Blood Pressure

harley said:
Most recent studies show that a baby aspirin everyday can be helpful IF you've already got heart issues and are not at risk for internal bleeding. If you don't already have CVD it's probably not a good idea. Even baby aspirin has side effects.

It's actually one of the questions I asked doctors while I was trying to find my new PCP. It helped me determine how up they were on recent medical recommendations. Most said to take it. I went with the one that gave me the explanation above.
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That is now the view of the doctors in the UK who all follow the N.I.C.E. Guidelines. In 2015 I was diagnosed with afib and my cardiologist in Texas told me to take aspirin as an anti clotting agent. In 2016 when I moved back to England the GP and later the cardiologist advised me to stop taking aspirin as the risk of bleeding taking aspirin was worse than the prevention of stroke, but they do recommend aspirin for other heart conditions. (And a friend here takes aspirin as he does have other heart issues)

https://www.nice.org.uk/
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs93/chapter/Quality-statement-2-Use-of-aspirin

Rationale

The risks of taking aspirin outweigh any benefits of taking it as monotherapy for stroke prevention in adults with atrial fibrillation. Healthcare professionals should be aware that adults with atrial fibrillation may need to take aspirin for other indications.
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Alan said:
In 2015 I was diagnosed with afib and my cardiologist in Texas told me to take aspirin as an anti clotting agent.
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Same here with three different doctors over the past 10 years. Still taking it!
 
Car-Guy said:
Same here with three different doctors over the past 10 years. Still taking it!
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I still take mine. I have it with breakfast each morning. I figure the increased risk of bleeding must be very marginal since I would be prescribed it if I had another heart condition or if I still lived in the USA.
 
Alan said:
That is now the view of the doctors in the UK who all follow the N.I.C.E. Guidelines. In 2015 I was diagnosed with afib and my cardiologist in Texas told me to take aspirin as an anti clotting agent. In 2016 when I moved back to England the GP and later the cardiologist advised me to stop taking aspirin as the risk of bleeding taking aspirin was worse than the prevention of stroke, but they do recommend aspirin for other heart conditions. (And a friend here takes aspirin as he does have other heart issues)

https://www.nice.org.uk/
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs93/chapter/Quality-statement-2-Use-of-aspirin
Click to expand...

My Doc recommended a baby aspirin every other day. At that time I also read a UK study that recommended the same thing, particular for older adults. I take it with my breakfast to get some food in the stomach along with the aspirin.
 
Alan said:
I still take mine. I have it with breakfast each morning. I figure the increased risk of bleeding must be very marginal since I would be prescribed it if I had another heart condition or if I still lived in the USA.
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If aspirin had been invented recently, there is no way we would be able to buy it without a prescription. It's a potent drug.
 
LOL!
Yeah, I wasn't thinking about that aspect, but you're right.
 
braumeister said:
If aspirin had been invented recently, there is no way we would be able to buy it without a prescription. It's a potent drug.
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It’s amazing really. I have a bottle of full dose aspirin I brought with me from the USA. 1 tablet is 325mg and the recommended dose for an adult is to not exceed 12 tablets a day, and the latest studies are saying that even a baby aspirin (80mg) a day has substantial risk of bleeding.

Last year I went to the doctor the morning after falling and really hurting my neck and back. When he asked me if I had taken anything I told I him I had taken a naproxen (Aleve). He immediately asked where I had got them from. I told him that I had brought them with me from the USA as they had been prescribed for my plantar fasciitis and I found that they also worked on my back from time to time. I hadn’t realized that they are prescription only here.
 
Paracetamol and Ibuprophen cure everything in the UK, from what I have heard.
 
jim584672 said:
Paracetamol and Ibuprophen cure everything in the UK, from what I have heard.
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And can only be bought in packs of 12 and 24. We also “import” those products into the Alan household. (Paracetamol = Acetomenophen). As a sign of our age these days we don’t bring duty free spirits from our US trips we bring OTC drugs :)
 
This is what Mr. A. takes. Taking a baby aspirin every day was turning him into a "bleeder" - the merest scratch, and he bled all over the place. Too much of a good thing!

Lsbcal said:
My Doc recommended a baby aspirin every other day.
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Amethyst said:
Taking a baby aspirin every day was turning him into a "bleeder"
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Not that bad, but every time I've tried taking it on a daily basis, I found myself more subject to nosebleeds, particularly in the shower in the morning. Didn't need that.

But I normally take aspirin (two (occasionally three) 325 mg tablets) to deal with pain. Done it all my life. It was the only drug we had when I was young, and I stayed with it.

What I especially like is that aspirin stays active in your system longer than ibuprofen or naproxen. So I can go a bit longer between dosages.
 
OP here, my doctor wants me to come back in a month after I start taking the BP medicine. That seems excessive to me. Of course it will not cost me anything out of pocket as I am on Medicare and a supplement but someone has to pay for all these doctor visits.

Regarding aspirin, it has never been suggested for me since I am allergic to aspirin (break out in a rash).
 
Personally, I try to avoid all the liver toxifiers so as to leave more leeway for alcohol. It's all about priorities.
 
harllee said:
OP here, my doctor wants me to come back in a month after I start taking the BP medicine. That seems excessive to me. Of course it will not cost me anything out of pocket as I am on Medicare and a supplement but someone has to pay for all these doctor visits.

Regarding aspirin, it has never been suggested for me since I am allergic to aspirin (break out in a rash).
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Why? You’ve just started a new daily medication. Drugs have side effects. He’s got to check up on you.
 
Alan said:
It’s amazing really. I have a bottle of full dose aspirin I brought with me from the USA. 1 tablet is 325mg and the recommended dose for an adult is to not exceed 12 tablets a day, and the latest studies are saying that even a baby aspirin (80mg) a day has substantial risk of bleeding.

Last year I went to the doctor the morning after falling and really hurting my neck and back. When he asked me if I had taken anything I told I him I had taken a naproxen (Aleve). He immediately asked where I had got them from. I told him that I had brought them with me from the USA as they had been prescribed for my plantar fasciitis and I found that they also worked on my back from time to time. I hadn’t realized that they are prescription only here.
Click to expand...
I'm in Ireland and I tried to buy Naproxen, and found out that it's prescription only too. But..I can buy Nurofen Plus which is Ibuprofen and Codeine without a prescription! It's really good.

Alan, I have AFib as well and now it's pretty well disseminated over in US that aspirin is either useless (no effect on stroke prevention) or harmful (bleeding) for AFib.
 
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kitesurfer2 said:
that's not my theory. She is in good health and nothing has changed except for her doctors recommendation. Doctors make a huge amount of money off the prescriptions they write. healthy living beats a pill every day!
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She's not in good health. They don't call high BP "the silent killer" for nothing.
 
OP here, actually due to meditation, good blood pressure taking techniques, less stress, etc, my BP is now running around 120/80 to 130/80 at home so I am not going to take the BP medicine for now and will be in contact with my doctor to discuss.
 
The problem with that study is it makes no differentiation by age, and there have been a number of studies recently that show that as you age beyond 60 higher numbers are accepted as normal. As it's pretty much impossible to tell what's signal in all the noise, I tend to go with if you're otherwise pretty healthy and your BP isn't extreme, don't worry too much. If you start heading into the mid to upper numbers, definitely check with your doctor and probably start BP meds. But it only makes sense that as you age your numbers are going to increase a bit. Everything gets suckier as you get older. And no pill is going to make you younger.
 
audreyh1 said:
Why? You’ve just started a new daily medication. Drugs have side effects. He’s got to check up on you.
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+1
When I went back on I had to try two different meds at two different dosages until we got one that was agreeable with my body.

I'm sure my doc intentionally gave me the wrong medication just to make more money!/jk.[emoji23]

It's not always easy to get the medication and dosage correct the first time.
 
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