I started Keto in November after a grim doctor’s appointment. After a few months my blood work was looking great even though I had not lost much weight. Finally hit my weight loss sweet spot last month, was feeling great, and killing it at the gym. Went to the doctors to get a refill on my inhaler 2 weeks ago and my blood pressure was really high. Higher than in November. So she told me I have to start taking Losartan until I lose enough weight to lower my blood pressure. I thought it was weird my blood pressure was up since starting Keto. Now I am gaining weight even though I have not changed my diet. I feel like crap, legs hurt, head aches, can’t sleep, stomach upset. My gym performance is depressing. I don’t feel like I am progressing towards my goals and my whole system feels out of sorts. But my blood pressure is coming down though. Has anyone else started Losartan and had to go through an adjustment period? Other people I know taking this particular HB med say they did not experience any side effects at all.
High blood pressure and Keto
Very odd… were you stressed at the docs? I always have high BP at the surgery but have a home monitor where I get much lower results… docs seem happy to accept my own readings as its a far more natural situation…
Get a blood pressure cuff for home and use it. I have an Omron Evolv. There is an android app that collects the readings from the device. What you’ll probably notice is a lot of variation. A single measurement in a doctor’s office is a crap shoot.
If you can check your own blood pressure, any time for free, may be you can use that info to lower BP with refinements in diet, exercise, sleep, reducing stress, etc.
Doing Keto depletes our minerals more quickly, this includes Magnesium. Most people even not doing Keto have a tendency to be Magnesium defecient. Us Keto’ers need to pay attention even more to our Mag levels, and a major symptom of Mag defeciency is raised blood pressure.
I suggest trying a good quality Magnesium supplement and see how that treats you. Also get a cuff to check at home. Dont get a cheap one because they can be really dodgey.
I had a period of high blood pressure after a few months in ketosis. I was still drinking a lot of water at the time. After reducing the amount of water I drink combined with adding salt to food it came back to normal. Looks like I was flushing out all my electrolytes & minerals every day. Also I bought a blood pressure monitor from amazon to keep an eye on it - Omron are really good (about £25 for the basic, but accurate model). Best wishes.
[eidt] - Also I researched what I might have been low on & I now make sure I get potassium from food (chestnut mushrooms, salmon etc.)
I am exactly the same. I now monitor at home, bp readings much more realistic. Like you my doctor will accept those readings and I now no longer have battles with her concerning bp medication.