Lower salt and fat intake, Nora, and increase exercise. Any of that will help if you do it consistently, but some of each will probably help most. H has dealt with actual-killing-levels of HBP since his late 20s, and the first two were the hardest to acclimate to but easiest to maintain long-term. A committed exercise program is an ongoing struggle, but the results show up on the tests. Good luck with it.

My mom is on a small dose of blood pressure meds now...she gets perfect readings. Also, Lay's Reduced Salt potato chips are really good...I might even prefer them. Reduced-salt Fritos: meh. They're a'ight...once you get past the shock of the first few. The sum total of my knowledge about blood pressure, ladies and gentlemen. But I thought you might like to know anyway.

I had a biometric screening last week and came up with my usual blood pressure so low they can hardly fathom how I'm standing upright. It took her like 30 seconds of squeezing and kneading my finger just to enough blood to even test. I have to remember to take a bunch of aspirin before I give blood if I don't want to be there for an hour.

Not sure what that's about (hint: not exercise), but I guess I'm unlikely to bleed to death?

Also, Mom says try Mrs. Dash...she likes lemon pepper, I did too once, but I'm so sick of lemon pepper now, omg. But there are many varieties.

Garlic and lemon are your friend. Hot sauce has a lot of sodium, I think, but I vaguely recall that cayenne and other hot peppers help with BP.

Or at least they offer a ton of flavor without the fat and sodium.

ION, Dan's Father's Day present finally got here -- an Axe Cop webcomic t-shirt, and he was GIDDY. And surpised. I win Geek Wife award for today -- WOO!

Ugh, just got back to the doctor and my BP is high, REALLY high: 156/110. Gotta go back in 2 weeks to get it retaken. Tom's BP was high too, maybe just Louisiana cooking catching up to us? Anyway, must avoid fried foods and watch sodium intake for the next couple weeks- any other tips?

Do you still take wellbutrin (I can't remember)? I know that it increased my BP. For me (for a while), it was worth it to just medicate the high BP in order to keep taking a drug that helped me to not want to jump off a bridge. A really low dose of BP meds got mine under control in no time at all.

ION, I am flat on my back on a heating pad instead of playing in the surf. I woke up with a normal back, walked up the stairs for breakfast, bent at the waist to do something, and WHAM, horrible painful pinchy holy-shit back pain from hell. I burst into tears and everything. So that was nice and humiliating.

I took handfuls of ibuprofen and the last flexiril I had stashed away, along with 1/2 a percocet. Tim went to buy a heating pad, so now I'm char-broiling my back.

I called my insurance to find out what Urgent Care to go to, if that becomes necessary. Answer: they don't cover SHIT in North Carolina, so it will all be out of pocket. I am both enraged and unsurprised.

My plan is that if it still hurts in this pinchy holy-shit way tomorrow, I will call my doctor, explain the being-on-vacation-with-shitty-insurance situation, and see if he trusts my judgment enough to call in a flexiril Rx to a CVS down here. I *think* he will, though I know it's an unusual situation.

I'm mostly embarrassed that I burst into tears in front of the whole family (except the 2 teenage nephews, who were already out in the kayak).

Fingers crossed the heating pad will get whatever is being ornery in my back to CHILL THE FUCK OUT.

Don't be embarrassed, Steph. In a wierd way, it's good that they see you really in pain, so they leave you alone :)

Yeah, I'm still on the Wellbutrin. So you took the BP meds for a short period of time and then once it got under control, you stopped without making other adjustments? Or did you stop the Wellbutrin in the meanwhile.

Also, OMG TEPPY'S BACK. Do not do this! I'm so sorry.

Yeah, I'm still on the Wellbutrin. So you took the BP meds for a short period of time and then once it got under control, you stopped without making other adjustments? Or did you stop the Wellbutrin in the meanwhile.

I had to stay on the BP meds, though I can't say for sure that that was because of the Wellbutrin, or because of my family history of all kinds of cardiovascular stuff. I do know that when I took Wellbutrin the first time, a few years ago, when I stopped it (the Wellbutrin), eventually I stopped the BP meds because my BP normalized and the meds were making it too low.

So far, since I stopped Wellbutrin (again) a little over a month ago, I'm still on BP meds. Though, to be fair, I haven't been to the doctor since then, so I haven't had my BP measured (I don't really trust the accuracy of the machines in CVS and whatnot).

Also, OMG TEPPY'S BACK. Do not do this! I'm so sorry.

I insisted to Tim that it's all because I just turned 40, that I was in perfect health until then. PERFECT, I say.

He told me the percocet was making me crazy in the head.

I haven't been to the doctor since then, so I haven't had my BP measured (I don't really trust the accuracy of the machines in CVS and whatnot).

My doctor told me to try to measure (with the same machine) at one of these at different points during the day between now and the next appointment.