blood pressure medication and weight gain

[Three Valves]

I take Lisinopril and weight gain is not listed as a side effect nor have I suffered from (additional) weight gain since taking it about three years ago.

Might be the doughnuts...

[Three Valves]

I guess what I'm really saying is that I don't know why I gained weight but I guess the drug "could" be the reason.

Wait a minute, are you younger, or older now than you were five years ago??

[Three Valves]

I get fatter as I've gotten older.

Strange...

[MedicineMan]

In general, blood pressure medications are not known for causing weight gain. If you feel that your blood pressure medication is making you sluggish, you may want to discuss this with your prescriber. Stryk, if your BP is consistently in that 94/56 range then you are likely on too many BP meds or the doses are too high. Again, please discuss this with your prescriber.

[MedicineMan]

Bloke, you make a couple of good points...

First, it is important to note that the idea of 120/80 being the "ideal" BP for everyone no longer holds true. Different health conditions may necessitate different target BP goals. And it is also important to note that the ultimate goal is to improve cardiovascular outcomes, not simply to reach a certain BP measurement. Quality of life is always a prime consideration.

Second, positive lifestyle changes can sometimes reduce or even eliminate the need for certain medications. In some people, diet and exercise have allowed them to discontinue taking BP medications. Others, because of genetic or other health factors will need to take them for their entire lives.

For anyone reading this, please don't take what I've said as a green light to quit taking your medications or to change your dosages. These are simply discussion points, and any potential changes in medications should be discussed with your prescriber. They know your specific situation, and I can only speak here in generalities.

[Rick F]

[snip] I think it was OTC pain relievers that did the damage.

I think you're correct. OTC pain killers... or in my case, NSAID (non steroid anti-inflammatory drugs) is what caused my kidney disease. Thankfully I'm only at stage 2 CKD. Pretty sure it was the 45 - 50 yrs of taking Excedrin for chronic headaches. My Nephrologist says she's seen a lot of cases of this due to too many NSAIDs taken. Good luck with your treatment.

About hypertension meds causing weight gain, I've not seen that. Micardis is what I take - or its generic equivalent Telmissartin. Works well for me keeping BP around 120/70 or better.

[MaryAnn]

Interesting. I've always had low BP and never been very physically energetic, could never be someone who could even imagine running even a 10K. Same with my dad; other side of the family runs high BP and has a lot more energy. A few weeks ago mine was at 88/40 but I was a bit dehydrated. Usual is 102/60. I know of no way to raise it though; salt makes no difference (tried that, ended up deficient in potassium but with same low BP.) Maybe it's an adrenal issue....

[Donn]

The impression I have been getting from our household specialist is that exercise is somewhat like dieting. I think everyone knows (?) that when you starve yourself for the sake of losing weight, your metabolism goes into a natural starvation survival mode that somewhat defeats your purpose in the long term. Similarly, the occasional bout of athletic training can certainly build up strength in the muscles involved, and aerobic capacity and all that, I'm not here to say it's a waste of effort, but it may not be as effective on conditioning your normal metabolism. So, like the first thing with diet is just to make sure it's healthy and regular, maybe the first thing with exercise is just to make sure that you're moving around plenty during the day, a healthy variety of natural movement, to the extent that it exerts some influence on your normal metabolism. Not that it's guaranteed to be enough, but not something to neglect.

[Tubacules]

I think you took the wrong dog to the hunt. Medical doctors, (MD's) never cure anything. All they do is manage your disease by treating the symptoms. I strongly urge you to get a second opinion from a Naturopathic doctor, (ND). They will find a cure. As an added bonus, they cost much less than MD's because their cures are a combination proper nutrition, lifestyle, and mineral supplements.