I used to have knee pain caused by poor kneecap tracking. This was due to weak quad muscles. Could be similar to what you are experiencing.
@BennyProfane , I hate linking something from another thread but I looked up here if anyone else was getting treated with this on here and your name popped up.
After being the same age and crazy high stage 3 hypertension as you, I’m on Valsartan/HCTZ now and I have to say I think it’s slowly saving my life. Are you still being treated and if so, what is it like long term on the medication? I’m also finding what @Balasarius said about it to be true, which is I went from a man with an iron bladder who could cross the country without the need for a bathroom to -almost- the same bathroom schedule as my wife. Almost.
I am 63 now, and now take Losartan instead of Valsartan, but they are functionally equivalent. And yes, I have no doubt I’d be dead now without it.
When I started on it, they said it would eventually sunset, but I’ve been on it now for what?, 17 years, and my blood pressure is a rock-solid 125 over 80ish every day. It is a miracle drug in my book.Plus it doesn’t seem to have any problems with overlap of other drugs.
Thanks for asking!
No worries, thanks for sharing your story. I went to a dentist for some work and they literally did not want to do anything because my BP was so high, which led down the path of getting back to a regular primary care physician and down this journey. He did tell me I may end up on something besides Valsartan but for now it makes me happy seeing MUCH lower and normal numbers.
If I can join in on the BP thread, I had my wife take me to the ER last Sunday for elevated BP.
Backstory: I’m 50 in July. I’d been on Lisinopril for years and thought my BP was basically under control. It was never great, but I’d be in the 130’s over high 70’s/low 80’s and my doc was cool with that. Through various circumstances, I hadn’t been to see my doc in over a year and then he retired. So I finally got a new guy and saw him just after Christmas. BP was elevated so he took me off the Lisinopril and put me on Valsartan. At a one month follow up it was better but he mentioned we may have to increase if it didn’t come down more. In the meantime, I’d quit smoking in January (and still going strong 4 months later) and cut back on the beer and tried to eat better. We all know that doesn’t always work. I have an appointment next week and I had planned on telling him that I didn’t think the meds were working as they should.
Fast forward to last Sunday. The wife and I ate breakfast, went to Lowes to grab some shelving, and came home. I felt kind of bloated and crappy and thought it was eating and running out to Lowes. But I took my BP and it was 180/100 and it’s never, ever been that high. I thought to just sit on it and relax but then told my wife what was happening and asked her to take me to the ER. Doc gave me a Norvasc (amlodipine) and said it would bring it down. It kind of came down, but not a whole bunch. Enough for them to let me go home. I saw my doctor the next day and he had me take an extra Valsartan daily and that’s gotten me down into the 120’s/70’s. I’ve never been that low before.
But I also made some decisions sitting in that bed in the ER. I’m not in my 20s anymore and I need to take better care of myself. Since we don’t have kids, it’s all too easy to have an extra few beers on the weekend and not notice it. Except this time I did notice it, because that’s exactly what happened the Saturday night prior to my ER visit. The ER doc wrote in his notes to wean myself off alcohol. I’ll do my best. I can’t see myself giving up beer altogether. But I can see myself cutting back drastically, and working in a daily exercise routine after work. Weather finally started breaking for the better so I’ve got no excuses now.
That was kind of rambling. I guess I needed to get that out.
Taking the Wegovy and losing the 45ish lbs since last summer has gotten my BP down to the low 120’s over the low 80’s. I wasnt in high level hypertension before, but around low 130’s over high 80’s. But it was at the level the doctors wanted to prescribe BP meds.
Also, cholesterol is now back to normal other than my “good” cholesterol being a bit low.
Whatever that TIA I had back in November is hard to explain, I did a 2 week holter (that lasted 7 days). My complaint is my body absolutely rejected whatever adhesive is on that holter. I had a bright red rash with hives painful to the touch for weeks later.
No Afib found, nor the echocardiogram found any oddities in heart construction to explain it. The neuro said it was probably just a freak event, especially since it was less than 5 minutes of loss of control/feeling. A small clot from somewhere broke loose, but it was small enough to break up on its own. The weight loss, BP control and daily baby aspirin are all I need to do for now to prevent it happening again.
Also, still coughing up blood in the mornings every few weeks or so (once a month about?) CT to check on it came back with improvement in the cavitary nodules from a suspected histoplasmosis infection that we treated with antifungal. Still evidence of scarring and ground glass opacities that they suspect is chronic low grade aspiration. Basically nothing can be done about it, other than keeping an eye on it. Nothing serious I guess.
I guess the positive is, my annual physical with my Doctor was all back slapping and high fives, every single blood test number was better than a year ago, all close to normal.
Not "advice " perse, but one thing that has worked for me with regards to weaning myself off (sweets, carbs) is to become a bit more, well, snobbish, for lack of a better term.
Like, I really like eating pizza, pasta, pastries, but I doubt I’d ever eat the supermarket stuff again, because I know I can make as good or better, because I have.
And the process of doing it myself is almost as enjoyable as eating.
This naturally puts quite the limiter on the frequency of my eating of these things.
If I were trying to cut down on beer, this “strategy” could take the form of branching out into world beers etc.
Honestly, one of my best strategies I learned in my weight loss class.
Buy treats for yourself.
Like, if I go and buy ice cream sandwiches or popsicles, those are like 150-300 calories for a dessert. And if you have them in the freezer, it is way easier to just have one of those after dinner instead of saying “let’s go out for ice cream” which is like 600-1000 calories for a dessert.
I am definitely “juicing” on the Wegovy, but I find that having a really basic treat at hand makes my laziness win out.
The other thing is I will totally concur with @BloodyBattleBrain about getting pickier. Why eat the bad junk food, only buy/make the really high end stuff, only eat things that are “worth” the calories. You still get that fix, but less frequently.
That’s interesting because I’m the exact opposite. I’m lazy enough that I’d rarely go out for ice cream but if it’s in the house I’m having 1-2 a night till it’s gone.
Yeah, if it’s there I’m probably eating it every night. Can’t remember the last time I went out for ice cream, but I’ve certainly consumed plenty from my own freezer.
Good luck on the stopping smoking, 4 months is a fantastic start. And reducing drinking, getting in better shape, etc.
BTW, just for reference sake, my Losartan is 100/25 per day.
I’ve got the perfect solution! Just have alcohol become a near-guaranteed migraine trigger and you’ll quickly lose pretty much any desire to drink.
I should mention I’m in this boat already, one month at mid-dose, now at the highest dose. I should also mention they are REALLY monitoring this as I address my sleep apnea as well because high blood pressure and sleep apnea are really, really good friends.
Your event sounds scary as hell, Jon. I’m glad you’re okay but damn, man. That’s enough to scare a snake straight.
I have the beer issue as well as several others here. I can certainly cut back, but cutting it out is like slicing off a part of the things I really enjoy. Hell, we’re heading into warm weather and boating at this point in the year and not having a cold beer at the lake just sounds like torture. 
My problem is that once I know I can make it I want to make it. Fall and early winter is tough because I really enjoy making fruit pies and similar things!
I fail to see that as a problem! 
Yeah, this is where I fall. I mean, I have no other vices. I quit smoking (and I’d been down to smoking only while drinking anyway), I don’t do drugs, including pot, I’m not a foodie-type who can take pleasure in creating and enjoying a decadent meal. I just like to sit out back after work with a book or my tablet and drink beer. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I can and will definitely cut back – especially on weekends when my brain heads into “no responsibility” mode. That mode is gone now, since my ER visit reminded me that there’s always a responsibility to myself and my wife. And I’ve sworn to myself to not forget how low I felt while sitting in that bed in the ER wondering how in the hell I’d gotten there. That time was my choice and I don’t want a next time. So yeah, time to cut back. Maybe start drinking less, but better, beer.
This has been a thing for me for meat. I love meat, but it’s probably not great to eat a lot of it. So I buy expensive meat! Only eating it once a weak, I tell myself, is probably how we’re “supposed” to do it anyway. (OK, we’re probably “supposed” to have some kind of feast-then-famine approach when the hunt is successful, but whatever.)
For meat, there’s also the moral / environmental issue, where paying more also gets you sustainable/humane/etc etc stuff, which is less the case for beer. But on the other hand, good beer actually tastes a hell of a lot better than bad beer, moreso than meat.
Nor me, though I have some things I haven’t been doing more of, like getting up and exercising and taking a good hard look at the rest of my diet. My doctor actually gave me the following advice: baby steps. Work on one thing at a time. He cautioned if I try to jump in and change everything at once, I’ll get mad or burn out on trying to be healthy and that’s when people get frustrated and don’t return to the doctor.
As an old man, I heard his words distinctly and understood. Baby steps. I will get there.
Same. And I have dishes I know how to make to take the place of some of it but I just don’t follow through, yet.
Oh, you mean don’t plot out a route to walk from home that ends up being 2.5 miles and burn out your knees and hips in 2 days?
I’ve since cut that back to around 1.2 miles by actually driving to the park, walking that portion, and then just driving home. But yep, I hurt myself and then I was frustrated and mad. I DID buy some nice new Asics to aid in cushioning, though…