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Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH (Read 2001 times)
CH Brain.
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Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH
Jul 14th, 2017 at 3:55am
 
Hi to all clusterheads,

I searched but could find no specific thread on this, so I shall ask the good folks of clusterville what they think...

I'm the other side of 40, male, and my blood pressure is getting a bit high of late, on average 145/90. My Cardiologist suggested I work closely with my GP/PCP to select a suitable blood pressure drug.

The thing is, neither my GP, nor my Cardiologist (A vascular surgeon) know very much about CH. I'm scared they will pick the wrong drug and bring on CH, or make it worse. The Cardiologist backed away from a recommendation on a suitable BP medication, clearly freaked out by CH (and Batch's regimen literature). He also stated there were "only 15 types of headache" and again regurgitated outdated vascular theories of Migraine. When I do approach my GP, I'm wondering which drug to talk to him about...

I'm a D3 regimen user, on Atenolol 25mg morning and night.  Under the supervision of an excellent headache specialist, I've extensively trialled Calcium Channel Blockers before and they gave me Bradycardia and Hypotension; Verapamil, Diltiazem, Amlodipine etc, none were effective for CH. My old headache specialist was kind enough to say that he "could not think of any reason to exclude any anti-hypertensive" in my CH, and he really knows his stuff.

This time I am seeking a BP medication not *for* CH, but one that will hopefully and happily co-exist *with* CH and not provoke it.. One that plays nicely with CH...
So well meaning suggestions to consolidate other drugs that "might help with CH" is not my goal here as the D3 regimen works. I'm just scared of provoking the beast, as we all are.

I know that nobody here wants to give out medical advice, so I'm not directly asking for any. Just wondering what the clusterheads with high BP are using, and having success with. Any suggestion will be put before a qualified medical professional, assessed and prescribed so the responsibility is that of my GP, not the folks on CH.com!

Looking over the data sheets, the drug Atacand looks to me like a possible starter for my high BP and one that may just play nicely with CH.

Any experience, interactions, contraindications, successes, even horror stories from fellow CHers seeking BP medication would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading!
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AussieBrian
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Re: Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH
Reply #1 - Jul 14th, 2017 at 10:38pm
 
I can speak only for myself but I take one called Coversil in various doses and have never thought it to have any bearing on CH one way or another.

Given that a few of our number here are somewhat mature in years I'm sure many will also help you where they can.

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My name is Brian. I'm a ClusterHead and I'm here to help. Email me anytime at briandinkum@yahoo.com
 
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CH Brain.
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Re: Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH
Reply #2 - Jul 15th, 2017 at 5:53pm
 
Thanks Brian,

I shall run that one past my GP and see what he says. I know one person (non-CHer though) who used to take it and it was no problems for them.

Cheers!
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Mike NZ
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Re: Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH
Reply #3 - Jul 17th, 2017 at 4:06am
 
Have a look at Clonidine, which is delivered through a patch. I've not got active CH thanks to D3, but using it hasn't impacted my migraine activity.

I'm not using it for its BP activity, but for another rather painful condition that it is helping to manage.

I had a bit of 'fun' at the weekend which ended up with me in ER most of Saturday, with my BP being measured every few minutes. Most of the time it was around 125/80, but what was interesting was that I had a significant pain spike which took a good dose of morphine to control, which saw my BP spike to 165/95 for a while until the morphine took effect.

The pain increase started before the BP, so at least for me, for one painful incident, it shows that a significant increase in pain levels can result in a significant increase in BP.

This also suggests that reducing your pain levels may also result in a decrease in BP too.
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Batch
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Re: Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH
Reply #4 - Jul 17th, 2017 at 7:50am
 
Hey CH Brain,

Being a 71 year old sleek rascal at 5'10" and 190 lbs, I had the same problem... but got my BP down into the green range 119/80 with the following...

Before you try a new BP med, pick up a home BP Cuff (Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor).  They run ~ $25 - $45 USD and start taking measurements 3 times a day AM, Noon and PM.  Then double your magnesium intake to 800 mg/day spllt 400 mg in the morning and 400 mg at night.  You'll also need to drink at least 2 liters of water a day.

Rationale: Many people get needle fever when they go in for a physical.  This will cause a spike in BP.  A good PA who usually takes your vitals before the doctor sees you will let you rest in a chair for at least a 3 to 4 minutes then take 3 readings of your BP at least a minute apart then use the average.

Taking the extra magnesium won't cause any problems and drinking 2 liters of water throughout the day combined with the extra magnesium will help bring down your BP by 10%.  The home BP cuff will let you know if this is working before you see your PCP for another checkup. 

I've also started curcumin (Turmeric) at 1000 mg/day with meals.  It's great for general aches and pains.  It's also great for lowering BP...  That makes it a natural alternative to the β-blocker you're taking.

One other thing...  Make time for a little more physical exercise each day... 10 pushups, 10 situps and 12 minutes of fast walking or jogging every morning before you do the 3 "S" will also help do wonders for your BP.  If your knees and feet aren't up to jogging, weight training for 10 minutes a day is also very good for you... and your heart...  Working out with a couple gallon jugs filled with water is great for the upper body.

Pass these suggestions by your qualified medical professional and I'll wager you'll get a smile followed by "Give it a try."

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch
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« Last Edit: Jul 17th, 2017 at 8:13am by Batch »  

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CH Brain.
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Re: Help selecting suitable blood pressure drug w/CH
Reply #5 - Jul 18th, 2017 at 6:54pm
 
Thanks for the replies folks.

Mike NZ, I have noticed a spike in BP from both CH attack and spikes in pain. Once I had Morphine in ER for a back injury and the protocol was 10ml (I think, I forget due to the morphine) delivered slowly.
The dosing protocol was interesting. I had nurses feed in 1ml into an IV line every few minutes and the ensuing BP drop was watched like a hawk by all present.
Each 1ml they fed into me needed a few minutes and dropped BP significantly so I'm glad they did it this way, slowly.

Batch, you were 100% correct.
I waited to post as I just got back from my GP with no BP drugs, a smile and advice to continue what I'm doing.
I have a cuff and have been using it for about 8 years.
What I will do now is begin a BP diary taken at the same time each day thrice daily and track BP for a while. I was doing this for my Cardiologist, but he suggested I take readings at random times. Over 3 months now tallied up, they average 136/86. "High normal" was today's verdict from my Doctor. No BP meds were prescribed.

This brings me to Magnesium.
Like Mike I've had no break in Migraine activity (Yes, I'm lucky and have the dual diagnosis from a headache specialist) on my D3 regimen.
I went through Mag Oxide, orotate, baths in Sulphate, sprays and a few mix & match Magnesium supplements. My issue with Magnesium is not osmotic diarrhoea or any GI upset at all, it is increased head pain. I know some fellow CHers reading would gladly give up a limb to have Migraine instead of CH attack.
I haven't the foggiest why Mag does this to me, but it does it consistently since my 2011 start on the D3 regimen.

Currently my magnesium dose is 500mg Magnesium Chelate, morning and evening, total 1000mg.
If I raise dose to 1000mg morning and evening (total 2000mg), the head feels like it's going to burst. I can only sustain this Magnesium dose for a few days before I need either Sumatriptan 50mg (which I now avoid) or I drop back the Magnesium to my base dose of 1000mg and the head clears up.

FWIW, the label on my Magnesium supplement reads = Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate 500mg, equiv to elemental Magneium 100mg.
Magnesium equivalents confuse the hell outta me and I know I'm not alone. I can't seem to find any resource specifically on Magnesium equivalents and what they mean.
The Chelate and a handful of cashews seems to be about all I can do for Magnesium after 5 years of experimentation.
Thanks for the recommendations I will keep them at hand should I ever need a BP medication. It is great to get out of the Doctor's without a BP medication, so I'll hit the exercise harder.

Thanks again Gents for your replies.
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