High Blood Pressure.... Disqualifying Factor???

As someone who has high blood pressure that is under control, I can suggest a few things.
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. Watch your sodium consumption closely. It is really not that hard since almost every food item that is not natural has a label that states the amount of sodium per serving. It is all about choices. Read the labels. High blood pressure is so common that many large grocery stores regularly stock low sodium products. Everything from peanut butter to potato chips can be found with a low sodium substitute. Jiff makes a peanut butter that is very low in sodium. Various makers produce a potato chip that are very low in sodium. Forget the no salt added potato chips because I think they taste terrible.
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Even some sodas have lower sodium than others. Read the label. For example Pepsi is lower than Coke. Some house brands of soda at the grocery store [shop rite] have no sodium at all. Check out frosted shredded wheat cereal for breakfast. Some brands have no sodium at all; but, the milk you will use has a small amount of naturally occurring sodium.
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If you want a snack, you could try dry roasted peanuts. Some have zero sodium. But watch it when you snack on celery. 6 - 8 stalks of celery everyday can actually reduce your blood pressure.

 

I realize the post is from '06, but the brand name stuff is still expensive!

Lotrel is a combination of 2 meds in one pill - Amlodipine and Benazepril. My doctor wanted to prescribe this for me, but I balked at the price. After some research, we agreed that he would prescribe generic Amlodipine and Lisinopril instead. Those proved to be equally effective as Lotrel. The drawback is that I have to swallow 2 pills instead of one each morning, and the meds cost me about $80 for a year's supply. Lotrel costs $550.00 year. I'll put up with swallowing 2 tablets instead of one if it saves me $470.00.

I just checked, and generic Benazepril is the same price as Lisinopril now, through a US based online pharmacy. Your physician should have no problems with prescribing the generics for you.

You should discuss this with your physician.

 

what if you dont have a doctor? can you just get the meds and take them as a one time thing? I do not have insurance now at my current company.

 

You should be able to get a prescription from the doc at your local public health department, usually they don't charge a lot for a visit. I'd recommend spending the cash for an office visit and getting blood work done. I don't have insurance at the moment, and the office visit and labs cost me about $125.

You don't want to be getting those meds without a prescription, as they can potentially cause life threatening side effects and you need to be monitored for a few weeks after you start. Problems such as kidney failure, liver failure or angioedema are possible, although not common.

 

I was thinking about that route but I got the werner offer and only have 30 days to accept and get into orientation. i got the offer on the 21st of this month.

 

Do you know what your BP is? If not, Wal-greens (If you have one in your area) is offering FREE BP checks for the month of February...I THINK, Wal-Mart also has BP machines in there pharmacy section...

Unless your just ready to keel over, if your BP is out of line you will get a 1 year med card vs the 2 year.

 

no i am not ready to keel over. my BP was 151/109 i think i am not sure though going to check it later this week.

 

While you definitely need to get both numbers down, that 109 is at the absolute limit of what is acceptable for even a temporary medical card.

"A blood pressure at or greater than 180 (systolic) and 110 (diastolic) is considered Stage 3, high risk for an acute BP-related event. The driver may not be qualified, even temporarily, until reduced to equal to or less than 140/90 and treatment is well tolerated."

 

I was disqualified from this last company due to high blood pressure.I think it was from soda before taking it.I forgot about the BP test because it's been awhile since ive had to take a physical.What I would reccomend to lower your BP IS,fruits and veggies,drink water,limit your salt intake,less soda and if you smoke start cutting down towards quitting.Stay away from stress.

 

Yeah, you need Lisinopril and/or Metoprolol. Both $4 prescriptions at discount pharmacies. A doctor will want to see you monthly at first to get you balanced on the right amount. It takes about a month to adapt to each dosage change.

You can go to a walk in clinic. Many are cash and cheaper than most regular doctors. Probably $50-$100 a visit.

Cut down on the sodium for sure. Canned goods are about the worst along with TV dinners and processed foods. Bread even has alot of salt.

One thing a doctor will do is put you on an aspirin regiment. Most 81mg a day. Aspirin thins the blood and might lower you a few points. You might take a full aspirin the day of the test.

The day of testing, avoid caffeine that morning, don't smoke any cigarettes for about an hour and rest about 15 minutes if you just walked in the place.

140/90 is borderline and is the cut off. Now that I'm on the meds, my BP is usually 110/70 resting. Fine tuned athlete!