I have had all the exact symptoms as above. I am 56, and went into menopause 10 years ago with no hot flashes, just weight gain over the years. I was never over 103lbs and bounced right back after my pregnancy. I got pregnant again and miscarried adn never got my period again. Slowly the weight creeped on, and no one suggested bioidentical hormones (which would have helped everything - the pms cravings, weight gain, mood swings - my menopause was like pms). I had a complete cardiological workup in january - including stress/echocardiogram (on treadmill), 24 hr bp monitor, 24 hr holter monitor, carotid ultrasound, 64 slice cat scan of the heart, blood work and all was fine. Suddenly in June during a periodontal exam, my pressure was 158/98. I figured it was white coat syndrome, but I kept monitoring it daily and it was getting higher and higher (I was petrified which now I know, was the stress driving it up - it would go up to 180's/113-120. I went to the cardiologist and it was 130/100 and he told me to take diovan hct (my reg cardiologist was on vacation). I refused, as it had sulfa in it and I'm allergic. I went to the ER because it my bp rose to 170's and the ER dr told me that I was "lucky" because most people today are on bp meds in their 30's (some consolation). He told me to take diovan (plain). I refused. I wanted to get to the bottom of this. I lost 25lbs in 2.5 weeks because I was so frightened. Here, I had been trying to do that in 10 years and couldn't. I went to a gastro dr to see if it was my stomach since I hadn't gone to the bathroom in 3 weeks (I wasn't eating much), but he couldn't do anything until my bp came down. I forced the cardiologist to do more blood work as I need proof that this wasn't caused by something secondary. I added the renin-aldosterone test myself (dr's can be stubborn) as I had read a report by Dr. Laragh (who discovered the connection and was named Time Man of the year in 1975 for the discovery). My test indicated I had high aldosterone. From there they did a renal doppler u/s. It showed a bruit in my left renal artery, so they were pretty sure I had artherosclerosis there. It didn't make sense since I had a 0 calcium score on the 64 slice cat scan, and some minimal thickening in my carotid artery which comes with age. I couldn't and wouldn't have an angiogram as I am allergic to the dyes so we compromised and I had an MRI with gadolinium. Again, it was not conclusive but looked very much like a thickening in the left renal artery. It showed a thickening in my adrenal gland as well (a possible adenoma) and some hemangiomas in my liver and lumbar spine which were fine. They found the artery was looped so it was inoperable and angioplasty was out.
They wanted to start me on norvasc 2.5 mg since that is the lowest dose and safest med (supposedly). I took it and within 1 hour I felt a band around my head and a terrible headache came on (I don't get headaches), and my bp went up to 250/135. I went to the ER and let me go home when it came down to 178/93. They then tried plendil and I got a headache like no other - I was crying on the floor with pain - it was going into my jaw and face. I vomited all night long and my pressure went to 220/133. Next they tried me on aldactone (which is for adrenal problems and also lowers bp), and again, the bp rose and I got a headache. I noticed, however, when I was in the sun at the beach (which I rarely go to since I've had a melanoma), my bp would drop to 128-130's/80-90's. I had my hormones tested and vit d3 levels and i was out of hormones (and the dr told me that had I gone on the bioidenticals it would have kept mybp in check, but now it was too late) and my vit d3 levels were very low - they had been fine in january - 39 and now they were down to 20. So i have been supplementing with vit d3 2000 units a day. I also saw a cardiologist that works with Dr Laragh (the renin-aldosterone dr), and he took a thorough history of me including my personal life. He wrote a book in 1999 called "Healing Hypertension" and after talking to me, he said I was in his book. I had suffered severe trauma over the years, but never connected it to high bp, since this came on now. He said anything you suffered as a child or on could cause hypertension in later life and it can just come on like that despite the fact that you may have coped with the trauma. It was hard to swallow, but I can tell you it was the first time I cried as I have always been angry.
He told me my life would change and my numbers would drop and that I needed to see a therapist to work hard on this. He was giving me 2 weeks without meds to see if the numbers changed and then if they didn't he prescribed atenolol and doxysosin (but at minimal doses since i'm hypersensitive to meds). My numbers came down on their own to 120's-130's and anywhere between 80's-103 for diastolic the first week. He also had me take my bp while standing and it was 109...
One of the main issues that should be addressed is that many dr's offices will have you walk in sit down and they take your bp. If you've just raced in from the street or even walked down the long halls to an office at the dr's your bp will be elevated which is why they should wait 5-10mins before taking it and they should also have the cuff fit. If it's too loose, you'll get a false reading and if it is too tight, you will also get a false reading. They should hold the cuff at heart level - not above your heart (which one nurse in my neurologist does all the time and it infuriates me). The dr in the city (who wrote the book) practices at the hypertension center at Cornell-Weill so I trust them implicitly vs. the local dr's here who immediately threw meds at me. He reviewed my MRI, and showed it to an interventional radiologist as well, and they concluded the artery was clear on one side and saw where it could be misinterpreted in another view. It could have been congenital.
The neurologist (who I saw because I really wanted to know why I got headaches when I took bp meds) couldn't figure it out either. I had MRI's of the brain and cervical spine and they showed stenosis of the cervical spine and some changes in my vessels in the brain due to age; however, there were lots of changes and thickening in my sinuses (you go for one thing and find something else wrong!) which could be a cause of headaches - and some scar tissue in an old root canal i had. The neurologist believes what the cardiologist did in that trauma is a bit part of my illness(es). I have horrific muscle pain (fibromyalgia) and it goes from cervical to lumbar to legs - so I am lucky in that the neurologist has a therapist who specializes in trauma in his office and that is working well.
I'm still not on meds yet because when I take my bp at home it has significantly reduced to lower numbers, and I want to wait one more week before I start the meds in the dr's office. I had a bad fall and am just recovering from it, so my numbers are a bit off now.
I would say, before starting anything as serious as bp meds (since they say you have to be on them for life), make sure you get the basics - blood work with renin-aldosterone levels checked, vit d3 levels checked, hormones (if you are female) and get a baseline 64 slice ct (it shows calcium levels which go hand in hand with plaque), ask for a 24 hr bp monitor (if your insurance will pay) and keep a bp monitor at home so you can check it yourself and keep a log. I have to say when I was 30lbs heavier which was a struggle for me and I didn't exercise at all, my bp was normal. Now that I lost 30lbs and am still losing, I eat so healthy, and up until my fall, I was walking 30-45 mins a day, and I had the highest bp in my life. No one still can explain the weight loss either. It's remarkable.
As for those of you with high cholesterol, so many dr's have so many different opinions. If you go online, some will say too low a cholesterol is just as bad as high. I got mine down with green tea (2 small cups a day), the plant sterols (I like twin lab) and now that I'm in menopause, my cardiologist said that new research has shown that plant STANOLS work better than sterols for menopausal women. Benecol chews are the only ones that have stanols (along with their butter). So I'm on those now.
Good luck to everyone, but be proactive in your own life. You know your body better than any doctor. If you feel something is wrong, go with your gut. I also tried alternative methods as well (acupuncture, acupressure, massage and reflexology).
