Blood Pressure and Age

[Meadbh]

I love seeing the family practice residents when I go for my checkups, because they are so thorough. We usually have a nice chat about their future careers (and I advise them all to be LBYM) before my family doctor comes in to hear the resident's presentation and we finalize the plan. My BP is usually lower at the doctor's office than at home.

 

[donheff]

It's shocking to me how many medicines folks take in their 80s and 90s. At Dad's assisted living, they go around with their cart several times a day giving out medications.

I just wonder - at some age, can't a patient say enough already? If you make it past 80 or 85 - why all this preventative stuff? Seems like there should be a way to gradually wean off this stuff to a minimum, or none if possible. Is taking certain medicines for decades making older people feel worse than they might?

I read an eye opening book a few years ago - Are Your Prescription Drugs Killing You, by a pharmacist who specialized in consulting nursing homes. He believes something like 30% of nursing home dementia is simply a side effect of drug interactions. He also points out the dangers of routine OTC meds as people get into their 70s and beyond. The elderly can be weaned from many drugs with small or questionable benefits and known side effects.

 

[Meadbh]

I read an eye opening book a few years ago - Are Your Prescription Drugs Killing You, by a pharmacist who specialized in consulting nursing homes. He believes something like 30% of nursing home dementia is simply a side effect of drug interactions. He also points out the dangers of routine OTC meds as people get into their 70s and beyond. The elderly can be weaned from many drugs with small or questionable benefits and known side effects.

The better nursing homes often work with their medical advisors to implement medication reduction programs.

 

[Breedlove]

I cannot stress how important our blood pressure is to all of us . I thought I was too smart for a doctor and did not take meds years ago to get my BP in line . I found out later high BP can give you kidney disease and harm your kidneys badly . Drink your water and watch your BP.

 

[gerntz]

It's shocking to me how many medicines folks take in their 80s and 90s. At Dad's assisted living, they go around with their cart several times a day giving out medications.

I just wonder - at some age, can't a patient say enough already? If you make it past 80 or 85 - why all this preventative stuff? Seems like there should be a way to gradually wean off this stuff to a minimum, or none if possible. Is taking certain medicines for decades making older people feel worse than they might?

To me it's about quality of the life. Why have a stroke or heart attack if meds reduce the odds? Patients that are mentally sound do have the right to say enough. Who claims they don't?

 

[gerntz]

A few years ago a new cholesterol calculator came online. I put in my numbers and got the results. I should take a statin. Then I played around changing the numbers until I was the picture of great health. It still wanted me to take a statin. Apparently after one passed the age of 63, it recommended a statin no matter how good your numbers are. It must have been Big Pharma's dream calculator. Millions of otherwise healthy people taking a drug just because of their age. Not so good

Several older statins are dirt cheap.

 

[gerntz]

Something happens to me when I get up from the waiting room to walk to the nurses room/station. My heart starts pounding. Then they sit you down and immediately take the BP. I then know my BP is going to read high because my pulse is elevated. It seems to happen more or less depending on the specific doctor's office, so there is definitely something Pavlovian going on. Certain doctors make me more anxious.

Interesting thing happened to me at the last visit. Walk to the office, stand on scale, sit down, attach machine to read BP. My heart is pounding. The machine read an error. The nurse went through the history interview, then tried the machine again. I noticed my heart was no longer pounding and I felt more relaxed. The machine read 123/67. Probably as good as I ever see in that particular doctor's office. Next time it's high I may request a redo after we complete the interview, but those poor nurses are so rushed.

Has a recent allergies check up/review. Nurse said she'd let me sit & answer questions before taking BP. This last 3-5 minutes. BP reading was then 112/68. Usually in 120's/70's.

 

[athena53]

To me it's about quality of the life. Why have a stroke or heart attack if meds reduce the odds? Patients that are mentally sound do have the right to say enough. Who claims they don't?

It's not that they don't- it's just that many trust their multiple doctors who pile on new prescriptions and never stop any of the previous ones. DH took all his elderly mother's prescriptions with her to her first doctor's visit after he took her in to live with him, and the doctor said she could stop half of them, including one for Premarin.

Years ago one pharma company was found to be pushing "5 at 5", meaning that nursing home patients should be getting 5 milligrams of their latest psychotropic drug at 5 PM every evening to keep them all complacent. Unfortunately I couldn't find it on a quick search but I remember being horrified. I hope if I'm ever in a nursing home, DS and his family will keep an eye on my meds and bring in a second opinion if necessary.

 

[MRG]

It's not that they don't- it's just that many trust their multiple doctors who pile on new prescriptions and never stop any of the previous ones. DH took all his elderly mother's prescriptions with her to her first doctor's visit after he took her in to live with him, and the doctor said she could stop half of them, including one for Premarin.

Years ago one pharma company was found to be pushing "5 at 5", meaning that nursing home patients should be getting 5 milligrams of their latest psychotropic drug at 5 PM every evening to keep them all complacent. Unfortunately I couldn't find it on a quick search but I remember being horrified. I hope if I'm ever in a nursing home, DS and his family will keep an eye on my meds and bring in a second opinion if necessary.

My DF was hiding his dementia from the world when he got shingles. He was miserable with them and saw a couple of different docs(both his, PCP and a specialist). Much to his surprise her felt worse, not itching, groggy and couldn't stay awake.
Both gave him Oxycodone and he didn't realize it was the same medication. Filled at different pharmacies....... He felt much better when he was not ODing.

 

[HadEnuff]

I am convinced that the biggest reason for the push to lower the accepted levels was the development of medications that would do just that. "Now that we can, we should"...

May years ago I heard Dr. Kenneth Cooper ("Aerobics") speak. He said that 90% of all medications prescribed were prescribed to offset the side effects of the first 10%, and that of that first 10%, 90% was prescribed for BP.

I can tell you that in my dental practice, many of the people on BP meds constantly complained of symptoms of orthostatic HYPO tension. i.e. when they stand up, they get dizzy, even to the point of fainting. I'm not saying that nobody should be on BP meds, but I'm convinced it's way over-prescribed. Another case of "if we can measure it, we must intervene".

 

[Chuckanut]

Several older statins are dirt cheap.

Regardless of price, why give a drug to people who have no diagnosed health problem simply because they reach a certain age? If statins had no side effects that would be one thing, but they do.

 

[razztazz]

I read an eye opening book a few years ago - Are Your Prescription Drugs Killing You, by a pharmacist who specialized in consulting nursing homes. He believes something like 30% of nursing home dementia is simply a side effect of drug interactions. .

SOme years ago I was reading an article about the former heavyweight contender Jerry Quarry. He was only like 50 at the time and had advanced dementia from his years in the ring. However one part of the story I remember is that his non-boxing brother who was looking after him, had him taken off most of the long list of drugs doctors had him on and his condition actually improved for the next few yrs of his life.

 

[respond2u]

Me, too.
When they sit me down (right after the weigh-in) and start to attach the cuff, I always ask them to do that last and take the history, temperature, etc. first. Sometimes they will, other times they just say "This is our standard procedure" and go ahead.

When that happens, I always mention it to the doc, and the response is generally "Well, they're very busy but don't worry about it. I'll take it again now." So it wastes not only the nurse's time but also the doc's.

That's the standard wrong procedure.

Do they attach the leeches before or after?

 

[gerntz]

It's not that they don't- it's just that many trust their multiple doctors who pile on new prescriptions and never stop any of the previous ones. DH took all his elderly mother's prescriptions with her to her first doctor's visit after he took her in to live with him, and the doctor said she could stop half of them, including one for Premarin.

It's malpractice imo if docs don't ask & know what medicines one is taking, whether a new one is being prescribed. I go to 4 different docs regularly + dentist for various maladies & all review my medical history & record which drugs I'm taking including non-prescriptions each time I visit.

 

[gerntz]

Regardless of price, why give a drug to people who have no diagnosed health problem simply because they reach a certain age? If statins had no side effects that would be one thing, but they do.

Beats me. Didn't say they should be. Just saying big pharma ain't getting rich off those things.

 

[pacergal]

I cannot stress how important our blood pressure is to all of us . I thought I was too smart for a doctor and did not take meds years ago to get my BP in line . I found out later high BP can give you kidney disease and harm your kidneys badly . Drink your water and watch your BP.

This, above. It is not only your heart you need to worry about.

 

[MRG]

This, above. It is not only your heart you need to worry about.

+1

 

[HadEnuff]

I cannot stress how important our blood pressure is to all of us . I thought I was too smart for a doctor and did not take meds years ago to get my BP in line . I found out later high BP can give you kidney disease and harm your kidneys badly . Drink your water and watch your BP.

No question that at a certain level, HBP is dangerous. But if you are at 120-80, is it really beneficial to take drugs with multiple side-effects to try to get it to 110-70, or 100-60?

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Yup, my friend had untreated HBP, mid 50's, overweight. He didn't believe in going to the doctor. Then he had a stroke, which made him very dependent on his wife for care for a while. Fortunately he's doing somewhat better, but it showed how one person's decision to ignore a problem could also have a devastating impact on a spouse.

 

[Elbata]

Sorry, but I'll throw this out there:

Telling the truth about high blood pressure | TrueNorth Health

 

[braumeister]

Sorry, but I'll throw this out there:

Telling the truth about high blood pressure | TrueNorth Health

11 days of consuming nothing but water at a chiropractic clinic?
Yes, I agree you should be sorry for throwing that out here.

 

[audreyh1]

It's not that they don't- it's just that many trust their multiple doctors who pile on new prescriptions and never stop any of the previous ones. DH took all his elderly mother's prescriptions with her to her first doctor's visit after he took her in to live with him, and the doctor said she could stop half of them, including one for Premarin.

Years ago one pharma company was found to be pushing "5 at 5", meaning that nursing home patients should be getting 5 milligrams of their latest psychotropic drug at 5 PM every evening to keep them all complacent. Unfortunately I couldn't find it on a quick search but I remember being horrified. I hope if I'm ever in a nursing home, DS and his family will keep an eye on my meds and bring in a second opinion if necessary.

OMG - she was still taking Premarin?!?

 

[6miths]

This, above. It is not only your heart you need to worry about.

It's not really your heart you have to worry about... it's the large blood vessels that supply your heart, brain, kidneys, gut, and legs that are the primary issue. Plaque build up is the end result of high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, no exercise, chronic inflammation...

 

[athena53]

OMG - she was still taking Premarin?!?

Yes, and she was over 80. That was one they stopped. She's a good example, though, of a smart lady who still had all her marbles, but took the pills the doctors prescribed without question because the doctors know best, right?

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, and she was over 80. That was one they stopped. She's a good example, though, of a smart lady who still had all her marbles, but took the pills the doctors prescribed without question because the doctors know best, right?

Yes, I think that's exactly the problem.

I don't think statins are recommended for most people over 75 anymore, yet people I know are still taking them because they "always have".