I am trying to find natural herbal remedies that can help get my BP down. I may be losing the option to get my prescription meds...
I know garlic and such is supposed to help,and I've been trying to find good foods that may help too. Any ideas for natural herbs/ supplements, and healthy foods that may help?
Thanks for any tho'ts,ideas and replies!
My brain seems to be burping right now...so I am trying to collect info in one place and not lose it... really tired.
We are trying not to stress about TxC's abdominal aneurysm [Right Common Ileac 5.3 cm.].
VA wont be doing more testing-scans etc. until Apr.4th...as to his aneurysm.
Of course the stress isn't helping either of us... so I'm looking up info' on low cost things we can do ...actually keeping both our Bp's down would be very healthy.
I was managing mine w/ a prescription long story...but may not be an option any more...sorry I am probably rambling...
Thanks w/ gratefulness for any tho'ts and ideas!
Jus' the jabberwolfi...Silverwolf sleepy and still feeling a bit green after the statin mess and fighting a sinus infection... OwoooooWoooow!
Posted by GiGi (Member # 259) on :
Try Carditone from Ayush. Good health food stores carry it or call Ayush direct in Bellevue, WA direct. It works for a number of people very nicely. My bp used to fly high years ago, not at all the last few years. It was definitely affected by some pathogen I was fighting. My practitioner told me back then to take one 3 times a day. Google Ayush for details.
Stay away from licorice - it tends to push bp up even if it is mixed with other herbals.
And nothing is worse than exposing yourself to stress!
Take care.
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
You can try Ubiquinol plus maybe some magnesium to start with. If that doesn't help, consider grapeseed or pycnogenol. Pomegranate could help, as well, as I believe it has some ace inhibitor-like properties.
Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil; reduces inflammation, therefore reduces stickiness of blood and thus may reduce blood pressure)
Higher fiber diet - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans/legumes, fiber supplements (watch out for the sugar!) - improves blood sugar control, which indirectly may improve blood pressure
Stress management - notice I didn't say "avoid stress," which is impossible to do...
Exercise, if you can. Deep breathing counts as exercise. Exercise has been proven over & over to do lots of good things for blood pressure, inflammation, circulation, etc., and prevents many conditions we all want to prevent (alzheimer's, heart disease, some cancers, etc.).
Keep bowels functioning properly. Fiber is part of this, but also sufficient fluid intake, probiotics and a healthy diet help. Poor bowel function increases stress and increases re-absorption of toxins. Also, if bowels slow down too much, the pain and discomfort can increase blood pressure (I've had this happen when I had a bowel obstruction).
Watch your medications for side-effects...sometimes they can cause elevated blood pressure.
Also, might want to try getting your bp measured at a pharmacy or at home - "White Coat Syndrome" may falsely elevate bp at a doctor's office due to anxiety and stress some feel when they are at the doctor's office.
Licorice Root does elevate bp, but DGL has the part of the herb removed that can do this, so should be ok if you need the Licorice Root for something (DGL is used to treat acid reflux, among other things).
Other herbs may also elevate bp - be sure to check with a pharmacist, or google your supplements and herbs and see if high bp is mentioned.
I am not a doctor, but I've read & researched a lot through my journey to find out how to improve my own health.
Take care,
Posted by mattnapa (Member # 26414) on :
Hawthorne tops the list for some herbalists though ubiquinol is clearly tough to beat for overall cardiac health. The remedy my LLMD gave me for hypertension was a two parter. One part was a combo of hawthorne, tillia, motherwort, and gingko. The other tonic contained rauwolfia. I did not find the combo very effective, but there are some caveats that may have made me a poor sample. Anyway I found rauwolfia made me really lethargic and not well. After reading up on it I did find there was some evidence for assisting hypertension, but it did have the additional side efeect of this lethargic type stuff I experienced.
Here is a link by Dr Michael Murray on hypertension. He is a very well respected voice in most alternative circles.
While working with the public, I did see a lot of heart patients doing very well with hawthorne, ginkgo and motherwort combined. But everybody is different, and responds to different things.
This information is offered in a spirit of adjunct support. I am not a doctor, and never make the claim "Cure".
You *must* be under a doctor's watch, and never attempt such treatment alone.
The potency and quality of the herbs figures largely. If the herbs are harvested, grown and processed under optimal conditions, they will be more potent and effective.
According to the book Medical Herbalism, the heart muscle is strengthened by hawthorne, and elasticized, so that it pumps more efficiently. Dilating the coronary artery means that the heart is flushed out with more blood. Dilating arteries also helps to normalize blood pressure. It also beneficially aids heart pains and heart flutters. Recently, they are finding that the twigs and leaves of hawthorne are benecial as is the berry, some formulas are combining the plant parts into one supplement. Read here: www.christopherhobbs.com see herbal prescriber database.
Where hawthorne dilates deeper blood vessels, ginkgo dilates the surface capillaries, aiding surface circulation.
The two herbs are usually paired up together in heart herbal formulas.
Motherwort (extremely bitter, use capsules) is high in magnesium and helps to calm heart flutters, especially where anxiety is involved.
CAUTION: Ginkgo and hawthorne are both blood thinners and must not be combined with other blood thinning medications. Garlic, ditto. "The Four G's that thin the blood" : Garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng. Hawthorne, fish oils ditto.
<<<Magnesium, potassium and coenzyme Q10 are also very important heart supplements.>>>
Alongside, it can be helpful to use nerve-tonic and nerve-calming herbs like tilia (linden), passionflower, skullcap.
<<<<Supporting the adrenal and thyroid glands can be important, ask your doctor to check these out. Both may influence blood pressure and heartbeat.>>>>
Here an article by Dr Michael Murray ND about high blood pressure, causes, studies, treatments, diet:
http://www.iherb.com/Planetary-Herbals-Hawthorn-Heart-900-mg-120-Tablets/1541?at=0 This one will be helpful where there is fatigue and weakness, but not where there are lyme induced nerve shocks, electrical sensations et al, the ginseng would be too stimulating under the latter conditions. Very helpful with fatigue, weakness. Caution with juniper berries if kidney disease is present.
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.
Posted by Silverwolf (Member # 9196) on :
Hi there <<<<< Gigi, Lemom-Lyme, Razzle, mattnapa, and chiquita incognita >>>>>,
Thanks for the links and information! it is good to know that I chose some of the correct supplements/herbs!
Y,all are a huge help when we just don't know where else to turn! One of the reasons that LymeNet is such a help to so many of us!
Sometimes I get confused trying to figure out what will work the best,and get to feeling down when we cannot get proper medical help.
LymeNet folk offer hope in a loving caring manner.I appreciate it greatly!
TxC' and I will be checking these links when possible as tolerated...I am battling headdaches rather severely right now...
and we both get overly weary...not enough sleep and lots of stresses.He is better at managing the stress than I am, but at times it gets to both of us.
Thanks again...I don't think we'd be doing even this well w/o the help of LymeNet folk!
Jus' the Silverwolfi and TxCoord too!
Posted by mattnapa (Member # 26414) on :
Chaquita- I reamin unclear on where to get some of the product being discussed here. For instance the celery root extract mentioned by Dr Murray. Also the recommended combo of hawthorn, motherroot, and gingko is somehting I have not seen. Perhaps there are local herbalists that are willing to formulate something? I guess in general you need to see an herbalist directly before they are willing to formulate
Thanks as always Chaquita Matt
Posted by nspiker (Member # 22824) on :
Amazon has really high customer ratings and comments on Carditone. Thanks Gigi!
Posted by chiquita incognita (Member # 30381) on :
Hi Mattnapa The combination of ginkgo, hawthorne and motherwort are very common in herbal formulas. I would suggest you could do a search on www.iherb.com certainly you will find formulas that combine them all. The motherwort is particularly indicated where the is anxiety or palpitations involved, but hawthorne is the primary role player here. Keep that in mind.
As for celery seed extract, that's a bit harder to find. I seem to remember a product by HerbPharm called Stonebreaker that may have it? Other products by GAIA Herbs, New Chapter Organics or HerbPharm may have it. Again you could search "celery seed" on iherb and see what comes up. Or go to the companies' websites and search under herbs for urinary tract, diuretics, heart. Either one.
I hope this helps.
Also, herbs are sold in bulk by Star West Botanicals in CA. THey are somewhere near Sacramento, CA you can google them. They have good quality herbs and check for heavy metals et al, as I am told.
Best wishes, CI PS if the celery seed is being used as diuretic and you can't find it, I would recommend using dandelion leaf (can buy in bulk cheaply at healthfood stores) as tea. This helps the body to replace potassium as it is excreted, according to phytotherapy authorities whose books I have read. But to supplement potassium is still very wise and even important.
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.
Posted by stillwater (Member # 30312) on :
Silverwolf,
Please talk to your LLMD about this, but one thing that's helped with my high blood pressure is Far Infra Red Sauna. My thought is that it dilates the blood vessels.
But again, I'm no doctor. Just a Lyme patient who's found what works for me. Might not work for you.
Please don't try this until you talk with your LLMD though, please?
Posted by gwb (Member # 7273) on :
Can you take Hawthorne ticture and Nattokinase together? Should they be spaced out? Curious about this.
Off subject, but what about taking Milk Thistle Yellow Dock tincture with Hawthorne tincture? Can they be taken together or should they be taken apart from each other?
Anyone know of a website that shows what herbs to avoid taking while taking another herb?
Gary
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
GiGi, do you know if it's dangerous to take the Carditone with your regular BP meds like Lisinopril and Hydrochlorothiazide? I have no alternative docs here to provide advice on BP meds. My LLMD doesn't deal with routine issues like this really as he's not my PCP. My PCP is traditional medicine based and could care less about holistic alternatives.
The reviews do sound very impressive. I hope they're all legit on Amazon!
Posted by jlp38 (Member # 27221) on :
Chiropractic adjustments can help.
Posted by luckylymie (Member # 30162) on :
Straight Hawthorne is cheap and will do the job.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Just a thought:
A generic beta blocker is probably cheaper than any supplement. Get it at Wal Mart for $4.
Posted by Silverwolf (Member # 9196) on :
<<<<< Lyme Family Topic Repliers >>>>>,
Thanks for all the links and input!
Here is the dilemma, the meds I had were working,The Company who makes them,has a program to aid patients w/ no insurance.
The meds are free,no four dollars no nothing...IF... you have a Drs. Prescription.
Every twenty four months or so [ which we didn't know until a couple weeks ago]they need a renewed prescription. One must have a Dr. for this.
We will find out Thurdsay, just got an appt. today],if the free clinic can still take me.
Normally free clinic can't take the patient if if is over a year [lets say I've been there a whole lot longer than one year,they were very gracious].
When we got notice that I needed a new prescription,and a Doctor,and because we are past the limit at the Free Clinic.
We tried a sliding fee clinic...It does not matter to the new clinic that we are paying off over *12,000 in medical debts.
The bit of SSDI and small amt. of VA disability TxC' gets, doesn't go very far.
Literally 3/4's of it is going to pay our older trailer home note,utilities, communication [phone etc]and then food.
The rest goes to: paying down the medical debt, and keeping our older but economical, and only vehicle in fuel, and paying for prescriptions etc/supplements.
As TxC's Vet rep noted,we are supposed to be paying out about --$40-- more a month than we recieve. So often it is supplements that get left out.
I am non-prior military,and do not get any help from them. I have no insurance of any kind.
After our experience w/ the new sliding fee clinic, I am expected to come up w/ almost $100 dollars that we were not told about, most of it.
We are still shocked,it was supposed to be for low income folk. To make it worse,then want me on their prescription plan,only using their prescriptions.
The new clinic group insists,that I come in every three months and have blood labs etc, drawn again. To the tune of $100 or more everytime...
Especially now w/ TxC' facing the aneurysm surgery. I Will not join the sliding fee clinics plan ,to the tune of half a grand or so a year.
If I don't join,they will not sign for any prescriptions. Since we got an appt.[just today] at the old 'Free Clinic' for Thur., we'll find out if they can still help.
I wasn't sure they'd take me at all... if they cannot help us,I will have to use supplements.
Okay,I am unable to drive, the couple of folk who were helping us,are working, long hours,and one is in college,as well as two jobs.
My elderly father[81 age] is in Washington state 18 hrs from us, and w/ worsening health. TxC's family is in Alabama,and Rhode Island.
So no, I will not commit to $500 and up a year,that I cannot pay,I have no gaurantee,that I can even keep an appt. every three months even.
And while $500-$1000,seems a small price to pay for a year...when we are supposed to pay out another --$500 --a year already, that we don't we don't have.
To keep up w/ Slide fee clinic,and try to pay what we already owe,just wouldn't be possible.
Tho' TxC' gets a break on some meds...there are still things we have to pay out of pocket. It isn't totally free at Va [tho' we are grateful to have any help at all].
So, hence,my reason for asking about supplements to keep BP in check. If the Free Clinic will help,w/ prescriptions,I will do, Okay.
If they cannot[and they are on a limited budget too].I will be eating less, repairing holes in clothing[We try to anyway,and I haven't had anything new,in a while now],etc. and going w/ the least spendy supplement to get the job done.
I know this is wordy...don't know how else to explain. ANd the Slide Fee Clinic, you cannot get the prescription on their plan,if you are not making regular payments.
Last time, dad helped me get some supplements,in October,and a friend,from LymeNet family sent some recently.
We have no LLMD's here, and after Aug.'07,I have been treating w/ supplements,and two or three times a year at Free Clinic.
That new Slide Fee clinic[ seems like money mongers,but I know they are on a tight budget too] is definetly not Lyme Literate.
I haven't been able to get any Antibiotics since 2007,and they seem to have the idea that I take Antibiotics all the time. Vector borne illnesses were brought up...
Evidently at 'Slide Fee' we Chronic Lyme patients are all seen as frequent flyers,trying to develop antibiotic resistant illnesses and infections to terrorize the world with.
Please note,that wasn't stated outright... but by action and attitude. Unfortunetly I am outright allergic to many antibiotics... and they made false assumptions...
All we wanted,was a prescription for my BP to be continued, for my Diabetes meds,and something to stop a sinus infection,from becoming a severe respritory infection.
Hopefully, Free Clinic will be able to help... I just don't need anymore stress right now.
Thanks again for the links,and the info',sorry my reply is long... I'm venting and trying to keep my wits from wandering off.
HAve to keep it together,for my Hubby TxC's sake...we'll find out when they are to repair the aneurysm in his abdomen[rt.common Ileac artery],the first full week in April...
Jus Silverwolfi trying to keep it together,w/o to much stress,or more difficulty from dangerous meds...