Keto lowering BP

(Sandi Vest) #1

Hello Fellow Ketoers–Asking this for my mom who has been keto for a few months. She takes 50 mg of Cozar (Losartan) for her BP. It appears that Keto is lowering her BP so now its getting too low. Does anyone have experience with this? She moved to a new state recently and cant get a Dr appt till Nov.

(Raj Seth) #2

I stopped BP medications within 2 months of keto. 110/70 off meds now

(Sandi Vest) #3

How did you know when and how to stop? She is kind of confused.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #4

If it’s too low, stop taking the med or take a half dose and see where you’re at. Keto will reduce BP pretty sharply for most folks.

(Sandi Vest) #5

Thank you!

#6

If she can’t get to see the Doctor until November, she “should” still be able to relay this information to the Doctor and get some instructions for weaning off of the medication over time. Do not take medical advice from random strangers over the internet, even on this forum.

Many BP meds include a diuretic, and keto is also highly diuretic. I could only tolerate three days of my BP med with a diuretic when I was on keto, and needed to switch to the non-diuretic formula instead.

#7

Too low blood pressure can be really dangerous. Personally I would think it more dangerous than the risk of having it go up if you halve the dose. You can always take more meds again, you can’t undo a fall from passing out from low bp.

Alternatives are to do things to raise her bp for now, then let it fall before the Doctors appointment so they can see the issue. Adding electrolytes and more sodium is one, and going off keto is the other. The former works for me, and since the latter is healing her it wold be a shame to spoil that.

Caveat: I am a doctors bane in some sense (some love me because I make the job easier), I’ve extensive experience with them due to long term conditions, and don’t really hold them in high regard in general. So I don’t put them on any pedestal and consider them my advisers. I never abdicate all my health decisions to them, especially after I watched from afar as medical incompetence destroyed my Dad’s quality of life and then killed him. It means a lot of research to understand the issue from all angles as well as they should and better, which thanks to the Internet is easy. I also usually know where I’m at better since they don’t remember me from visit to visit anyway.

My regular blood pressure is 50/90, which is on the low side. Fasting is tricky as without electrolytes it goes so low I go completely blind - lights in the eyes due to low bp by day 4. Sodium fixes it. I’m currently on day 9 of an extended water fast and I can see fine.

(Sandi Vest) #8

Of course we are considering all aspects. Thanks all. She is in an odd situation and that is why I’m reaching out. Obviously it would be better to talk to her doc but they have discharged her and won’t give advice at this point. I appreciate the feedback though.

(Terence Dean) #9

Seeing a doctor is good advice Sandy, it is well established that medication for diabetes and hypertension can be dangerous if it is not adjusted by a professional physician.

Refer to this page for more information:

https://blog.virtahealth.com/well-formulated-ketogenic-diet/

Quote:

It is also important to keep in mind that for individuals who start out taking medication for a major disease like type 2 diabetes and/or hypertension, a WFKD is a powerful medical therapy which necessitates day-by-day medication management by an expert physician and team to prevent dangerous drug side-effects. We strongly recommend getting medical supervision before making any dietary changes, especially if you are on medications for blood sugar or blood pressure. A physician can help you safely adjust your medications so that they don’t drive your blood sugar or blood pressure too low. Both hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hypotensive (low blood pressure) episodes can be very dangerous.

#10

I believe that it would literally be malpractice for a doctor to “blacklist” a patient and not help refer him/her to a new doctor. If you are getting that kind of feeling then I would request to speak to someone else in the office, or call your state medical board.

She should start keeping a blood pressure log so she has good data to share with a physican (new or old) when she is connected to one. BP readings in the office are notoriously unreliable. A modestly accurate BP cuff shouldn’t run more than $40-$50 (here’s one for $30 with good reviews on Amazon).