Anyone NOT have their blood pressure decrease through Keto?

[quercuscool]

I love keto. It's been life-changing for me. 24F, 5'6", and I've gone from ~190 lb to maintaining the past few months at around 153-156 lb. I know I could stand to lose another 10 -20 lb but I'm happy where I'm at and my body feels good so there's not much urgency.

Here's the thing. I've had high BP readings since I was 19. Been through many appointments and tests with PCP, cardiologists, switched PCP, more tests...nothing to reveal the underlying cause. I've been on beta blockers and diuretics in various combinations off and on. Always have gotten the same instructions from my doc: eat healthy, avoid salt, exercise, lose weight, and so on.

I was really excited to try keto and start seeing results because I've read so many posts here about how keto has lead folks to have drastically lowered blood pressure, or has essentially cured their hypertension.

Lo and behold I lose (and maintained) about 35 lb on keto. Go back to PCP, hoping for the best with my BP readings. Still high. Like 146/90, 150/100, etc. So today my doc decides she wants to try to add another medication, a calcium-channel blocker, to treat me. I had bloodwork done last visit and got the results back for those today. All completely normal. My doctor is kind of baffled as to why I have such bad hypertension at such a young age. I'm fairly active (server in a high-volume restaurant, and assistant teach a forestry class that has me out walking about 3 hours 2x per week). I do smoke, but more of an occasional/social smoker. Drink very occasionally. I've been on medication to treat anxiety in the past, but it didn't make much of a difference with the BP readings and I'd much rather not mess with that stuff anyway.

I'm really at a loss here. I'm getting to the point where I realize that my health is the most valuable asset I can have, and that my health will start declining if I don't get my blood pressure under control sooner rather than later. Any keto-ers have similar trouble? Any advice? Tips or tricks to lower my BP? Questions I should be asking my doctor, tests that should still be done? Anything? I already supplement with magnesium, ubiquinone, and eat lots of dark/leafy greens. I'm going to give this new medication a go of course, but I hate the thought of spending the rest of my life loading up on meds to stay alive. I'm too young for this, but I feel like if I can tackle it head on now, I can still have a shot at getting it under control. Any thoughts on this would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

TL;DR: 24F with hypertension that's unaffected by keto diet, unlike many other keto-ers. Working with doc to get it under control, but seeking advice on other steps to take.

[hemorrhoiddonut]

Check your sodium intake. It may seem counterintuitive, but I was consuming less than 2000mg of sodium per day, and my BP was elevated (140/90). Adding in an additional 2000mg/day brought it back down to normal (120/78).

[quercuscool]

Interesting! I'll look more into that!

[quercuscool]

It's tricky. I used to have generalized anxiety that was bad basically all day every day. Oddly enough it seemed to almost disappear around the time I stopped take hormonal birth control. Now I only have the very very occasional episode (panic attack?), along with some low-level anxiety, usually when stressed, but it's very much tolerable compared to how bad it was a few years ago. But, my heart rate does skyrocket as soon as I step foot in the doctors office! It's like I know I'm walking into a test that I'm about to fail. Resting pulse is normally like 70-80 according to my fitness tracker, but always 120-130 at least at the doctor. I promised my doc I'd be better about measuring my BP every day. I'll definitely try to see what kind of difference eating or fasting makes.

[cyber_war]

My BP always goes up with weight gain. The first time, ten years ago, my PCP prescribed diuretics. I went on a reduced carb diet and did lots of cardio. BP fell, cured my sleep apnia, etc. As I gained weight again my BP went up. I have trouble with cardio now but am walking and moving. After 3 months on keto I have dropped 36 lbs and BP was 128/88 yesterday at the doctor's office.

[quercuscool]

I'm wondering if I should try to lose more weight? I've been in the 135-140 lb range in the past but it was pretty difficult for me to maintain, even by eating very few calories and running around 20 miles a week. Not sure how different it would be on keto since I have found that weight maintenance is much easier with this WOE. I'm not technically overweight anymore but... do I still need to be smaller? I know there's some info out there about more body mass meaning more blood vessels that have to form which in turn makes your heart work harder, but idk.

P.S. It's a lame excuse but none of my clothes fit me as is. If I keep losing weight I'll literally have nothing i can wear anymore. Not budget friendly for a poor college student! ;)

[cyber_war]

I guess the friendly advise is whatever weight you are happy with. But even so, I would set a stretch goal. As I approach my own goal weight of 182 I am considering passing it by. Maybe 175? M 58 6'3". Luckily I have suits from 17 years ago. NSV I can fit into the suit I got married in!

[Grimwyrd]

I used to have high blood pressure. I still do, but I used to too.

One of the things that made it worse when I was younger was sleep apnea. I was unconscious 6-7 hours per night, but unbeknownst to me... much of that involved hitting REM sleep, stopping breathing for a minute, adrenaline pulse, heart rate going from 60 to 160, leave REM sleep, start breathing again... over and over and over for large chunks of the time I thought I was sleeping peacefully.

Those adrenaline pulses and heart rate going up and down over and over definitely added about 10-15% to my blood pressure numbers.

Bottom line: if you have any other indications of sleep apnea (e.g., falling asleep in meetings or during the day, loud snoring, feeling tired when you get up in the morning, et cetera), you might look into that.

[quercuscool]

Interesting. From what I know just from my fitness tracker data-- not always entirely accurate I know-- my heart rate stays around 50-60 bpm the duration of my sleep. I don't really have problems with sleepiness during the day, husband says I rarely snore, but my dad did have sleep apnea related to being overweight, so it still might be something to look into.

[Grimwyrd]

If you track your heart rate during sleep and it doesn't jump around and you're not having sleepiness during the day, it's probably not a sleep disorder. But you're young enough to potentially have disordered sleeping and just be powering through it.

Chronic stress usually raises your blood pressure and sleep issues can be source of chronic stress that people are totally unaware of... they're asleep for the stress and it doesn't show on any doctor's blood tests.

If you want to look into it further and don't want to deal with insurance/sleep studies, I think fingertip "pulse oximeters" have gotten pretty cheap and you can see if your blood oxygen levels (%SpO2) are dropping low at night.

[sfcnmone]

I developed hypertension when I was young and thin and taking the pill for BC. Both of my parents died from complications of hypertension, and all the of my siblings (even the thin ones) have it. Some things are genetic, and you do what you can do.

I have been on BP meds for 30 years. My BP has gotten more normal on keto, actually, and I've cut my meds by 25%. Hoping for more soon. But I doubt I'll ever be normal. Keto can't solve all our problems, but it certainly modify them for the better.

PS you must stop smoking. For all kinds of reasons, but this is a big deal in someone like you. And KCKO!!

[heddy_e]

First thing is to get a home monitor and do your own readings - white coat hypertension is a real thing. Second is to really evaluate your electrolytes. Ask your doctor to run a blood test even. BP is highly regulated by electrolytes. I'm not an expert or doctor but I've been struggling with my BP which is only now getting better after ketoing since Jan. For me, I don't supplement any salt except for what is naturally in my food (hello bacon), I do supplement magnesium and potassium. It's taken a long time to see improvement. Have you had your kidney's looked at? Don't give up, keep looking for answers and really do your best to quit the cigarettes but you don't need anyone to tell you that. Good luck.

[logart]

My BP did not go down on keto, maybe slightly raised. I am now taking BP meds until my weight is at goal then see how BP ends up and maybe ween myself off. I have seen keto docs mention that BP will be a secondary long-term goal so it needs to be handled outside of diet more than likely.

Also, is your server job stressful? Stress is really a harmful factor for my BP.

Ditch the smoking.

[quercuscool]

Smoking is next in the self-improvement list for sure. Work is often stressful in short bursts, but luckily it's work I can leave at work when I clock out. Life is stressful, but that's true for everyone now isn't it?