Hi. Dennis here -- I've been on the LC way of eating for almost a year. My blood pressure dropped to almost almost normal during the summer. (12Os usually over mid 80s -- most times around 80). It has now risen back up there thes last few months (this morning it was 150/100 -- not long after I arose. It went down during the day but not a lot -- upper 140s by upper 80s or 90s) To be fair I wasn't working this summer so it could possible be work related (teacher).

Anyway I noticed on my last blood tests my potassium was flagged as low (3.4 -- the scale is 3.5 to 5.1 mmol/L). The last two blood tests it was 3.8.

I have taken potassium for many months (I am taking Nature Made Potassium Glutonate 550 mg 2X daily and I upped it this last month by adding an additional 1/2 pill per day (225mg).

As for blood pressure some years ago I was on Lisiniprill but it did nothing. The doctor gave me free samples of Edarbyclar which worked (perhaps too good) but after 1 year and 1/2 the free samples ran out and the cost was sky high so I dropped it. Also after getting diagnosed with diabetes last year I read Edarbyclar tends to raise blood sugars (that's the same year I developed diabetes). My blood pressure seemed to be doing steadily better after starting low carb -- raising significantly only at the doctor during an operation. last march it was 145 over 80 and the doctor wanted to put me on medications then. Like I said during the summer it was just about normal usually 124or 125 over 80.

I would really like to get the blood pressure down naturally as even the dentist balks at working on you now with elevated BP and I have white coat hypertension with the dentist so even a cleaning might be refused. I'd like to avoid medicine if possible (doctors throw out medications nonschalantly -- I would hate to get one that raised blood sugars again) but for a LC eater and diabetic the problem is that most high potassium foods are high sugar.

However people kind of freak about potassium supplements being really dangerous if you take too many.

So what are your experiences? What do you all think about the potassium I'm taking? Also any suggestions about blood pressure lowering foods? Any other ideas or observations? I have slacked off excercising the last couple of months-- could that affect BP so much?


Thanks for any help in this

Dennis

My blood pressure was high for years. I did not tolerate potassium at all but I hope someone can chime in for you about it.

What I *think* lowered mine to 120/80 after being 130-140/90 for about 8 years was giving up caffeine (coffee, basically). I was surprised at how dramatic the effect was.

Actually the potassium is 55mg glutonate which works out to really 99mg 2X daily.

I have been using green tea every other day for intermitttant fasting -- maybe thats part of it. it does contain caffiene

You could try giving it up and see what happens. Remember other sources, too, like chocolate. I don't eat any chocolate, either.

Is it possible that you can learn some biofeedback techniques to deal with seeing white coats? It's not like your dentist will be taking your BP when you walk into the office.

Learning to meditate your way out of hyper reactivity has the added bonus that it could lower, at least a bit, your pressure overall.

No? My dentist does. I have found norhing that helps with white coat, and I have SUPER high readings at the doctor's office. We're talking numbers like 200/100.

Had to see a doctor a few months ago. I do monitor my BP at home. That morning my BP was 114/73. Within 30 minutes of calling the doctor to make an appointment it was up to 160/90. By the time I walked out of the house to go to the doctor it was 195/99. It takes a long time to go back down also. Not back down to 120/80 sort of numbers until the next day ~ one more reason I hate to see doctors as I don't want to be on meds, and my numbers are great as long as not at the doctor or dentist.

I do find hibiscus tea really helps keep my numbers good at home, but does nothing if I have too see a doctor.

Debbie, that so sucks. I wonder if at least a big part of white coat syndrome is caused by the condescension with which so many doctors treat people who are overweight? To know that the person I needed to help me was also someone who, most likely, would be rude to me, would increase my anxiety as well as my BP, I am sure.

Because I do have a background in healthcare, I dealt, when very young, with rude doctors (worked in labor and delivery, and most of the OBs back then, nearly all male, had patients who worshipped them) and needed to learn, ASAP, how to remain professional without being subservient to them. It's helped me all my life. My POV, whenever I see a doctor, is that we're in this together to figure out the best way to improve my health. If they are not onboard with that, I can always find another doctor.

My BP is still ruunning about 160 over 100. Weirdly my blood sugars are below normal too. Normally they're about 80 or so when waking. Now they're 64. (Might be the hypertension) The other day they were 77 2 and 1/2 hours after eating which is unusual. Also my body temp. is 97.1 (usually 98.6). Makes me wonder if its not hypothyrodism.

A couple of time this week my BP went back to normal. An example last evening it dropped to 138 / 88 and then my blood sugars were normal.

I dread going to the doctor because they have about 5 minutes to hear all this and they will just give out a couple of BP meds and be done with it. I'd like to get to the root of it but in a 5 to 10 minute appointment its probably not going to happen. I took BP at the doctor's office the other evening. I had riden my bike up there and it read 168 over 101 -- so my wrist meter is pretty good as you have to account for some rise due to not sitting and excercising a bit. They didn't have me wait even though I said I had ridden my bike there. I asked the nurse if that was stage two hypertension and she said she didn't know what that meant.

The side affects I fear on blood pressure medications are weight gain and increase in blood sugars. 160 over 100 still isn't emergency level but I wonder how long I can sustaiin that without damage. Also my dentist takes BP right away and it will be so high I can't have work done. Mine is a phobia (not about pain but about being held down) so its hard to overcome.

Weird -- my body temp dropped by a degree (lowest reading was 96.9). mostly 97.1 or 97.5 -- normal for me is 98.6

Makes me wonder if its and infection (some say it can lower your temp as well as raise it) or just a change in metabolism or hypotyroidism.

maybe all coincedence though.

Doctor will say its the diabetes but for the past year my blood sugars have been in the normal range.

Caffeine really raises my BP too. Avoid it before going to see the doctor. Take your BP at home and show your MD that your blood pressure is normal most of the time and show him your log. Mine don't prescribe meds if you've got a touch of white coat syndrome.

BTW: Most nurses (and doctors) are really bad about taking blood pressure correctly. If they hurry you into it, don't let you sit for a while, don't support your arm properly, don't have it raised to the right height, it can mess up the reading. They also shouldn't be chatting away when they do it and you shouldn't be talking.

Exactly, Nancy! They should know how to do it correctly.

I believe there are foods that lower blood pressure. Beets are one. And there are foods that raise blood pressure. You might google it.

I'm working on this too. Hope you can reverse your diabetic condition.

I definitely get the 'white coat syndrome' when I get by BP taken at the doctor's office. At my last appointment I was having a mole removed. By BP was 150/95 before the procedure. The nurse checked it again before I left and it was 130/83. That was just 25 minutes later.

When deciding what my BP meds should be -- and when deciding if I should come off of BP meds -- my doctor had me record my own BP a couple of times a day for a week using my home monitor. She said she does not rely on the reading taken by the nurse before the examination. She said it is more important to find out what your BP is most of the time. Mine was great at home 95% of the time so she took me off of BP meds. These days it varies in my home readings but is mostly from 120/75 to 135-85. It took me a year of doing this WOE and losing weight to get my BP down to the point where I could come off of the meds (Feb 2015) -- and it has been slowly improving since then.

BTW: I drink tons of coffee and I don't take any supplements other than a multivitamin with minerals. Maybe I should try avoiding the caffeine before the next doctor visit. Perhaps that will help getting a better reading at the doctor's office.

Thanks -- I eat dark chocolate pretty much every day (86%) at least two squares. Also I was eating two tablespoons of cocoa in my flaxseed muffin with dark chocolate on top. My BP was 160 over 100 today. It is just weird it has risen so fast in such a short amount of time. I'll monitor it for a few days.

Boy you are right about the nurses taking it incorrectly. At the dentist's office I'm laying down and at the doctor's office the nurse is asking me a whole bunch of questions while she's taking it -- I asked her if it isn't important to remail still and she looked preturbed and said it made no difference.

My diabetes is staying pretty good (blood sugars). That's why I really hate to take BP meds if at all possible because I don't want a medicine that raises blood sugars when I've worked so hard in keeping them normal. The nurse at school said if it stays 100 on the bottom for a week then I need meds asap. but I have read that it takes years for damage to occur. Kind of hard to know who to believe.

Here is what Malcolm Kendrick has to say about potassium:

http://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2013/0...visible-friend/

I've been supplementing with potassium for several years for the same reason that you have, on a low carb diet it seems hard to get adequate potassium. No matter what type of potassium you take, each pill will be only 3% of the RDA so I decided to take 6 pills a day, still only 18% of RDA. Dr Eades of Protein Power recommended potassium supplementation:

"Potassium is linked to sodium. If you lose a lot of sodium through the diuretic effect of the low-carb diet, you’ll ultimately lose a lot of potassium as well. Keeping your sodium intake up as mentioned above will help preserve your potassium as well. And keeping your potassium levels up helps to ensure that you don’t lose a lot of lean muscle mass during your weight loss. Plus, just as with sodium, adequate potassium prevents cramping and fatigue.

You can replace your potassium by taking potassium supplements. In our clinical practice, we gave all patients starting the low-carb diet a prescription for potassium. You can get the same dosage by taking four to five of the over-the-counter 99 mg potassium supplements you can purchase at any health food or natural grocery store.

There are a couple of prescription medicines that you’ve got to be aware of if you markedly increase your potassium intake, so if you’re on blood pressure medicines, ask your doctor if it’s okay for you to take potassium."

I use potassium citrate and have had no ill effects. Whether or not it has helped is hard to say but my blood pressure after many years of being "borderline high" is now in the normal range but I have no way of knowing if the potassium has had anything to do with that.

Jean

Cottenpal, I think you have the best answer and the link was very informative also. We need supplementation on this WOE.
I have been taking a prescription potassium extended release tab once a day and my BP is perfect.
It's the equivalent of about 750mg