Just an update on potassium glauconate;
99mg of potassium glauconate = 2.53 Meq

Here is my work:

99mg Potassium x (1mmol/39.0983mg potassium) x (1mEq/1mmol) = 2.53 mEq

* The 39.0983 comes from the atomic mass of Potassium which means that 39.0983 grams = 1 mol (which also means 39.0983 milligrams = 1 millimol (mmol). 1 mmol of potassium = 1 milliequivalent (mEq) because milliequivalents are just the number of mmols of charges (positive/negative), and since potassium has 1 positive charge 1 mmol = 1 mEq.

This is the over-the-counter dose. Most prescriptions are for 20mEq doses but usually range from 8mEq to 40mEq.

Just another update -- I incorporated a little of everthing you all suggested. I upped my vit. D3 to 10,00 IU, I am drinking Hibicus tea twice daily, and I upped my excercise a bit to twice a day. Anyway latley my BP has gone down to reasonable levels. This morning it was 135 over 90 and has been for several days now. Even when I came home from school today, that is right after riding my trike home, and not taking the time to sit and rest it was 133 over 87. Sometimes it gets up to 140s over mid 90s but more and more its dropping into 130s over upper 80s. I haven't seen the 160 over 100 for a while now but I'll keep a watch on it. It seems to go down a little after most moderate excercise (walking or riding trike).

Again thanks for all your advice and concern.

Dennis

YAY Whited! If ever there was a NSV, your BP behaving itself is one!

Good article from today's NY Times on how irregular and variable blood pressure can be:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/h...ref=health&_r=0

Their advice: don't take your blood pressure too often. It will make you crazy.

Liz, as always thanks for your helpful post. I do agree in principle with the writer that we should not get compulsive about checking BP in the same vein (pun intended) as weighing ourselves too much. I kind of question the writer's judgment for even considering medication given how low his BP was at home. Also if the writer hadn't checked his blood pressure often he would have just went by the high readings at the doctor's office and taken medicine. My doctor told me to check 4 times in two weeks and if elevated to get on medicine. I thought that wasn't a good idea because it wouldn't show the ups and downs of the day.
It would seem to me that just like blood sugars we need to discover a pattern, taking into account variables and errant procedures. If we see a consistent pattern then we watch closer.

Dennis that is fantastic news! I don't see any reason not to take BP often. I weigh twice daily - once in the morning for the 5# challenge and once in the evening to see what I might have been eating that is causing some inflammation. If you track closely, you can see clearly what might be spiking and troughing your BP.

Dennis, I agree that checking blood pressure often can be good, as long as we keep it in perspective. I too was surprised that the writer was ready to sign onto hypertension medicine after a few high readings.

What I found interesting was that blood pressure is so variable and that if it fluctuates 30, 40, 50 points we should not be alarmed. It is apparently part of the normal variation.

Very interesting NYT article, thanks for posting, Liz. Good to know I'm "normal"...mine bounces around, usually "high" after a car trip to Durham...yet normal at home when I occasionally take it, correctly in the am.

Good news, Dennis! Those are great numbers considering you have to deal with TEENS.

I also feel better checking more often as you get a better feel for the averages. If you only check 1-2 times a week you might just pick the two times it's higher than usual!

Same reason I weigh myself daily.

I usually run low--my last reading at the doctor's was 104/70, and the last at home was 110/72.

But as Jeannie commented, inflammation can affect both pressures and weight. As can pain. I remember going to the ER for what turned out to be a serious issue, and my pressure was 160/90.

In the midst of a lot of pain, I was shocked.

They never follow these guidelines at the doctor's offices.

Last time I had my blood pressure taken at the doctor's office it was a hot day and I had walked to the appointment, about 10 minutes mostly up hill. It was pretty easy to predict that my blood pressure would be at least somewhat higher than what is considered optimal. It was, although I can't remember the exact number. No one seemed concerned, not me, not the doctor, not the nurse who took it. So what was the point? Perhaps it was just a meaningless ritual or a symbolic gesture indicating concern. Whatever the reason it was taken, it did not provide any useful information. It only confirmed that walking 10 minutes up a hill on a hot day tends to elevate blood pressure especially when taken at a doctor's office.

Jean

My BP has been all over the place lately. Thanks for the info on how to take it "correctly". I will try to do that and see if I get more predictable readings. My device keeps the history data and provides an average. I find that number to be the most useful. So far, my recent averages have me at well below the old hypertension guideline of 140/90. I take my BP 4 to 6 times per week at various times. I tend to be high at the doctor's office, so I like to have supporting data to stay off of BP meds.

I enrolled in a blood pressure study specifically to make sure I could have it done correctly. Mine was already running a lot lower at the doctor's but I wanted to make sure it was "real". It was. 117/67 average with the study people taking it correctly. Down from mostly 130/90.

Coffee affects my BP strongly. It lasts for hours though.