Kragger

There is a local grocery store that has a free blood pressure machine. It averages out to around BP of 150/105 the day after I drink. It's obviously high, yet I can't control my drinking to make it less. I'm 32 years old, I can't believe it's so bad already. I need to stop now, even my family is scared of my fate.

Bubovski

Drinking can certainly put up B.P.


Lots of good anti drinking tips here; personally I have found AA marvellous.

Dee74

Have you thought about seeing your Dr Kragger?

D

john44

Hi Kragger, welcome.

I take BP meds, have for awhile. It's a fairly small dose of beta blocker and keeps my BP at about 115/78. When I drank it would be 140/90 ish and have seen 185/105 during withdrawals. The only difference is alcohol. This tells me (obviously) that alcohol raises BP.

Now if you're anything like me, "controlling" your drinking is just an exercise in futility. The answer I found was to completely stop drinking. Interestingly, my BP has been rock solid since.

Deluxe

I used to be on bp meds for high blood pressure. Real high. The doc just couldn't work out why it was so. It must be genetic he said. When I gave up the booze my bp plunged well into normal territory after I had given up taking the bp meds. My Dr was stunned. No blood pressure meds and yet your bp has fallen to well within healthy territory. Thought it was miraculous. I of course knew exactly what had caused the correction. It was the absence of 750ml of vodka coursing through my veins every day.

As an aside...when I came clean with my Dr and I mean really clean I was shocked at his response. Turns out they he is an alcoholic and is sober 7 years. People are so fearful to tell their Dr everything. What they don't realise is that Doctors have heard it all before many, many times. Nothing surprises them. Best thing I ever did was laying it all out. It gave him the opportunity to actually start treating it.

sugarbear1

drinking can cause high blood pressure

detoxing can cause higher blood pressure until things get better

see a doctor for a proper detox!

SteveJr

You're pretty much where I was (for me i had to be around 26 years old already taking eds for blood pressure. Increased blood pressure is just one of the many "wonderful" symptoms alcohol does To your body. Once I sobered up it actually went to more normal levels. At 37, last time I had it checked it was 130/90; still a little high probably bc the next thing I need to work on is a diet.

lilac0721

I am echoing the others when I say that I have higher blood pressure when Im drinking. and I'm a runner. I run 3-6 miles at a time. My most recent blood pressure check (I'd been drinking 2-4 drinks daily) was 130/80. Pretty high for an athlete. My bp is lower just after a week or two off the sauce.

Talk to your doctor. Use the high bp as a motivator to quit booze.

lookingforher

I was 27 when I decided to stop drinking. One of the reasons was my systolic and diastolic readings were astronomical, I also had a resting pulse of over 115 beats per minute. My doctor said my condition was comparable to someone that had been drinking excessively for 20 years, yet I had only drank heavy for the last 10. Its never too early to talk to your doctor and live the life you know you deserve.

EndGameNYC

Neither acute nor chronic medical conditions were ever enough to scare me sober. And there are many more just like me. I was fortunate to experience remission for a great many alarming symptoms -- including those related to my liver functions, pancreas, heart and digestive system -- after I put down the drink.

There is not secret to stopping; we need to find that commitment within ourselves.