Originally posted by big e
My blood pressure is really not that high but heart disease does run in the family and a friend of mine at 57 y.o. recently had a stroke and she has ended up in a bad way and all of this was discussed with my doctor.
Doc did not mention cramp as possible side effect of medication when I mentioned the odd occasional problem that has become so much worse.
Will try all these suggestions and of course go back if the problem is not solved. Have great respect for doc who listens and to me seems more thorough than most, not that I have much to do with doctors. Sick to me is boring and I refuse to be either.
If the medication doesn’t have an insert detailing the side effects, you can google them.
Ask her her for the study that shows that BP medication reduces overall mortality; or, even deaths from CVD. And what sort of stroke was it - ischaemic or haemorrhagic?
The problem with ‘high’ BP is that the definition itself is just picked out of thin air. Whilst there may be an association of BP and CVD, it’s much more likely that the high BP is caused by CVD (or a raft of other issues) rather than the other way around. So pushing the BP down isn’t going to sort out the real problem (if there is one, and it sounds like you’re pretty healthy) and can lead to other problems, like leg cramps. Or increased risk of falling, because your brain isn’t getting enough blood, which is never good for the over-seventies.