Blood Pressure Med's, 1.20.16, AM

[Cassandra]

This morning I was thinking about having to make a Dr. appointment because I can feel my blood pressure getting high. About 2 years ago I went through a 6 month period of trying 6 different med's. I had terrible side effects from each one, so I just quit and starting take fish oil.

When I was thinking about making the appointment my first thought was to bring the list of med's with me that I had tried a couple of years ago with a different Dr. I don't want to try these same ones again. Then I thought, I'll just ask the Good Lord, "what should I take" and I closed my eyes and saw the word "Esidrix". I goggled the word and yes, it's a med for blood pressure. It's not one of the six I tried two years ago.

So would you tell the Dr. how you saw the name of the med or lie saying someone told you about it?

[Goldengirl]

Hmmm, I would just say I had heard of it, ask if it's worth a try and leave it at that. It's important, otherwise it wouldn't have come to you. But I wouldn't make the conversation any harder than it has to be!

[Nanny]

Oh boy, Superb question because it's so timely, sadly!

I would normally because I'm so dang open about myself in-principle, and within common sense boundaries, but....

This nation isn't the nation or nor is the world the same as I grew up. In fact, talk about synchronicity!
Hubby, maybe five minutes ago told me of a buddy of his he heard from today. The dude lives in Hawaii and wants to purchase another gun. But, he can't!

I did not see this in the news or know about it at all, and in fact want to know if this is a new law that went into effect Jan. 1. I am suspecting so.

They will no longer allow a citizen to buy a gun without a letter from a doctor saying that the person is *not insane.* I kid you not. His friend is not kidding and is mature and wise. **Dangme, having to edit this in, the most important part. The docs are not willing to write the letter! no, not cuz of the dude's mental state which is perfectly normal. They won't take the time, they just will not do it! All I know is that maybe a handfull of docs on the island will, and he just doesn't go to them, but so far none he has talked to about it will.)

There are other reports of doctors reporting things about patients, and with the current socialist healthcare, nationwide garbage, all of our records are centralized and even the IRS is part of healthcare, The system and this healthcare are nuts, not most of us.

So, I would actually, likely not tell the doc that I got the name of the med psychically. There exists precident for not doing so. Another gifted person that has used NDC in the past has had docs try to force "meds" on her and I do mean, as I understood this person, meds for mental things, all because they found out about her gifts.

[NH watcher]

I agree with Nanny ... exposing yourself spiritually or psychically to your doctor may be problematic for your relationship ... all depends on who your doctor is, and what you all have already talked about.  If your doctor is very "by the book" and scientific, then saying that this med is what the Lord told you, etc., could go the wrong way, and yes, s/he could recommend you for psychiatric care ...

That said, I have had profound misgivings about HBP meds my whole life.  I have high blood pressure, and refuse to take them, even though several doctors have recommended them to me.  One doctor even told me, okay then, I can no longer be your doctor.  At least he was honest!  (Smile.)  I finally found a doctor who is very hesitant about BP meds, unless you have very high or severe HBP, which is typically how they define and treat HBP in Europe and outside of the US.

The pharmaceutical industry in this country has successfully lobbied the AMA and NIH to recommend BP meds for borderline cases and those who have a family history (like me).  The problem is, as with any meds, once you ingest a BP med, your body actually works to fight it!  Yes, initially it may work, but over time, and this is why BP meds have to be so monitored and adjusted, one's body does fight the invader (the med)!  I realize some of this forum may vehemently disagree with me on this, but I'm sorry, I've seen enough evidence in my whole life and the lives of those around me, to know this is true.  And since I now have two doctors in my family (my brother and sister-in-law), I have been able to get more "inside" infromation on what doctors truly know about drugs and disease, but never tell their patients.  (Most patients simply couldn't handle it.)

Julie, if the Lord gave you the name of this med, and you have been diagnosed with HBP, and truly feel you need the med, then just be calm and say you've heard of it, and ask your doctor's opinion ... do not force it on him/her to prescribe.  If your doctor is negative about the drug that the Lord gave you, then I would leave their office with nothing (!); don't take the alternative which your doctor may prescribe, just say you would rather hold off for now.  Since the Lord gave this med's name to you, and it is a legitimate med, odds are that the Lord knows your doctor may already have positive feelings about it.

But at no time act like this is what s/he must prescribe you ... doctors DO NOT sit well with being told by their patients, do this, do that.  Why are you going to them then, they might say, if you already know all the answers?  Just be calm, and ask their opinion about the drug, and odds are, you will get a prescription.  If your doctor would raise concerns about the drug, and this is what the Lord told you, then you MUST FIRST go back to the Lord in prayer and ask why He would give you the name of a drug which your doctor does not like ... unless the Lord would then he advising you to get another doctor.

Hope this helps.

[Cassandra]

Mucho thank you's to you all for your replies.

[twiceblessed9]

I would say that is was "suggested" to you as a possible good fit. You don't need to say how it was suggested.

[NH watcher]

Another way around this, Julie, is to ask your pharmacist his/her opinion about Esidrix. Then you may say to your doctor, you asked your pharmacist about it first, and had a positive feeling to then suggest it at your appointment. ALL doctors know that any pharmacist knows far more about drugs than they do. Doctors routinely rely on pharmacists to call them to ask, are you sure to prescribe this (?), because patients lie and shop around, and those who are drug addicts routinely go doctor to doctor, trying to find someone who will prescribe such-and-such to them. Any doctor should not be offended that you asked your pharmacist for an opinion, and then, that is how you ended up suggesting it.

I can't recall the exact drug my father was on, but this may be it. It sounds like a mild diuretic.

Again, I have misgivings about all HBP meds, but if you go with something mild, it may do the trick, and your body may not resist it as much. My brother has been very frank with me, insinuating at times that doctors know roughly 10% about drugs that pharmacists do. Doctors rely on salesmen, and their fellow doctors, to let them know what is safe and common to prescribe. And my brother has also had to deal with the drug addict who tried to manipulate him to prescribe pain meds. What he went through, having to document it all, I would not wish on anyone.

Hope this helps too.

[Cassandra]

Update - Saw my Dr. today & asked about Esidrix. He told me he was not familiar with it and he looked it up. He said it is a hydrochlorothiazide BP med & I had already tried this type in the past and it did not agree with me. He also said it has been discontinued in the U.S.

He didn't ask me why I was inquiring about it, so I didn't offer any info. I just said, ok, thank you for checking on that for me.  Later, the nurse asked me about the Esidrix and she said she had never heard of that BP med, so she was not surprised that it was discontinued. I told her I found the info on the internet on a forum and it must have been old data. She just smiled and said, oh ok.  

So, now I'm wondering why I  was given that name for a BP med. In the past I've gotten weird info before & it was from another country. So makes me go hummmm. Sometimes I think the Universe gives me info just to shut me up.

[Nanny]

Julie, I have a hunch but can't know it's correct. I, too have had words, titles etc. just pop into my mind and still don't know why, but other times I shared it and it meant something to someone that I told about it.

So, hunch is that maybe we get random things like when changing the radio dial, no, or it's like old "CB radio bleedover" from another channel, something like that. Just like....we pick up things about others, and know things without knowing for sure we do, about them. Not things we can see we needed to know, but it's just there.
In these instances is that maybe just the Force keeping us tuned into it, at all? Sorry if that or this doesn't make sense. I hope at least part of it does.

[NH watcher]

Julie, my sense now is you are being told to find another doctor, or at least go to a specialist. Is the doctor you mention above your internist/general practitioner? You may actually not be dealing with BP problems at all, but something else in your body which is affecting your blood pressure. Possibly it would be worthwhile to see an endocrinologist, and have your hormone levels checked. I am not insinuating menopause, but more your cortisol levels, and the way your body produces adrenaline.

In my case, yes, my BP is borderline to high, but I have chosen to ignore that, based on multiple studies in Europe (Germany specifically) which only advocate BP meds for very high or severe HBP. American doctors, unfortunately, have been lobbied successfully by the drug industry (and the same industry has successfully influenced the coursework in US medical schools) to focus on BP relentlessly, because all the drug industry wants is for patients to be identified with a long-term problem which will translate to a maintenance drug for the remainder of their life.

The fact that you have tried six different BP meds in the last year, and your doctor has now told you that the components of Esidrix, you have already tried too, is very telling. True, Esidrix may be a different formulation of the same components, but if it has been discontinued in the US, you are really at a loss, unless you move to another country where it is still manufactured and available.

That is why I believe God is telling you, there is something else going on, or possibly He is telling you to ignore it for now. He gives you the name of a drug which your doctor cannot prescribe, but then your doctor divulges that you have already tried a similar drug, and it didn't work.

For me, I have concluded that stress and my body's cortisol levels routinely get out of whack, so I have chosen to follow natural methods to help mitigate that, and keep my body's rush of adrenaline better under control. I still get stressed, and still have sleepless nights, but I have chosen not to worry obsessively about it. So much of life, it seems, is to learn to give up the need for control. God is in control, and while there is unsafety in that, God is good, and His purposes for us are good.

Thank you for sharing your story ... and all the best.

[NH watcher]

As another p.s. to this thread, Julie, since you mentioned using fish oil in the past year with little to no help, I have also tried fish oil (specifically cod liver oil) and had the same negligible results. A friend had warned me to avoid all "fish and fish by-products" due to the intense pollution of our oceans, but I had read some positive things about CLO, so I still went ahead to try it. I only bought the fermented kind available at health food stores, and it is very expensive. Again, it had negligible results. No bad side effects (except for the fishy taste at times), but I finally concluded, it was just not worth it.

Ironically, several studies came out in the media earlier last year stating that multiple long term studies on fish oils have shown the same negligible results in most people. No ill effects, just no positive effects either.

I continue to focus on my cortisol levels, which is the hormone in the body principally responsible for adrenaline. I've never gone to an endocrinologist myself, but can feel so often when adrenaline is coursing through my veins and making me jumpy, too alert, and unable to sleep. I have avoided any prescription sleeps meds, but take Tylenol PM as needed. Sometimes, I still wake up groggy, but my morning coffee helps with that. (I realize some are against coffee, as it is a drug too, with the caffeine, but I have drunk coffee so long now, that when I tried to quit, the headaches were unbelievably intense.)

I currently use a Himalaya supplement, StressCare, which seems to help regulate my cortisol, without my body fighting it too much. (In a contest between any drug and your body, your body will always win eventually ... sometimes, it just takes the body a little longer to learn how to fight the drug you ingest, so I do my best not to take too many drugs; I am currently not on any prescription meds.)

There are other natural supplements to help with cortisol, which I have used in the past, and they did work for a good amount of time, before my body learned to counteract their benefits. Another good supplement to possibly try is CalmPRT.

Of course, it would be better to ask a naturopath doctor about natural and/or herbal supplements, than an endocrinologist. Or a pharmacist. Pharmacists spend six plus years in school only learning about drugs; the typical medical doctor spends collectively one year in their entire medical school and internship training, focusing on drugs. A doctor's chief function is to diagnose and treat disease, and of course with surgeons, to repair broken bones and other irregularities in the body. Prescribing drugs is also a function of doctors, but it is not their chief function, and since we are all different bodies, it often takes some time to find the right drug or supplement for you.

Sorry if this is all too much, and I don't expect you to reveal anything personal on this thread which you want to keep private.

Blood pressure, which is what you began with, is a big deal for me, since all too often, people are led astray focusing on BP, and ignoring what else may be going on. BP is NOT the only "silent killer" in the body. And if other things are dealt with, BP can often adjust itself.