Question:
Any one having a hard time regulating BP meds after surgery?

I have been on 5 different BP meds for several years some wich where slow released so they changed them to the shorter acting meds after surgery. Now I am down to 4 pills a day but I am bottoming out in my BP. OFTEN! If I try and exercise just walking my blood pressure drops to 40 /20 and I almost pass out. I don't see My PCP for almost a month and have called and he just had me withdraw one pill but wants no other changes. I think he is afraid I will go up and out of control again.. Any Ideas ? ANYONE?    — Kathy M. (posted on March 23, 2002)

March 22, 2002
Hi Kathy, I, too, am having a real struggle with my b.p. AND choloresterol meds. I am five months post op (almost) and my PCP said he would leave it up to my surgeon to determine when to stop taking these meds. So my last visit to my surgeon, he said there was absolutely no reason why I can't stop taking them both as of right now. I thought "Cool". But it wasn't that simple. I take only one of each a day. But when I sent a couple days w/o them, I started feeling really funny, getting a headache that wouldn't stop....not a terrible, just one that caused discomfort. So I finally caved. I took a b.p. pill and that evening before bed, I took my chol. pill. Bam, the headache disappeared. Now I am taking the b.p. only and trying to wean myself off the chol. (they are EXPENSIVE!), and one of my main goals for having the wls was to get off my meds. I don't have any real advice for you, except maybe call your PCP before your appt. and leave a message for him to call you and explain just exactly like you did on this post. I just thought I'd let you know that it IS a battle. I've read where people have gone for their meds and it's a "happily-ever-after" thing, but that's not the case for me.
   — Annie H.

March 22, 2002
How do you know your BP was 40/20? Do you have a home BP monitor? If you do, keep a record of what it is for several days and then fax that to your doc. Also, if his office is close enough, drop by the office and have your BP checked. You don't usually have to actually see the doctor for that. His nurse can do it. If it's too low, the nurse should inform him and that might make him realize your meds need to be adjusted.
   — garw

March 23, 2002
Hi. I was taking bp meds pre-op and for a couple of weeks post-op. Have you actually given those bp figures to your doctor? It seems very ridiculous for a doctor to hear that the numbers are so low and to not get you in to see him right away. In my case, my numbers went down to 75 over 55 about 2 weeks post-op and I called my doctor from the pharmacy where I'd checked my bp (one of those machines you can use in stores; I'd used this one regularly so I knew it was basically accurate). My doctor said to stop taking the meds I was taking and to see her the next day. I've been off meds since then. You might just need to drastically cut down on your meds, but you're going to want some close supervision of your bp while you're doing it. Can you get a bp cuff when you're home? I like the other poster's suggestion to write down your numbers. Good luck! This is sure a better problem to have (and an easier one to fix overall!) than HIGH bp, I think!
   — Mary Ellen W.