that contain ginseng. I've also been drinking green tea with ginseng.
I just looked up ginseng and it has been proven to elevate BP.
What do you guys say?

[Cuban_Liberal]

1. Only when I post in GD-Politics.

:)

[bahrbearian]

2. Yes Ginseng and sometimes Green Tea can raise your BP.

But so can the DU

[democracy eh]

7. but the antioxidents and flavanoids in green tea

are damn good for you

[RagingInMiami]

10. I'm going to get the green tea without ginseng

[classof56]

3. I say double-check the numbers.

Recently, the medical profession lowered the high BP readings in an effort to, IMHO, get more people on HPB meds. I'm sure the big pharmas had nothing to do with it, but still...<sarcasm here>

Or it could be the genseng. A visit to a naturopath could help ease your mind.

Best wishes!

[Her Blondness]

4. Me too

I'm 38 and suddenly I have high blood pressure. It went from normal to 150/something in one month's time. Like you, I am freaking out. I have no clue why this happened. I'm taking medication which works to get it normal, but I hate the fact that I have to take it every day.

[RagingInMiami]

5. Maybe it has something to do with the recent election

because mine shot up within the last month. I even went to Walgreen's after leaving the doctor's office to double-check and sure enough, it was high.

[Spinzonner]

6. Any teenagers ?

[pocoloco]

8. I was a few years older than you and developed high BP.

I was stressed out with a high risk job. I quit eating salt, started taking potassium supplements and started jogging along with a conscience effort not to take work and things beyond my control so seriously and was able to bring it back to normal.

Don't know about ginseng but green tea hasn't seemed to effect mine.

[trotsky]

9. I'm almost 34 and have had borderline high BP for several years.

I donate blood regularly, so I always get it checked when I do. It varies every time I give; I've been as low as 110/80 and as high as 140/100, but has tended high more often than not. This has not changed even though I dropped 20 pounds, eat MUCH better than I used to (I try to be very aware of salt & avoid it in larger amounts), and even get a couple of hours of exercise every week. Frustrating, to say the least.

One thing I would recommend is getting one of those home check kits. I have noticed that since having a few high readings, I developed what they call "white coat syndrome" - as soon as they strap the cuff on you, you get *worried* that your reading will be high, and your physiology works to fulfill that prophecy for you. So get a home kit and check it yourself in the evening when you have unwound from the day. I find that my BP hovers very close to "normal" (120/80) then, so I am not too concerned about my overall BP. But I will naturally keep an eye on it for the rest of my life.