All my proactive preventative efforts have failed...

[HipChick]

I've been officially diagnosed with high blood pressure....strokes, aneurysms and high blood pressure already run high in my family..my grandfather died of high blood pressure, my grandmother a stroke, my aunt had to give up her high flying banking career due to aneurysms..I've watched too many of my family go down this road, but despite my best efforts,it got me...the first thing I will change is my high stress job, where I am already doing the work of 3 people. Two of the positions were never filled, management decided that there was no need since I was doing a good job and was handling the work load..even though I was averaging 60-70hrs a week, and working almost every weekend. Well, 'eff them, because they are too cheap to hire additional resources, I'm actively seeking another job,even if I have to take a pay cut, and my salary has been the same for 3 years. When I raised this issue to them, I was told that I need to manage my time better 'eff em - my health comes first.

[sadbear]

1. Shedding stress worked best for me, too.

But my doc isn't ready to take me off ACE inhibitors and diuretics yet. Good luck to you. This is something that can be managed.

[OriginalGeek]

2. Family history here too but maybe this will help:

My grandpa had his first bypass operation when he was 48.

2 weeks ago we celebrated his 91st birthday.

He just changed his diet back then and started exercising some and he's going almost as strong now as ever. Grandpa is a pretty easy-going guy so I don't know how high his stress level was but I know I never saw him worked up. He liked his work and he likes being retired.

In a concession to his age, though, he's thinking about trading in his 38 foot Airstream trailer for an Airstream motorhome. Hooking up the trailer to his Chevy Avalanche tires him out but he could just drive the motorhome around at will.

And hell yeah, eff any company that doesn't value your health. Eff em in their tear ducts and don't look back.

I've been on lisinopril for a couple years now but my doc is very happy with my results. My bp is consistently good.

Best wishes to you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Good for you, my dear hipchick!

Damn right, your health comes first!

Do whatever you need to get your blood pressure down...whatever you need. Be it medications or whatever.

Take care of yourself...

[HopeHoops]

4. Get an Omron home tester. It works great and isn't very expensive.

It keeps a time/date stamp history of readings so you can check trends. I've compared it against the mercury monitor at the doctor's office and the automatic one at CVS and the readings are almost identical. I was up in the 150/120 range a couple of years ago and now I'm down to 1/4 of the dose of medication and well in the normal range. Drugs and diet are both involved in bringing it down.

If it is job stress, you can check in the morning, a couple of times at work, and when you get home. If you've got a clear trend, take the damn monitor into the HR office and leverage the data. If that doesn't work, see a lawyer, but still go for the better job.