Hi faith73!

I have high blood pressure too. I have what they call "white coat syndrome"...meaning I am scared at the doctor's office so my blood pressure is higher. At one time the top reading was in the 180s and then I calmed down a bit and it went down to 138. I think they should take my blood pressure reading while I'm relaxing on the couch with my husband watching some comedy shows...lol...bet it's normal then!

I do not want to be on any kind of medication as that just causes other problems.

I just found out that acupuncture can help reduce high blood pressure so I am going to talk to my doctor about that! Acupuncture sounds like it helps lots of medical issues naturally.

Also of course a good diet helps so much...lots of fruits and vegetables...lots of water and juice...take the vitamins and fish oil.

More concerning than your recent blood pressures are the symptoms you're experiencing. These symptoms may be related to cardiovascular disease. Often blockage in your carotid arteries (the ones in your neck) will lead to numbness or pains in certain areas (arms, face) and even partial paralysis.

This happens when your brain is not getting enough oxygen due to the blockage and can cause a stroke. Some of the symptoms you are describing are consistent with mini strokes and if this is what is happening it needs to be taken care of quickly before you have a big stroke.

Big risk factors include your recent high blood pressure, your native american ancestry (their risk is very high for cardiovscular disease), and being a little overweight. It's great that you are living a healthy lifestyle but it sometimes doesn't make a difference. Even some of the healthiest people develop cardiovscular disease of some kind.

You also need find out how your lipid panel is. This is a lab test that measures your cholesterol and triglycerides and such. If these levels are high you are even more at risk. There are medications and lifestyle changes you can adopt that will help with that too.

Generally blood pressure readings such as 138/98 and 140/100 though a little high will generally not cause symptoms you're describing. These symptoms you're describing could be indicative of something very serious going on. So I would recommend getting back into the doctor and letting them know your recent symptoms. You need some more testing to rule out heart problems or possibly blockage in your carotid arteries or other things that might be going one.

Keep in mind that arm pain, numbness, tingling, and chest pains are major signs of a heart attack. If you think for any reason you might be having one you should get to the nearest hospital. I hope this helps and you feel better soon!

What I would suggest you do is call your doctor again. Telling you to double up on your meds is slightly strange, depending on what it is and what the dose is, but then to have those reactions is another concern, too. You should have, and still should, call your doctor back and explain those recent symptoms.

Your BP is TOO high. Understand that high blood pressure requires monitoring, sometimes on a weekly basis by a physician, or even more often than that, until the BP is controlled. So, do not feel you are bothering your physician when you call him.

Whenever you are experiencing any symptoms, don't hesitate to call him. As a matter of fact, some of these symptoms that you describe should be considered urgent, and it is not uncommon for people to go to the ER for these symptoms.

Your specific symptom of talking out half of your mouth is indicative of a stroke, to be perfectly honest.

High BP is nothing to fool around with. If your BP is not under control, still, after three months, and your physician is not monitoring you, at least, on a weekly basis, you should probably find another physician. Understand though, that you really need to keep him in the loop about your symptoms so he realizes how serious this is.

Getting alarmed won't do alot of good. Did you doctor start you on a regimen of aspirin? This is often given (81 mg daily) for any possible heart/stroke related problem in addition to blood pressure medication and cholesterol reducers. The issue is that blood pressure medicine is just the first in line of cardiovascular medication and modalities. Why not call your prescribing physician but this time ask for a referral to a cardiologist. A cardiac workup (including blood work (LDL, HDL, triglycerides, homocysteine, etc.) & EKG might be in order to address these symptoms and circumvent (worst scenario) stroke or heart attack. Especially if you have health insurance take care of the problem before it gets worse.

I am also on BP meds and also had half of my face go numb after taking the meds for years. It wasn't a stroke, it was Bell's Palsy. Not that you shouldn't get the stroke question checked out, but be reassured that there is another answer--perhaps even many others.
I had a doctor that started doubling my doses of the same meds. Once I got my blood pressure up to 212/133 I switched doctors. It turns out my original doctor never moved on to newer meds and ruined my potassium balance with increased and long-term treatment with diuretics. So don't let this happen to you. Get a second opinion if you have to, but make sure your doctor is looking at more than pumped up meds.
The other thing you should do is buy a home BP machine. Mine is digital and I used to take my own pressure and record it every day. My new doctor found a good combination of meds and I take it only once a month. It's about 120/84 always. I realize that you posted your question quite some time ago, but I am interested in what happened to you and whether you found relief.