Anyone have low blood pressure issues?

[busterbrown]

My wife definitely has low blood pressure.. About every few weeks she has symptoms of Low blood Pressure....
Feels like shes gonna faint...Never has..but her episodes can be rough.. usually lasts about 15-20 minutes until. Her Md told her theres little that she can do.... She lies down and just waits for it to go away...Always does... But its tough to watch her.. I massage her arms and feet...That helps. Internet has offered some help.. But its basic.. foods to eat and gatorade... Thanks guys!

[at140]

1. Begin an exercise program..gradually!

Exercise will strengthen heart pumping capacity.

[busterbrown]

3. I do... but she doesn't do it enough..

she is thin and strong and has a ton of energy....always on the move.. We are in the retail.. she is the buyer of a successful Boutique in L.A. Always on the move and moves fast all over the 3000 sq ft of the store..The episodes happen in the am and the pm..

Grateful for your help.
Buster

[at140]

7. From personal experience, I found work and exercise are different

I was a very hard worker during my 40's, many times working from 7:30am to 9pm with 1 hour drive each way to work. So I was burning lots of calories, but my heart was not happy!

After I retired early due to health problems such as faint feeling at work (but never actually fainted), and heart racing, mainly until lunch time. When I retired, I had mild hypertension and suffered panic attacks when inside large stores. So it was either do something or be dead quickly. I took up golf which required me to walk 6-7 miles every round. That was a huge help but it took 6+ months until my health began improving.

I am now 78 and exercise one hour in the Gym every other day. It is keeping my alive and out of doctor's office!

Take it from an old geyser, ask your wife to cut down work hours and start a walking routine.
Walking is cheap, and does not strain your bone joints like jogging. Depending on medications is not good because every med has side effects. Best luck!

[busterbrown]

12. Thanks so much at140....Very Helpful

I'm 71 and live a block away from an outdoor exercise place.. In a Park.. I go 4 times and use their equipment. The equipment they have are 6 machines which work on your legs, hips and arms.. Very simple machines ... My wife goes once in awhile, and rarely goes by herself... By the way I couldn't do 1 pull up.. Pull ups are very difficult for old guys like myself.. Maybe 1 out of 10 uses the bars... I can now do 30 in a row.... amazing! Just by determination

P.S. My wife is a high ball of energy.. She Buys and Merchandizes a 3500 sq ft Boutique in L.A... She just never stops once she starts to walk around the store doing her merchandizing, cleaning, selling etc... Problem the cement floor is
a major problem, no matter what kind of shoes she wears.. Her foot size is unusual so that makes it hard for her to find the right shoe...But she stretches a lot but not enough! Thanks again...By the way I'm gonna tell her she must start walking.. The park across the street also has a small dirt track around the park..

I use to run a lot and got my wife to do it as well.. She ended up with 2 knee operations.. We ran on the roads was the problem. Miniscus (?) sic?

[SWBTATTReg]

2. I do. Mine was caused by my heart going into afib. numerous times when heart signaling ...

messed up. They detected this only by convincing me to get monitoring of heart for a whole month, and they detected the afib events (I had suffered blackouts too, it occurs when the heart goes into afib, and not enough blood is being pumped, and you could blackout, no one could tell me what was going on then).

I am now on a medication that lowers the heart rate/thus everything else too.

I usually had a warning that the blackout was coming (an 'aura'), so usually I had a warning and thus lay down or get to a place where if I pass out, nothing adverse would happen.

Best wishes to both of you!!

[busterbrown]

4. Again..Thanks so much for the help.

It's difficult to watch someone struggling with episodes you describe... She has never passed out!

[SWBTATTReg]

11. Yes, it's scary, and I didn't even know when I actually blacked out. Before I knew it, I was ...

waking up, and my other half was freaking out. At least you're aware of and can watch/cover for her. That's a big relief knowing that you're there...

added later...they still don't know what causes the signaling discrepancies either. But as I said before, at least you know what's going on.

[Faux pas]

5. That must be scary for both of you!

I have low BP too never got faint or dizzy though. I just get really run down feeling and wonder WTF and then take my pressure. The lowest it's been is 85/65. Maybe she needs more salt intake? I go to my go to, Lipton's chicken noodle soup. Works wonders for me hope she gets some relief!

[busterbrown]

8. Yep and thanks for the Lipton Chicken Soup Suggestion

My wife has told me that she likes Chicken Noodle Soup.. I'll tell her... Thanks.

[marybourg]

6. Drink more water, use more salt,

get up slowly from a sitting position. There are also 2 drugs that can be used if the situation is debilitating enough. Maybe see another doctor.

[busterbrown]

9. Thanks marybourg...We'll investigate.

I think her MD stated to her that there's little on the medication side.... Weird!

[Phoenix61]

10. Might want to consider a full work up by

an endocrinologist. An out of whack thyroid can do all kinds of weird things but can be very difficult to diagnose.

[DeadLetterOffice]

13. Has she been evaluated for autonomic dyfunction?

A disorder called POTS is very common and can absolutely cause the symptoms you are describing.

[Dalai_1]

14. Do not exercise until....

She has a cardiac evaluation- It sounds as if it might be afib
Until she gets a diagnosis exercise would be contraindicated

[I_UndergroundPanther]

15. I have high and low bloodpressure

Take stuff to lower the highs. But occasionally my blood pressure bottoms out and I get really close to passing out.
I have diabeties too.
Some times my blood sugar goes low,somtimes it's my blood pressure. Was impatient on a cardiac unit they couldn't find the cause,so it's idiopathic.