A strange question, maybe. Is there a story, parable or fable to explain why using medication for high blood pressure hasn’t sorted the problem?
Feeding a fire with kindling and logs is often used to explain burning fat or carbohydrates to fuel the body. So is there an example to say yes you now have normal blood pressure with medication, but things are still going wrong in the body?
It’s not a fable, but here’s the underlying mechanism: The body uses nitric oxide to regulate blood pressure. A certain amount of amino acids is deaminated every day to provide nitrogen for making the needed NO. However, insulin interferes with this mechanism, so blood pressure drugs (which do work) are needed to take the place of the missing NO. Medication is not a permanent solution, but changing the diet so as to lower insulin is.
So when we eat wrong, we tamper with the mechanism. We can use drugs to bash the machine into behaving, but the best solution is to eat right and stop tampering with the mechanism.
I think the bandage analogy works. A bandage looks great, does a good job, but we only know what is going on when we take the bandage off. Sometimes its healed. Sometimes the paw falls off. Regular bandage changes (heart and blood pressure examinations) help to understand in which direction healing or injury is going.
An aim with medication, and nutrition as well, is to take a physiology that has been injured and try to return it to a normal functioning state. Then with time the longer term healing can occur at “deeper”, or more complex levels. The first part is to mitigate ongoing injury.
A friend suggested it is like cracks in the wall of your house and you paper over them. The paper being medication. The wall looks fine, but the cracks are still there and whatever caused the cracks is still happening.
My daughter told me I am looking for a metaphor.
Another friend has suggested this. You are driving a car and the engine starts to make a noise, so you turn up the radio and put more air in the tyres. However a few hundred miles later the engine grinds to a halt. I think I will use this one as the person I will be talking to drives a vehicle.
Sometimes these explanations are a way in, to get people to listen?
@Sarah_Sim
I’ve been struggling for gradually increasing BP since hitting my target weight and bouncing above it by 20 lbs (down 122, up 20 I can live with).
But my BP recently was INSANELY high. 180/120 type highs where my Doc wanted me to take BP IMMEDIATELY. (But it also masks the root cause).
I had tried giving up Pork for a month (It made a dent). I gave up Dairy for a month, it made a dent (150s - 160s / 100). I tried reducing/adding salt. OMG. I tried ALMOST everything.
Then I recently went 100% BEEF. No dairy, No Eggs, No Pork, NOTHING. It took 7 days, plus FASTING (ADF). Before I saw my BP start to move, then after a weekend fast, it was ALMOST normal. 10 days in, it was getting there. 16 days in, I was waking up BELOW 120/80 for the first time since I can remember. [I cut out caffiene, coffee].
I’ve since added Caffiene back in. It can raise my BP a few points for an hour or so. Nothing like what I was at.
So, I tested. I ate a 6 oz bag of pepperoni. My BP rose 24 points (144) almost immediately. And stayed Elevated for OVER 24 hours! The morning of the second day, it was finally through me.
I cleaned up, and then tried dairy. A Similar thing happened. Not as pronounced, but I had dairy 2 days in a row (HWC). And BAM by the third day I am at 150… And it takes a couple of days to come down slowly…
OMG. I share this because someone else might be staring at the same issue. I cannot overemphasize the need to be REALLY CLEAN before adding ONE THING back in, and testing things.
I was staring down a Doctor who was ready to give me 4 Hypertensive Drugs to control my BP.
[BTW, one barely put a dent in my BP]
But eating correctly fixed it right up. AMAZING.
So, I am being forced to consume 150g of carbs today and tomorrow to prepare for my second OGTT. And it’s actually kina awful. After 3 years of avoiding these foods. I felt I would indulge myself for science. I Feel like crap already! Going for a walk…
To Everyone with High Blood Pressure on Keto. I recommend going 2 weeks of Carnivore, BEEF only.
I have to say, I am falling in love with a simple meal of 80/20 hamburger patties. I have 12 bags of 3lbs of patties in the freezer. It hits the spot.
Yeah, it appears beef is perfectly safe for me.
It’s funny, because I remember when I was first doing elimination and testing.
I would clean up for a week, then test foods on monday. And I quickly learned that my BP was the first indication that I was going to have a reaction. Within 10 minutes of consuming the food, if my BP spiked, I was in trouble.
Now, I NEVER thought to test pork. I avoided dairy because it’s totally an addiction for me. But I tested a lot of vegetables, etc. some I tolerate, but they lead to inflammation or weight-loss stalls.
Eventually I gave up and settled on carnivore.
For my blood work, I am eating chicken (drumsticks) and other junk (I did clean bloodwork 2 weeks ago). This will be dirty bloodwork. Testing BOTH the glucose tolerance, and the inflammation. I am confident my inflammation markers will all be elevated. LOL.
After Wednesday, I will be back to beef only for a month or so to clean myself up… I need 2-3 weeks to break any addictions and feel so good that I wont want to touch the poisons…
Wow you had it scary high, how wonderfull you have it under control now 
I didn’t have it that bad, 150/105. I got a warning from my doctor thou. My heartrate was 90bpm at rest.
Today its 110/70 in the afternoon, in the morning it sometimes dives as low as 95/60. My heartrate at rest is 65bpm now.
All I did was go ketovore.
The last 2 years I’ve been full carnivore nose to tail, but the blood pressure stabilized before that on very low carb keto.
Dairy doesn’t affect me, lucky me 
Thank you for sharing. I haven’t been able to log into the forum. I hope everything is going all right for you .
I know this is old, but the plural of Anecdote is Data!
My neighbor was maintaining his weight Ketovore. But always struggled with his BP.
He always attributed it to his stress level as a small business owner.
But his bloodwork, after 3yrs, and being only about 5-6 lbs over his best weights…
Were HORRIBLE. His trigs were high, his HDL was low. He had never tested.
Anyways, as we are reviewing his “diet”, the definition of Carb Creep became obvious.
He was having a can of nuts every week. A couple of avocados, cauliflower rice, etc. etc.
He was OMAD without snacking. Oh, and he was having cheese 3-4 times/week.
But he was “using” coffee with HWC and Splenda, as well.
So… He decides to get REALLY CLEAN (like he was in the beginning). And in 2 weeks time,
he has effortless lost the extra 6lbs, and his BP is now NORMAL. (He did stop Pork). But went Pure Carnivore, NO DAIRY, NO SPLENDA.
Now, the DROP in calories cannot possibly explain the weight loss. Clearly it was the INSULIGENIC nature of what he was eating. He admitted he had to add a couple of hamburger patties to his steak, to feel like he had enough food (Another clear sign of carb creep, to me).
Anyways. One more success story on lowering BP… But it really REQUIRED cutting Dairy and Splenda. Also, those are the two things he admits to WANTING the most once he cut them out.
He said it best: “we try to convince ourselves of what we WANT to be true, even in the face of contraindicating facts!”
Yep…
A More direct answer. I had to cut out EVERYTHING but meat, salt and water.
I discovered it was Pork/Pepperoni and Stevia. But my BP was out of control.
It started hitting 180/120 numbers. But the meds barely made a DENT.
So, the worse part was that it took 5-7 days of PERFECTLY CLEAN eating/drinking…
Before my BP started to come down, then it took quite a while with day by day drops.
The ANALOGY for me is simple. If you are allergic to a food, you may get Inflammation, or Cortisol or Adrenalin… Or a combination. Depends on how bad it is. ALL 3 can have an impact on your BP.
In the end, clean living should fix it. We know that being IR Tends to raise your BP, as IR is often linked with inflammation.
So, it’s a CLUE you have not cleaned your diet enough.
The good news for me. If I eat a 6 oz bag of pepperoni… My BP Spikes almost immediately and stays elevated for over 24hrs. Whereas Stevia drops raise my BP 3-5pts. But it’s ADDITIVE. 10 days in a row, I could be 30pts higher…
Fasting did not lower mine at first. Because the toxins were still inside me, wreaking havoc.
I recommend removing anything man-made, then dairy, then pork (and stevia/splenda is all manmade). (if it tastes good, spit it out, my grandma used to say. LOL)
Good Luck!