Get Off Blood Pressure Medications: 21 Self-care Tips

One of the most frequent questions I hear as a nurse is, “What do I need to do to get off my blood pressure medications?” And it’s no surprise! Taking medication is inconvenient, expensive, and can have uncomfortable side effects. 

As a nurse, I can’t safely suggest you stop taking your blood pressure medicines.  You’re at a greater risk of heart attack or developing heart disease than someone with normal blood pressure. (source)

So, it’s essential to tell your healthcare professionals your desire to reduce the amount of high blood pressure medication you take. Then, you must continue to take all of your prescription medication as directed.

What I can suggest, however, is that you make gradual self-care (lifestyle) changes to lower your blood pressure.

A healthy lifestyle can improve your quality of life and give you a strong chance of taking a lower dose of blood pressure drugs or not needing any medication to manage your blood pressure. 

It’s unrealistic to think this can happen overnight. But you may likely see changes in just months!

Changing your self-care to manage higher blood pressure levels can be intimidating.  Need some help finding time to take better care of yourself?

Be sure to grab yours!

Self-care Tips to Get Off of Blood Pressure Medications

Several types of medications lower blood pressure.

Each works in different ways, so some people must take more than one type of medication, depending on what is causing their blood pressure to be high. And, as you would expect, each kind and type of medication has a different or a variety of side effects.

Therefore, even if you can’t completely eliminate your need for blood pressure meds, reducing a dose or the number of meds you take can help with the cost, inconvenience, and side effects you experience.

Self-care to Set Yourself Up For Success

Here are some self-care strategies to manage your high blood pressure effectively.

1. Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations. Most importantly, don’t stop taking your blood pressure medications until your health provider tells you it is safe and appropriate to do it.
2. Tell your healthcare provider your desire to get off of blood pressure medications. In other words, your provider will respond best if you talk to them straight. They can begin to reduce the doses of your medications sooner if they know your goals and the lifestyle changes you’re working on.
3. Likewise, if you work with an herbalist, talk to your herbalist too. Tell them about your high blood pressure and what medications you are taking. Some herbs and natural supplements may interfere with medications.
4. Above all, monitor your blood pressure outside of the clinic office. The activity required to go to the doctor’s office or just being AT the clinic can increase your blood pressure. Many public grocery stores, drug stores, or businesses have free blood pressure machines.
5. Even easier – get your own blood pressure monitor. Blood pressure cuffs and monitors vary in price. My recommendation is to find one that the AHA or the FDA approves. Also, I would avoid the ones that slide onto your finger or wrist. Those models have more room for error; you don’t have time for that. You want a reliable monitor. If you need a recommendation, I like the Blood Pressure Monitor below.
6. Keep a record of your blood pressure. A daily record is a valuable tool to share with your healthcare provider (which is why I provide one at the end of the post, along with a tip sheet!).

Make Healthy Self-care Choices Daily

You have an opportunity to make healthy lifestyle choices every day. The more healthy choices you make, the closer you will get to being able to get off of blood pressure medications. Here are a few of the most helpful.

1. Eat as many healthy foods as possible. Make good food choices. Every day.
2. Consider the popular high-blood-pressure eating plan. The American College of Cardiology (COC) recommends the dietary approaches to stop hypertension, more commonly called the DASH diet. The DASH Diet is a flexible, lifelong approach to healthy eating. Many people can adjust to this lifestyle change, even if they hate eating vegetables.
3. Eat proper serving sizes. Eating large portions is a common reason for eating too many calories. Just making this choice can save 300-400 calories/day. Don’t forget to print out your free list to help you.
4. Reduce sodium in your diet. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day for most adults. For people with high blood pressure, an ideal limit is no more than 1,500 mg per day. However, even cutting back 1,000 mg/day has been shown to improve blood pressure and heart health.
5. Eat a variety of foods rich in nutrients that help lower blood pressure. For example, foods with potassium, calcium, and magnesium. 

Use These Heart-Healthy Resources

1. Watch out for the ‘Salty 6’ – the top six common foods that add the most salt to your healthy diet. Bread and rolls, pizza, soup, cold cuts, cured meats, poultry, and sandwiches.
2. Certainly, learning how to read food labels is helpful so you can use products or brands that contain the lowest sodium for the ‘Salty 6’ items.
3. Get a vegetable-forward cookbook. I like this one because they use seasonal ingredients, and you do not have to be a ‘chef’ to make the dishes. Joy’s Simple Food Remedies: Tasty Cures for Whatever’s Ailing You. She even has recipes specifically for hypertension.
4. Likewise, I’d also get a DASH Diet Cookbook. There are many, many DASH Diet-specific cookbooks available. I like this one because it guides you through the recipes and your spice cabinet and pantry. But there are tons of other options if you think this one is too basic for you.

   The Everyday DASH Diet Cookbook: Over 150 Fresh and Delicious Recipes to Speed Weight Loss, Lower Blood Pressure, and Prevent Diabetes (A DASH Diet Book)

Start Slowly Changing Your Self-care and These Habits

It may seem like the better way to change your lifestyle is to jump in with both feet. But you’ll have an easier time sticking to your new habits if you slowly work on one at a time.

1. Above all, stop smoking. If you don’t smoke, never start! Many workplaces, insurance companies, and state or local governments have smoking cessation programs (and coverage). Don’t let cost detour you – research coverage options or scholarships for smoking cessation programs. The programs with the most successful outcomes offer some accountability coaching or ongoing support and encouragement.
2. If you have diabetes, be sure to follow your diabetes diet, regularly monitor your blood sugar level, and take your diabetic medications or insulin as prescribed to reduce the development of kidney damage, chronic kidney disease, or kidney failure, which can further impair your blood pressure.
3. After that, lose a few extra pounds and watch your waistline regularly to prevent weight gain. Did you know losing 10% of your weight can positively impact your blood pressure?
4. Even further on that thought, cut back on the amount of caffeine you drink and eat. Caffeine is in food, too.
5. Be active. Further, regular exercise is a necessity. But even walking at an average pace counts as exercise, and it works! Plan to do more of the activities you enjoy. Hate to exercise? Try this!
6. And in addition to the above, reduce your stress. Stress management will look different to all of us, but the point is that a reduction in your stress level can help lower your blood pressure level. Ongoing stress is harmful to your health. It can even lead to life-threatening diseases. This doesn’t exactly mean getting a massage every other day. It means taking a critical look at your stressors and looking for possibilities to manage the impact and lessen or eliminate them as needed. Make choices that eliminate stressors in your life.

Looking for a way to stay motivated about taking better care of yourself? Check out my Bible study by clicking my affiliate link:

Making Lifestyle Changes Can Feel Exhausting, So Do This Too

So, I have one more crucial bonus tip. I have found people who have tried it (even though it felt weird at first) thought it was beneficial.

1. Start meditating.

Meditation has been shown in research to reduce anxiety and stress (and thus blood pressure).

If you are a person of faith, engaging in prayer is a form of meditation. Furthermore, worship and regular church attendance have also been found to reduce anxiety and manage stress.

If your faith is important to you, I encourage you to utilize the truth of God shared in the Bible. You can use scripture to help you find the courage to start taking better care of yourself and the motivation to continue good self-care.

What Does My Blood Pressure Reading Have to be to Stop Taking Medications?

When your healthcare provider takes your blood pressure, they’ll be looking for consistent readings between 90/60 mm hg and 120/80 mm hg. A systolic blood pressure of 140 or above is considered high, and a diastolic blood pressure above 90 is considered high.

Blood pressure medications lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions. 

So, it’s essential that your blood pressure stays at a healthy level for a period of time before any changes are made.

Follow Your Doctor’s Advice to Get Off of Blood Pressure Medications Safely

Finally, in closing, take the time to identify your personal needs so you can give yourself the proper care needed to get off your blood pressure medications.

Follow the advice of your healthcare provider as you implement these tips to lower your blood pressure.

Self-care to reduce your blood pressure can help lower your risk of heart disease and other risk factors and improve your blood pressure.

Consistent healthy blood pressure readings can be the catalyst to decreasing the dose of your antihypertensive medication or possibly even the successful withdrawal of the blood pressure medication regimen (only with professional medical advice). 

The most important thing to remember is that consistent small steps can have a very big impact on the rest of your life!

Don’t forget your FREE Self-care Starter Guide! Get it HERE. 

Here are two free downloads:

1. A Blood Pressure Register Form
2. 4 Quick Tips to Lower Blood Pressure

Related Posts:

9 Self-care Tips to Lower Your Blood Pressure

When Allergies Cause High Blood Pressure: How to Lower Your Risk

7 Self-care Tips to Lower Cholesterol Fast

Q&A for Get Off of Blood Pressure Medications

1. Using Medications to Lower Blood Pressure

All blood pressure medications work in different ways, so some people must take more than one type of medication, depending on what is causing their blood pressure to be high.

And, as you would expect, each kind and type of medication has a different or a variety of possible side effects. 

Therefore, even if you can’t completely eliminate your need for blood pressure meds, reducing a dose or the number of meds you take can help with the cost, inconvenience, and potentially serious side effects you could experience. (The information below is only for informational purposes and not to be used as a personal self-guide. Your prescribing healthcare provider will follow standards of care for high blood pressure when prescribing or changing your medications.)

While there are a lot of types of blood pressure medications, sometimes health problems can place you at higher risk of dangerous side effects and are not suitable. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, some of these medications may not be suitable. 

Sometimes, older people can have medical conditions that require a prescription that can cause adverse effects if a certain type of blood pressure is used.

Sharing all of the medications and over-the-counter drugs you take is extremely helpful information to your prescriber. It could be life-saving for you!

2. Types of Medications Used to Lower Blood Pressure

Listed below are several types of medications that can be used to lower your high blood pressure. The medication used is based on what is causing your blood pressure to run high.

• Ace inhibitors – ACE (Angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors are prescribed to control hormones that aid in controlling blood pressure, typically by relaxing and opening the blood vessels. Many of the generic names of the ACE inhibitors end in ‘pril.’ 
• Calcium channel blockers – These drugs help the walls of your arteries relax, which widens the blood vessels and allows more blood to flow through. Most of the generic names end in ‘pine.’
• Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) – These work like ACE inhibitors, so, likely, you wouldn’t take both at the same time (and you’d take these if you had side effects. Most of the generic names end in ‘artan.’
• Water pills – Typically called thiazide diuretics, these drugs help lower blood pressure by removing excess fluid from the body and blood. Reducing the fluid reduces the pressure on the walls of the blood vessels. Many of the generic names end in ‘ide.’
• Renin-inhibitors – This drug works by blocking the effects of a body chemical called renin. Renin helps produce a hormone called angiotensin II, which makes the muscles in your blood vessel walls contract, narrowing the vessel. Blocking this chemical allows the vessel to relax and widen so the blood can pass through the vessel with less force. At the time of this writing, there are no generics.
• Beta-blockers – These are older medications and aren’t used as often anymore. There are a variety of different beta-blockers, each used to treat a different heart condition. This drug treatment is used to treat chest pain (angina), an irregular heart rate (which includes atrial fibrillation), congestive heart failure, and heart attack (myocardial infarction). They can reduce blood pressure by slowing down the rate and force of the heartbeat. Most of the generic names of beta-blockers end in ‘olol.’

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Originally posted ~May 23, 2021