Blood pressure medication and racing

[Bikelux]

Hi

I'm hoping to gain some insight from other competitive or keen cyclists who use blood pressure medication to control hypertension.

I may have start some form of treatment soon to treat genetic hypertension. Recent tests show I have no other medical conditions other than high blood pressure.


I've raced for many years and still wish to remain competitive and continue to enjoy the sport. I ride road, track and triathlon plus alot of long sportiv rides, audax, touring, charity etc.


Please share your experiences and advice.

Did the medication have positive, negative or no effect on performance?

If it had a negative effect, what steps were taken to overcome the negatives?


Thanks

 

[NimbusTim]

I cannot offer much advice, but I can offer some. I'm personally on HCTZ for blood pressure, and it's a diuretic. So if this is something that your doctors considering, make sure you keep your water intake high, as you can get dehydrated quickly with this type of medication.

Another tip I would give you is to look into more natural products to help control it as well. Sometimes medications can be avoided by going a more natural route....again sometimes, not all the time so make sure you keep it monitored. Personally I've started taking Olive Leaf Extract 500mg and Celery Seed Extract 75mg....both twice a day. I've noticed that my blood pressure has dropped an average of 15 points on both the top and bottom number. You might want to check this out, as they have a host of other benefits, not just limited to Blood Pressure Control.

I personally take NOW Olive Leaf Extract and Natural Factors Celery Seed Extract.

Hopefully that will help some.

Originally Posted by Bikelux .

Hi

I'm hoping to gain some insight from other competitive or keen cyclists who use blood pressure medication to control hypertension.

I may have start some form of treatment soon to treat genetic hypertension. Recent tests show I have no other medical conditions other than high blood pressure.


I've raced for many years and still wish to remain competitive and continue to enjoy the sport. I ride road, track and triathlon plus alot of long sportiv rides, audax, touring, charity etc.


Please share your experiences and advice.

Did the medication have positive, negative or no effect on performance?

If it had a negative effect, what steps were taken to overcome the negatives?


Thanks

 

[Bikelux]

Thanks very much for your informative post.

Luckily I have a very good GP who has made me a referal to have more thorough testing in a few weeks.

A decision will be made based on the conclusions of those tests.